Junior School Report

Message from the

Director of Learning -

Alice Paget

The Year 7 and 8 students are now part way through their second semester electives for 2022. It has been great to see the junior school students taking on board the feedback they received in their Semester 1 reports and implementing positive learning behaviours in their classes. Students have the ability to make maximum progress with changes in their learning behaviours. This includes the effort they put in, their behaviour, and their ability to meet deadlines, use class time effectively and complete homework on time. 

Well done to all the junior school students who have now completed their Course Selection for 2023. Studying a broad range of subjects in the junior school is an important process in making an informed decision with their electives and pathway choices through their secondary schooling journey. Both Year 7 and 8 had the opportunity to choose their iCreate selection, and the Year 8 students selected an elective for next year as well. 

The course selection process has played an important reminder for the students in ensuring they are reading their emails and checking their Compass / Teams daily to ensure they are meeting all required deadlines, such as submitting their subject preferences on time. Please encourage your child to get into a daily routine of checking their email and Compass. Setting up these routines is vital in their journey through secondary school and beyond. 

WELLBEING THEATRE PERFORMANCE:  

THE HURTING GAME

On 18th August Brainstorm Productions (an educational theatre company), came to present a student wellbeing program ‘The Hurting Game’ for all Year 7 and 8 students. 

Sticks & Stones is a funny and engaging live performance for secondary school students that provides strategies for resilience, help-seeking, online safety and positive relationships.

The Hurting Game is part of our student wellbeing curriculum in the junior school at Westall Secondary College. The program has been developed in consultation with teachers, psychologists, as well as real-life student experiences. The program is designed to provide students with positive and useful tools that they can use in their everyday lives. 

JUNIOR SCHOOL CAMP

On the last 2 days of Term 2, all the Junior School student were involved in a 2-day onsite school camp, with the option of spending the Thursday night at school. The aim of the camp is to provide students with an alternate hands-on learning environment where they can build on skills and capabilities such as: critical and creative thinking, personal and social skills and safe online behaviour. Students were involved in a variety of workshops at school, including: tent construction, miniature raft-building, team/initiative games and a cooking class with indigenous ingredients. Students also went on an excursion to Bayside Rock-climbing, where they took part in 3 hours of indoor rock-climbing, caving and bouldering.

I would like to thank all the staff involved in their preparation of engaging workshops, organisation of the camp and a rather sleepless night at school. The feedback of the camp was very positive with the highlight for many being the experience at Bayside Rock-climbing. Well done to all the students on stepping out of the comfort zone and their social and critical thinking skills utilised during these workshops. 

Ms Alice Paget

Director of Learning - Junior School

Year 8 Global Literacy Excursion – Cinema viewing of ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’

Year 8 students are currently exploring the Scandinavian and Viking culture and religion within Global Literacy. Scandinavians, particularly Vikings, were known for their bravery in the face of danger and the unknown. These characteristics derive from the Gods they worshipped.

The Year 8s explored the different aspects of Viking religion through the movie ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’. Many concepts, such as Valhalla, Nordic runes and artefacts were shown, reinforcing the content covered in class. Students were able to return to school and further their discussions of Viking bravery and honour. Our Year 8 students loved seeing how their historical knowledge and understanding of ancient civilisations could help them with a deeper comprehension of modern pop culture. 

 Mr Luciano Murray 

Year 7 Global Literacy Excursion – Visit to Melbourne Museum and IMAX

On the Monday 8th of August, the Year 7s travelled by train to the city. We visited Melbourne Museum as a part of our Global Literacy task to learn about Aboriginal Cultures. 

We started off the day by going to the Westall Train Station, where we got on a train to travel to the city. We got off at Parliament station and took a short walk to the Museum, on the way we saw the Exhibition Building and a lot of other massive buildings. 

When we were about to enter the Museum, everyone put their bags on a stand and we entered the building. Inside the museum, we explored an example forest area, where we saw lots of fish, turtles, and birds. 

The next thing we did after that is we went to IMAX to watch the 3D documentary called ‘Australia: The Wild Top End’ where we learned about saltwater crocodiles, frogs, other native animals, and an Aboriginal Story. 

After that we headed to the ‘First Peoples’ exhibit where we saw fossils of the animals they used to hunt, clothes the people wore, the tools they used to kill and construct, traditional music which was super relaxing, pictures of them, and a lot of mind-blowing things like the lit-up recreation of Bunjil the Eagle.

We had lunch in the middle of the activities, and then when we were done with the trip we had a little snack before we left back to the school. We travelled back on the train to Westall and walked to school.

Megha Karthick, Akshaya Arunkumar, and Ree Kha - Year 7