Student News

Congratulations Krista Gadsden - Year 8B

Huge congratulations to Krista who represented Victoria at the 2023 AKF National Karate Championships in Perth in August.

Krista won GOLD in her division - Girls Kumite - 42kg National Champion.

The Wyndham Central College community is very proud of your achievements.

WELL DONE!!!

Year 12 VCAL Excursion

On the 7th of August, 12D (VCAL) had the opportunity to visit the Brisbane ranges, Moorabool North/Ballan Windfarms and Stoney Creek as part of Work Related Skills as we are currently doing an environmental project for our PDS (Personal Development Skills) class.

This was a great opportunity to learn more about nature and the latest sustainable technologies in today's age. We were introduced to current trade scholarships and courses available.

Our day first started off with gathering together in the school and collecting the nest boxes made by previous VCAL students and loading them onto the bus, taking the roll, getting sorted and ready, and finally boarding the bus. We made the hour-long journey to the Wind-farms, where we met up with Glenn and Julie, our hosts, who showed us around the Wind-farms. We were the very first school to be invited and hosted. Glenn and Julie explained processes in how the turbines operate and power our homes. We were invited into the central control hub and showed us the computing and technical side to the turbine’s functionality.

We learned interesting things while we were there, the wind turbines only run on wind to keep them spinning once they are put up, each turbine costs 7 million dollars to build, and the propellers and motor weigh 150kg. Glenn also told us about the entry requirements to get into the wind-farm industry including a specific training course which trains you up for the job and how they would prefer an industrial background for better experience, but will also accept VCAL and trade backgrounds.

Karl Hinsi thanked Glenn and Julie for taking time out of their schedule to host and explain the wind farms to curious students like ourselves.

After the wind-farms, we made our way to Stoney Creek. We all stopped and had lunch, and some of our classmates went fishing, unfortunately they didn’t catch anything, but it was still a good time, to catch up with everyone and have a break and some food. The view at Stoney Creek was amazing and we were able to just relax and take some photos after the big trip to the wind farms.

After we had all eaten and had a little break, we hopped back in the bus and headed down to the Brisbane ranges. The journey to the ranges from Stoney Creek was a short one, but it was still really great to admire the sights of nature and bush around us.

Once we arrived to the Brisbane Ranges, we met with Collin Cook and Wendy and all walked to multiple nest boxes, and we were told they were made by Wyndham Central students and also about the animals that use the nest boxes, including the Brush Tailed Phascogale and Sugar Gliders, and the jobs they do. They use non-light cameras when examining the Sugar gliders, as to not disturb them while they sleep or go about their days, as previous cameras with lights did disturb them.

One of the other nest boxes had a different technology, it was a solar powered live camera to watch them 24/7, which is good for watching how they live in a day to day life. Collin was telling us how Wyndham Central and Friends of the Brisbane Ranges made and located 70 nest boxes, all on GPS grid locations. They can be accessed by all who are interested if they can use GPS navigation. Shortly, the number will increase to around 100 as Federation University will continue the project. They also hosted a waterways project last year which was really good for the environment and helped them to understand more about our waters. At the end the day Hayden Szucs thanked Collin and Wendy for what they taught us and for allowing us to come and for hosting us.

It was nice to look at the views and just relax after the big day out. Over all we really enjoyed the excursion and learned a lot of things. A big thank you to Mr. Bernardi and Rose for organising such an interesting excursion.

Report by Amy Cooper and Hayden Szucs

Night at the Museum (Humanities Showcase)

On Thursday 17th of August, Night at the Museum was held in the gymnasium. It was an amazing evening where year 7 and 8 humanities students were able to celebrate and showcase some of the fantastic work they have completed so far this year in Humanities.

The museum exhibits created were second to none and it was great to see the enthusiasm and engagement this event created. Students are commended for the wonderful work produced. We had volcanoes erupting, examples of torture devices used in medieval Europe, tasty treats in various shapes and forms including a Colosseum, rat cupcakes and a treat made solely with indigenous ingredients. We had models reflecting dreamtime stories, colosseums with gladiators, a range of Great Walls of China, water scenes and various replicas of landmarks from Ancient Rome, China, Spanish Conquest, Aztecs and Polynesia, Including a large scale Moai.

A range of certificates, prizes and Wyndham Rewards points will be given out in upcoming assemblies. Thank you for all the parents and students attending and contributing to this wonderful evening. Congratulations year 7 and 8 students for your wonderful efforts involved in Night at the Museum.

By: Elena Woloszczenko - Humanities Faculty Leader

Year 11 Psychology Zoo excursion

Year 11 Psychology students attended an excursion at the Melbourne Zoo in on Monday 4th September. Students explored science as a human endeavour and learnt how psychology skills and knowledge are used in animal welfare and wildlife conservation. They also had some time exploring the Melbourne Zoo.

Thanks to Mr Morrison and Ms Singh for the help on the day.

- Ms Sandlant

On the evening of August17 the Science faculty held the first Science Fair for our Year 9 students. The evening was a showcase of student projects on which they had been working since the end of term 2. The Science Fair has provided a valuable enrichment component to the Year 9 Science program. Students learnt about the Scientific Method and were encouraged to pursue a research investigation of interest to them. The students designed their own experiments, analysed data and put together presentations for the evening. Many were proud to speak about their project to the visitors on the evening.

Prizes were awarded by voting on the evening.

First Place went to Reehj Sagoo, Reessa So and Pam Vichittavong from 9S for their water filtration system to test which material filters water the best.

Second Place went to Angelina Chand and Moo Gay Htoo Htay from 9S for their experiment on indoor and outdoor plants.

Third Place went to Hayden (Alexa) Gernan from 9K for her Maglev train model and description.

An honourable mention went to Xavier Bermejo-Holz, Ava Harris, MacKenzie Scarpa and Boston Maxwell from 9C, for their immersive experience of a visual representation of space.

Congratulations to all students who presented a project on the evening.

A big thank you to all of the Year 9 Science teachers for all their hard work in mentoring the students through their projects, and the Science staff who stayed for the evening presenting the demonstrations and workshops.

Christine Henderson - Science Fair Coordinator

Book Week

Winner, Winner!!!

Congratulations to KYAN HAI HSER of 11D. He is the winner of our Book week competition.

Kyan correctly matched teachers to their favourite books and for his efforts was awarded a $50 gift voucher form Campion Books, a novel and some stationary.

Well done, Kyan,

Mrs Cutter - Learning Resource Manager