LANGUAGES

GERMAN DAY OUT

In July, Year 9 and 10 McKinnon German students joined around 700 German students from around Victoria for the key event of the German Day Out in the Melbourne Town Hall, a student forum. At the forum, bearing the motto this year of ‘Deutschland - Vielfalt erleben’, they were introduced to career opportunities related to German and heard from young Australians about the place that German has in their work and social lives.

The annual forum was run by German university students, former recipients of the SAGSE scholarship, who gave an insight into their career paths. Guest speakers from German associations, such as the Goethe Institute and the AGTV informed students about business and research connections with German companies worldwide. Over 700 German companies are doing business in Australia including 480 German subsidiary companies employing more than 110,000 people in many fields.

The interesting fact was that German is a well-recognized language for scientific research and the opportunities for studying a STEM subject in Germany are widely acknowledged. In November 2015 Prime Minister Turnbull and Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, signed 59 recommendations for closer collaboration between the two nations. German does not only extend literacy skills, makes travel more enjoyable and increases job opportunities worldwide - it is also an invaluable skill demanded in an increasingly global world.

On the sidelines of the forum two McKinnon students were among four or five students from different schools who were interviewed in German by Radio SBS about their experience of learning German and what interests them about Germany.

German Day Out report on SBS

http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/german/de/content/german-day-out-2017?language=de

After a lunch break students made their way to the cinema in Melbourne Central where they saw the movie ‘Fly away home’ or ‘Maikäfer flieg’, a preview of an Austrian film production by Mirjam Unger that will be part of the Melbourne International Film Festival. The film introduced students to the childhood experience of Christine Nöstlinger, an Austrian children's book author, in the final phases of World War Two. Students reviewed this film in class in the following lesson and were able to clarify their questions on this topic. Most expressed that the experience of war from a family’s perspective was beyond explanations in classroom lessons and had increased their understanding of peace.

CUCKOO RESTAURANT

On Wednesday 2 August, it took five buses to transport over 230 students and accompanying teachers to the annual excursion to the Cuckoo Restaurant. German learners from Year 8 to Year 12 participated in this annual tradition that has been part of McKinnon for more than 25 years. Whilst this is the first time that many Year 8 students experience this introduction to traditional German food, music and culture, it was sadly the last opportunity for Year 12 students to indulge in a very traditional Bavarian experience during a stressful VCE year.

The Cuckoo’s unique setting in the Dandenongs and the original Bavarian decor invite students into an environment that many have not experienced before. Surrounded by so many visual and sensual stimuli, that also tickled the taste buds, students enjoyed the wide selection of German mains and desserts.

I would like to thank Mr Nutting for the organisation of these events and all participating teachers for their supervision on the excursion days.

NEW OPTIONS IN LANGUAGES

In Year 9, a new elective for Spanish will be offered. Students will have to choose two units for 2 semesters.

In Year 10, students will have the opportunity to choose between a preparatory course for VCE Languages (including VCE VET Certificate II in Applied Language) or just the VCE VET Certificate II in Applied Language, which counts as a Unit 1 and 2 subject.

In Year 11, students have the opportunity to choose VCE Language or VCE VET Certificate III in Applied Language. This Certificate counts for Unit 3 and 4 and receives an increment of 10% of the primary four Year 12 subjects to the ATAR.

Please also be aware of the opportunity of receiving a Victorian Baccalaureate with the study of a language - further information please find on

http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/vce/studies/index.aspx

Andrea Fowler

Head of Languages

FRENCH POETRY COMPETITION RESULTS

The Berthe Mouchette Poetry competition has been run by the Alliance Francaise since 1894 where students recite a poem in French. This year, our Year 9 and 10 students of French spent weeks rehearsing their delivery of the poems and presented before an official judge on 24 May.

The results have now been published and the French teachers are very proud of the amazing results. There were sixty-three Year 9 students who recited 'As de Picque, le moustique'. Seven students were awarded a perfect 20/20 and have been selected to represent McKinnon in the Finals on Sunday 24 August. Thirteen students were awarded 'Excellent (19 or 19.5 out of 20) and seventeen were awarded 'Très bien' (17-18). This means that over half of our students received 17 or higher out of 20.

For the Year 10s, there were twenty-four students who took part in the competition. Four amazing students will proceed to the finals after receiving a 'Brilliant' 20/20. There were three 'excellents' and ten 'très biens' meaning again, over half our students in Year 10 received over 17 or higher out of 20.

The finalists include:

Year 9: Tayla Kontopoulos, Serge Niculita, Sassandra Rae, Alice Rapoport, Gizelle Sakr, Erisha Tayal and Clare Wever

Year 10: Chloe James, Erika Phan, Oliver Sirota and Orr Zaacks

Félicitations!

Ms Ludmila Antal and Ms Kellie Dickson

Teachers of Year 9 and 10 French