School of Leadership

News from the School of Leadership

Just as there has been much showcasing of engagement and excellence in the School of Leadership in these opening weeks of Term 3, so too has there been behaviours that do not align with our culture of expectations. Indeed it is disappointing that unhealthy student interactions that are occurring outside of school hours are impacting learning and social environments and ultimately taking away from the richness of our community.

Whilst I do not advocate for the removal of phones from our students, I absolutely caution against allowing free reign to our young people. It is astonishing to note the time frames of some of these exchanges and perhaps even more astonishing - the disparaging manner in which communications are occurring. I often wonder the extent to which time spent on phones impacts brain development, social skills, sleep and emotional regulation of our young people.

In the School of Leadership we routinely remind students about Respect. We talk about the importance of Respecting:

Ourselves
Each other
The Environment

We commend the vast majority of students who always meet our high expectations of respect and we look forward to all students rising to this challenge. The School of Leadership students are a group of wonderful, talented and diverse students who we love seeing every day as they continue to learn, grow and flourish.

I refer you to the offering from the eSafety Commissioner regarding safe and responsible use of online technologies.

I encourage you to speak with your young people over the weekend and

Mrs Kate Kelly - Head of School of Leadership and Mrs Josephine Camilleri - Assistant Principal - School of Leadership

Bikes and Scooter Riders

Remember that if a student rides a bike or scooter to the College, they must be wearing a helmet for their safety. Here are some of our students practising road safety.

Have a wonderful next three weeks.

Mrs Josephine Camilleri - Acting Assistant Principal, School of Leadership

Stage 3 Stories…

Stage 3 Riley enlisted the help of 7 King for feedback on their creative writing pieces. Not surprisingly, Year 7 were delighted to return to their classrooms from last year and give critical friend support to Stage 3. This is a wonderful display of collaboration between School of Leadership students and teachers and a true benefit of learning in a K-12 setting.

STEM IN STAGE 3

Stage 3 engaged in an exciting entry event for our STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) unit this term. Students explored real world objects, which included raw timber, serving platters and fresh food items, and made various connections. These connections included; food, materials such as timber and plastic, and how raw materials are used to manufacture numerous products including napkins, cutlery and furniture. Stage 3 students and teachers are looking forward to further STEM exploration throughout the term.

Become Me Launch

Last Monday, Stage 3 launched the Become Me program for 2022. Become Me is a program that lets students explore the world of careers based on their interests and getting to know themselves. It is a great stepping stone to Life Design that students will engage with in Year 7.

We were fortunate to have Liv Pennie from Become Me Education lead the day with special guest speakers, Mr Richard Burton from InnerZone and our principal Mr Greg Miller.

Throughout the day Year 6 had the opportunity to participate in leadership workshops to define their role and what success would look like for them supported by teachers from all different areas of the College. Year 5 completed a deep dive into the world of work and looked at the opportunities out in the world of work today. They even prophesied what it would look like if year 5 “ran the world” based on their current interests.

The culmination of the day was the opportunity to share and practice interview schools with a live interview of Lynden Dunn, Player Development Manager for Cricket Victoria and ex AFL player.

Over the next two terms stage 3 students will continue investigating an area of work and we look forward to welcoming you to our Flipped Careers Expo at the end of term 4 to showcase our experiments!

Peer Companions - Year 5 and 8

This week saw our first Peer Companion session for the term! Our Year 8 Peer Companions have built a wonderful rapport with their Year 5 groups and this is evident in the many positive connections that have been formed. Our focus this term with the Year 5 students is on Friendships - What makes a good friend and how to manage those wobbly moments we can have even with our very best friend!

Giorgio Christou (Year 5) - I am enjoying being able to communicate and get to know people in Year 8. I have fun in the sessions.

Brianna Thompson (Year 5) - I enjoy getting to learn from other students and what they have gone through. We have been talking about good friendships and respect and the conversations are really helpful.

Marcus Rowe (Year 8) - I am enjoying being able to teach younger students things that can be beneficial to them. I also enjoy it because I think as students we are able to connect better with the Year 5 students, as there is a smaller age gap and we were recently in their situation. I think it's also really good that I am able to explore trying new things and learning new skills throughout the sessions.

From Year 7…

Year 7 Geography Excursion - Sydney Harbour National Park

At the end of Term 2, Tuesday 28th June, Year 7 travelled with their teachers to the Sydney Harbour National Park and went on a tour with Ranger Jamie Tours. They explored the coastline, took in the beautiful views, examined the landscapes and landforms present in the environment and considered how the landscape is being managed and protected. The students enjoyed the sunshine and pushed through the pockets of rain and some were even lucky enough to spot a whale. They had a thoroughly great time (as did their teachers).

Shine Pilot Program - Year 7

We are over halfway through our Shine pilot program and it has been wonderful to see the students build a rapport within the group and embrace the topics being explored. Often in adolescence, navigating friendship issues can be a real challenge that can bring a lot of stress. Our last two sessions have been around discussing what makes a good friend and how to navigate conflicts with a friend in a positive and effective way. We have also looked at how to manage when a friendship is maybe not the best for us! The following resource provides young people (and parents) with some really useful information about how to manage friendships that ‘dim our light’.

From Year 8…

Year 8 ENGLISH/HSIE:

As part of the Year 8 entry event for our Inquiry unit on Medieval Europe and Shakespeare, students were given a hands-on experience of the Feudal system. Each student was given 10 M & M’s in a cup and a random card which indicated the character they were to play in this medieval simulation. The characters ranged from the Bishop, the King, Barons, Knights, Sirs and peasants. After taxes were due to Barons, Knights, the Crown and the Bishop, many peasants were left feeling high and dry with as little as two M & M’s left in their cups. Some lands were raided by Vikings or overcome with the bubonic plague, many characters met their untimely demise and lost all of their M & M’s. Students then engaged in a reflective discussion about the experience of having their riches (their M & M’s) taken off them and having to report to their superior. The Bishop’s character enjoyed their privileged position with the most M & M’s. Students found the experience engaging and unpredictable, even the peasants didn’t mind lining up in an orderly fashion to pay their tax to the Bishop, especially when they realised they were walking away with one or two M & M’s.

Year 8 Mathematics: Golf Course Design Project

Finalising the topic of Measurement, Year 8 have been working on a Golf Course Design Project. Students explored real-life situations of creating a blueprint design of a Golf Course while implementing the problem-solving skills to find the perimeter, area, circumference, volume and capacity of two and three-dimensional shapes.

Year 8 Medieval Incursion

All of Year 8 thoroughly enjoyed and engaged with our medieval presenter James Adams from James Adams Historic Enterprises. Students were able to ask lots of questions regarding weapons, armour, fashion, crime and punishment. They loved the opportunity to try on the armour and explore the range of weapons and see some live demonstrations! Thanks James for such a fun and engaging way to start our Medieval History unit.

HUB CLUB and HUB access

As of Term 2, The HUB has now been officially opened and made available to all students to access at recess or lunch for ‘passive activities’ such as reading, completing Consolidation and Flipped Learning content, card games, board games or constructing lego as some of the many activities that are available.

In addition, HUB CLUB has started from Term 2 where the following occur:

Tuesday afternoons: Code Club

Thursday afternoon: Pitch Fest is run by Mrs Kirby and Debating is run by Ms Chand

Students in Year 7 have been invited to complete this survey to nominate if there are any other interest groups they are keen to start or be involved with that can access the HUB such as knitting, Dungeons and Dragons, Book Club etc.