Middle Years 

Year 9 Micah Program – Urban Experience

This week, the Year 9s completed their Urban Experience of the Micah Program. They spent the week based at City Cite (on Flinders Street in the City of Melbourne), learned to navigate and make their own way around the city using public transport and also saw a range of different perspectives from Jewish, Homeless, Koori and Asylum seeker backgrounds.  Some of the key changes that we observed in the Year 9 students include:  

Learning from mistakes – catching the wrong tram or train, or even the right tram, but going in the wrong direction was a common mistake. Students found they were able to quickly use their resources to get themselves out of these types of problems. I enjoyed seeing how they very quickly took responsibility for and learned from these experiences.

Being independent – moving confidently around the city and some quick shopping (or food) trips on the way to each site. If you get the chance, let them show you around the city sometime. Their knowledge of Melbourne and how to move around efficiently is impressive. Many also learned to budget – the hard way!     

Asking for help – many students rang staff or even approached members of the public if they got lost or didn’t know where they were. I was impressed by how well all students communicated with their teachers and always let them know if they were running late.

Seeing other perspectives – a number of guest speakers offered their stories and experiences to our students. The Year 9s had lots of questions and really wanted to deeply understand each person’s perspective. While they may not have wanted to live a different lifestyle, they showed great respect and empathy towards each speaker. Aviva, our Jewish presenter, certainly struck a chord with the students.       

It was such a privilege to witness the growth of the Year 9s over the course of the week. They all stretched their comfort zones and learned to walk in another person’s shoes. These students are such a polite, cohesive, adventurous, supportive, and fun group of young individuals. I look forward to all that they will accomplish this year and beyond. 

Thank you to Mrs Sharna Malseed, Mrs Helen Henry, Mrs Valetta Bolton and Mr Joachim Rymarz for all of their help and support over the week. Also, a big thankyou to Miss Amy Andrews for all of her hard work in organising the Urban Experience.   

Reminders

Year 7 and 9 NAPLAN starts on Tuesday 10th May – Please bring your laptops (fully charged) with headphones/earbuds.

Mr Ben Hawthorne

Head of Middle Years