Teaching & Learning
Calling all Former SOC Students!!
Interested in joining our Alumni Community? We would love to hear what our former SOC students are up to! Fill out the following online form: https://forms.office.com/r/JakrRiSTFm if you are interested in sharing!
Year 12 Legal Studies Incursion – Arthur Bolkas
On Friday 17 February 2023, the Year 12 Legal Studies class were joined by Arthur Bolkas for an informative and engaging session about the prison system. Arthur, a criminologist, shared his lived experience as a law student turned convicted criminal who spent five and a half years in prison for armed robbery. Following his release, Arthur has devoted his life to working in programs assisting inmates in their transition back into the community, as well as working with at-risk youth.
Arthur gave us all a real insight into why people really end up in prison, what happens on the inside as well as on the outside. Our “Legal Eagle” students, several of whom are interested in careers in criminology, were very engaged, contributing to discussions and asking poignant questions. We learnt about how the media can misrepresent our criminal justice system and the impact on individuals and families – bringing most of us to tears by the end of the session.
The valuable insights shared by Arthur will increase engagement and deepen our understanding of upcoming topics in Unit 1 Area of Study 1: The Victorian criminal justice system. The students have already completed their first SAC and are working towards their next SAC which focuses on the types and purposes of sanctions, factors considered in sentencing, the principles of justice and criminal justice reform. Arthur’s visit has prepared the students well for these topics.
Students described the session with Arthur as:
“interesting and emotional”
“emotional and knowledgeable”
“informative and empathetic”
Jacinta Marlborough
Legal Studies Teacher
SOC’s Annual Club Fair
On Tuesday the 21st of February, we had our annual SOC Club Fair. It was good to see so many students, especially Year 7s, come down to check out all of our clubs.
We set up a “podcast” area, where our Year 9 hosts discussed what was happening at the Club Fair and our clubs all got heaps of sign-ups.
Here is a short description of what all of our Clubs do:
Alphabet Soup (Inclusion Club) – This club celebrates the inclusion of all students in the LGBTQIA+ community and all allys! We organise celebration of LGBTQIA+ events such as IDAHOBIT Day and Wear It Purple Day. Ask Ms Close for more details.
Anime Club – We gather to watch and discuss anime on Monday lunchtimes in C15. Some favourite choices of animes from last year include Dragon Ball Super and Given. Talk to Ms Tynan for more details.
Art & Design Club – We dabble in whichever mediums the students are interested in (paint, drawing, clay, etc.) Speak to Ms Morrison or Ms Carlson if interested.
Breakfast Club – Before schools on Thursdays (8:00 AM onwards). Options include cereal, toast, fruit, hot chocolate, tea – and on some special days, bacon and eggs!
Chess Club – Students gather to play chess in the library on Friday at lunchtimes. Challenge your mind with this strategy game. We host chess competitions within the school participate in chess competitions with other students from other schools. Speak to our librarian, Nancy, if you have any questions.
Debating Club – This club involves trying to convince people to agree with your point of view, using emotional AND logical arguments and lots of evidence! Some students participate in the interschool debating competitions, but this is optional. If you’re in Year 7 or 8, speak to Ms Morlin for details. If you’re in Year 9-12, speak to Miss Crespo for details.
Fitness Club – Come smash your fitness goals! P.E. teachers help students figure out a workout plan. Years 7 to 9 get to use the Fitness Centre on Tuesdays and Years 10 to 12 get to use it on Thursdays. Bring a water bottle and a change of top.
Homework Club – Students meet in IT3 after school on Mondays and Wednesdays to smash through their homework. Teachers of various subjects attend to provide assistance.
METALS Club (a.k.a. Girls in STEM) – Girls come together to discuss STEM and take part in STEM activities. Guest speakers from the STEM field also come to discuss their exciting careers! Talk to Ms Monga if you’d like to know.
Student Reconciliation Action Committee – This Club meets to learn about our First Nations history, culture and the importance of reconciliation. We are discussing ways to celebrate significant evens in our First Nations culture at school. Talk to Ms Matheson or Charli (Yr 12) if interested.
STEM Club – STEM Club have lots planned this year. Right now, they are looking at solar powered robots. Anyone is welcome to come along and discuss STEM! Talk to Mr Kuruc for more details.
Sustainability – Sustainability Club are always working on many projects, including the new student vegetable garden and composting program. Last year, they collected thousands of bottle caps and bread tags from the school community. Talk to Ms Jones and Ms Marlborough if you’re interested.
Tabletop Gaming Club – Settlers of Catan, DnD, these are just some of the games that are played in Tabletop Gaming Club. Talk to Mr Curtis, Mr Hem and Mr Battaglene for more details!
TV/Film Club – TV Club shows us how to use the equipment in the TV Studio and the theatre. We teach you how to operate cameras and other technology. We do podcasts and other filmmaking. Talk to Philip Clark if you’re interested.
Our Clubs are made based on student interest, so pass any feedback on to Miss Crespo.
Athanasius Tuavai (TV/Film Club Member) and Miss Crespo
An Evening with The Beatles
Magic was in the air on Friday, February 24 with a special incursion and concert for the Music Department. We were thrilled to welcome our guest speaker, Mr Michael Hill, a close childhood friend of John Lennon and author of “John Lennon: The Boy who Became a Legend”.
The crowd were thrilled to take part in a special Q&A with Michael Hill, featuring some wonderful stories from John Lennon’s childhood, and several remarkably emotional moments.
We were treated to performances from our Choir, String Ensemble, Concert Band, Guitar Ensemble, Contemporary Groups and our VCE Music Class, including interpretations of ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’, ‘Twist and Shout’, ‘Imagine’, ‘Octopuses Garden’, ‘Helter Skelter’, ‘Lady Madonna’, ‘Blackbird’ and ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’. Our show-stopping finale was ‘All You Need is Love’, featuring 52 student performers on stage together, playing their instruments, singing and getting into the spirit.
All students were sounding great in their rehearsals over the last few weeks – and after hearing Michael Hill’s stories, our performers leapt to a truly magical standard. A special spark was in the atmosphere from the concert’s very first moments - it was almost like John Lennon had returned to visit his former classmate. The excitement was palpable.
Special thanks to our Music Department teachers Ms Oppedisano, Ms Neep, Mr Bennett, Mr Law, Ms Sifris, as well as our brilliant technical team led by Mr Philip Clark.
The year is off to a great start and we’re looking forward to our next concert!
Aidan Prewett
Director of Music
Girl's Programming Network Melbourne University Opportunity
Dear Students & Parents,
We are delighted to share a wonderful opportunity for all of our female-identifying and non-binary students at Melbourne University. The Girls’ Programming Network (GPN) is a program developed and run by girls and for girls. Managed by a group of female information technology (IT) students (both from the University of Melbourne and elsewhere), it’s for high school girls interested in IT, particularly those interested in learning to program or improving their software development skills.
The program offers a number of workshops and activities covering a variety of exciting topics in computer science. In most workshops, we also look at the Python programming language. Participants will learn Python programming and get hands-on experience writing computer programs. For further information and to register for this program please find the following link: https://eng.unimelb.edu.au/engage-with-us/schools/gpn
Sulagna Monga
Learning Specialist: Enhancements Challenge & VCE
Year 7 School Mural Collaborations
All our year 7 students have participated in the designing of a disc or vinyl record. This will form a collaborative school mural on school grounds.
Olga Lambrianidis
Art Curator
Year 11 VM Class Project
Our Year 11 VM students have been working together on a school-based project through the early part of the year.
With the support of our local Bunnings store, the students have been working hard to establish a school Veggie Garden. In addition to providing a valuable food source to our food tech classes, it will also support a number of their future areas of interest.
So far we have cleared the areas of weeds, built four garden beds, laid weed mats at the base of each bed, set up a worm farm and set up three in-ground compost bins. This past week we have been filling each garden bed with soil, ready for our fruit and vegetables to be planted. We look forward to updating you with ongoing work and progress on this project.
Jason Knee
Health/PE Teacher
Greek Language Program
We welcome all students enrolled in the study of the Greek Language and Culture Program. I also especially welcome Ms Sofia Aggelidakis and Ms Maria Triantafyllou, the teachers seconded to our school by the Hellenic Ministry of Education, who will provide further support to our students who are studying the Greek language.
Term 1 has already started, and it has been very productive with engaging activities and language learning. After a three-year pandemic hiatus, the 25th of March celebration for the Greek National Day in Melbourne will return with the traditional parelasi or march, where our students will not only experience Greek history and culture but will represent our school with pride. We also look forward to Harmony Day on the 21st of March to celebrate cultural diversity with all our students. We will be hosting traditional Greek dancing and we invite students across all year levels to participate.
We are looking forward to a fun-filled year of Greek language learning, events and immersion to the Greek culture.
Dimitra Maniatis
Head of Greek Language
Year 9 Marine and Terrestrial Ecosystem Studies Assessment Task
Students were asked to apply principles of Design Thinking to investigate abiotic factors that influence plant growth. Students designed their own experiment and are excited to see their results!
