Zonta Incursion

My Year 9 class were very lucky to have Faye visit us from Zonta to demonstrate to us how to create birthing kits for pregnant women in developing counties. The Foundation helps women who have little or no assistance during childbirth. It is estimated that over 300,000 women die each year in childbirth, due to infections, which are preventable – the majority of these deaths are in developing countries.

By making these birthing kits, it helps provide a clean birth. Since 1999, over 1.5 million birthing kits have been made by volunteers in Australia, and distributed in over 30 countries.

Today we assembled approximately 250 birthing kits, which included a sheet of plastic, soap, gloves, strings, bandages and a scalpel blade all in the small press seal plastic bag. We were proud to assist Faye and Zonta to provide essential tools for women who have little to no access to medical assistance in their country.

In Religious Education we have been studying basic human rights and highlighting the plight of women. Creating these birthing kits will hopefully make a huge difference in the lives of many women and babies around the world.

Thank you Faye and Zonta for the work you do for women and for coming to MSJ.

By Nicole Pizzuti 9F

Year 10 Outdoor Camp

The Year 10 Outdoor Education class spent 2 days on the Mornington Peninsula exploring different marine environments and recreational activities. On the first day of camp the students took a walk down to the coast of Kerry Green near Flinders, exploring rock pools and searching for sea stars and other animals hiding among the rocks. Although the weather was chilly, all the students braved the cool water to jump into some of the deeper rock pools, stepping outside their comfort zones. They were enjoying themselves so much it made it look like they were in hot springs, not cold water.

The students then went for a surf at Somers Beach, catching waves and learning the skills to surf. Most of them even managed to stand up on the board each time. Afterwards, the students were taught how to snorkel in the swimming pool at Merricks Camp. Those who had never snorkelled before where able to learn how to clear their snorkel, duck dive and even practice diving deep to collect toys at the bottom of the deep pool.

We spent the night at the Balnarring Campground and after a delicious home-cooked meal on the trangias, we went for a beach walk under the stars, listening to the local Koalas and searching for the Southern Cross in the sky. The next day we were able to put all our new skills together to snorkel along Rye Pier, discovering the animals and plants underneath the waves. The girls saw seahorses, globe fish (aka pufferfish), eleven-armed sea stars, decorator crabs and plenty more marine life.

Overall the camp was a fantastic opportunity for the students to step outside of their comfort zones and explore the Marine life around Victoria.

Written by Ms Tagell

Car Maintenance workshop – Year 11 VCAL

On Monday 13th November, the Year 11 VCAL students were given the opportunity to learn basic car maintenance with a mechanic, Matthew Aitken of Mr Auto in Oz Automotive Repair Centre, who visited MSJ for the afternoon. Matthew began by reminding the students of the importance of safety when attempting car maintenance and gave us all a few handy tips with working a car jack.

Matthew then gave us a demonstration of checking water and oil, how to change oil or top it up in the engine and how to top up water for both the engine and the wipers.

Following this, Matthew taught us how to change a flat tyre, and this is where the car jack tips came in handy. A few of us tried changing the tyre after Matthew demonstrated, and we were quite proud of our efforts.

The idea behind the workshop was empowering our students with basic knowledge about cars so that should they find themselves stranded on a road somewhere with a flat tyre, they will be able to fix it themselves. Also, being able to maintain simple things like water and oil in a car encourages responsibility and is one less job for mum or dad to do.

Thanks again, Matthew, for a fantastic workshop.

Mr Auto in Oz Automotive Repair Centre, Point Cook (https://www.facebook.com/mattyboyinoz/)

By Rebekah Taylor

Year 11 VCAL teacher.

Amazing Race - Year 9 City Experience

The day finally arrived and with the weather expected to get to 35 degrees. All the Year 9 students were excited as The Great Amazing Race was about to commence. We were put into 13 groups, no more than 10 students, with a teacher allocated to each group.

It was a race against time as we had to navigate, problem solve and complete activities around Melbourne's CBD. On completion of each task, the groups were awarded points. We had to start at the highest point in the Southern Hemisphere and experienced Melbourne from 285M above the ground from the Eureka Skydeck which was amazing, as were all the other locations we went to.

We had a few glitches throughout the day, but it was all worth it.

We had so much fun even though it was a sweltering hot day. What a fantastic experience we all had. Thank you to all the teachers, Learning Support Officers and pre-service teachers who took the time and effort to join us and make this day so eventful.

By Nicole Pizzuti 9F

Girls Y7/8 Cricket Forum

Four MSJ students from Year 7/8 , Ciara Nolan, Libby McIntyre, Zoe Nicolaou and myself, were chosen to represent the school for Cricket Victoria Girls Leadership Program Forum at Melbourne Girls College.

At the Forum we had representatives from Cricket Victoria including Tony Dodemaide and Sonya Thompson, Shark tank winner and founder of Luv Ur Skin Isabella Dymalovski, Water polo player Rowie Webster, Olympian swimming champion Linley Frame and Australian Cricket administrator and legendary player Belinda Clark, talk to us about leadership. They discussed how they became a leader and to not give up on anything.

In it’s third year, the forum brings together girls in Years 7 and 8 from schools across Victoria, to discuss and inspire us to do our best and encourage each other in school, sport and social life.

Before we attended this day, we had to complete six online modules on Leadership. These included Leadership spirit, Ignite your can do, Stand up, Stand strong,Your resilience superpower and Striving for the stars.

We all had a great day and it has been a positive experience and one we have all enjoyed. Thanks to Sue Sofarnos for your support!

By Imogen Koropeckyj

EBook Reading Competition

2 February to 14 February 2018

Would you like to read an eBook on the summer holidays?

Would you like to win an iTunes card?

What do I need to do to enter this competition?

1. Take a photo of yourself:

Reading a book or eBook either:

in a location related to the genre, theme, or characters in the book

OR

wearing a costume related to the genre, theme, or characters in the book

2. Email your photo to the LRC: lrc@msj.vic.edu.au

iTunes card prizes will be announced in the LRC on Wednesday 21 February 2018

Visit the MSJ eBook Library on the LRC homepage today!

Go to: https://msj.wheelers.co/ and:

Sign-in
Download the ePlatform app on your device
Start browsing (borrowing limit: 2 eBooks; loan duration: 2 weeks)

Happy reading!

Canteen Update

We are pleased to announce the outsourcing of our canteen operations to H&H Canteens effective Term 12018. With over 20 years' experience and over 120 canteens in operation, their focus will be on providing our students with healthy and tasty meals.

As a result of this change, we have partnered with Sustainable School Shop to offer our families the option to buy and sell second hand uniforms and textbooks through their website with no fees and charges. They will arrange a pro-rata refund for families who have recently signed up to an annual subscription. We will be in touch with families who have second hand uniform items for sale with us to arrange return of any unsold items.

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