Student Involvement
Koorie News
Term 2 saw our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students take part in a number of opportunities to connect with culture and country. We were lucky to have one of our staff, Eric Kopp, speak to students about Dromana College’s relationship with the Bunurong people, who are the traditional owners of the land. Students learnt about the act of reconciliation which Dromana College performed when asking for permission to use the traditional names that now represent the form groups at the College. They were also shown artefacts that were found when a member of the Bunurong people visited the College to survey the land and offer advice about what plants were native and should be preserved. What looked like stones were actually tools sharpened by teeth used by the Bunurong to skin animals before eating them.
The group then visited the College’s wildlife corridor, a section of land that has been transformed from cow paddocks and a vineyard back to a thriving ecosystem that allows native vegetation to thrive and offers food, protection and safe passage for native animals. It was an eye-opening experience for our students, and it was amazing to see the work that Eric has done in helping to preserve the native flora and fauna.
Later in Term 2, our Koorie students took part in a cultural emersion excursion to Willum Warrain. Willum Warrain is the local gathering place for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and during the day our students took part in a welcoming ceremony, toured the Koorie Bush tucker trail and learned about traditional housing before taking part in a discussion about the impacts of colonisation, cultural diversity and reconciliation. While some students already knew lots about their family’s background and culture, others knew very little, and this was a welcoming and supportive space to learn more about what it is to be a First Australian.
A special thank you must go out to students Jesse Perkins, Jahria Ellis and Hudson Fraser for helping organise these activities.
Maths Olympic Team
The maths Olympic Team has worked hard this term to develop their mathematical knowledge and problem solving strategies to sit their 2nd and 3rd paper. To do this we have been completing past competition questions, and discussing the different ways we approach the questions. We also had heaps of fun building a repeating Sierpinski Tetrahedron and creating open ended maths questions for other students to ponder.
2021 ANZAC Day
The 2021 ANZAC Day service was commemorated with the greatest reverence by the Dromana College community. On Thursday 22nd of April the entire college participated in a whole school assembly where over 2000 members of the college community stood in silence to recognise those Australians who have served and paid the ultimate sacrifice in conflicts since the First World War and the fateful landing at Gallipoli on April 25th in 1915.
The Dromana College Student Leaders provided a moving and thought-provoking presentation that recognised the historical importance of ANZAC Day for our nation. Members of the local Red Hill/Dromana Returned Servicemen’s League (R.S.L) were also present during the whole school assembly.
On ANZAC Day the Dromana College Student Leaders and Music Department continued to represent the school to the highest standard. The College Captains, Coen Raymond, Ginger Sansom, Lilly Snow and Olivia Wicks attended the Dawn Service at the Red Hill/Dromana R.S.L and then sat as invited guests at the gunfire breakfast. A great number of student leaders and students from the Music Department then marched from the R.S.L to the Dromana Cenotaph.
Dromana College should be very proud of the students who represented the school and the commemoration of ANZAC Day for 2021.
Alex Woolley
Student Leadership and Community Engagement
IDAHOBIT Day and Student Leadership Fundraising
On Thursday 28th of May, the Dromana College Student Leadership Team held a casual dress day to recognise IDAHOBIT Day which is the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia. In return for a gold coin donation, students could dress up in ‘rainbow’ or ‘bright colours’ to show their support for the day. Over $1000 was raised for the Australian mental health and wellbeing support organisation Beyond Blue.
At lunchtime a number of events in the Performing Arts area were held including live music performances, face painting, badge making, photo booth, jellybean guessing in exchange for a positive message and an information stand relating to IDAHOBIT Day. The Student Leaders would like to thank everyone who participated on the day.
In the last week of Term 1 on Tuesday 30th of March a casual dress day raising money for State Schools Relief occurred. State Schools Relief is a not-for-profit organisation that improves the lives of tens of thousands of disadvantaged Victorian students, and their families, each year. The casual dress theme was dress as ‘your future career’ and many exciting future professions were on display. During lunchtime a sausage sizzle was also held while the Year 12's and teachers battled it out in an intense game of Ultimate Frisbee. Between the gold coin donations, sausage sizzle and donation from the Parents and Friends Association, an amazing $2000 was raised. This means that so far in 2021, the Dromana College Community has raised over $3000 for charity. The Student Leaders would like to thank everyone who supported and participated on the day.
The Student Leadership Team
Model United Nations at McKinnon Secondary College
On Thursday 20th of May, 11 students attended the first in person Model United Nations since 2019 at McKinnon Secondary College. Students were debating the topic, ‘Rewrite the Future: Quality Education for All’ and had to consider this from the point of view of their allocated country. The Republic of Costa Rica was represented by Robbie Wood-Ingram, Lauren Baensch, Poppy Treadwell and Amira Dika. The Lebanese Republic was represented by Hayden Marsh, Lara Greenan and Oli McGregor and the Russian Federation was represented by Charlie Jones, Charlize Sadlo and Abigail Tintinger. At the end of Term 1 and start of Term 2, the students met with Mr Woolley once a week to research, analyse and prepare themselves for this event. The effort and preparation by the participating students was excellent and a credit to Dromana College.
The day consisted of each country addressing all nations present to their position statement outlining their views on the topic. A moderated and unmoderated caucus then followed after some morning tea. National pride was clearly at stake as a number of exchanges flowed between nations pointing out political hypocrisy, point scoring and the formation of alliances between states. After lunch the final process of voting began. A resolution was successfully voted in favour by a clear majority to help support the development of greater educational opportunities globally. The next Model United Nations will be held at Monash University in August. Any students interested in attending should contact Mr Woolley for further details.
