Year 9 & 10 Accelerate Program
Year 9 and Year 10 Accelerate Program – 10+ – Term Two Report
Throughout Term 1 and Term 2, 50 students from Year 9 and 10 have participated in a range of activities offered to them as part of the 10+ Accelerate Program.
Our activities started during HeadStart in 2020 when a group of Year 10 students participated in a Women in Leadership seminar hosted by our partners at Experien. The students worked in small groups with an industry mentor to discuss some of the issues faced by women in ‘under-represented’ industries and in leadership positions. The students felt they had gained an understanding of the challenges faced in this area, and were interested in the stories told by their Mentors.
Throughout the years McClelland has had a very beneficial relationship with Monash University. Currently, 8 students from Year 10 are participating in the Access Monash program. The students work with 3 current Monash University students and learn about University life, gain valuable study skills and insight into the various pathways to future study. The students are very much looking forward to their next session on May 26 when the topic will be The Benefits of Higher Education.
All Year 9 and Year 10 students in the 10+ program are invited to attend the Elevate Education sessions held each term. These sessions cover such topics as “Time Management”, “Memory Mnemonics” and “Student Elevation”. Each session has been well attended.
Recently a group of 8 Year 9 students – Cassidy, Jeron, Oberon, Sarah M, Erin, Tori, Matt & Jessica C – represented our school in the Da Vinci Decathlon. You can read Erin and Sarah’s report of the day below.
At the end of April, 35 Year 10 students attended the VCE and Careers Expo at the Caulfield Racecourse. This event has representatives from just about every college and university imaginable. Students also attended seminars about choosing your VCE pathway or revising for Unit 4 exams. It was a great day and the students came home laden with brochures and booklets, giving them much to think about!
And lastly, congratulations to Jorjah D of Year 9 who has submitted an entry into the Debaters Association of Victoria – Public Speaking Competition. Good Luck Jorjah!
Amanda Pate
Middle School Leader
The Da Vinci Decathlon.
By Erin P and Sarah M (Year 9)
On Wednesday the 5th of May, 8 people from Year 9 participated in the virtual Da Vinci Decathlon. This competition is usually held at Knox Grammar Melbourne, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, this year the event was held on-line. Over 100 schools around Victoria in Years 9, 10, and 11 participated. The Decathlon started at 9 and finished at 2:30, with 3 sessions of intense questions and problem solving.
There were 10 subjects to complete - English, Maths, Science, Art/Poetry, Code Breaking, Creative Producer, Ideation, Cartography, Engineering, and Legacy. In each of the first two sessions there were 4 subjects to complete. We split into pairs so we could finish all subjects by the designated time. In Session Two, as well as problem solving in pairs, we had to create a mini-performance as a group of 8. We needed to communicate well, and work together. In Session 3, we all worked together to participate in a quiz style activity.
All subjects were hard to complete since firstly the way they stated the questions and the type of questions they were, which no one was prepared for. The Theme for this year was “Chance”, so we had to base our written examples on this theme “Chance” when answering all the questions. Very challenging, but lots of fun!
