Middle Years  News

Middle Years Team

....and that’s a wrap on Term 2!

Congratulations to all students for completing yet another very successful term! It’s hard to think that this is the longest students have continuously been onsite site since 2019 and I congratulate the students for the persistence and resilience they’ve demonstrated this year, as they’ve readjusted to “normal” school life.

This term, we have seen the Middle Years team and classes move into A Block and take advantage of these new facilities. We’ve seen our students be highly successful in the Talent Quest – well done to Kobi Burmeister (7B) for coming first in the Middle School section! We’ve also seen our Year 7 and 9 students partake in NAPLAN, which will provide us with vital data to support the students in their learning. There have been assemblies, presentations, excursions and the Athletics Carnival. The return to normal school routine has been embraced by staff and students alike. Year 9 students have even started their planning for 2023, gaining some vital information to help them decide their courses for next year.

I wish all Koonung families a restful midyear break. When we return in Term 3, there will be a new timetable in place. All families should ensure they log onto Compass the night before to make sure that students are prepared for the first day.

100 days of Year 7!

On June 23 (the last day students are at school for Term 2), the Year 7 students gathered together to celebrate a huge achievement – surviving 100 days of High School! The Year 7 coordinators, Mr Kofoed and Mrs Hughes have been busy organising some activities for the Year 7 students to celebrate this, and to ease them into the holiday break. Keep an eye out in the next newsletter for a report.

Middle School reminders 

• Year 7 Sport Education Day is Thursdays, students are to wear their PE uniform all day
• Year 8 Sport Education Day is Wednesdays, students are to wear their PE uniform all day
• Live Life casual dress days, students are to wear neat casual clothing
• School starts at 8.50am
• Students and parents must check Compass every day for room and class changes
• Students are encouraged to bring drink bottles in the warmer weather.
• If your child has Physical Education during the day they can wear their PE uniform all day
• Sports equipment can be borrowed at recess and lunchtime from the old Middle Years Centre
• Students should be using ‘My Tasks’ on compass to record day to day homework

Mat Delaney

Director of Learning: Middle School

Mathew.delaney@education.vic.gov.au

Congratulations to our sporting stars.... 

Congratulations to Jonny Millar and Aaron Sharkie for being selected into the School Sport Victoria AFL teams this year. Jonny will represent the state in the under 12’s and Aaron will be representing the state in under 15’s. Both boys currently play in local clubs in the Yarra Junior Football League, Jonny plays for Balwyn Greythorn Jets and Aaron with the Kew Bears. This is an incredible achievement for both of them and we wish them the best of luck in their upcoming tournaments. 

The Health and PE faculty would love to hear about other sporting achievements within the Koonung community, encourage your young person to speak to their PE teacher about their successes or contact the HPE domain leader Claire Murray via her email – Claire.murray@education.vic.gov.au

Jowdy Moh is off to the national championships... 

Sporting success continues for Year 8 student, Jowdy Moh, who has been selected to represent Badminton Victoria and will be travelling to Adelaide to compete in the 2022 U15 Australian National Championships.  Badminton Victoria advised that Jowdy is a key athlete in their junior state squad performance program and despite her young age, is already one of the top athletes in the U15 age group. We are proud of Jowdy's achievements and wish her luck as she represents Victoria at the highest level nationally.

Live Life excursions

Scavenger hunt in the city 

On Wednesday, the Year 9 live life SELF group participated in a team building scavenger hunt activity. We travelled to the CBD where everyone split into smaller groups. 

The activity was to follow the prompts given and take photos in different areas of the city. Some of the prompts included, “All jumping in a laneway” or “Pose with the clock in Melbourne central”. A map was provided to mark out the boundaries of where people could and couldn’t go. 

The winners would be decided on both quantity and quality of the photos they had provided. Congratulations to Quenya and Aaron for being the winning team.

Year 9 Live Life - SELF Scavenger hunt organizers

Time Zone Forest Hill  

Our Live Life excursion was to Forest Hill Time Zone.  There were a number of activities which included laser tag, coin machines, bowling, an indoor hockey table and many more. It was a great experience and lots of fun.

The pictures I have included are of myself, Quenya, Aaron and Pal with a selections of prizes we won on the day.

Aryan Mohanraju

Box Hill Indoor Sports Centre 

The SELF live-life group attended this facility on Wednesday 8 June as one of the excursions students chose and organised to go to as a group. There were four activities that students rotated through:

a) basketball

b) netball

c) futsal and 

d) bubble soccer.

Each activity provided immense enjoyment and fun but the bubble soccer was the student favourite.

Eltham Skaterz

The SELF live-life group attended this facility on Wednesday 15 June as one of the excursions selected and organised by students to go to as a group. Students had a choice of roller blades or roller skates. Both posed various challenges but students did enjoy learning and playing the various games the venue ran for them.

Trevor vanden Driesen