Around The College

7Y3 & 7G4 Monash Tech School Excursion

On Monday 17th of June, mentor groups 7Y3 and 7G4 left for a 3-day excursion to Monash Tech School to study about superhumans. At the Monash Tech School, we had learnt about certain disabilities such as arthritis, scoliosis and kidney disease. Our job for the 3 days we were there was to find a way to permanently solve one of the disabilities allocated to their needs to be able to pursue their dream. Every group had the use of Laser Cutting, 3D Printing and electronic circuits to help the patient. While designing our final prototype we went through the process of researching, thinking of ideas, empathizing, designing our prototype, creating our prototype, and designing the pitch to present. For these certain medical scenarios we were allocated, we had to try and implement bionic devices, wearables, smart clothing and implants to be suitable and comfortable. This was a great experience for us as we learnt more about the process of prototyping, understanding how people with disabilities feel, and careers involving STEM.

Saif Qureshi, 7Y3

Mathematics News

In March 115 Brentwood students participated in the hour long Computational and Algorithmic Thinking competition. Our achievements are as follows: two High Distinction, eight Distinctions, and forty-two credits – a wonderful effort.

Congratulations to Daniel Zain, Year 7, and Mitchell Pentreath, Year 8,  for being awarded a High Distinction. Daniel also earned the best in school award.  This is an outstanding effort.

Congratulations also to our 8 Distinction recipients:

Well done to all our participants and best wishes for the Australian Mathematics Competition in August.

Ramona Holmes, Head of Mathematics and Numeracy Learning Specialist

Aviation Class, Semester One 2019

It’s been a very exciting semester this year with the seventh Aviation Sciences class running successfully. We have incorporated so many key learning areas in to this special course and looked at the physics and mathematics of flight and fluids, geography, history, Information Technology and how technology is making flying safer for all. The students have come ahead in leaps and bounds, mastering so many flying sorties in a real aircraft. Last week, we had a bought of very cold weather with thunderstorms, hail and rain which meant we could not fly to our planned fly-away destination at Point Cook RAAF Base. Instead, we were treated to a tour at the Moorabbin Air Museum which gave us an insight in to the history of flights and allowed us to sit in some of the most advanced fighter jets for that period of time. It was also great to sit in the cockpit of the Boeing 737 which was due to be scraped (once the place reaches it maximum flight hours, it is cut up for recycled metal) but fortunately, it was rescued prior to being destroyed and placed at the museum for us all to enjoy.

Subject selections for 2020 will be occurring soon. I would encourage any potential pilots, engineers or those interested in any aspect of the aerospace industry to look at joining the 2020 class. There are limited places available. Zonta International is willing to sponsor a female student which will cover the majority of costs. Females are particularly encouraged to complete the course as there are abundant career opportunities available in all areas of the industry. For more information, please contact the program coordinator Chris Barry by email barry.chris.b@edumail.vic.gov.au or by calling the school on 8545 0300. Of course, if you have any questions or if you’re interested or need more information, please send an email or come up and see me.

Mr Chris Barry, Aviation Sciences Coordinator

New House Names Wanted!

After 50 years in Brentwood history we are looking for the new names of our Houses that can guide us into the next 50 years. We are looking for name suggestions from our community for our current four Houses at Brentwood, known as Blue, Green, Red and Yellow in 2019. The top suggested names will be shortlisted by the Leadership Team at Brentwood and these suggestions will be released to the community for a vote and School Council will use this information to help guide the final decision. 

If you would like to suggest a name for the four Houses, please complete the link below and include your contact details and the suggestion of the four House names.  

Suggestions (these are not requirements): Consider names that mean something to the Brentwood community, names that will stand the test of time and be relevant in decades to come. Be careful when considering naming the Houses after people, as future actions of these people could tarnish that name.  

Prizes: If your submission is shortlisted you will receive two movie tickets and will be considered in a vote in the Brentwood community. In consultation with the community vote and school council decision, the overall winner will receive a Gold Class Experience. 

All submissions need to be entered before Friday 19th July 2019. 

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=qBpWYjMmWUWDEajlBrhrqDxMTT5w0PRAo7ZxMx3ufJ1UN0lQNlkzOVVBNjM4VFZON1RQSlFFT0UzQi4u (link also available on the Compass newsfeed)

Monash Women’s Business Network Lunch

On the 28th May, we had the opportunity to attend the Monash Women’s Business Network Lunch at Riversdale Golf Club. With the guest speaker, Penny Locaso, discussing ‘Fear is your future’. First, we got into groups to introduce ourselves with other women who attended. This was an interesting activity, as we had opportunity to meet women from different careers, from a small business owner to a celebrant and other students. Getting to know other women helped develop our confidence.

Penny was voted one of the most influential entrepreneurs in Australia and is a self-proclaimed happiness hacker, who taught us to accept our fears, and use them in positive way towards our future. Especially us, as teenagers we overthink everything and let the fear of not knowing what was going to happen in the future stopping us from doing what we want to do.  As the world, continues to develop, mainly with technology, 75% of the careers we have in the future have yet to be invented. As Penny said, “fear is the greatest lever available to us”, using it to make a meaningful and impactful change to our lives, in a future of unknowns. She presented with confidence and was inspiring and hilarious. We both had an amazing time, finding the event fun and informative. It was a privilege to be part of this experience.

Isabella Pang and Annika Guruparan

Careers Day

On Wednesday 19th June our senior students took part in Brentwood’s annual Careers Day. Year 11 and 12 students were treated to expert guest speakers presenting information about interview skills, study skills and life at university. Students also listened to a panel of alumni from various different walks of life. We were extremely fortunate to have our wonderful alumni come back to school and share their pathways journey with our students. Our alumni line up included pathways in trade (electrical), health care, beauty, criminal justice, modelling, sleep science, sales/marketing and finance. Tertiary study information was provided to our Year 12 students in the form of an extremely engaging presentation, followed by the opportunity to speak to university and TAFE representatives. Other careers representatives were present, in the form of the Police Force and the Defence Force.

After lunch, year 10 students and parents were invited to the School Hall and were given the opportunity to speak to teachers about VCE subjects on offer for the following year. This enabled students to begin to make informed decisions about subject choices for their Year 11 studies in 2020. Also present were representatives from various tertiary institutions, including Monash University, Deakin University, Holmesglen TAFE and Kangan Institute. The intention being to help students make connections between what they study at VCE and courses available at university and TAFE.

The feedback from the representatives was extremely positive and they commented on the fantastic questions and courteous nature of our students.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the parents that attended this Year 10 Career Expo. The partnership between parents and teachers is extremely important when it comes to helping students achieve their personal best and be future ready. I would also like to thank the staff at the school that helped make the event run smoothly, from the teachers who represented their subjects on the day, to the Principal Team organising the car parking! Finally, I would like to acknowledge the work of Tracey Campion and Sarah Jolly, who worked tirelessly to make the event the success that it was.

The High Five Principles of Career Development:

1. Change is constant – Embrace it!
2. Learning is ongoing.
3. Focus on the journey.
4. Know yourself, believe in yourself. Follow your heart!
5. Access your allies.

Bill Exton, Director of Pathways, Partnerships and Community Engagement

Moot Court Experience

On Tuesday the 4th of June, Ms Roberts, Nancy Huang, Juwy Delos Trino and myself went to Monash University to compete at the Monash University High School Moot Court Competition. For those that don’t know, a moot court is a mock court where law students argue imaginary cases for practice.  Around a month ago, when teams were selected, we received our case – 18-year-old Jacques Ganguly was at a post cricket season pool party, where alcohol was being served, when he saw an esky lid land in the canal located outside the boundary of the owner’s (Leo Tandulka) property. Upon seeing this, Jacque decided to go down to the jetty and into the canal via an unlocked child-safety gate, where he jumped into the canal thinking the water wasn’t shallow – which it was – and sustained injuries. He then sued the owner of the property and was successful. However, the owner of the property believed that the trial judge made an error in law by awarding the plaintiff (the person in civil cases who brings forward the issue) in damages, as the canal was not strictly on his property. Our task was to represent the respondent, or in this case the previous plaintiff, Jacques Gangully, and submit submissions that proved that there was a duty of care owed, that that duty of care was breached, and that the breach of duty of care directly caused our client’s harm.

For four weeks, we worked incredibly hard to produce submissions, include relevant caselaw to apply precedent to our case and understand court proceedings. Finally, on the day of the Moot, we versed Scotch College, and our court was heard by the Honourable Nahum Mushin AM, who was a Family Court of Australia Judge for 21 years before becoming a professor at Monash University. Scotch College was representing the Appellant, Leo Tandulka, and did an amazing job presenting their submissions and answering questions the Judge asked. For our side, Nancy was the Senior Counsel, I was the Junior Counsel and Juwy was the solicitor. As it turns out, Brentwood was successful in round one, and we were in the running to compete in the grand finale against either Nossal High School or Ivanhoe Grammar School. Unfortunately, the Judges found Nossal and Ivanhoe to be better contenders for the grand finale, but we were still able to watch what happened in Monash’s own Moot Court!

Overall, the competition was an amazing experience and I am very proud of all our achievements as we worked so hard for the competition and we are all extremely grateful for Ms Roberts’ support of us.

Jodhi West