Middle School

Year 10 News

Dear Families,

The Year 10 students are proving that they are mature people who can focus on learning, manage their behaviour and set their sights on their goals for 2020. Whether students are going on to VCE or VCAL, they are focused and working with their teachers in a respectful manner. This journey very much matches the hero’s journeys that students have studied in many English classes. The students have fought battles, resisted temptation and gone through ordeals. In doing so, as Joseph Campbell said, they have “given up their childhood and become an adult.” As I told the group in an assembly on Tuesday, I have been especially pleased with the approach to yard duty, classroom behaviour and completion of set tasks. Where some struggled at the start of the year, the group has been extremely responsible over the course of the term.

Most prospective VCE students have chosen a course for 2020. If your child is struggling with this, please contact Mr Fisher or Mrs Mitchell as soon as possible. For VCAL (and students doing VET as part of their VCE), please talk to the careers team about courses for 2020 if you haven’t done so already.

You should have seen your child’s interim report by now. Hopefully you have managed to speak to our teachers about specific requirement for success. We would like to see everybody do their best so please make contact and let’s work together to help your child reach their goals.

I am pleased to announce that we have two students who have won Student of the Term. Daniel Ebbels has the highest number of green chronicles for the year level. Jade Short received more “excellence” green chronicles than any other student. I would also like to commend: Georgia Brace, Callum Sibley, Jacob Beever, Macey Deefholts, Brooke Erickson, Josh Perrett, Tyler Ledwidge and Xander Synott for their approach to education. These students all received more than ten green chronicles this term.

As summer comes around, there may be issues with uniform. Can I please ask that you do all that you can to ensure that your child is in uniform. If there are issues with buying new items due to changes in 2020, please contact me to discuss options. If your child is out of uniform, please write them a note detailing the items and let the school know when your child will be in uniform. Ask them to see Mrs Mitchell before the start of period one.

Finally, if there are any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact me or the relevant teacher. I would like to thank you for your support throughout 2019 and look forward to working with you in Term Four.

Scott Fisher

Year 9 Media

The year 9 media class went on an excursion to Melbourne and created some advertising campaigns to sell the wonderful city.

Year 9 Camp

The Healesville High School Year 9 City Camp was an OK camp. We did some really fun activities like rock climbing, Eureka Skydeck, Heroes Day at the Reach Foundation, 10-pin bowling and an Amazing Race around the city. The maps we were given weren’t very helpful as we just used google maps on our phones to find our way around. My favourite activity was rock climbing. It was called Hard Rock Climbing. The thing I was most surprised about is how big the city is from the top of the Eureka tower. There were some highlights from the city camp but my favourite was rock climbing.  Most of the activities were really good but the activity I wouldn’t do again is go to China Town. Doing the Amazing Race on the last day was heaps of fun. We all worked really well in a team together. Overall I really enjoyed the camp.

Melissa Ross

On the Year 9 City Camp, there was no trouble getting to the places we needed to be. Everyone got where they needed to be. The maps helped us get to our destinations everywhere and we all helped each other get around the city. The best thing about the city camp was walking around exploring, and one thing that surprised me was Eureka Skydeck. It doesn’t seem tall at all from the top. I cannot think of any problems we had. If I were to organise the camp next year, I would recommend doing Paintball. I enjoyed the city experience because it is something different to Healesville.

Bailey Oliver

The best things on camp were probably when we went Eureka Skydeck and shopping and the movies was okay. The most challenging              thing was having to find our own way to places.

I learnt that I wouldn’t live in the city because there’s lots of people and it is too busy. I  would like to live in a town like Healesville because it’s not that busy as the city.

Maddy Sikorski

The best thing about the city camp for me was the old Melbourne Gaol because I found it really interesting to see what the goal looked like and what all of the people looked like back then. One thing I remember is that there were only four women that had the death penalty. It was one of the highlights for me. The most challenging part of camp for me was getting to sleep at night because I was in a cabin with ten people and when I was ready to go to sleep, other people weren’t so there were lights on and lots of people talking at night. A problem on camp was the distances we had to walk every day because I thought my shoes were comfy and good for walking but they aren’t when we had to walk so far in one day. City Camp ultimately changed me for the better and after the Reach Foundation ‘Heroes Day’, I have a new perspective on life to not take anything for granted and that everyone is going through their own battles. I also think that I went outside my comfort zone with the Eureka Skydeck because I thought I didn’t like heights but it was really cool.

Issy Smith