Senior School Report
Message from the
Acting Director of Learning -
Ms Loan Luong-Nguyen
What a busy start to Term 2 in Senior School! There is so much happening when our senior students participated in interschool sport competitions, mentor programs (Access Monash and Westall Senior school), effective study skills workshops, Career Expos (VCE Career Expo at Caulfield and also at Westall), excursions and Homework Club. Our senior teachers have been attending workshops and professional development to, not only implement effective teaching strategies in preparation for our students' upcoming SACs/exams, but also how their character strengths can support our students in their school journey as a mentor.
At beginning of the term, many of our senior VCE students have been involved in our Westall Internal Mentoring Program as well as the Access Monash Mentor program. The amazing opportunities our VCE students can receive from mentoring are career aspiration, study habits/tips, work and life balance, inspiration, well-being and having someone challenge them for personal growth.
Last week, we had our Parent-Teacher interviews online with many students and parents attending their interviews through Microsoft teams. It was fantastic to see the high turnout and allowed the joint connection between the school and family members in helping our young adults grow into valuable members of society. There was a great deal of positive feedback from the event and I would like to thank our teaching staff for sharing their valuable insight into our students' learning.
Our Year 11 VCE students will be preparing for their upcoming Unit 1 Exams, which will be held between the 14th – 17th of June. The exam timetable will be sent out to students shortly. Students should be revising their content and preparing to demonstrate their knowledge. Any subject changes request can be done before Unit 2 starts on the 20th of June.
REMINDERS FROM SENIOR SCHOOL:
- Lock-out - Students who come to class late after 5 minutes, will be issued with an after-school detention on Mondays 3:30-4:00pm.
- Missed after-school detention – another detention will be issued and if a student misses this without a valid reason, then they will be suspended internally.
- Uniform - The standard of winter uniform worn across the senior school has been good, but, some students are consistently not abiding by the school's published uniform policy. A reminder to parents that if a student presents to school in the incorrect uniform without a valid reason, the student is in danger of being sent home following parent contact.
- Absence on SAC day – Avoid absences on SAC days, however, if a student has to be absent on a SAC day, a medical certificate or statutory declaration must be provided and the students must fill out a reschedule SAC resit form. Rescheduled resit SACs are held on Wednesdays after school.
- Vaping – we encourage all parents to discuss with their children about the harmful effects of vaping. If a student is vaping at school, the consequence will be an external suspension. Here are some links to help inform you about the dangers of vaping:
https://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/Articles/F_I/Health-effects-of-vaping (West Australian Government Resource)
https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/tobacco-e-cigarettes (World Health Organisation)
Ms Loan Luong-Nguyen
Acting Director of Learning - Senior School
Caulfield VCE and Careers Expo & Westall SC Career Expo
The Year 11 students visited the annual VCE and Careers Expo in Week 1 of this term at the Caulfield Racecourse. The students were exposed to a smorgasbord of Exhibitors, whose displays were not just impressive, but also interactive.
The day began with exploration and discovery of tertiary pathways, followed by informative VCE seminars as well as trade and employment opportunities in a range of industries.
The expo offered three levels of endless opportunities in any dream career. Luckily thanks to Ms Geraldine we arrived super early to avoid rush hour. By 11am hundreds of students from all over Victoria poured into the racecourse grounds now taking away from what was in full view the exhibitors' displays to a crowded mass of uniforms. Congratulations to our Westall students for rising to the occasion and upholding professionalism the whole day.
Ms Geraldine and I were stopped by many exhibitors to be informed how articulate the Westall students were in asking all the right questions.
Following this incredible event was the Westall Expo on Tuesday 2nd May. What was different this time was the scrumptious food available from a range of exhibitors advertising their goods. Fresh bread, delicious biscuits and scrumptious jam were on offer. The hustle and bustle of students mingling with exhibitors created an incredible vibe. Many eagerly tried to get the very best information from each of the representatives. Thank you to the VCAL students representing REECE and Sheen Panels.
A big thank you to Ms Nguyen, Mr H. Tran, Mr A Tran and Ms Ifandis for supporting the Caulfield Expo. A huge shout out to the incredible lady who works endlessly behind the scenes to make these events possible - Ms Geraldine! Another successful year of Expos.
Ms Helen Ifandis
Year 11 Coordinator & Arts Coordinator
Year 11 Biology Rat Dissection
As part of the biology study design when learning about body systems, we had a hands on experience by dissecting a rat on Friday 13th of May. Many students were a little grossed out when seeing the rat but once they started opening out the skin, they were highly engaged and were trying to find all the different organs that we had just learnt in class! Many thanks to Ms Betty Robert for her support throughout this year and pre-service teacher Mr Issac Kho for his assistance during the rat dissection.
Ms Loan Luong-Nguyen
Learning Specialist: Numeracy & STEM
VCAL Update
VCAL has had an exciting term so far. The VCAL students have all been working very hard with all of the great opportunities that have been presented to them. As a group the VCAL students have attended the Westall careers expo, as well as the BGKLLEN career expo. The Foundation students have the opportunity to complete their First Aid certificate, while the Intermediate students have been working hard down at the Melaleuca Hub, planting trees and creating a habitat garden for local wildlife. The Senior students have been working within the school to brighten up the Breakfast Club. I am really excited to see the students complete these projects help them to continue to learn and grow.
Mr Sean Fraser
VCAL Coordinator
MODEL UN
Today, 12 students across Years 10 to 12 attended the Monash Law School Model UN! Representing the USA, South Sudan, and Poland between them, they had to present their country’s position on the topic of the day: Refugees and Asylum Seekers.
They then took part in a moderated and unmoderated caucus session, addressing other countries and forming alliances in order to pass amendments to the Draft Resolution put forward.
Our teams had great success in negotiating and debating issues and language, with South Sudan and the USA successfully getting their amendments passed! It was an amazing day.
Well done to Asmida Sultan, Thu Vu, Anita Soghmayan, Harmig Soghmayan, Joe Bonnyjose, Monineath Seang, Janeeta Nasim, Diba Hadid, Zahra Rafli, Niza Yong, Raymond Dang and Zoi Spiliopoulou!
Thank you as well to all the staff that helped the students prepare, including Ms Geraldine, Ms Moore, Mr Richardson and Ms Besley!
Design and Technologies
VCE Systems engineering, VCD and Product Design students visited 'TOP DESIGNS' this week at the Melbourne Museum.
The excursion highlights high-end products in design made by VCE students from the previous year. Students are exposed to works of excellence to set the bar for the development of their own folios for 2022.
Inspiration was taken from the city streets and laneways of wall murals, as well as architecture, urban landscapes products and window displays.
Ms Besley and Mr Richardson steered the students into the commercial world of design. It was a great day out!!
Ms Helen Ifandis
Year 11 Coordinator & Arts Coordinator