Westall Secondary College Newsletter

Other School News

News from our Library

There are some changes happening in the library in the next few weeks. We are changing the look of the interior of the library into a more user-friendly, updated space for staff and students. Next week, we are expecting a delivery of new shelves, which have wheels and a display shelf. This will make it easier for students to select items if they are overwhelmed by too many choices.

Mrs Vincent has been working hard with “genre-fying” fiction books. This will enable users to find a book in their favourite genre. So, if you are a science fiction fan, you will find the books on this genre all in the same area. It’s a much easier way for students to select books as well as quicker! 

 

There may be some disruptions to the opening hours of the library over the next week or so, but we will put up notices on the door and on Compass.

 

Thanks for your understanding. 

 

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN BECOMING A LIBRARY MONITOR? 

If you like books, and like talking about books you would be a perfect candidate for a library monitor. It is a great way to meet other students and develop new skills. You will: 

  • Develop a sense of ownership and have input into your Library Resource Centre
  • Provide a positive role model for other library users
  • Develop your own knowledge, skill set, leadership and personal qualities
  • Raise the profile of the library through your promotion of its services
  • Extend your own and other students’ ability to get the most of the library services
  • Work as part of a team 
  • Assist library staff by taking on responsibility for library functions and services 
  • Further develop your commitment, reliability, initiative, responsibility and trust 
  • Share your ideas and vision for the library 
  • Develop a range of skills that will transfer to workplace situations 
  • Enjoy rewards and privileges as part of your volunteering

You will have the chance to write reviews of books, have a say in what books are purchased, and be a part of a fun environment.

 

If you are interested, come in and see me Ms Stenning and we can have a chat about it.

 

Ms Sue Stenning

Librarian & Legal Studies Teacher

iCreate Visual Arts

ARTISAN 'DONUTS'

 Delicious, enticing, irresistible, mouth-watering silky sugary treats only thing is they are not edible!! PVA and paper-mache is what might end up in your mouth!  

 

The Visual Arts iCreate students explored the realms of sculpture, in this case, soft sculpture. 

These scrumptious donuts were created with an endless supply of paint both acrylic and fluorescent. The students explored all sorts of processes and techniques to get the best possible effect of a realistic edible donut. How did they do this? they used a variety of paint brushes to coat the newspaper base of the donut. The students had fun watering down the paint and pouring it from a plastic cup to resemble dripping icing, others flicked the paint to resemble sprinkles of confectionery such as chocolate chips and hundreds of thousands. Bright yellow paint brings to life banana flavours, hues of brown paint - mocha caramel flavour, while plush pinks resemble sticky sweet icing sugar. 

 

You can enjoy these ARTFUL treats in the main school corridor vitrine!

 

'FULL ROUND SCULPTURES'

The Visual Arts students produced 'full round sculptures' as part of their sculpture unit this term using timber off cuts, acrylic paint and PVA glue. 

 

Construction commenced by piecing together the collection of timber shapes, what evolved were 'robots', stacked hearts, towers, a theatre stage and a wonderland house. The students developed skills in creativity, and imagination as well as an understanding of the properties of materials and how form evolves.

 

The project required problem solving, perseverance and collaboration. It was exciting to watch confidence develop for those who weren't sure how their work would evolve. 

The small-scale sculptures came to life in their unique way and style. These wonderful works of art would be amazing to see as permanent installations to beautify the school grounds at Westall.

 

Ms Helen Ifandis 

Year 11 Coordinator & Arts Coordinator

School Captains Road Safety Kingston Council Excursion

Dear Westall Community,

 

Our School Captains visited the City of Kingston Council offices on Tuesday to continue our Road Safety Project.

 

Over the two years, we have achieved a pedestrian zebra crossing added near the shops, a speed bump added to Rosebank Lane, a Kiss & Go School Drop-Off on Brady Avenue, and many more positive changes. Additionally, you will notice a counter installed on Rosebank Avenue, which is part of our project to make the journey to and from school safer. This counter will inform us of further improvements and upgrades at the front of our school.

 

At the council offices, the school captains worked on three projects during the day with the support of Road Safety Educator Tara. All three projects aim to provide students with tips to ensure everyone is safe around roads and there are no accidents! 

 

The Senior School Captain Team designed decal stickers, which will be printed and placed on local footpaths. The Middle School Captains Team are working on running workshops for the Year 9 and 10 students, including a visit from local police. In addition, the Junior School Captains Team will be creating a Vox Pop video capturing your thoughts on road safety.

 

We look forward to sharing these road safety initiatives with you soon.

 

2022 School Captain Team & 

Ms Kristina Vasilakis

School Leadership Coordinator

Federal Election Day Sausage Sizzle Fundraiser - Thank you!

Thank you to the Westall Community for supporting our students in raising money for our school’s environment project. We raised a total of $1080.50! This will go a long way to help fund the Environment Teams project of reducing waste in our school and helping our environment.

 

A big thank you to Ms Paula McIntosh for helping all day at the BBQ, documenting the day and educating us on environmentally sustainable practices!

 

Thank you to our MasterChef extraordinaire Mr Kevin Phan, and sous chefs Sameer, Michael, Zoi, Nnika, Moni, Anita, Jorden, Joe, Thida, Matarri and Mearlea. Without Kevin and our students, we would not have any sausages to sell.

 

A special thank you to Mr Dung Tran, Ms Ellen Rankin, Mr Djoli Tugiono, Ms Geraldine Borgonha, Mr Tynan Samason and Mr Hieu Tran for volunteering your time to help at the BBQ.

 

It was also lovely to see Ms van Maanen, Ms Luong, Mr Richardson, Mr Alex Kourkouridis, Ms Rigopoulos, Ms Huyen Nguyen, Emily Khauv and other staff, parents, and present and past students!

 

Also, a huge thank you to local business, Goodman Fielder, for donating all the bread for our fundraiser. Thank you, Ms Geraldine and Mr Gary Bottomley, for organising this donation. Thank you to Ms Besley, Ms Vicky, Ms Lynette, Ms Laura Scott and Ms Stenning for your support. One final BIG thank you to Mr Steve Garbellini, who helped endlessly behind the scenes.

 

Ms Kristina Vasilakis

Student leadership Coordinator

Market Day 2022 - Thank you!

On behalf of the Year 11 Business Management students, we would like to thank Westall for your generosity and kindness on Market Day. We were very grateful to have beautiful weather and supportive staff and students to help us experience the joy of running a business. 

 

The most profitable business was Bubble Tea, with a profit of $244, followed by Spicy Noodles (+$209.25) and the Hot Chocolate team (+$99.20). We raised $760 in total, which will be donated to #TeamSeas - an environmental conservation group aiming to remove rubbish from oceans. 

 

A BIG thank you to Ms Laureen Kumar for all your help and support on Market Day and thank you to Ms Lynette and Ms Paget for helping with all the food and drink groups. A special thank you to Mr Kevin Phan, Ms Betty Roberts, Mr Richardson, Ms Besley, Ms Bao, Ms Sandie Baumgartner, Mr Naseer, Ms Stenning, Mr Graewolfe, Mr Dung Tran, Ms Vicky, Ms Barb, Ms Ifandis, Ms Rankin and all the wonderful staff and students at Westall for all your support!

 

Ms Kristina Vasilakis

Student leadership Coordinator 

Curriculum Leadership Award Winner - Ms Paula McIntosh

Congratulations to our teacher Paula McIntosh who beat all the competition to take out the Curriculum Leadership Award at the Resource Smart Schools awards ceremony at the MCG yesterday.   This award is prestigious and recognises the positive impact Paula has had on student learning and environmental issues.  A justifiably well-deserved recognition of Paula's passion for real-world teaching and learning.  

 

Ms Marcelle van Maanan

Acting Principal

Duke of Edinburgh Award Winner 

Elaiza has become Westall’s first student to complete a certificate at any level of the Duke of Ed Award. Below is an account of her experiences along the journey.

 

Hi, my name is Elaiza.  I’m a part of the Duke Of Edinburgh iCreate group. For those who aren’t aware, The Duke of Edinburgh Award is an internationally recognised certificate promoting challenge and self-discovery. Each of us completing the award, learns and logs hours progressing in the new skill of choice, becoming more physically active, volunteers in their community and undertaking a team adventure. Whilst logging hours in each of these areas, we have been in constant contact with an adult mentor, who has guided us in our journey. It has been great to work alongside the adults in my life to achieve a goal. 

 

My Physical Activity was Rugby League. I play for a local club and logged my training and game times. I managed to log 26 hours of active time over the course of 26 weeks. I was challenged by the recent pandemic and had to overcome this barrier to my training. I managed to push through and achieve my goal of improving my physical fitness and leadership within my team.

 

I chose photography as my Skill, focusing on how to use a camera effectively utilising all of its settings and capabilities. I enjoyed using these skills to photograph Westall Athletic/ Swimming Carnivals and the natural world around me.  I logged 13+ hours over 13 weeks. 

For my Volunteer service, I chose to improve the student voice and advocacy within the school. I logged 13 hours working closely with Ms. Vaskilakis at Breakfast Club, Peer Support, SRC and also in my position as Middle School Vice-Captain. 

 

My Adventurous Journey took me to Wilson’s Prom, where I organised and lead my group through a challenging 2-day hike, camping out at night. We oversaw the itinerary and food options. This was extremely challenging, but I really enjoyed experiencing a beautiful part of Victoria. 

 

Overall, I have loved my experience completing my Duke Of Edinburgh Bronze award and the places/ experiences along the way. It has challenged me and pushed me outside of my comfort zone, but I have developed as a person along the way. I look forward to now beginning my silver certificate. 

 

Elaiza Palalagi-Sundar

Year 10