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Principal’s Report

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As Term 3 commences, I continue to feel a great sense of pride during this challenging and unprecedented time. The Mooroolbark College community has truly come together to ensure our students are supported and their learning journey continues in a positive and meaningful way.   

Given our current challenges, it is so important that we continue working collaboratively to ensure that we provide the very best possible support for the ongoing wellbeing and learning of our students and your children.  

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the entire community for their collective and compassionate support. To our staff, the extraordinary effort you have made to deliver high quality teaching for our students is appreciated. I know I speak on behalf of our parents and students when I thank you all for your wonderful work during this period. 

To our parents, your ongoing support of our work and your children’s learning has ensured the impact on your child has been one of growth in both resilience and learning. Your positive and affirming feedback has been well received and without doubt has been an ongoing source of inspiration and motivation for staff. 

To our studentsyou have embraced the College values of respect, resilience, endeavour, and compassion during this time. Your flexibilityoptimistic attitude and support of each other has been exceptional. We look forward to the time when we can again see your smiling faces. 

To our Year 12 students, whilst I know this year has been challenging, your final year of secondary school is one you will not forget. We cannot ignore the fact that your experience is distinctly different from any other year, and although you may miss what we know as the traditional events, your connection to each other, to your education and to your teachers during this time has been exceptionalYou have inspired us with your resilience, determination and optimism. No other Year 12 cohort can claim to be the class of 2020. No other cohort can say they triumphed during the year of the COVID pandemic

Your experiences this year have built a new level of skills and abilities, and your parents and teachers will celebrate with you at the end of the year, be that in a traditional or non-traditional manner.  Let’s keep our fingers crossed. What lies ahead remains somewhat unknown but I am confident that the strength of the Mooroolbark College community will ensure we move forward together, supporting each other to overcome the next obstacle.  

Thank you to each and every student, staff and family member for your effort and attitude during this time.   

Ann Stratford

Principal

Wellbeing

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Here we go again, another period of Remote Learning! Looking after our students through this period will be the priority of our Wellbeing Team. 

We learnt from the first lock down that some students will embrace the challenge of Remote Learning and thrive and others will be feeling anxious and worried how they will copeA recent newspaper article really resonated with me. They interviewed parents about how they would face the return to Remote Learning. Comments in the article emphasized that this time the priority was going to be “physical and mental health”, “happy family relationships” and “core literacy and numeracy skills”, in other words, families will work out what is best for their kids and their family. Mooroolbark College certainly supports this approach.  

Parents know their kids better than anyone, and they know their family circumstances, and they know what is manageable and what isn’t and so our advice to parents is ….just do what you can”. 

We also know that young people are especially vulnerable to mental health difficulties at the moment, so the health of our young people needs to be top priority.  So, to any parents out there, if you feel that your child is struggling or cant keep up with the work, then speak to their coordinator and adjustments can be made, work can be reducedextensions given and some subjects can be priortised over others .  

Research by Claire Tanner from Monash University during the last lockdown found that many parents were feeling completely overwhelmed and felt considerable guilt, especially when they had children with emotional, behavioural or learning difficulties. She reported that the message from schools to parents should be “Don’t worry, just do what you can.” 

The message from Mooroolbark College to our parents is “Don’t worry, just do what you can, and we are here to support you and your children” 

A final reminder, that despite there not being any ‘normal’ classes, we continue to provide welfare support to our students. If you have any concerns at all about your child then please contact your child’s coordinator or myself and chaplain Gill Van Der Ende. We are available to chat with students via phone or text.  Your child can contact us directly through Microsoft Teams or email and parents can phone or emailThe contact details are below. We are here to support you. 

Regards, 

John Nichol 

Wellbeing Leader 

WELLBEING AND WELFARE SUPPORT SERVICES 

24 Hour Emergency 
Kids Helpline Counselling service for people aged between 5 and 25 24 hours/7 days 1800 551 800 

www.kidshelp.com.au 

www.kidshelpline.com.au/young-adults 

(email, web chat) 

Lifeline Crisis support, suicide prevention and mental health support services 24 hours/7 days 13 11 14 
Beyond Blue Information and support for all ages to promote optimal mental health. 24 hours/7 days 1300 224 636 

www.beyondblue.org.au 

(Chat online or email) 

E headspace Provide mental health support for young people aged 12–25 Phone:  

10pm – 1am  

Online counselling: 1pm – 1am 

1800 650 890 

https://headspace.org.au/eheadspace/ 

 

 

Yarra Ranges Youth Team Provide support and advice to young people 

 

 9294 6716??or email?youth@yarraranges.vic.gov.au 

 

Inspiro Free youth, teen, young adult and family  
?  
 counselling ?9738 8801? 

or visit ?https://www.inspiro.org.au/   
for more information 

Parent line Support for Parents and carers with children from birth to 18 years 8am–midnight/7 days 13 22 89 
EDVOS Family violence service in Melbourne’s eastern metropolitan region Mon-Fri 9am-8pm 

Sat 9am-5pm (phone or email) 

03 9259 4200 

edvos@edvos.org.au 

https://www.edvos.org.au/  

No To Violence Supports for men who use family violence Mon – Fri 8am-9pm 

Wkd/PH 10am-3pm 

(Live Chat/Phone) 

1300 766 491 

https://www.ntv.org.au/ 

 
Blue House Report

Term 3 has provided students and teachers with another round of Remote Learning. It has been great to see our VCE/VCAL students back on site, but the school hasn’t quite got the same ‘buzz’ without our Year 7-10 students. The new stage of Remote Learning has brought in some new features which we hope will make learning more enjoyable for all. Staff have been excited to introduce the feature of cameras into their lessons which provides another level of exciting and engaging activities. 

It was great to see over 150 students as well as our on-site students in our Blue House assembly this week. It’s great to be able to come together and celebrate the positive milestones within our College. During Homegroup this term, students have already undertaken goal setting activities, a variety of activities and started the ‘Student of the Week” sessions. These activities aim to support students during their Remote Learning and maintain connections to their fellow students and the staff. 

Andy U’Ren

Blue House Leader

 

 

Senior School

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VCE/VCAL/VET 

Term 3 is an exciting and busy time of the school year for Senior School students. It was wonderful to welcome our Year 11 and Year 12 students back to the College, and they have quickly adapted to the new social distancing and hygiene requirements. While the current restrictions have affected some of our school events, the students have responded well to the adaptations implemented by the school, such as the virtual assemblies at the end of last term, and are enjoying Senior School Home Group.   

 At this stage the GAT will be held on:   

Wednesday  
7th October 
10.00am–1.15pm  

General Achievement Test (GAT) 

 

We are working to ensure that there will be sufficient VCAA exam supervisors to ensure social distancing during the exam.  We will keep you up to date with any changes announced by VCAA. 

A reminder that the VCAA exam timetable is available on:  https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/administration/Key-dates/Pages/VCE-exam-timetable.aspx 

Year 10 students, whilst still learning remotely, start their Semester 2 elective subjects while VCE students consolidate Unit 2 and 4.  

At this stage the Year 10 exams will not proceed, a decision regarding the Year 11 exams is still pending. 

In Term 3, we will continue with a number of initiatives to maintain co-curricular events which are pivotal to the students’ learning and sense of connectedness. In particular, the process of Course Counselling through TEAMs, leading up to students selecting their 2021 subjects, will continue with virtual versions of the Year 10 Careers Expo. 

 2021 Subject Selection Program 

The process of Subject Selection for 2021 has commenced for Senior School students. The choices that students make at this point in their secondary education can have a great influence on their future education and many factors should be considered during the process. Such factors include career aspirations, aptitude and interest, Year 12 subject and tertiary course prerequisites as well as creating a program which allows for flexibility in future choice. During this time of decision making, it is important that students discuss their aspirations with parents. 

Before selecting their 2021 subjects, it is essential that students gather as much information as possible on subjects on offer in order to make the best possible decisions. All subjects offered at Mooroolbark College are described in the Senior School Handbook which is now available on the Website. Students are also advised to access VCE Study Designs which are available for every VCE study on the VCAA website and the list of tertiary prerequisites available on the VTAC website. 

Following from the Course Counselling of Year 10 and Year 11 students, students will be required to select their 2021 subjects via an online portal. They will then need to print a hard copy of their selections, which will be signed by their parent/guardian. There are many online websites to assist with student course planning. They provide students the opportunity to research university and career pathways and are designed to assist them in making subject choices with a greater understanding of the requirements of future careers and tertiary course prerequisites. 

This term, Year 12 students will begin the selection of their Victorian Tertiary Admissions Council (VTAC) preferences. Applications on the VTAC website will open on Monday 3 August.  Further details specific to each year level will be communicated via Newsfeed and emails. We encourage all students and families to check these regularly and to seek advice early if any questions arise. 

We welcomed back the VCE/VCAL students with a welcome video from staff, which was well received by the students. To our surprise the Year 12 students created a video themselves for the teachers, which was to let us how much they had missed us and valued what we do for them. All in all everyone in Senior School had smiles on their faces. Students on the whole adjusted very well getting back to face to face classes both in VCE and VCAL.

Here are some of our Year 12 students at work:

 

VET students were still engaging in Remote Learning in most subjects until the end of term. There were some exceptions for providers who have smaller numbers of students and were able to manage the social distancing requirements.

PATHWAYS

Pathways Advisors have begun the Career Action Plan interviews with the Year 10 students. An Insight questionnaire was posted on compass and this forms the basis for future group interviews which have been held via TEAMs (online). The Pathways team is currently revising our planned Year 10 Pathways day. We hope we will be able to interest the students with a range of presenters from various institutions via online in their Work Related Skills classes. A presentation by Jenny Roache on the VCE/VCAL & VET options available in 2021 was given to the students.

Planning is also underway for the Year 9 Pathways Day next term, the method of delivery still to be confirmed.

Follow up interviews are being held with Year 11 students who are reviewing possible changes to their subjects mid-year, as well as those who have applied to move from VCE to VCAL.

Jenny Roache
Senior School & Pathways Leader

 
 
We have entered one of our busiest times of the year for the Pathways Team, with students making some major decisions about their course selection for next year. Pathways sessions, Virtual Information Sessions and Course Counselling sessions are all happening during July and into August. The students should be continuing their conversation with parents, teachers, Pathways advisors and other stakeholders about their career pathways journey.
YEAR 10 PATHWAYS SESSIONS 2020: This year, the Year 10 Pathways Day went online and was held during the Work Related Skills classes at the end of Term 2. We were able to be in the classroom and watch the presentations together, on Microsoft Teams. Mrs Jenny Roache gave the students valuable information about the VCE/VCAL and VET and the upcoming course counselling and selection process. This presentation was recorded on Microsoft STREAM and can be viewed via a link on Compass Newsfeed.The students watched live Teams presentations from Deakin University, Richmond Institute of Sport and Kangan TAFE. They also watched pre-recorded career information videos, including those from the Victorian Police, the Australian Defence Force and from Collarts, formerly AusMusic. The importance of course pre-requisite subjects, for further studies beyond Year 12, was highlighted and we hope the students have already started their career conversation at home, with parents, teachers, Pathways advisors and other stakeholders.
YEAR 9 PATHWAYS SESSIONS 2020: The Year 9 Pathways @ Mooroolbark session was held on Tuesday 21st July. Students joined Microsoft Teams to understand the structure of a Year 10 course and the steps involved in the upcoming course counselling and selection process. A big thank you to Mrs Jenny Roache for presenting the information. We also heard from a past student, Samantha Jacobs, who shared her career journey and gave students some important advice on factors to consider when choosing subjects. She also emphasized the value gathering information from major stakeholders including parents, teachers and pathways advisors. We appreciate Samantha for participating in the session. Post school options was also addressed with viewing a short video on ‘A Day in the Life of a Monash University Student’.The session was recorded and can be accessed on MicroSoft STREAM. Students will also have access to a number of short videos on different occupations. These can be viewed via a link on Compass Newsfeed.The Pathways Team wish to thank Abbie Hansen, who stepped in as Pathways Advisor for Red House, while Mrs Keogh was on maternity leave.
 
THE PATHWAYS TEAM
Eva Woodward, Maria Pisano, Dannielle Keogh, Janet Whitby and Jenny Roache
 

VCAL

Students in our VCAL program have had a busy start to Term 3. Personal Development Skills focuses heavily on addressing issues in the community and designing innovative solutions. Classes are in the midst of organising a film festival focused on social issues in the community. All VCAL students (Years 11 and 12) have filmed a short video on a chosen social issue. The issues aim to change community perception and inspire change. Students have needed to adapt to the ever changing environment and find new and innovative ways in which they can deliver these films remotely to the wider Mooroolbark College community. Keep your eyes out for these on the College’s Social Media pages in the coming weeksStudents have also been busy learning about social connectedness. They identified that people in the school are feeling mixed emotions during times of uncertainty and are designing and implementing activities to increase morale, build positive relationships and boost student’s sense of belonging. Students are hoping to deliver these activities during morning Homegroup soon.  

Work Related Skills classes have been continuing to work on their Rube Goldberg experiments with great success. Students have demonstrated exemplary teamwork and leadership skills to create their inventions. It has been very pleasing to see students get back into some great hands on activities.  

Mooroolbark students are fortunate to have two senior pathways to select from, VCAL and VCE. VCAL offers a marvellous opportunity to integrate workplace learning with a formal VCAA Senior School Certificate, along with a VET Certificate being recognised Australia wide.

Mooroolbark offers three VCAL levels: Foundation, Intermediate and Senior; and each student participates in the following strands:
1. Literacy and Numeracy Skills
2. Industry Specific Skills
3. Work Related Skills
4. Personal Development Skills.

During this term Year 11 and 12 VCAL students have been working on creating one-minute videos on social issues that they care about such as bullying, racism and mental health. These videos aim to empower and amplify youth voice in an inspiring and engaging way. Students will be sharing these videos next term within the school community, and then entering them into the global competition – Videos for Change. If you would like to know about this exciting project, refer to:
https://www.videosforchange.org/competitions.

Whilst remote learning, Miss Burrows Work Related Skills class created a very clever and collaborative video that featured on the Mooroolbark College Official Facebook page.


Abbie Hansen
VCAL Coordinator

 

Curriculum

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Students from Year 7 have once again returned to the world of Remote Learning. Firstly, we would like to congratulate students for their dedication and resilience towards Remote Learning in Term 2. In Term 3, there are some minor changes to how remote learning will operate. 
 
In order to manage the workload and support the wellbeing of students, weekly learning tasks have been divided under the headings of Entree, Main and Dessert. The work expectation for all students is that they will complete 1 hour of independent work for each subject and submit what they complete within this timeFor most students, this should allow them to complete both the ‘Entree’ and ‘Main’ tasks. For those students who are particularly capable in the subject, quick to complete tasks or who wish to challenge themselves further, they can also complete the ‘Dessert’ task.The dessert task is deemed to be more challenging and involve higher order thinking.  

Students will have scheduled virtual lessons for every subject they are enrolled in. Students will find their virtual lessons on their calendar in Microsoft TEAMs. There have also been some minor changes to the weekly virtual lessons. All virtual lessons will run for 30 minutes and within the lesson students will be actively participating in the activities organised by the teacher. Students are also encouraged to use their camera to allow for greater interaction with the teacher. 

Parents, if you have any questions regarding the weekly Learning Tasks and/or virtual lessons please contact your student’s teacher through email, phone call or Microsoft TEAMs. 

English as an Additional Language (EAL)

The EAL program at Mooroolbark College supports students and families who speak a language other than English at home.  We provide both academic and communication support for families. 

The EAL team consists of Charlie Chaturapornkul (EAL Coordinator), Sarah Awi (Multicultural education aide – Hakha Chin) and Alisa Hammersley (EAL assistant). 

An EAL learner is defined as someone who has lived in Australia for less than 7 years, and their main language spoken at home is not English. At present we have 50 EAL learners, however, our support extends beyond this group to many more families in our school community. Support continues to even be available to students who have lived here more than 7 years.  

Our program runs an EAL Home Group once a week, which has moved to TEAMS during Remote Learning. This Home Group provides a place for students to request extra help, for staff to check in with students, and to give information to students about things happening in the school/community. 

Students are also given academic assistance through in-class support, differentiated curriculum and assistance with their homework when needed.  

Charlie Chaturapornkul

EAL Coordinator

English 

It is great to have all students back learning in one way or another! The English KLA has been working hard to emulate as much of the liveliness of a classroom as possible, albeit in a remote setting and the English teachers look forward to guiding students with their studies this term. 

We would also like to give a warm welcome to a new English staff member, Ms Leilani Foleti. It is lovely to have you on board!  

Here is a glimpse of what is happening in our classes now:  

After our return from Remote Learning in Term 2, Year 9 English students have been focussed on reading and exploring the novel A Bridge To Wiseman’s Cove. By popular vote, Liam Thompson became our reading celebrity and took us through the first half of the novel with riveting enthusiasm. We began to look at the themes that were arising in the novel and in response to the theme of loneliness, Holly Grant poignantly wrote ‘loneliness occurs when someone feels rejected by the world.’ Exploring the themes within the novel helped us to understand the characters, particularly Carl, the main character on a deeper level.  

9G English

Mia Sund 

Year 10 students have been busy, entering the world of comparative analysis through Stand by Me’, directed by Rob Reiner, based off the novella ‘The Body’ by Stephen kingcomparing this to the indelible Australian novel by award winning poet Steven Herrick ‘By the River’. In the last week of class, students focused on breaking down and analysing specific poems in ‘By the River’, presenting their findings to the rest of the class. Some students took the opportunity to create some fantastic PowerPoints, as well as a few stunning drawings to support their work. I would like to highlight the amazing work of Josh Kuszlaba and Darcy Travis in creating a highly engaging and well-represented presentation on the poem ‘The Pieman’.  

Liam Hope

Year 10 English Teacher 

 

Review: The Goonies 

This movie is an absolute classic and I believe it’s one of Spielberg’s best. We follow the kids’ adventure as they try to find One-Eyed Willy’s treasure while being chased by criminals who also want the treasure. The jokes which are made in the film will make you laugh! I give the movie 5/5 stars because of the engaging mystery and humour throughout the film. 

Tyler Charlton, Year 12 

 English Recommendations: 

  • You’ve Gotta Start Somewhere (Podcast) 
  • Fantastic Mr Fox (Film) Rated PG  
  • The Bone Sparrow – Zana Fraillon 

Sarah Garnaut and Tyrone Ingham

English KLA Co-ordinators

Health and PE

If Learning in 2020 has taught us anything as a college community this year, it is that the students at Mooroolbark College are extremely resilient in adapting to new challenges and changes, as we begin Remote Learning for Term 3.  

With cameras given the go ahead, it has been fantastic to see students engaging and participating in a range of health and physical activity sessions from Yoga to Tabata with their peers in some of our online lessons. The feedback from students has been very positive, as they feel more connected with their peers and their teacher through the virtual classroom.  

Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, schools have been forced to postpone camps which can provide students with fun and exciting experiences which can stay with them for life, not to mention allowing them to make new friends and form meaningful connections with staff. Here at Mooroolbark College the HPE team decided that students should still get the opportunity to experience what it would be like to ‘virtually’ make it camp this year. So, we have created the ‘WHO CAN GET TO CAMP FIRST?’ challenge across all year levels 7-10. The challenge requires students to be work collectively and compete against their fellow classes to walk, ride or run to various locations around Australia including to TasmaniaHahndorf in South Australia and Uluru in the Northern Territory. All these wonderful places represent just some of the amazing camps that are offered at Mooroolbark, we hope that we get to experience these places soon. May the best class win!  As an incentive, there are prizes and merits up for the taking. 

In addition, students will also be pursuing their own personal fitness goals and tracking their progress through a virtual diary, I am very excited to see how the students go at reaching their goals. Finding the motivation to complete their goals might be difficult especially in Winter, but I know the end results will be rewarding 

With fitness challenges flooding our screens, we thought we would put our Year 9 students to the test with this Burpee Challenge. Below are the instructions of how to complete the challenge. If you’re game, give it a go and see how many Burpees you can get in 16 minutes. The highest we have recorded so far is 30! 

Stephanie Todd 

Head of Health and Physical Education  

Humanities

It’s been a great time to think about the places, events, stories, businesses, economies and laws that are the centre of our Humanities subjects.  We haven’t been able to cover all topics in the usual way, but it has given students the chance to explore and discover things around us and online which might have otherwise been missed. 

We couldn’t go to the Holocaust Museum, but students still gained great insight into the experiences of survivors and listened to many accounts.  In fact, we heard more accounts than previous years.  We couldn’t visit some of the biomes studied in Years 8 and 9, but we’ve been able to learn so much more through the use of spatial software and online information. 

Here are some recent highlights: 

  • Year 11 History students have been busy studying the early years of the Cold War. This included practising exam-style responses, analyses of documents and speeches, and a loud performance of the song “We didn’t start the fire”. 
  • Remote lessons in junior Geography have included exercises on the importance of water as a resource and the unique characteristics of mountain and volcanic environments. Year 7 students excelled at finding and discussing examples of water use around the home. 
  • Year 9 Sustainable World students investigated grassland biomes, their unique biodiversity and why they are threatened in so many places. We travelled (in a virtual sense) to the outer northern and western suburbs of Melbourne to study relatively local examples. 
  • Our book room/store room has been painted and carpeted. What was until recently an old, dusty space is now new and pristine. 

Chris Hanneberry 

Humanities KLA Leader 

Languages

Welcome to Term 3, 2020 of Languages at Mooroolbark College! We weren’t expecting to be locked down at this point, but we are determined to make the best out of the situation! Our KLA has used Week 1 of Term 3 to set up lessons and Learning Tasks designed to engage students and motivate learners to participate in the online components of the week’s work.  

To help the students complete the weekly Learning Tasks, a short Instructional Video will be recorded to help in this process. These videos will be posted in Learning Tasks and students will be shown in class how to find and use them.  Our learners will be given weekly tasks to complete in Education Perfect which prepare them for the Semester’s CATs. That gives the teachers the opportunity to give feedback and award Merit stamps on the class poster, in the manner we started in Term 2! 

What more can we say other than reinforcing, “What better place to be at the start of the term than in a Mooroolbark College Language class? 

Library

Our school library has an excellent collection of free eBooks and audiobooks for you to enjoy! This lets us bring you more books than we can physically store in the library. If you can’t find the book you want at school, it may be in our digital collection 

  • 24 hour access anytime, anywhere on any device without the need for an e-reader or kindle
  • Confidential! 
  • No other staff or students can see what you look at, borrow and read
  • Adjustable and accessible.
  • Adjustable text, font and colours means you can customise the eBook exactly how you want it. Our eReader platform is dyslexia friendly!
  • Audiobooks 
  • Listen to your favourite books in the car, on the bus or while exercising  
  • Free!! 
    This collection is free for all staff and students 

We have also recently added a new Digital Wellness Collection to our eReader platform. This includes over 380 titles on mental health topics such as stress, anxiety and depression. This collection also celebrates neurodiversity with books and study tips for people with autism, ADHD, dyslexia and more! 

To log in select ‘Wheelers Books’ from the star menu on Compass and enter your Compass username and password when borrowing. 

We’d like you to jingle all the way to the library this July, and check out our exciting new books, even though it is not yet Christmas. They’ve been presented to you all so beautifully, that you won’t be able to wait until you have the chance to unwrap an exciting new story! 

We have an exciting new collection for all the number lovers out there. In summary, you’ll find the following on our shelves: “Alan Turing’s Biography” – he’s the one that broke the Enigma code; “Hidden Figures” – the true story of the women who worked for NASA; and “Two Trains Leave Paris – full of word puzzles that you’ll need some maths ability to figure out!  

If fiction is more your thing, then we have some excellent new reads available that have just arrived, including some Du Maurier classics (for if you like something a bit Gothic), Stephen Fry’s “Mythos” (for lovers of Greek mythology) and Rick Riordan’s “Camp Jupiter Classified” (of Percy Jackson fame). The long awaited “Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”, of the ‘Hunger Games’ world has hit the shelves, as well as the third “Wings of Fire” graphic novel.  

Remember that we are here to help you find something that you will enjoy reading, so please drop in and see us for a recommendation!  

Prue Bon

Library Co-ordinator

Literacy

Book Review Competition 

Would you like to win an author visit and free books? Simply write a review of one of your favourite books from the Premier’s Reading Challenge list, and you could win! Entries must be less than 200 words and students can submit multiple reviews. All students who enter will also receive House points and a small prize. Further details and entry forms can be found by clicking the link below or by contacting Ms Garnaut via email/Teams. Good luck! 

Sample Book Review – Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan 

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to suddenly find out that you’re a demigod? Read Percy Jackson and you’ll find out!  

Rick Riordan captivates his teenage audience through an exciting storyline and vivid descriptions. His characters are described so expertly that it feels like you are sharing their experiences and have become part of their world. He draws on sarcasm and humour, which gives depth to the characters and makes them seem more relatable. The humour also balances out the catastrophic events that Percy has to deal with as part of his new life.  

Another impressive aspect of the Percy Jackson series is that, because it is based on Ancient Greek mythology, you’re also learning about history without actually having to study it! Luckily, the references to Greek Gods and mythological creatures are woven in so that they don’t disrupt the storyline, and in fact, they actually add to it. 

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is craving an exhilarating adventure and wants to be transported to another world. 

Sarah Garnaut 
Learning Specialist – Literacy  

Mathematics

So it’s back to Remote Learning for Mooroolbark College. We have hit the ground running in the Mathematics KLA; Week 1 of Term 3 has been filled with collaborative planning for Phase 2 and the welcoming back of our senior students. 

Taking on feedback from Remote Learning of last term, we have made some changes this time around. Year 7-10 students will be meeting with their Maths teachers twice a week for 30 minutes, where they will be asked to engage in a variety of activities which will challenge their measurement and geometry skills. Get your rulers ready! Your bedroom floor, dinner plate or family car tyres could be your next mathematical subject of investigation!  

In Year 7, we are adding an element of student responsibility and learning independence as each Year 7 student will be guided into selecting their own learning goals. They will then be spending some time each week working towards achieving their personal Maths goal.  

Numeracy tasks will still be available every fortnight and are optional for students to participate in to challenge their critical thinking and problem solving skills. These can be found in the Compass Learning tasks. 

During Term 3 Remote Learning we will again be running our virtual Maths Club ¾ so if you, or your son/daughter, needs some extra assistance in Maths please ask your Maths teacher to add you to the Microsoft Teams Meeting. This will run on Thursday afternoons and be a great opportunity to ask all the questions you like and get some extra help with your weekly Maths work. 

We are welcoming the new rules when using Microsoft Teams that cameras are now allowed. We think that this will make us all feel a little more connected and closer to feeling, as if we were in the classroom together. If you’re in doubt, the Mooroolbark College Polo shirt/jumper and the home office or kitchen table is the best setup for our students and teachers. We hope all students are feeling more comfortable and confident in this second phase of Remote Learning, as our teachers certainly are! 

Jade Hubben

Mathematics Co-ordinator

Music

Music News 

With the beginning of Semester 2, we again found ourselves working from home with Remote Learning.  While things may be a little different to our normal onsite schooling, music lessons are running as usual using TEAMS just like in other subjects.  It’s great to see our music students adapting so easily to this new way of learning, and hearing their progress during their weeks at home. 

Piano Exams 

At the end of Term 2, one of our piano students, Daniel Harrison completed his Grade 2 Modern Piano Exam.  These exams are usually run at an exam centre or studio, however students currently have the option to record their pieces and scales in a set amount of time and submit the recording via email for assessment.  These exams involve many months of practice and preparation, and it’s always wonderful to see our students’ dedication to their instrument and sitting the exam. 

Congratulations Daniel for achieving the Honours Award. What an amazing result which was obviously very well deserved! 

 

Lisa Gaudion 

Instrumental Music Coordinator 

Performing Arts

Well once again we find ourselves in remote learning mode. Whilst these are challenging circumstances we find ourselves in, I am pleased to report that all Drama classes have made a positive and enthusiastic start to the semester. If last term’s classes are anything to judge by, then I am looking forward to some high quality work! 

 
Jack Fowler Year 7

Whilst in lock down we were able to be flexible with the way students were able to present their work. As well as the traditional methods, students were able to record themselves reading Dreamtime stories, create animated and live action films of fractured fairy tales as well as producing informative PowerPoint presentations.  In the case of the Year 9s, they were also able to create characters, produce a script and film themselves performing Solo Monologues. 


Anabel Floyd 
Year7 

And just a reminder that our College Musical ‘The Addams Family’ is merely in hibernation! I hope our cast are taking this opportunity to know their scripts inside out. As soon as we can, we will resume rehearsals and we will need to recruit even more cast. So if you didn’t sign up the first time, grab hold of the next opportunity. It is going to be an amazing show! 

Peter Marz 

College Director, Senior Drama Teacher 

Science

Our very cute, resident turtles, Sheldon and Franklin received a fancy tank upgrade over the school holidays. They now have a lot more space to swim around in and are very happy about their new surrounds. 

Our students in Years 7 – 10 have settled back into Remote Learning with their weekly Science lessons. Year 7 students are busy “classifying” their wardrobes and other areas of their home. Year 8s are exploring the stages of digestion which include analysing what is occurring in their mouth as they chew on a slice of bread. Year 9s are developing their understanding of relationships within ecosystems and the impact human activity is having on the environment around them. 

 

Our VCE students have been busy onsite. In Unit 3 Biology they took their knowledge of the function of the different immune cells and applied to different characters from The Avengers. From ‘Hulk’rophages (Macrophages) engulfing foreign enemies to Cy-THOR-toxic T cells initiating apoptosis of host cells, students were able to make links and practical connections to remember this complicated aspect of the course in an engaging and fun way!  

Skye Jennings

Science Co-ordinator

 

 

Technology

 

In Technology, we had a small window of opportunity for students to get into the workshops and put their planning into action. Judging by the work which was completed and shown, the students were more than happy to be back. The Year 11 Product Design class had to modify an existing product and change its form and purpose. The bowl in the images used to be part of the seating which was removed over the Christmas holidays to make way for the locker relocation, as was the hat stand. 

The Year 10 Metalwork class was able to finish their hooks based on the designs which they created during Remote Learning, with many unique items being created. 

Remote Learning continues to challenge our students but I’m sure that the students will work well, knowing that once it is all over they will be able to return to school and get their hands back on to the tools. 

Andrew Dingey

Technology Co-ordinator

 

The Arts 

Recently, we welcomed back our senior Arts students to on-campus learning, while our 7-10 students returned to Remote Learning. It is an exciting time as we not only get to see our VCE Studio Arts, Media, Music and VCD students excel in the classroom, but thanks to the fact that students can now have their cameras on during Remote Learning, we also have so many fantastic opportunities to extend and expand on what we can do during our junior art, drama, music and VCD lessons. We can’t wait to see what amazing pieces of work are created throughout this semester. 

THE ARTS INSTAGRAM WORK 

This month’s Instagram Collage showcases the amazing work produced by the Year 11 Media class during Unit 1. Students were tasked with creating representations of superheroes in the form of a series of film posters. They all did such a fantastic job. Well done, everyone! You can check out more of our students amazing work at https://www.instagram.com/mooroolbarkcollegeofficial/ 

 

 

 

MEDIA FILM FESTIVAL – ENTRIES ARE NOW OPEN! 

Entries for Mooroolbark College’s 8th Annual Film Festival are now open and will close in early Term 4. Entries must tell a narrative, be appropriate for all audiences and contain no copyrighted material (including visuals or music/sounds). They can be completed by an individual or a team/group. 
Given the current circumstances, don’t forget that entries can also be animated – including digital animation and stop motion. 

 

The film festival will be held in Term 4 in a very special online format this year. 

For more details, please contact Mr Neil-Holland. 

Art Clubs

Both our on campus Art Club and our Virtual Art Club are back up and running. Ms D’Unienville will continue to run the on campus Art Club for our senior students on Tuesdays at lunchtime while Miss Bonne will run our Virtual Art Club via Teams on Thursdays from 1 to 1:30pm. Please contact Miss Bonne if you are interested in attending the Virtual Art Club. 

 

 

Matthew Neil-Holland 

The Arts Co-ordinator

 

English

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English

It is great to have all students back learning in one way or another! The English KLA has been working hard to emulate as much of the liveliness of a classroom as possible, albeit in a remote setting and the English teachers look forward to guiding students with their studies this term. 

We would also like to give a warm welcome to a new English staff member, Ms Leilani Foleti. It is lovely to have you on board!  

Here is a glimpse of what is happening in our classes now:  

After our return from Remote Learning in Term 2, Year 9 English students have been focussed on reading and exploring the novel A Bridge To Wiseman’s Cove. By popular vote, Liam Thompson became our reading celebrity and took us through the first half of the novel with riveting enthusiasm. We began to look at the themes that were arising in the novel and in response to the theme of loneliness, Holly Grant poignantly wrote ‘loneliness occurs when someone feels rejected by the world.’ Exploring the themes within the novel helped us to understand the characters, particularly Carl, the main character on a deeper level.  

9G English

Mia Sund 

Year 10 students have been busy, entering the world of comparative analysis through Stand by Me’, directed by Rob Reiner, based off the novella ‘The Body’ by Stephen kingcomparing this to the indelible Australian novel by award winning poet Steven Herrick ‘By the River’. In the last week of class, students focused on breaking down and analysing specific poems in ‘By the River’, presenting their findings to the rest of the class. Some students took the opportunity to create some fantastic PowerPoints, as well as a few stunning drawings to support their work. I would like to highlight the amazing work of Josh Kuszlaba and Darcy Travis in creating a highly engaging and well-represented presentation on the poem ‘The Pieman’.  

Liam Hope

Year 10 English Teacher 

 

Review: The Goonies 

This movie is an absolute classic and I believe it’s one of Spielberg’s best. We follow the kids’ adventure as they try to find One-Eyed Willy’s treasure while being chased by criminals who also want the treasure. The jokes which are made in the film will make you laugh! I give the movie 5/5 stars because of the engaging mystery and humour throughout the film. 

Tyler Charlton, Year 12 

 English Recommendations: 

  • You’ve Gotta Start Somewhere (Podcast) 
  • Fantastic Mr Fox (Film) Rated PG  
  • The Bone Sparrow – Zana Fraillon 

Sarah Garnaut and Tyrone Ingham

English KLA Co-ordinators

 

 

 

English as an Additional Language (EAL)

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English as an Additional Language (EAL)

The EAL program at Mooroolbark College supports students and families who speak a language other than English at home.  We provide both academic and communication support for families. 

The EAL team consists of Charlie Chaturapornkul (EAL Coordinator), Sarah Awi (Multicultural education aide – Hakha Chin) and Alisa Hammersley (EAL assistant). 

An EAL learner is defined as someone who has lived in Australia for less than 7 years, and their main language spoken at home is not English. At present we have 50 EAL learners, however, our support extends beyond this group to many more families in our school community. Support continues to even be available to students who have lived here more than 7 years.  

Our program runs an EAL Home Group once a week, which has moved to TEAMS during Remote Learning. This Home Group provides a place for students to request extra help, for staff to check in with students, and to give information to students about things happening in the school/community. 

Students are also given academic assistance through in-class support, differentiated curriculum and assistance with their homework when needed.  

Charlie Chaturapornkul

EAL Coordinator

 

 

 

 

Mathematics

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So it’s back to Remote Learning for Mooroolbark College. We have hit the ground running in the Mathematics KLA; Week 1 of Term 3 has been filled with collaborative planning for Phase 2 and the welcoming back of our senior students. 

Taking on feedback from Remote Learning of last term, we have made some changes this time around. Year 7-10 students will be meeting with their Maths teachers twice a week for 30 minutes, where they will be asked to engage in a variety of activities which will challenge their measurement and geometry skills. Get your rulers ready! Your bedroom floor, dinner plate or family car tyres could be your next mathematical subject of investigation!  

In Year 7, we are adding an element of student responsibility and learning independence as each Year 7 student will be guided into selecting their own learning goals. They will then be spending some time each week working towards achieving their personal Maths goal.  

Numeracy tasks will still be available every fortnight and are optional for students to participate in to challenge their critical thinking and problem solving skills. These can be found in the Compass Learning tasks. 

During Term 3 Remote Learning we will again be running our virtual Maths Club ¾ so if you, or your son/daughter, needs some extra assistance in Maths please ask your Maths teacher to add you to the Microsoft Teams Meeting. This will run on Thursday afternoons and be a great opportunity to ask all the questions you like and get some extra help with your weekly Maths work. 

We are welcoming the new rules when using Microsoft Teams that cameras are now allowed. We think that this will make us all feel a little more connected and closer to feeling, as if we were in the classroom together. If you’re in doubt, the Mooroolbark College Polo shirt/jumper and the home office or kitchen table is the best setup for our students and teachers. We hope all students are feeling more comfortable and confident in this second phase of Remote Learning, as our teachers certainly are! 

Jade Hubben

Mathematics Co-ordinator

Humanities

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It’s been a great time to think about the places, events, stories, businesses, economies and laws that are the centre of our Humanities subjects.  We haven’t been able to cover all topics in the usual way, but it has given students the chance to explore and discover things around us and online which might have otherwise been missed. 

We couldn’t go to the Holocaust Museum, but students still gained great insight into the experiences of survivors and listened to many accounts.  In fact, we heard more accounts than previous years.  We couldn’t visit some of the biomes studied in Years 8 and 9, but we’ve been able to learn so much more through the use of spatial software and online information. 

Here are some recent highlights: 

  • Year 11 History students have been busy studying the early years of the Cold War. This included practising exam-style responses, analyses of documents and speeches, and a loud performance of the song “We didn’t start the fire”. 
  • Remote lessons in junior Geography have included exercises on the importance of water as a resource and the unique characteristics of mountain and volcanic environments. Year 7 students excelled at finding and discussing examples of water use around the home. 
  • Year 9 Sustainable World students investigated grassland biomes, their unique biodiversity and why they are threatened in so many places. We travelled (in a virtual sense) to the outer northern and western suburbs of Melbourne to study relatively local examples. 
  • Our book room/store room has been painted and carpeted. What was until recently an old, dusty space is now new and pristine. 

Chris Hanneberry 

Humanities KLA Leader 

Health and PE

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If Learning in 2020 has taught us anything as a college community this year, it is that the students at Mooroolbark College are extremely resilient in adapting to new challenges and changes, as we begin Remote Learning for Term 3.  

With cameras given the go ahead, it has been fantastic to see students engaging and participating in a range of health and physical activity sessions from Yoga to Tabata with their peers in some of our online lessons. The feedback from students has been very positive, as they feel more connected with their peers and their teacher through the virtual classroom.  

Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, schools have been forced to postpone camps which can provide students with fun and exciting experiences which can stay with them for life, not to mention allowing them to make new friends and form meaningful connections with staff. Here at Mooroolbark College the HPE team decided that students should still get the opportunity to experience what it would be like to ‘virtually’ make it camp this year. So, we have created the ‘WHO CAN GET TO CAMP FIRST?’ challenge across all year levels 7-10. The challenge requires students to be work collectively and compete against their fellow classes to walk, ride or run to various locations around Australia including to TasmaniaHahndorf in South Australia and Uluru in the Northern Territory. All these wonderful places represent just some of the amazing camps that are offered at Mooroolbark, we hope that we get to experience these places soon. May the best class win!  As an incentive, there are prizes and merits up for the taking. 

In addition, students will also be pursuing their own personal fitness goals and tracking their progress through a virtual diary, I am very excited to see how the students go at reaching their goals. Finding the motivation to complete their goals might be difficult especially in Winter, but I know the end results will be rewarding 

With fitness challenges flooding our screens, we thought we would put our Year 9 students to the test with this Burpee Challenge. Below are the instructions of how to complete the challenge. If you’re game, give it a go and see how many Burpees you can get in 16 minutes. The highest we have recorded so far is 30! 

Stephanie Todd 

Head of Health and Physical Education  

Science

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Our very cute, resident turtles, Sheldon and Franklin received a fancy tank upgrade over the school holidays. They now have a lot more space to swim around in and are very happy about their new surrounds. 

Our students in Years 7 – 10 have settled back into Remote Learning with their weekly Science lessons. Year 7 students are busy “classifying” their wardrobes and other areas of their home. Year 8s are exploring the stages of digestion which include analysing what is occurring in their mouth as they chew on a slice of bread. Year 9s are developing their understanding of relationships within ecosystems and the impact human activity is having on the environment around them. 

 

Our VCE students have been busy onsite. In Unit 3 Biology they took their knowledge of the function of the different immune cells and applied to different characters from The Avengers. From ‘Hulk’rophages (Macrophages) engulfing foreign enemies to Cy-THOR-toxic T cells initiating apoptosis of host cells, students were able to make links and practical connections to remember this complicated aspect of the course in an engaging and fun way!  

Skye Jennings

Science KLA Head

 

Technology

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In Technology, we had a small window of opportunity for students to get into the workshops and put their planning into action. Judging by the work which was completed and shown, the students were more than happy to be back. The Year 11 Product Design class had to modify an existing product and change its form and purpose. The bowl in the images used to be part of the seating which was removed over the Christmas holidays to make way for the locker relocation, as was the hat stand. 

The Year 10 Metalwork class was able to finish their hooks based on the designs which they created during Remote Learning, with many unique items being created. 

Remote Learning continues to challenge our students but I’m sure that the students will work well, knowing that once it is all over they will be able to return to school and get their hands back on to the tools. 

Andrew Dingey

Technology KLA Head

Languages

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Welcome to Term 3, 2020 of Languages at Mooroolbark College! We weren’t expecting to be locked down at this point, but we are determined to make the best out of the situation! Our KLA has used Week 1 of Term 3 to set up lessons and Learning Tasks designed to engage students and motivate learners to participate in the online components of the week’s work.  

To help the students complete the weekly Learning Tasks, a short Instructional Video will be recorded to help in this process. These videos will be posted in Learning Tasks and students will be shown in class how to find and use them.  Our learners will be given weekly tasks to complete in Education Perfect which prepare them for the Semester’s CATs. That gives the teachers the opportunity to give feedback and award Merit stamps on the class poster, in the manner we started in Term 2! 

What more can we say other than reinforcing, “What better place to be at the start of the term than in a Mooroolbark College Language class? 

 

The Arts

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Recently, we welcomed back our senior Arts students to on-campus learning, while our 7-10 students returned to Remote Learning. It is an exciting time as we not only get to see our VCE Studio Arts, Media, Music and VCD students excel in the classroom, but thanks to the fact that students can now have their cameras on during Remote Learning, we also have so many fantastic opportunities to extend and expand on what we can do during our junior art, drama, music and VCD lessons. We can’t wait to see what amazing pieces of work are created throughout this semester. 

THE ARTS INSTAGRAM WORK 

This month’s Instagram Collage showcases the amazing work produced by the Year 11 Media class during Unit 1. Students were tasked with creating representations of superheroes in the form of a series of film posters. They all did such a fantastic job. Well done, everyone! You can check out more of our students amazing work at https://www.instagram.com/mooroolbarkcollegeofficial/ 

 

 

 

MEDIA FILM FESTIVAL – ENTRIES ARE NOW OPEN! 

Entries for Mooroolbark College’s 8th Annual Film Festival are now open and will close in early Term 4. Entries must tell a narrative, be appropriate for all audiences and contain no copyrighted material (including visuals or music/sounds). They can be completed by an individual or a team/group. 
Given the current circumstances, don’t forget that entries can also be animated – including digital animation and stop motion. 

 

The film festival will be held in Term 4 in a very special online format this year. 

For more details, please contact Mr Neil-Holland. 

ART CLUBS 

Both our on campus Art Club and our Virtual Art Club are back up and running. Ms D’Unienville will continue to run the on campus Art Club for our senior students on Tuesdays at lunchtime while Miss Bonne will run our Virtual Art Club via Teams on Thursdays from 1 to 1:30pm. Please contact Miss Bonne if you are interested in attending the Virtual Art Club. 

 

 

Matthew Neil-Holland 

The Arts KLA Head

The Arts

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Music News 

With the beginning of Semester 2, we again found ourselves working from home with Remote Learning.  While things may be a little different to our normal onsite schooling, music lessons are running as usual using TEAMS just like in other subjects.  It’s great to see our music students adapting so easily to this new way of learning, and hearing their progress during their weeks at home. 

Piano Exams 

At the end of Term 2, one of our piano students, Daniel Harrison completed his Grade 2 Modern Piano Exam.  These exams are usually run at an exam centre or studio, however students currently have the option to record their pieces and scales in a set amount of time and submit the recording via email for assessment.  These exams involve many months of practice and preparation, and it’s always wonderful to see our students’ dedication to their instrument and sitting the exam. 

Congratulations, Daniel, for achieving the Honours Award. What an amazing result which was obviously very well deserved! 

 

Lisa Gaudion 

Instrumental Music Coordinator 

Performing Arts

Read Time: ( words)

Once again we find ourselves in Remote Learning mode. Whilst these are challenging circumstances we find ourselves in, I am pleased to report that all Drama classes have made a positive and enthusiastic start to the semester. If last term’s classes are anything to judge by, then I am looking forward to some high quality work! 

 
Jack Fowler Year 7

Whilst in lock down we were able to be flexible with the way students were able to present their work. As well as the traditional methods, students were able to record themselves reading Dreamtime stories, create animated and live action films of fractured fairy tales as well as producing informative PowerPoint presentations.  In the case of the Year 9s, they were also able to create characters, produce a script and film themselves performing Solo Monologues. 


Anabel Floyd 
Year7 

And just a reminder that our College Musical ‘The Addams Family’ is merely in hibernation! I hope our cast are taking this opportunity to know their scripts inside out. As soon as we can, we will resume rehearsals and we will need to recruit even more cast members. So if you didn’t sign up the first time, grab hold of the next opportunity. It is going to be an amazing show! 

Peter Marz 

College Musical Director, Senior Drama Teacher 

VCAL

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Students in our VCAL program have had a busy start to Term 3. Personal Development Skills focuses heavily on addressing issues in the community and designing innovative solutions. Classes are in the midst of organising a film festival focused on social issues in the community. All VCAL students (Years 11 and 12) have filmed a short video on a chosen social issue. The issues aim to change community perception and inspire change. Students have needed to adapt to the ever changing environment and find new and innovative ways in which they can deliver these films remotely to the wider Mooroolbark College community. Keep your eyes out for these on the College’s Social Media pages in the coming weeksStudents have also been busy learning about social connectedness. They identified that people in the school are feeling mixed emotions during times of uncertainty and are designing and implementing activities to increase morale, build positive relationships and boost student’s sense of belonging. Students are hoping to deliver these activities during morning Homegroup soon.  

Work Related Skills classes have been continuing to work on their Rube Goldberg experiments with great success. Students have demonstrated exemplary teamwork and leadership skills to create their inventions. It has been very pleasing to see students get back into some great hands on activities.  

Student Leadership

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Student Voice

While back on site at the end of Term 2, the Leadership Team ran focus groups of students across all year levels to gain feedback from their time during Remote Learning. Several important changes were made when planning and implementing Remote Learning 2.0 as a result of listening to our students. Reducing the workload, implementing camera use and providing a variety of tasks were among changes that students felt they needed.  

The Year 7 Mathematics Team is also using student voice as part of the delivery of Learning Tasks. Teachers are working with students to set SMART goals, to assist students in developing and driving their learning. Students are choosing concepts and skills that they wish to develop further and are given the freedom to work through these goals at their own pace. SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely, meaning these goals can be specifically linked to the work they are studying in class, can be reached within a timely fashion and are achievable for the student. SMART goals will empower our students to manage and take responsibility for their learning and encourage positive learning habits for life. 

Aaron Halstead

Student Voice Co-ordinator 

SRC

Due to Covid-19, the SRC has been unable to meet this month. As we adapt to the constantly changing circumstances, the SRC remains active in Teams. Students are able to post suggestions and ideas concerning upcoming issues in the chat. We are yet to have a Teams meeting this month as 7-10 students settle back into Remote Learning and adjust to life whilst learning from home.  

Leadership Development

Leadership Development is a Year 10 elective class which you can apply to be a part of. Applications were called for and 27 students were selected as our 2020 Year 10 Peer Support leaders. After being selected for the subject, a camp was run at the end of last year which aimed to prepare students like us for peer support lessons. The camp helped us work effectively with everyone in our class, to get to know them and to have fun!

Over the course of the two days we participated in several activities, games and discussions which helped build our confidence and communication skills. Three past Leadership Development students and this year’s School Captains also attended the camp, joining in activities, contributing to discussions and sharing their experiences. Name games and ice breakers were used to break up the two days, giving us ideas for our lessons and helping to reduce the divide between groups.We also took part in several camp activities such as capture the flag, crate climbing, low ropes course, riddles and marshmallows around the campfire, and most people’s favourite, Ed’s Alley. There were several discussions throughout the course of the camp around what to expect, how to manage different situations, how to be a strong leader/role model, etc. These discussions helped to settle any nerves and provided us with some of the information we needed in preparation to run lessons for the year 7s.Towards the end of the camp we created an extensive list of activities that we had done across the two days to help us in the planning process of our lessons. By the end of camp, we had all grown comfortable around each other and developed important leadership skills. Overall, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the camp and it was a great start to Leadership Development. 

Once we returned to the 2020 school year, the program involved working with the year 7s and helping them settle into high school. We got to work with two groups of Year 7 classes. As part of this class we had the opportunity to teach the Year 7 Peer Support classes with a focus on friendship, communication and bullying awareness. Teaching the Year 7s was so much fun as we created new friendships with the younger students, which we may not have had the chance to do without this class. While teaching the Year 7s we were able to create our own lesson plans which involved lots of fun games, activities and hands on tasks which related to the topics we were teaching. Leadership Development was one of our favourite classes and we would definitely recommend it to anyone considering taking this class.   

Jaz Hosie and Hayley Knight

Year 10 students

Year 7 feedback: 

  • The best thing about Peer Support was that we got to talk to students whom we wouldn’t normally speak to. 
  • I loved playing games and always left with a smile on my face. 
  • I like that the Year 10 students were all very friendly. 
  • The leaders were well prepared and broke up the lesson with some fun games. 

Michelle Collette

Peer Support Co-ordinator

 

Sports Report

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As mentioned in our last newsletter, the 2020 House Cross Country Carnival was held on campus. Congratulations to the following students who were placed first overall in their respective year levels! 
 
Year 7: Jonathan Tung Dim & Jordy Allen 
Year 8: Liam Price & Tiara Willis 
Year 9: Sean Farrelly & Tara Barnewall 
Year 10: Jackson Addicott, Hayden Smith, Jordan Scott (tied) & Alayna Corner 
Seniors: Flynn Addicott & Georgia Booth 

A more detailed breakdown of the results can be found in the Compass news feed.  

Ryan Exon

Sports Co-ordinator

Canteen News

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The Canteen is open and welcomes our students back to the start of Term 3 with some very exciting news! We have a new menu and a coffee machine! The staff and students in Years 11 and 12  are invited to come into the canteen to purchase a coffee or hot chocolate made by a qualified barista. The new canteen menu offers many homemade favourites such as Mac and Cheese, Shepherds Pie and Fried Rice to name a few and we have introduced sushi, rice paper rolls and rotti wraps!  Donna (new Canteen Manager), Lynette and Helen welcome all staff and students into the canteen and we are really excited to hear your thoughts and feedback on the new menu. 

We can’t wait to see our Years 7-10 students back at school and in the meantime we will keep you updated with the new canteen price list. 

Donna Emery

Canteen Manager

Leadership Development 2020

Read Time: ( words)

Leadership Development is a Year 10 elective class which you can apply to be a part of. Applications were called for and 27 students were selected as our 2020 Year 10 Peer Support leaders. After being selected for the subject, a camp was run at the end of last year which aimed to prepare students like us for peer support lessons. The camp helped us work effectively with everyone in our class, to get to know them and to have fun!

Over the course of the two days we participated in several activities, games and discussions which helped build our confidence and communication skills. Three past Leadership Development students and this year’s School Captains also attended the camp, joining in activities, contributing to discussions and sharing their experiences. Name games and ice breakers were used to break up the two days, giving us ideas for our lessons and helping to reduce the divide between groups.  We also took part in several camp activities such as capture the flag, crate climbing, low ropes course, riddles and marshmallows around the campfire, and most people’s favourite, Ed’s Alley. There were several discussions throughout the course of the camp around what to expect, how to manage different situations, how to be a strong leader/role model, etc. These discussions helped to settle any nerves and provided us with some of the information we needed in preparation to run lessons for the Year 7s.Towards the end of the camp we created an extensive list of activities that we had done across the two days to help us in the planning process of our lessons. By the end of camp, we had all grown comfortable around each other and developed important leadership skills. Overall, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the camp and it was a great start to Leadership Development. 

Once we returned to the 2020 school year, the program involved working with the Year 7s and helping them settle into high school. We got to work with two groups of Year 7 classes. As part of this class we had the opportunity to teach the Year 7 Peer Support classes with a focus on friendship, communication and bullying awareness. Teaching the Year 7s was so much fun as we created new friendships with the younger students, which we may not have had the chance to do without this class. While teaching the Year 7s we were able to create our own lesson plans which involved lots of fun games, activities and hands on tasks which related to the topics we were teaching. Leadership Development was one of our favourite classes and we would definitely recommend it to anyone considering taking this class.   

Jaz Hosie and Hayley Knight

Year 10 students

Year 7 feedback: 

  • The best thing about Peer Support was that we got to talk to students whom we wouldn’t normally speak to. 
  • I loved playing games and always left with a smile on my face. 
  • I like that the Year 10 students were all very friendly. 
  • The leaders were well prepared and broke up the lesson with some fun games. 

Michelle Collette

Peer Support Co-ordinator

 

Student Voice

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While back on site at the end of Term 2, the Leadership Team ran focus groups of students across all year levels to gain feedback from their time during Remote Learning. Several important changes were made when planning and implementing Remote Learning 2.0 as a result of listening to our students. Reducing the workload, implementing camera use and providing a variety of tasks were among changes that students felt they needed.  

The Year 7 Mathematics Team is also using student voice as part of the delivery of Learning Tasks. Teachers are working with students to set SMART goals, to assist students in developing and driving their learning. Students are choosing concepts and skills that they wish to develop further and are given the freedom to work through these goals at their own pace. SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely, meaning these goals can be specifically linked to the work they are studying in class, can be reached within a timely fashion and are achievable for the student. SMART goals will empower our students to manage and take responsibility for their learning and encourage positive learning habits for life. 

Aaron Halstead

Student Voice Co-ordinator 

Literacy

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Book Review Competition 

Would you like to win an author visit and free books? Simply write a review of one of your favourite books from the Premier’s Reading Challenge list, and you could win! Entries must be less than 200 words and students can submit multiple reviews. All students who enter will also receive House points and a small prize. Further details and entry forms can be found by clicking the link below or by contacting Ms Garnaut via email/Teams. Good luck! 

Sample Book Review – Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan 

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to suddenly find out that you’re a demigod? Read Percy Jackson and you’ll find out!  

Rick Riordan captivates his teenage audience through an exciting storyline and vivid descriptions. His characters are described so expertly that it feels like you are sharing their experiences and have become part of their world. He draws on sarcasm and humour, which gives depth to the characters and makes them seem more relatable. The humour also balances out the catastrophic events that Percy has to deal with as part of his new life.  

Another impressive aspect of the Percy Jackson series is that, because it is based on Ancient Greek mythology, you’re also learning about history without actually having to study it! Luckily, the references to Greek Gods and mythological creatures are woven in so that they don’t disrupt the storyline, and in fact, they actually add to it. 

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is craving an exhilarating adventure and wants to be transported to another world. 

Sarah Garnaut 
Learning Specialist – Literacy  

 

Library

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Our school library has an excellent collection of free eBooks and audiobooks for you to enjoy! This lets us bring you more books than we can physically store in the library. If you can’t find the book you want at school, it may be in our digital collection 

  • 24 hour access anytime, anywhere on any device without the need for an e-reader or kindle
  • Confidential! 
  • No other staff or students can see what you look at, borrow and read
  • Adjustable and accessible.
  • Adjustable text, font and colours means you can customise the eBook exactly how you want it. Our eReader platform is dyslexia friendly!
  • Audiobooks 
  • Listen to your favourite books in the car, on the bus or while exercising  
  • Free!! 
    This collection is free for all staff and students 

We have also recently added a new Digital Wellness Collection to our eReader platform. This includes over 380 titles on mental health topics such as stress, anxiety and depression. This collection also celebrates neurodiversity with books and study tips for people with autism, ADHD, dyslexia and more! 

To log in select ‘Wheelers Books’ from the star menu on Compass and enter your Compass username and password when borrowing. 

We’d like you to jingle all the way to the library this July, and check out our exciting new books, even though it is not yet Christmas. They’ve been presented to you all so beautifully, that you won’t be able to wait until you have the chance to unwrap an exciting new story! 

We have an exciting new collection for all the number lovers out there. In summary, you’ll find the following on our shelves: “Alan Turing’s Biography” – he’s the one that broke the Enigma code; “Hidden Figures” – the true story of the women who worked for NASA; and “Two Trains Leave Paris – full of word puzzles that you’ll need some maths ability to figure out!  

If fiction is more your thing, then we have some excellent new reads available that have just arrived, including some Du Maurier classics (for if you like something a bit Gothic), Stephen Fry’s “Mythos” (for lovers of Greek mythology) and Rick Riordan’s “Camp Jupiter Classified” (of Percy Jackson fame). The long awaited “Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”, of the ‘Hunger Games’ world has hit the shelves, as well as the third “Wings of Fire” graphic novel.  

Remember that we are here to help you find something that you will enjoy reading, so please drop in and see us for a recommendation!  

Prue Bon

Library Co-ordinator

Blue House Report

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Term 3 has provided students and teachers with another round of Remote Learning. It has been great to see our VCE/VCAL students back on site, but the school hasn’t quite got the same ‘buzz’ without our Year 7-10 students. The new stage of Remote Learning has brought in some new features which we hope will make learning more enjoyable for all. Staff have been excited to introduce the feature of cameras into their lessons which provides another level of exciting and engaging activities. 

It was great to see over 150 students as well as our on-site students in our Blue House assembly this week. It’s great to be able to come together and celebrate the positive milestones within our College. During Homegroup this term, students have already undertaken goal setting activities, a variety of activities and started the ‘Student of the Week” sessions. These activities aim to support students during their Remote Learning and maintain connections to their fellow students and the staff. 

Andy U’Ren

Blue House Leader

 

 

 

 

SRC

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Due to Covid-19, the SRC has been unable to meet this month. As we adapt to the constantly changing circumstances, the SRC remains active in Teams. Students are able to post suggestions and ideas concerning upcoming issues in the chat. We are yet to have a Teams meeting this month as 7-10 students settle back into Remote Learning and adjust to life whilst learning from home.  

Pathways

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We have entered one of our busiest times of the year for the Pathways Team, with students making some major decisions about their course selection for next year. Pathways sessions, Virtual Information Sessions and Course Counselling sessions are all happening during July and into August. The students should be continuing their conversation with parents, teachers, Pathways advisors and other stakeholders about their career pathways journey.
YEAR 10 PATHWAYS SESSIONS 2020: This year, the Year 10 Pathways Day went online and was held during the Work Related Skills classes at the end of Term 2. We were able to be in the classroom and watch the presentations together, on Microsoft Teams. Mrs Jenny Roache gave the students valuable information about the VCE/VCAL and VET and the upcoming course counselling and selection process. This presentation was recorded on Microsoft STREAM and can be viewed via a link on Compass Newsfeed.The students watched live Teams presentations from Deakin University, Richmond Institute of Sport and Kangan TAFE. They also watched pre-recorded career information videos, including those from the Victorian Police, the Australian Defence Force and from Collarts, formerly AusMusic. The importance of course pre-requisite subjects, for further studies beyond Year 12, was highlighted and we hope the students have already started their career conversation at home, with parents, teachers, Pathways advisors and other stakeholders.
YEAR 9 PATHWAYS SESSIONS 2020: The Year 9 Pathways @ Mooroolbark session was held on Tuesday 21st July. Students joined Microsoft Teams to understand the structure of a Year 10 course and the steps involved in the upcoming course counselling and selection process. A big thank you to Mrs Jenny Roache for presenting the information. We also heard from a past student, Samantha Jacobs, who shared her career journey and gave students some important advice on factors to consider when choosing subjects. She also emphasized the value gathering information from major stakeholders including parents, teachers and pathways advisors. We appreciate Samantha for participating in the session. Post school options was also addressed with viewing a short video on ‘A Day in the Life of a Monash University Student’.The session was recorded and can be accessed on MicroSoft STREAM. Students will also have access to a number of short videos on different occupations. These can be viewed via a link on Compass Newsfeed.The Pathways Team wish to thank Abbie Hansen, who stepped in as Pathways Advisor for Red House, while Mrs Keogh was on maternity leave.
 
THE PATHWAYS TEAM
Eva Woodward, Maria Pisano, Dannielle Keogh, Janet Whitby and Jenny Roache
 
 
 
 
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Mooroolbark College Newsletter – July 31st 2020