Mooroolbark College Newsletter – March 2021

31st March 2021

Our latest Mooroolbark College Newsletter is here!

The Mooroolbark College newsletters are an important form of communication for our school community.

Each newsletter contains a great deal of information about what is happening in the College including upcoming events and celebration of student success.

Enjoy the read…

Upcoming Events

Apr

Tue

Year 12 Home Group Assembly (MPR)

Tickets

Apr 23 all-day

Apr

Wed

General Assembly (ANZAC Assembly)

Tickets

Apr 24 – Apr 25 all-day

Year 11 & 12 Art Gallery Excursion

Tickets

Apr 24 – Apr 25 all-day

Apr

Thu

ANZAC Day

Tickets

Apr 25 all-day

ANZAC DAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY

Tickets

Apr 25 all-day

April 2024 Apr 2024

Principal’s Report

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With Term One coming to an end I would like to thank our entire school community for its hard work over the last 10 weeks. After 2020, we certainly have appreciated the opportunities that being back to learning face to face brings. Term One this year has been very busy as we have caught up on the 2020 events.

It was wonderful to attend the 57th Mooroolbark College Debutante Ball on Sunday. This was an opportunity for the 2020 Year 11 students to undertake their Debutante Ball as Year 12 students. Thanks goes to Ms Prue Bon and Ms Evgenia Giles who managed this enormous task. Special thanks goes to the Honourable Mr David Hodgett, Member for Croydon and Mr Zac Parr who undertook the roles as special guests. Thanks is also extended to Mr James Taylor who was Master of Ceremonies for the event. The students excelled, learning six dances in seven weeks and represented the College with pride.

Early next term, we are pleased to announce that the postponed 2020 Valedictory Graduation for Year 12 students will be running. Whilst we all wanted normality at the end of 2020, it will be a great opportunity for our graduates to catch up after six months away from the College. Last years Year 12 students will receive information over the next few days.

Early in Term 2 the 2020 Duke of Edinburgh students will be attending their camp. Additionally, rehearsals for the 2020/2021 production “The Addams Family” and the College pantomime “Alice in Wonderland” are well and truly underway. With over 200 students involved this is a significant event for the College. It has been great to see the students rehearsing lines and dances. The band is also definitely underway rehearsing their important part in the production.

It has been a great experience settling into the new buildings completed at the end of 2020. I am looking forward to beginning the next stage of our building program with the new Student Wellbeing Centre and the landscaping of both quadrangles beginning early in Term 2.

Term one has seen an exceptional outcome on the sporting field for Mooroolbark College students. Congratulations to Tara Barnewall and Owen Wahrenberger winning their age group championship at division swimming. Tara also progressed to compete at a State level in the 100m butterfly. Senior boys, Senior girls, Intermediate girls and the Year 7 girls all won at a divisional level in the volleyball championship. Finally, the Year 7/8 girls winning the division Cricket championship.

The start of Term Two is a busy one for the College with our Open Night on Thursday 22nd April. We are looking forward to welcoming prospective parents and students to join us on the night with more details available in the flyer below or via our website and Facebook page.

I hope everyone takes the opportunity to have a wonderful holiday over the next two weeks. Please take time to spend with your families and friends.

Ann Stratford
PRINCIPAL

CAPTAIN’S PROFILES

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CAPTAIN’S PROFILE: JORDYN DOEVELAAR

What do you hope to achieve this year in your role?
I hope to achieve all the goals that Harry and I aim to reach, such as leading Blue House to another House Cup victory and gaining more participation within Blue House. As well as continuing to be the best captain I can be, to further develop my leadership skills and have an enjoyable year leading Blue House with Harry.

Who is a leader that you admire and why do you admire them?
A leader that I admire is Miss Grey-Smith. She implements all the values and qualities in her daily life. Miss Grey-Smith is supportive, trustworthy, honest, dedicated and all of the qualities I believe make an awesome leader. Miss Grey-Smith is what I’d say is a natural leader and what I aspire to be like.

What are some of your goals for the future?
My goals for after high school are to become a PE teacher, continue to play cricket and travel with family and friends.

Final words for readers.
For all the students it would be just continue to do your best and give everything a go, but most importantly just enjoy it!!

CAPTAIN’S PROFILE: HARRY BRZOZEK

What do you hope to achieve this year in your role?
During my year as Blue House Captain, I hope to engage with my younger peers to gauge an understanding of their perception of school and look to implement activities which focus on building relationships amongst different year levels. I also wish to take into the consideration the stresses faced by my fellow Year 12 peers, especially towards the end of the year, and look into ways of helping us smash out our final year together.

Who is a leader that you admire and why do you admire them?
I admire Mr McCormick, as he has a positive outlook towards all aspects of life and has the ability to make the most of any opportunity. Mr McCormick shows compassion and respect towards everyone he meets and inspires and motivates everyone around him to be the best versions of themselves.

What are some of your goals for the future?
In the future, I’m hoping to become a secondary school Physical Education and Health teacher. While studying at university, I want to further my leadership skills by training to become a duty manager at my current workplace. Down the track, I would also love to have a family of my own to build memories with.

Final words for readers.
Don’t make choices to please others, do what’s going to make you happy and the rest will sort itself out!

BLUE HOUSE REPORT

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You blink and its March and the term is almost at an end. The start of the year has been full of highlights in Blue House. From meeting our new students and helping them settle into the College routines to our upcoming Downball tournament.

The Year 7 students experienced an amazing camp at Forest Edge in late February. During the camp they challenged themselves, got to know others and participate in a variety of activities. Students also had the opportunity to ride the flying fox, complete the high ropes course, sled down the river, test their a raft as well as many more fun activities.

This year I have tired to focus on a theme in our assemblies based on the concept of “Bringing your A game”. We have discussed how it is impossible to achieve your best when you are not in your ‘A game’. Over the year, I hope to unpack this concept further and explore what we can do to stay in our ‘A game’ and move out of our ‘B game’.

The recent Swimming Carnival gave our students a chance to jump in the pool and represent their house. For the first time in a number of years, Blue House were crowded champions. We finally took the trophy out of the hands of Yellow House who have held it for a number of years. It was great to see Blue House have the most number of relay teams and overall competitors on a rather cold day for swimming. Every student who attended and then swam, all contributed to the victory and should be proud of their efforts. A special acknowledgement needs to go to Liam Price and Holly Waite who completed all 7 events on the day.

Merits have been coming in thick and fast and we are in the process of forming the Value Award winners. The Blue House honour board will be updated as soon as the information is available. In the meantime, students can continue to strive to a Principal’s Award by earning each of the Value Awards across the year.

Well done on such a great start to the year. I hope you all look after yourselves over the holidays and have a rest to bounce into Term 2.

Have a great Easter.

Andy U’Ren
Blue House Leader

STUDENT WELLBEING

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Sometimes wisdom comes from strange places, even from Pixar cartoons. I was sitting in my office last week, taking a short breather and reflecting on Term 1. As I pondered how I could best use the upcoming holidays to rest and re-energise, one of my colleagues walked in and passed me this poster saying “is this of any use to our students?” I looked it over and replied, “I don’t know about our students, but I am putting that straight on my fridge at home.” So on the fridge it sits to remind me to use those two weeks to look after myself. I plan to try each one of those things during the break and tick them off as I go. I am not a big Dream Journaler, but might even give that one a go.

So please practice self care of yourselves and your families over the coming weeks.

As always we want to remind you, that your child’s mental health and wellbeing is our priority and we want to continue to provide quality welfare support to our students. If you have any concerns at all about your child then please contact your child’s coordinator, myself or chaplain Gill Van Der Ende. We are available to parents via contacting the College on 9727 8100. Your child can also contact us directly by knocking on the door of our office. We are here to support you.

John Nichol
Well-Being 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.kidshelpline.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	www.lifeline.org.au 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 1300 368 333 or 9294 6905 www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Community/Youth 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	www.parentline.com.au 13 22 89 1300 30 1300
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	1300 766 491

CAREERS/PATHWAYS REPORT

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The Year 12 MIPs appointments are well underway with many students having completed their individual pathways appointment and are making decisions about their lives beyond high school Mooroolbark College. It is an exciting time for all students.

Additionally, we encourage them to continue the conversation with parents, teachers, Pathways Advisors and other stakeholders about their career pathways journey.

All students are encouraged to keep an eye out for career information sessions that may be running either at Mooroolbark College or offsite at other institutions. These sessions provide valuable connection to industry professionals and will enhance your capacity to make an informed decision about your future.

Recent events that have run include:

Women in Engineering
Maroondah Youth Careers Expo
Monash Information Webinar

Information is currently posted on the Compass, which students should be checking frequently.

Jenny Roache
Senior School Leader

ENGLISH

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This month, we offer some rare insights into the experiences of our students undertaking Year 7 English, Year 10 Literature and Year 12 English Language.

Year 7 English with Nikkisha Dempster

How are you finding English this year?
Easy because the content is explained well, in a way that I understand it.

What do you like about English?
We get to play Kahoots; they’re engaging and get you ready for the class. They calm you down a bit and it gives you a bit of a head start on the work.

What are your thoughts on the Writing Folio?
It’s a good idea to have the autobiography, because when you write it, the teacher finds out a bit more about you. As well, if something has happened in your life that the teacher should know about, they can find out through the autobiography.

What do you hope to do in English in the future?
I am looking forward to writing more poetry! It makes you think about what you’re writing and expresses your feelings.

Year 10 – Literature with Zaide Hughes

How are you finding Literature this year?
Literature this year has been quite splendid. To be perfectly candid, I feel that there is too much poetry involved. For students to concentrate on a task, it has to be engaging and I personally don’t enjoy most forms of poetry.

What do you like about Literature?
What I like about Literature is the exploration of books and words and their meaning. With Literature, it’s all open-ended and the theories are basically infinite, and I find it interesting in how you can voice your opinion, and someone will have a completely different outlook to me.

What are your thoughts on the Canon Justification task?
The task was pretty good. I like the ability to make a video instead of presenting in front of a classroom. To be able to use your skills to make your presentation is great too, as I edited film clips into my piece. I feel like it encourages students to read/think of a book that they’ve read, and ponder to make them think more about the piece of literature that they’ve read, and for them to analyse and give reasons as to why the book is qualified to be canon.

What are you looking forward to doing in Literature in the future?
I love creative writing, and hope to do more in the future. I’d like to expand my skills by exploring the meaning of what my text is, and why I’m writing. To be able to analyse what makes a literature piece interesting and qualified for submission.

Year 12 – English Language with Ashlyn Borg and Declan Lane

How are you finding English Language this year?
A: I’m finding English Language pretty good this year, it’s really interesting to learn something other than mainstream English.
D: I am enjoying English Language this year; it is quite different to mainstream English and provides me with a substantial challenge, requiring me to thoroughly read through texts to analyse and define the various linguistic features such as puns and rhyming.

What do you like about English Language?
A: I like that the texts we look at are relevant and interesting.
D:I like that there are some similarities with mainstream English, for example, the analytical commentaries are basically more complicated argument analyses pieces

Thoughts on the metalanguage? If you could pick your favourite feature, what is it and why?
A: There is a lot of metalanguage and some of it is familiar from mainstream English but knowing all the different features of language is cool.I like neologisms the most because they’re basically just new words and our society is constantly changing and it’s interesting to see how language reflects these changes.
D:There is a vast amount of metalanguage to remember, which can be quite difficult, but there are many different acronyms and initialisms, such as MRFFCS (Mode, Register, Function, Form, Context, Social Purpose) that we use at Mooroolbark to appropriately assess any given piece of writing or discourse. My favourite feature would have to be alliteration

How can you see this being beneficial for you in future (besides the exam)?
A: English Language has made me more aware of the world around me and the language that is used to reflect the reasons why a text exists and aware of why new words come into existence to reflect our society.
D: English Language has given me a wider perspective and understanding of the world, as well as being able to interpret a large range of texts.

Neologism of the month…
A neologism, from Greek meaning ‘new speech/utterance’ is a relatively recent or isolated word or phrase that is emerging into common or frequent use.

March Neologism: ‘Bio Break’
This has gained popularity in the gaming world and now bled into the world of zoom calls and online meetings. Quite easy to understand once given the context, this neologism has become an efficient and euphemistic way of highlighting your need for a toilet break throughout a long or arduous gaming session or meeting.

English Recommendations:
Film: Moxie
TV Show: Superstore
Podcast: Book Cheat
Novel: A Monster Calls

Tyrone Ingham
English Key Learning Head

LITERACY

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At Mooroolbark College, we believe that fostering a love of reading and improving reading skills are essential to allow our students to access a range of opportunities in the future. Reading provides an outlet for students to use their imagination, as well as building transferable skills such as expanding their vocabulary. See the infographic below for more information about the extensive benefits of reading!

Our Independent Reading sessions for Year 7 and 8 students provide an opportunity for students to read books of their choice and engage in reflective activities about what they have read. It has been wonderful to see the variety of books that students are reading this year – from AFL players’ biographies, to graphic novels, to the Percy Jackson adventure series, and everything in between.

In addition to the structured Independent Reading sessions at school, even an extra 15 minutes of reading per day at home can make a significant difference to a child’s literacy development. We encourage you to engage with your child about what they are reading as an additional way for them to develop their critical thinking skills. The prompts below might be useful in starting these conversations:

Are you enjoying what you are reading at the moment? Why/why not?
Who is your favourite character? What do you like about them?
What do you think might happen at the end of your book? What makes you think this?

Sarah Garnaut
Learning Specialist – Literacy

MATHEMATICS

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It has been a busy start to 2021. We have successfully increased the level of student agency within our Mathematics curriculum with student learning goals incorporated into our Year 7 and 8 Mathematics classes. We are also continuing with our Numeracy program, allowing students to work collaboratively and creatively on open ended and real-life problem-solving tasks.

We are pleased to welcome four Mathematics tutors to our team; Tracey Mattingley, Judy Patten, Jennifer Young and Carolyn Blomley. They will be working with students in Mathematics classes and club 3/4 across multiple year levels.

We are also pleased to announce the continuation of the Assistance and Extension Program returning Term 2. This program will run on Tuesday afternoons 3pm-4pm, alternating each week between additional support for students and challenging activities. Please enquire with your maths teacher to get more information.

It has been incredible to see the hard work from both staff and students as we navigate a new normal and return to school full time. On behalf of the Mathematics KLA please enjoy a safe and happy holiday.

Jade Hubben
Mathematics Key Learning Head

HUMANITIES

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Humanities students have built on the knowledge and understanding they gained earlier this term, with many classes progressing on to more in-depth assignments in March.
Our highlights have included:

- - Year 7 Geography students completed assignments based on their photos and observations taken from around the College grounds.
  - Year 7 Geography classes also identified natural and cultural features of the stunning landscape of Hawaii. It made for some great displays on the whiteboard tables in the Discovery Centre.
  - Year 11 Accounting students created their own cupcake recipes as part of their work on pricing. Once made, the cupcakes were given prices with accounting strategies in mind.
  - Year 11 History students earlier in the year had studied hyperinflation (1921 – 1923) in Weimar Germany. Then, following a generous donation to the college, the class was able to inspect actual banknotes from the time – when the price of bread rose from 250 marks to 201,000,000,000 marks in less than a year.
  - Year 11 Legal Studies completed a “baseball” activity on criminal law.
  - The Year 12 Accounting class learned about the use of ledgers with a “Who Am I?” quiz.
  - Year 12 Legal students revised their work with a competitive flip card relay. So much fun and everyone remembered so much more info!

There have also been many important assessments, CATs and SACs underway in recent weeks. Humanities students can be very proud of what they’ve created over the last month. We look forward to updating our displays of student work in our E-block rooms.

Chris Hanneberry
Humanities Key Learning Head

HEALTH & PHYSICAL EDUCATION

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It has been a whirlwind of a term, but it is fantastic to see students across all year levels working hard in their respective health and physical education classes.
Over the latter half of Term 1 students have been working hard practicing their Athletics skills in preparation for the Athletics Carnival in Term 2. Students get the opportunity to develop their shot put, javelin, discuss, hurdles, high jump, relays, and sprinting skills in their practical classes. Students are encouraged to self-reflect and peer assess their friends on their technique and participation in the activities to improve their own and others performance.

A massive congratulations to all Year 7 students that participated in the Volleyball inter-school sports on Friday 19th March. Our A-girls Volleyball team achieved great success on the day, winning all three of their games and will be heading to division in the coming weeks. Inter-school sports are a fantastic way to meet new people, make new friends, develop team-work, communication and collaboration skills.

Lastly, Year 9 Health students have been busy and are once again showing their collaboration and teamwork skills through the commencement of our second topic this semester: Respectful Relationships. In this unit students explore a broad range of topics including: Being a respectful partner, rights and responsibilities, consent and the law, gender equality, gender stereotypes and bystander action. Respectful Relationships is all about empowering students to make safe and informed decisions both in the classroom and in the wider community.

Stephanie Todd
Health & PE Key Learning Head

SPORT

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Swimming Carnival
On Tuesday 2nd March, we hosted our annual Swimming Carnival at Croydon Memorial pool. Despite a cooler day than usual, it was amazing to see the level of participation in all events. The venue was flooded in a sea of blue, green, red and yellow. Each house was heavily represented in the events throughout the day. It was especially encouraging to see the incredible number of students in the walking lane, water polo and dance contests.

Congratulations to all swimmers who participated and were awarded vital points for their house. We witnessed outstanding results with plenty of students taking away multiple blue ribbons and booking their spot in the 2021 Mooroolbark College swimming team.

I would like to give a massive thank you to all staff who assisted with officiating, supervising and taking part in the events on the day. I look forward to our athletics and cross country carnivals later in the year.

Division and Eastern Metropolitan Region Swimming
Well done to Tara Barnewall and Owen Wahrenberger who won multiple events at the division carnival and progressed through to the EMR event. Congratulations to the U15 relay team (Owen Wahrenberger, Liam Price, James Flewellen and Tommy Carroll) and U16 relay team (Tara Barnewall, Holly Waite, Rhianna Gray and Hannah Philpott) who also won their way through to EMR swimming.

A special mention to Tara Barnewall who placed first in the 100m butterfly at EMR swimming and will be progressing through to the state event.

Interschool Sport
Congratulations to the following sport teams for winning their division round-robin. Good luck at the next stage!

Senior boys volleyball
Senior girls volleyball
Intermediate girls volleyball
Year 7-8 girls cricket

A reminder for our students to make sure you are keeping an eye on Compass for the sign-up sheet for Term 2. The sports that will be running are:

AFL
Netball
Soccer
Badminton

Ryan Exon
Interschool Sport Coordinator

LANGUAGES

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As Term 1 rolls on towards the Easter Break, we in the Language Faculty are preparing for two of our major engagements: The Language Perfect World Championships and Mooroolbark College Open Night.

The Education Perfect World Series – 16th of 23rd March

Education Perfect is a handy interactive learning tool that we frequently use in Language classes at Mooroolbark College. As a tradition, we are again participating them 2021 Education Perfect World Series, that is happening from the 16th to 23rd March. This will involve students accessing their devices in class, and ideally at home too, to gain MAXIMUM POINTS! The Points system is:

Credit Award: 500 Points
Bronze Award: 1000 Points
Silver Award: 2000 Points
Gold Award: 3000 Points
Emerald Award: 5000 Points
Elite Award: 10,000 Points

We would like to see all our Languages students aim for the 500-point Credit Certificate at least! Mooroolbark College traditionally participates very successfully in this competition and we would love to see a lot of our students presented with Certificates at House or General Assemblies.

For all further details, please head to educationperfect.com or follow the link instructions in Compass Resources.

Mooroolbark College Open Night

In the first week back after the Easter Holidays, Mooroolbark College will be hosting its annual Open Night. In Languages our visitors can look forward to being welcomed into our warm and friendly Languages area to see our displays, resources and samples of the cultures relating to the languages studied (They’re yum!). We hope we will see lots of new and excited faces, eager to start their studies in years to come.

Music in the Classroom

Our Languages students have been having heaps of fun while learning through songs. Early last week, Year 7 Chinese students have developed their understanding and familiarity with basic pictographic Chinese characters via a beautiful Mountains and Water song Not just that, our students really brought their learning to the next level by creating their own versions of the song. Check out the rap by our wonderful female rappers Georgie, Sophia and Milly!

In Year 8 German we’re using little songs to memorise regular and irregular verb patters, which makes an essential, if pretty dull, part of language learning into something fun and upbeat (and yes, the pun is intended.)

Jonas Bahlo
Languages Key Learning Head

Here is a sample of what a Year 7 Title Page looks like:

Ashlee Jordan received an Endeavour Merit for this piece.

EP World Championships in Chinese 1 & 2

Music in Chinese lesson

Mikayla Shiel (7H) and Taylah Ward (7H) from Ms Jiang’s Chinese class

Chloe Hayley (7H) and Mason Williamson (7H) Thomas Brincat (7G) and Hansom Gideon (7G)

EAL

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We have had a number of special events over the last month. These are some of the highlights:

On Tuesday 16th March, our school canteen had Burmese food available for order. This proved very popular with our school community and especially our staff! Our canteen is looking to make this food available at different times throughout the year. On the same day, we also had a group of VCAL students who prepared their own ‘instant kitchen’ where they cooked Chin food and hosted a small group of staff. Both of these events showed how food can serve to bridge cultures and expand our understanding of the world.

On Thursday 11th March, our school worked with Foundation House to present a session on looking after our wellbeing. We had a group of middle school leaders as well as many students from an EAL or refugee background attend this session. The session included team-building activities and a chance for students to share thoughts and questions they had with school leadership. It was wonderful to see the sense of community we have cultivated at Mooroolbark College as well as the willingness of students to be open in sharing their thoughts and ideas on ways in which the school can better cater to all students.

Chin National Day celebration in EAL Home-group

Foundation House session on wellbeing

Charlie Chaturapornkul
EAL Coordinator

THE ARTS

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Term 1 has been a very busy period in the Arts, with Production and Panto preparation in full swing, and students from all areas of the Arts showcasing their works across the college and wider community.

We wish Mrs Lisa Gaudion our Instrumental Music Coordinator and woodwind teacher all the best for the next part of her journey as she moves to a new school. She will be remembered fondly for her contribution to the arts over the last 11 years. We also welcome Mr Andrew McAdam to the instrumental team as our new brass teacher, an energetic new member of the team that will support the further growth the instrumental program in 2021 and beyond. We would like to thank Ms Tracy Benness who has returned as a volunteer to assist in the area of Art and Photography which has been a huge success and further enhanced the experiences for our students.

Across the Arts department this term, Year 7 Drama students are undertaking their invention tasks; Year 8 Music students are learning how to read, write and play music on keyboard, Year 8 VCD are completing an illustration task, Year 9 art students are finishing their opposites task, Year 9 music students are learning practical performance skills, Year 10 photography students helped out at swimming carnival, year 10 media students making their 1st films, Year 10 music students are exploring roles in the industry and learning practical performance skills and VCE arts students are starting their SATs.
We look forward to our art students participating in open night across the school in Term 2 and being involved in the Celebrate Mooroolbark Festival across various events.

The Arts Instagram page
This month’s Instagram Collage showcases the amazing work produced by our Year 9s as part of their ‘Opposites’ CAT. They’ve produced some amazing work. Well done, everyone! You can check out more of our students amazing work at https://www.instagram.com/mooroolbarkcollegeofficial/.

Mooroolbark College’s YouTube Account
Have you had a look at our YouTube channel recently? It has just been updated with a number of amazing Media short films from the past 10 years as well as an amazing Dance video recorded last week. You can see what’s currently up there and subscribe at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgQtVHZLrIWBbTmIHj9tGog

Jordan van Keulen
The Arts Key Learning Head

ASPIRE

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Student Excellence Programs at Mooroolbark College

As Mooroolbark College’s High Ability Practice Leader, my role within the College is to coordinate the school’s programs and supports for high-ability students.

Victorian High Ability Program

This year Mooroolbark College has students participating in the Victorian High Ability Program (VHAP). This program provides students from Years 7 and 8 the opportunity to participate in a 10-week online extension and enrichment program, delivered by Virtual Schools Victoria. Programs are available for English and Maths with students being selected by the Department of Education based on their academic performance.

This term we had 5 students from Year 8 participate in the program, completing work and participating in their online lessons. On Wednesday 24th March these students attended Yarra Ranges Tech School to complete the VHAP Masterclass. High Ability students from other local schools attended on the day and students worked in their respective subject groups to investigate a project.

The English students completed the program, “Bringing Dystopia to Life”. They were challenged with creating a story board to illustrate their ideas for their own dystopian worlds. They were then equipped with Adobe Fresco, iMovie and Stop Motion and given the task of bringing their story to life. The students enjoyed the opportunity to link the work they had been covering in the online classes, with the visual storyboard and available technology.

The Maths students completed the program, “Sustainable Energy – Data Science”. In this program students were challenged to use coding to sort through the “big data” that had been obtained by the Bureau of Meteorology to find the most appropriate location in Australia to place a new wind or solar farm. They had to consider the practical and ethical ramifications of their decision and present their findings to the group.

The Victorian High Ability Program has a new group of students next term and they will also get to attend a Masterclass in Term 2.

Victorian Challenge and Enrichment Series

High-ability students from Prep to Year 12 can participate in the Victorian Challenge and Enrichment Series, a new series of high-quality, funded extension activities across all areas of the curriculum. Schools can nominate students to participate in activities within the series according to their abilities and interests. There are a variety of programs available, both online and onsite, and during school hours, outside school hours and on school holidays.

Over the coming term keep an eye on Compass and the newsletter for options, or if you have a child that may be interested feel free to check out the programs at https://arc.educationapps.vic.gov.au/ and then contact me to get the registration started or for more information.

Kara Salmon
High Ability Practice Leader
ASPIRE Coordinator

SCIENCE

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Our students are settling into their Science classes for the year as they busily experiment, investigate, observe and explore the world around them.

In Year 11 Psychology, students have applied their knowledge of the human brain to construct play-dough models. Once developed, their brains received damage to the lobes and association areas. Students then predicted the likely behaviour of their patient after injury.

Recently, our Year 12 Environmental Science students visited Mt Rothwell exploring biodiversity and Victorian ecosystems. Mt Rothwell is the largest feral predator-free ecosystem in Victoria where you can see some of Australia’s most threatened fauna, including the Eastern Barred Bandicoot, Southern Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby and Eastern Quoll. Mt Rothwell was established for the management of high conservation value species breeding and research programs. The centre has a focus on Victorian species with a particular emphasis on species indigenous to the basalt plains grasslands, habitats and woodlands.

The students had an eventful evening as they trapped (and then released) Quolls, Possums and a Potoroo.

Skye Jennings
Science Key Learning Head

LIBRARY

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The Library has been very busy this month celebrating a range of events, from International Women’s Day and Hearing Awareness Week to Clean Up Australia Day and International Pi Day! Recommendations of titles that you can read that are linked to these great causes have been on display over the month. Go hunting for recommendations of green covers to acknowledge St Patrick, or check out the ends of the shelves for all the latest releases to the Library. There’s always something that the Library team are happy to recommend to you!

Book Club
All students are encouraged to join us on Thursday lunchtimes to chat all things books and reading. There’s no need to sign up and there’s no preparation or prior reading required – just drop in and participate in the book related activities and conversations that are occurring! Please see Miss Giles for further information.

Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge
The Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge is coming soon! Keep an eye out for more details, including your login details. For Year 7 and 8 students, these details will be provided through your Independent Reading classes. If you are in Years 9 TO 12 and would like to participate in the Premiers’ Reading Challenge, please see Miss Pauer for further information and login details. Remember that all students who complete the Premiers’ Reading Challenge are eligible for house points!

Games at Lunch
The Library has updated our games selection and we now have a range of new card and board games, including ‘Exploding Kittens’, ‘Unstable Unicorns’, ‘Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese, Pizza’ and ‘Harry Potter Memory Master’. There are new Uno cards and Connect Four, as well as old favourites, including the big chess set.

Write a Book in a Day
We’re aiming to get a team together to ‘write a book in a day’ this year, so if you’re interested, sign up now! The aim of this challenge is for a group of students to write, illustrate, edit and publish an entire book in just one day! You’d need to be available from 8am – 8pm on the day of writing, and also do some fundraising to support the Kids Cancer Project. Further details will be available soon. Students at all year levels are welcome to participate. If you are either a writer or an illustrator, Ms Bon would love you to join the team.

Dungeons & Dragons Club
The sign-up sheet for the Dungeons & Dragons Club is in the Library for students who are interested in joining. Mr Nyhuis and Mr Martin will be holding D&D playing sessions in D3 from Term 2!

Prue Bon
Library Coordinator

CANTEEN

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Term 1 has been an extremely busy one for the canteen. The staff and students have embraced the changes in our canteen menu and payment systems. The Burmese Food day we celebrated in the canteen was a huge success and the food prepared for us by “Little Burma” was delicious. This was a wonderful way to bring our school community together.

Please have a look at our new winter menu and if you would like to see something extra included on the menu, please come and talk to either Lynette or myself. As we head into the cooler months can I please ask that if you know what food you would like to order from the canteen, please consider placing an order through Flexi schools as this ensures you won’t miss out!

Food Menu – Winter

We wish everyone a very Happy Easter and a safe and relaxing break, and look forward to seeing all our lovely students and staff back at school next term.

Donna Emery
Canteen Manager

Mooroolbark College Newsletter – March 2021

31st March 2021

In this Issue:

Upcoming Events

Principal’s Report

CAPTAIN’S PROFILES

BLUE HOUSE REPORT

STUDENT WELLBEING

CAREERS/PATHWAYS REPORT

ENGLISH

LITERACY

MATHEMATICS

HUMANITIES

HEALTH & PHYSICAL EDUCATION

SPORT

LANGUAGES

EAL

THE ARTS

ASPIRE

SCIENCE

LIBRARY

CANTEEN

ENDANGERED INDIGENOUS TREE

CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA DAY