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Mooroolbark College Newsletter – May 2023

30th May 2023

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 reading about all the amazing things happening around our College.

In this Issue:

Upcoming Events

Next PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

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The start of Term 2 is always an exciting time at Mooroolbark College as we celebrate and share with the community the many wonderful things we do here at the College.

On Monday 1st May, the College held its annual Open Night. It was exciting to see over 500 people come through our doors from many different primary school settings. I was fortunate enough to meet and talk to many people throughout the night. Our goal for this newsletter is to share a little from the night with our current parents and students. 

I want to thank the 100 students who attended and helped out on the night. It was great that so many students shared their experiences of Mooroolbark College. I am also grateful to the Mooroolbark College staff for their attendance, who once again showcased the College for our community. Finally, my thanks goes to the Mooroolbark College Parents Association who volunteered their time to welcome our visitors on the night. 

We are very proud of those who represented the College at the Lilydale ANZAC Dawn Service and Mooroolbark ANZAC Service, laying wreaths in both services. It was heartening to see our students involve themselves on this day, reflecting on the sacrifices others made. 

Our building works is finally coming to an end with the Library, Wellbeing Centre, Biik and Ngawan House office refurbishment nearly complete. We are very excited to see the advancement over the term. We are on track to see it open at the start of Term 3. 

Tuesday 16th May, we recognised the extraordinary contributions of our Educational Support Staff at Mooroolbark College for their continued support of teaching and learning. Our Educational Support staff received a token of our appreciation for all their efforts. 

 

Again, thank you to our whole community for your continued support of teaching and learning at Mooroolbark College. 

 

Ann Stratford 

PRINCIPAL 

PreviousCover PageNext ENGLISH

ENGLISH

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Open Night 

The English Faculty had a great night at open night. It was a wonderful opportunity to highlight some of the amazing work that our students are completing at all year levels. 

We were able to showcase some of the new programs that have been introduced this year such as the Year 7 and 8 Literacy LORE sessions that compliment our English classes and the new Year 9 Core Elective Program. Older students who were helping out on the night came in to have a look and were overheard saying things like “We didn’t get to do this in English!” 

A special thanks to our student helpers on the night: Chloe Jasper, Giselle Leonard, Ainslie Naughtin, Beth Seymour, Elise Van Praag and Amelie Whitham from year 8 and Hayley Tregear and Alex Clarkson from year 11 VCE VM. 

 

Year 7 

Our Year 7 students are currently completing a Persuasive Writing unit on Sustainability. As part of this unit, students have learnt different persuasive writing techniques that they can use in their own writing as well as how to conduct research. The are starting their CAT this week which is to write a letter to someone in a position of power to try and convince them to take action on their chosen interest area with regard to sustainability. 

 

Year 8 

Our Year 8 students have just completed their study of the novel ‘The Art of Taxidermy’ by Sharon Kernot and are this week completing their CAT which is an analytical essay. This will be the first time this cohort of students has completed a full analytical essay and we are so excited to see the knowledge and writing skills that they are able to produce. 

 

Year 10 and 11 Exams 

Year 10 and 11 students are busy completing their last CAT and SAC of the semester with exams set to begin in the next couple weeks. The English exam is always the first exam of exam week, and while we know it can be quite a stressful time for students, we also know that they will be well prepared for success. Good luck to all students with their mid-year exams! 

 

Year 11 VCE VM Literacy 

The VM literacy students have been deep diving into the media used by the TAC in their road safety ads, and the shift between their famous shocking strategies, compared to a more positive, holistic approach now. Analysing the changes in the Australian mindset over the last 20 years has been eye opening. In Week 6, VM students will visit the Road to Zero exhibit at the Melbourne Museum and practice their digital literacy skills as they craft their own road safety campaigns. 

 

Recommendations: 

Book (for older readers 16+) – ‘The Memory Policy’ by Yoko Ogawa – Parts dystopian and science fiction with magical realism all mixed in together, this book is a journey for the soul. A surreal adventure that explores the power of memory and loss. – Mrs Broekmann 

Podcast: ‘YA Book Stack’ – Great recommendations for engaging teenage readers in the winter weather. – Ms Farrell 

 

 

Amy Broekmann

ENGLISH KEY LEARNING HEAD

 

 

PreviousPRINCIPAL’S REPORTNext MATHEMATICS

MATHEMATICS

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Open Night was a huge success for Maths! Thank you to the staff and students that helped out with activities on the night. We were so proud showcasing our fabulous Maths room in the Discovery Centre and explaining all of the wonderful programs we offer. Some of the activities/displays we had on offer include: 

  • Mario multiplication colouring activity 
  • Interactive multiplication games on the touch screen 
  • A lolly bar graph examining the most popular flavour chosen 
  • An explanation of our Learning Goals program 
  • An insight into how we are celebrating student learning in Year 7 using our Growth Rockets 
  • A Games Puzzle that challenges your spatial awareness and problem solving

A spotlight on Year 9 Maths 

This term, our Year 9 students have been focusing on solving linear equations and sketching linear graphs. In groups of 4, students were given an equation. Each student in the group was given an x-coordinate between -2 and 2 and was asked to calculate the corresponding y-coordinate. They then found their spot on the Cartesian plane drawn on the ground and joined their points together to create a straight line. Well done Year 9! 

As the end of the term fast approaches, a reminder to all students to complete regular homework and revision of the work covered in Maths. Having multiple exposures will help with retention of the concepts covered and will give you the best chance of success. Don’t forget that there is also help available at Club 34 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

Good luck to our Year 10 and 11 students who are preparing for their end of semester examinations! 

 

Kara Salmon 

MATHEMATICS KEY LEARNING HEAD

 

PreviousENGLISHNext SCIENCE

SCIENCE

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We have had a very busy start to Term 1 with experiments, CATs and Open Night.  

Open Night was fantastic fun in Science, the Chemistry Lab was very busy with people watching flame tests and demonstrations with dry ice and getting involved in activities with magnets. 

The Biology Lab was also very popular with dissections, specimen jars and microscopes to see as well as many visitors making a slide of their fingerprints to take home. 

Specimen jars at Open Night  

 

The turtles were a hit as usual and had many visitors on Open night, as did the stick insects. We are so excited that we now have two different species of stick insect; we still have Spiny Leaf stick insects (Extatosoma tiaratum), but now also have Strong Stick Insects (Anchiale briareus), which are a larger species.  

 Turtles & Stick Insects 

Our Year 7 students have been learning about mixtures and different methods of separation. They have been putting that knowledge to good use to separate Green Gunge, a mixture of 3 substances that were ‘accidentally’ mixed with water by an ‘anonymous student’.    

Tanaya, Monique and Zoe  

 

The Year 8 students are also embarking on a journey of applying their knowledge of chemical reactions to the real-world situation of rusting. Students test the effect of various concentrations of salt solution on iron, various metals or test the rust-protecting properties of various household substances.    

Year 9 Core students are undertaking a practical investigation into the effect of surface area on reaction rate of antacids. Whilst Innovate Science are deep into their Drone Rescue and Forensics students are continuing to learn a variety of techniques and approaches used by Forensic scientists. 

Investigating Antacids 

Year 10 Chemistry students are learning about types of chemical reactions and factors that influence the rate of reactions. The Environmental Science students are learning about biodiversity, which will lead them to look at the effect that changes in biodiversity have on ecosystems and Forensic Psychology is the current focus of the Year 10 Psychology class.  

Year 11 Chemistry students moving into polymer science and green chemistry in connection with sustainability in real world situations. Whilst the Year 11 Biology classes are delving into functioning systems. The Year 11 Physics students are looking at electricity. Year 11 Psychology students are doing their research investigations. Getting them prepared to wrap up the unit with visual perception. 

Yeasty boys

                                                                     

Grains experiment 

Year 12 Physics is currently learning about Non-Contact Forces – gravitational, electric and magnetic. The Year 12 Chemistry students have begun looking at Rates of Reaction. The Year 12 Biology class have been studying cellular respiration and photosynthesis through a series of experiments. Whilst the Year 12 Psychology students are learning about learning and they used operant conditioning to train a special visitor (Ms Coghlan’s dog, Sasha) as a special treat. 

Sasha and friends 

PreviousMATHEMATICSNext THE ARTS

THE ARTS

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It has been a very busy and productive start to Term 2 in The Arts. Recently the College held its very successful Open Night for the year. Open Night was a huge success for the department, as curious parents and future students explored the possibilities we offer. Parents and students alike enjoyed participating in musical performances, ceramics, photography, painting and drawing. The Arts’ rooms looked fantastic! Our Performing Arts department was also full of energy on the night with our talented Instrumental Music and Production students showcasing their talents both in the Multipurpose Room and around the College. The energy and colour were wonderful and we are very grateful for the contribution from all of our students and staff.

In the classroom, our senior students in visual arts subjects are deep in creative mode, working on their major productions and artworks, whilst our junior students in art, ceramics, media, photography and VCD, are busy finishing off their final art pieces for the semester. Our Performing Arts students in drama and music are perfecting their end of semester performances.

We can’t wait to see how all of their work turns out.

 

The Arts Instagram page
Our College Instagram page recently has been showing the amazing work our Year 7 and Year 10 Art students. You can check out more of our students amazing work at https://www.instagram.com/mooroolbarkcollegeofficial/.

 

Matthew Neil-Holland

THE ART KEY LEARNING AREA LEADER

 

PreviousSCIENCENext TECHNOLOGY

TECHNOLOGY

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Progress is continuing in the design based Technology area of the school, as students work towards completing and refining their projects. What they create is varied across all subjects, design briefs and limited only by their imagination.  

Year 7 food studies are designing muffin recipes that they will be creating over the next few weeks as a solution to the challenge they were issued with and it is a great way to research and show off the skills they have been learning all year. 

Year 7 Woodwork have been creating the tan gram (tic tac toe) board that they have designed as a solution to the design brief. They are concreting the skills with basic wood work tools such as saws, bench hooks, marking gauges and rulers to do this.  
 
Year 8 Textiles are finishing the last stages of their design assessment where they must repair, alter or improve a piece of existing clothing, that will then be a wearable piece.  
 
Year 8 Digital Technology had a great excursion to the Yarra Ranges Technology School where they experimented with ‘little bits circuitry’ and are working towards completing a design based around the coding they have learned in Minecraft. 
 

Students in Year 9 Robotics are moving into the final stages of building their stomper robots, and are exploring ethics and robotics in a field of their choice.

Year 9 Game Development students have started planning out their final project, which will be a game of their own design. Most students are using Python with the PyGame Zero library, though others are exploring Inform 7 and MakeCode: Arcade. 

Year 9 food studies are working on their design brief, where they need to design a healthy burger for a hypothetical hamburger restaurant that needs to meet the constraints and considerations of the specific restaurant’s needs. 

Year  9 Special occasion foods are creating inspiration boards and researching how they will create and design a birthday cake that will meet a clients needs and exhibit the skills that they have been learning and practicing this Semester.  

Year 9 storage solutions are working towards completing a piece of furniture that is a solution for a storage design brief that they have been given, they have also been finishing up their research assignments that are based on comparing the different characteristic of wood.  
 
Year 10 students in Jewellery have been working towards making their final jewellery pieces, and producing final pieces from a design brief written in consultation with a client. 
 
Year 10 metal work have been working on research assignments where they compare the characteristics of different metals and are designing a prototype of a solution to their design brief.  
 
As you can see a lot is happening and we look forward to seeing the students’ final results and accomplishments in solving these real world problems.  

 

Perie Edmonds

TECHNOLOGY KEY LEARNING HEAD 

 
 

PreviousTHE ARTSNext LANGUAGES

LANGUAGES

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And it’s a warm welcome to Term 2 – the term that culminates with the highlight of the languages year: The Year 8 cultural excursion to the city! More on that a little later…  

On the 1st of May, Mooroolbark College welcomed many visitors to our Open Night. It was very encouraging to see so many curious parents and happy young visitors. There were serious questions from the former and inquisitive looks from the latter. Any trepidations in either group melted like butter in the waffle iron… They all came back for more (the waffles, as per usual, were a great hit!). And for those rare few who couldn’t or didn’t want to partake in the baked goods, they delighted in practicing picking up marbles with chopsticks or racing against each other looking for German and Chinese words on the interactive whiteboard. We extend our thanks to our student helpers Ollie Welland (2nd time!), Hniang Hringtar, Mikaela Bourne Rosie McIntosh, Leila Chatfield and Kaylee Sennett (who helped out spontaneously on the night) without whom this evening would not have been such a success. If you missed out, you’ll have to make do with the photos of the event or safe in the knowledge that you’ll be able to enjoy the evening when it rolls around again with a few new features in 2024. See you then! 

On the assessment front, we need to remind students and parents that Term 2 heralds the conclusion of the Semester’s assessment process. Please remember to check that CAT results are visible in the weeks after final submission. We have had a number of staff sick recently and there may be some slight delays, but we will continue to update Compass as soon as possible. Please feel free to ask if a result is missing or if there is another issue. 

As mentioned earlier, preparations are ongoing for the end of Term excursion to the Chinese and German Restaurant and Museums in the city as part of the Year 8 investigations into German and Chinese food and culture. We’ll be visiting the Immigration Museum and the Hofbrauhaus if you’re studying German and the Chinese Museum as well as the Shanghai Village Restaurant if your language is Chinese. Permission notes will appear very soon. Please be aware that there may be an increase on last year’s cost that is beyond our control and that all students will need a valid and charged Myki to travel to the city.  

 

More detailed information will be posted as it becomes available. 

Until next time, all the best, and stay safe. 

 

Jonas Bahlo

LANGUAGES KEY LEARNING HEAD

PreviousTECHNOLOGYNext HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION

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Term 3 has only been short, but it has been jam packed with adventures and activities that have sparked creativity, skill and resilience.  

The Year 8 students have been busy in both health and physical education this term. As part of the Risk-Taking unit in Health, students investigated what a standard drink of alcohol looked like. Students worked in groups to pour water into different sized cups. Answers were then cross checked and students discussed what surprised them about the ratios. The goal was to recognise that all alcoholic drinks can be represented differently and under different circumstances as well.  

In PE, all students have been working on their AFL skills including handballing, kicking and marking. In week 9 we will have an exciting incursion from the multicultural division of the Hawthorn Football Club. 26 students with whom are from Multicultural, Indigenous, Torres Strait Islander backgrounds or who have parents/guardians that were born overseas will get the opportunity to participate in a special AFL clinic. Students have been handed a consent form but if they don’t have one yet, don’t worry – Homegroup teachers were also given copies, or you can come and get one from Miss Todd’s office (opposite the canteen). 

The forms need to be returned to Miss Todd’s office or to their PE teacher by Thursday 8th June, as it is first in best dressed. We will continue to run these clinics in Term 3 so if you miss out, don’t worry! You may be included in the next term. 

Our Year 9 Elective PE students have been thriving this term! Although the weather has been getting colder, the Outdoor Education students were lucky enough to get blue sky’s on their adventure rafting. The students went down the Yarra River observing water, air and soil quality while also looking at native and introduced species. 

Tuesday 30th May the Duke of Edinburgh class challenged themselves with a high ropes course in Belgrave. Students explored the Treetops at Trees Adventure with a variety or challenging High Ropes courses.  

Megan who is afraid of heights, conquered her fears and completed the blue course and Ashlee fought through tears to complete the red course. Students who wanted to complete the black course had a 15m drop they had to leap from! (Harnessed of course) 

Students were surprised of the physical demands of this course but put forward their best effort with a positive attitude as always. It was a great day to see student challenging themselves and choosing to leave their comfort zones. To conclude the day, the students had some time to explore and have lunch in Monbulk. It was a fantastic day out with great students. 

Year 12 Health and Human Development students have been learning about the work of Nutrition Australia. They spent a lesson in the kitchen and made healthy pizza scrolls from the Nutrition Australia website.  

Bring on Term 3. I hope everyone enjoys the last few weeks of Term 2 and restful winter break. 

 

Stephanie Todd 

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION KEY LEARNNG HEAD

PreviousLANGUAGESNext HUMANITIES

HUMANITIES

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Happy Term 2 everyone! First things first, I would like to extend a big congratulations to everyone in the Humanities team for the excellent showing at this year’s Open Night. We had a terrific set of displays in place and more importantly we had some excellent interactions with our community – both from our teaching team and from our fantastic student volunteers. 

The Geography room was looking excellent and showed off some of the key tools we use in the subject as well as highlighting the terrific activities and field work that takes place. Commerce was also excellently represented; Mr Stuart and his Share Market Club being a particular standout and a big welcome to Mr Coghlan for his first Open Night with Mooroolbark College. In the History space I would like to thank Ms Williams for her excellent archaeological dig activity which was a great hit – people young and old really appreciated the opportunity to “dig in” and build our Historical skills. 

In our Humanities classrooms things are also progressing really well as we near the final stretch. I’ve been particularly taken with Mr Keogh’s engrossing Lego fortifications that he’s been constructing in Year 8 History. I would urge families and students to make sure they are starting to consider their assessments with this term already at the halfway point. So many of our units will switch over in the new semester and we look forward to celebrating your learning and achievements in your reports. 

It’s going to be a terrific term and I can’t wait to see all the great work we achieve together. 

 

Alex Scott 

HUMANITIES KEY LEARNING HEAD

 

 

 

 

PreviousHEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATIONNext SPORT

SPORT

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Cross Country Carnival 

On Monday 8th May, we held our annual Cross Country Carnival at Lilydale Lake. There was a fantastic number of sign up’s, with over 400 students running on the day. It was fantastic to see some extremely competitive races, with some age group champions decided by less than five seconds. There was also a great level of sportsmanship shown by all members of the college.  

Congratulations to the following students who placed first overall in their respective age groups! 
 
U13: Tanaya Ross & Alex Perera 
U14: Kenzie Woolhouse & Jake Hope 
U15: Matilda Sleeman & Mikey Gavin 
U16: Niamh Delaney & Campbell Finch 
U17: Rhianna Gray & Reuben Johnson 
Open: Holly Waite 

More information about division cross country and house points will be announced in the coming days.   

 

Athletics Carnival 

On Wednesday 28th May, we will have our athletics carnival at Ringwood Athletics Track. Make sure you come along wearing your house colours and competing to earn as many House points as possible. There will be plenty of fun activities going on, even if running isn’t your thing!  

 

Interschool Sport 

This term, we have the following sports available to play: 

  • Football  
  • Soccer 
  • Netball 
  • Badminton 

Make sure you access the form on Compass if you are interested. Also, come and speak to Mr Exon if you’re interested in being a student coach for a younger year level.  

 

Ryan Exon

INTERSCHOOL SPORT COORDINATOR

PreviousHUMANITIESNext WELLBEING

WELLBEING

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The Year 9 cohort were very fortunate to take part in an onsite seminar, Flourish Girl and Man Cave. What an amazing experience! The students had the opportunity to form closer relationships with their year level, promoting positive mental health outcomes and foster emotional intelligence in our students.

We would like to welcome our new counsellor, Jamie Lynch, to the Wellbeing team and wish her a great start to working at Mooroolbark College!

I would like to remind our community that the Wellbeing Team is available for all students as we get closer to the end of semester and assessments and exams are being completed.

 

Sarah Coghlan

WELLBEING LEADER

PreviousSPORTNext ASPIRE

ASPIRE

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As Term 2 kicks off with a blast, we’d like to take the opportunity to remind any interested families that our ASPIRE Testing Day will take place on Saturday, October 7th 2023. We would like to strongly encourage you to make a booking using the Trybooking link (attached below) to secure a place for the testing day. Ultimately, our ASPIRE 2024 students will be selected using data from this testing day, and booking is essential.  

Testing Day booking link: https://www.trybooking.com/CHXYL 

Additionally, to complete your application, students and their parents/guardians must also complete the following Supporting Documentation. 

Student Supporting Documentation: https://forms.microsoft.com/r/Frc26AVRdV 

Parent/guardian Supporting Documentation: https://forms.microsoft.com/r/5wRZptK2ps 

Victorian High Ability Program Term 1 2023 

This term we have eight Year 7 students participating in the Victorian High Ability Program, delivered online by Virtual Schools Victoria. These students were selected based on their previous NAPLAN results and attend weekly lessons with high ability students from other schools. This program is offered each term for both English and Maths students working approximately 12 months or more ahead of standard in the Victorian Curriculum. If you or your child would like more information about the program, or would like to be considered for a position based on your last report or teacher recommendation, please contact Mr Andrew Nyhuis at aspire@mooroolbarkcollege.vic.edu.au. 

 

Andrew Nyhuis 

ASPIRE COORDINATOR

 

PreviousWELLBEINGNext NUMERACY

NUMERACY

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Year 8 students were in the deep end and on a mission to decide the best paper towel on the shelf at Coles. With Three brands; Coles, Handee and Viva, students were give the task to measure the absorbency of each brand and decide which item is the best value.  

Students undertook a planning phase, made hypothesis and put their theories to the test.  

 

Student reflections came back positive as they enjoyed the element of agency in their Numeracy Lesson and the connection to a real-world context.  

 

 

Jade Hubben

NUMERACY LEARNING SPECIALIST

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PreviousASPIRENext LITERACY

LITERACY

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We have another amazing instalment of The Pseudonym Group pieces and the uber talented writers and artists involved. We are all so happy to have a space to represent these students in a safe and secure way. Enjoy!  
 
Literacy LORE classes have entered the term of competition reading through Year 8s and their Textageddon challenges, and Year 7s with their Literature Circles groups. We continue to progress through the Literacy LORE classes, building writing capabilities and continued focus in developing a skill and a love for reading! 

We have some whole school competitions running as well as upcoming including a Spelling Bee Challenge, the Premier’s Reading Challenge and more.  

Mr Ingham 

 

The Pseudonym Group (TPG)  

Pseudonym (noun) – A fictitious name, especially one used by an author. 

For the second entry of TPG, we meet some new writers and artists, feature their work, and continue some of the previous stories that have already been provided. Pippi L’s episodic story will continue with the second chapter including visual art by Nita Handwriting. How exciting!  

A Voice among the crowd 
I’m not someone who usually enjoys English and writing but I chose to join TPG because I wanted to share my story. At Mooroolbark College so many people from all around come and meet in one place, but I wanted to share my experiences here to show others that there are so many different stories that happen here. There’s sadness and happiness and this kind of stuff happens right under people’s noses, and I wanted to use this group as an opportunity to show people what school is like for others. 

Wolfgirl
WolfGirl is my pen name as I love wolves and, well, I am a girl! I love to write adventure and romance story’s as if they were a real place. I started writing in grade 6 then moved to writing stories in years 7-8. In year nine, I started a very long story that I still need to finish. I have also started writing short yet meaningful stories that can be an inspiration to everyone and can give people a purpose. I hope to create short stories or chapters that all relate to one large story. Follow my journey and throw yourself into a new world!

The Scribbler 
Hey, hi, hello. I mainly write poetry, both short and long, and I love writing descriptive pieces, and things that seem surreal. I hadn’t really thought about a pen-name, but maybe something along the lines of “The Scribbler”. Kind of a knock off of “The Riddler”, to add in some clues/riddles in the piece the audience would have to figure out, if for instance the piece was about a murder. (Foreshadowing). Like I said earlier, I do mostly write poetry, and that can sometimes get lost when the poem drags out for eternity, so I mainly use short, percussive like words that are simple enough to convey a strong message across. Other than poems, I write a lot of descriptive pieces that go for 50-100 words, and I have few that go over that line.

Bluebird 
My writing will be a mixture of fantasy, historical fiction, war stories and a series of short stories about a girl who travels between realms using a necklace that is also a key enabling her to save the realms from a common enemy. Further to this, I would love to write and research about paranormal events and disappearances with some philosophical pieces as well.   

The Lost Girl 
I started The Lost Girl back in grade 6. It is a horror story, and its first few sentences were based off a book called ‘Feathers’. I hope to intertwine some sort of sci-fi and fantasy into my writing also. I found my love of writing in primary school grade 2, but I had almost no time to write up until now. I’m also writing (still working on it) a Harry Potter Fan-Fiction called “Harry and Draco’s Love”. 

Gothos 
As someone who devours fantasy literature, I was always going to select a name from a fantasy series. But how difficult to choose! Eventually I selected Gothos, a character from the ‘Malazan book of the Fallen’ series. It seemed appropriate, as part of his fame in the series is as the non-human author of a renowned series of books, which seem to be the origin of every pearl of wisdom quoted in the series. An auspicious omen, and I hope my writing reaches such dizzying heights! However, Gothos’ magnum opus is also named ‘Gothos’ Folly’, and I feel this means that I’ve also covered the distinct possibility that my stories may not live up to my hopes. Always wise to plan for all eventualities. 

 

Featured

 

Pippi L  

Episode 2- Catching a Killer  

“ANOTHER ONE!” He roars throwing the paper furiously down on the desk. “LAST NIGHT ON JAMES STREET”. 

Detective Parker leans back in his chair, eyes squinting, and braces himself against the spittle flying in his direction. When it seemed that the shouting has finished, he leaned forward and gingerly picked the paper up from the table. ‘The Midnight Man Strikes Again, Murder on James Street.’ screams the headline in aggressively bold writing. 

 

 “The Midnight Man, is that what they’re calling him now?” His act of nonchalance doesn’t quite hide his worry. That’s four now…

He’d been there of course. Less than two hours after the murder had occurred, it would have been sooner, but the man was a shadow, slipping out of sight with no traces. Just the scent of gunpowder… oh how that smell drove Detective Parker insane.
 

It was fortunate the body had been discovered so quickly but Parker felt sure arriving within seconds wouldn’t change a thing, there were no traces anyway. It had been her friend who had found the body. Apparently, she’d burst in after a dramatic break up, but, he guessed, finding your best friend has been murdered is not quite the comforting night she’d expected. Her alibi would be checked, of course. 
 

It took all his courage to look his boss in the eye. Captain Roger Hawkings drew himself up to full height, so that this falsely brown hair just brushed 5 feet. He was a big man, with nearly no neck. His face was flushed a furious shade of beetroot and his small piggy eyes were filled anger at his detectives seeming lack of competence.

“Listen here…Buddy!” 
 

Det. Parker recoiled, moving his chair as far away from the point of attack as he could. Captain Roger spluttered, choking on his words as he struggled for the next sentence. Seeing a brief lull in the conversation, Parker quickly intervened.

“I was there Sir,” he said hastily. “Last night, on James Street, less than two hours after it happened. There are no signs of forced entry but slight damage to the front lock suggests it may have been picked at one point, it’s impossible to tell if it were last night though.”

“Yea, well, that’s another one still! I want him caught and quickly!!”

Det. Parker refrained from rolling his eyes but just barely. What did this fool think he was doing if not trying to catch the man

“Of course, Sir” he said in a forced polite tone “I’ll get on that now.”

And with that he spun from his desk, slipped his badge through the soft material of his shirt, and exited the room.

 

Who really cares? 

She walked down the street, with headphones over her ears and blasting music. She didn’t have a destination, it just felt like a good day to go on a walk even if it was a little cold. She didn’t want to see anyone she knew so she went down a quiet path that a lot of people wouldn’t know about.

She hadn’t had the best day, it was boring. Filled with little bits of homework and too much thinking. That’s why the music was blasting, she was having too many thoughts. It wasn’t about anything in particular, just many of the bad things that had filled her week and all the occurrences she had been avoiding thinking about because they always led to bad conclusions. She was making herself miserable! 

The Quiet Spirit 

Not a moment feels real, is it just an illusion, nothing but an endless dream I haven’t woken from? Emotions may burn deep in the layers of skin but not a scar appears, just a firing internal pain. Scrapes and bruises may hurt, but have you ever just healed mentally as fast before? Collections of thousands of thoughts escape, dispensing through the windows of the soul, as a burning fire destroys relationships and love. Disfiguring stress melds me into abstract shapes, seizing the clock. Time stops. Mind and body trapped, solidly glued to the ground, paralysed, immobile. Never to move again, merely lost in thoughts. 

Hiro 

I love seeing other peoples’ art, it gives me inspiration to be better myself and to try new things with art. My hope is to one day inspire people with my own pieces. I’m also interested by the idea of possibly making art for the other writer’s stories! I do mainly digital art but some traditional. 
A lot of my art is heavily inspired by my struggles with mental illness and just challenges in my life in general, as well as music that really connects to me. I think that some of the messages in my pieces might be important for others to see! 

 

 

Sarah Garnaut

LEARNING SPECIALIST LITERACY

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STEAM

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Term 2 has started busy in the STEAM space. We continue to bring events that expose our students to a range of STEM dispositions. 

The Year 8 students in Digital technology classes undertook a two-day course called High Tech Hospital where they were challenged to think about the future hospital and how technology can improve efficiency in hospital operations and boost patient morale. Students learnt about the systems behind such technologies and how they operate using programming techniques. Students were also introduced to robotics, coding, and electronics and then applied their knowledge to develop solutions to the challenge. The experience had a wide range of Industry Alignment such as Electronics, Programming, Robotics, Health Services, and Telecommunications. 

Year 9 students in Innovate Science have started working on a Drone Rescue Mission which has several checkpoints where the final checkpoint will engage students in designing a Rescue Mission to deliver medical supplies to the village of Pyuthan in Nepal. Students have already researched and compared the GDP (Gross Domestic Product), PQLI (Physical Quality of Life Index), and HDI (Human Development Index) for Nepal compared to Australia. Students also explored the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the ones most relevant to the people of Nepal. For the final checkpoint, students will be deeply immersed in coding in Drones where they will design their path for the successful delivery of medical supplies in otherwise hard-to-access areas. 

Around 22 students from Years 9 and 10s visited GTAC where they took part in a program related to DNA barcoding which is a part of the Victorian Challenge and Enrichment Series. Students worked with researchers from the University of Melbourne to generate DNA barcodes. Prior to the workshop students undertook two online courses that explored the fundamentals of the structure of DNA and the key principles of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). During the onsite workshop students practiced skills in Molecular Biology and generated DNA barcodes from plant and animal specimens. The final component is an in-house workshop where all 22 students will be undertaking a virtual workshop to analyse the DNA barcode sequences. 

 

Tooba Awais

STEAM KEY LEARNING HEAD

 

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EAL

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We are really excited to announce we have formed a VCE partnership with Forest Hill College focusing on EAL senior school, this collaboration will enable us to provide our students with resources and the support they need to succeed in VCE EAL units, and to ensure we are providing high quality education for all students.

We are also thrilled to see such enthusiasm among our EAL students for the MIC Volleyball Club! It’s been fantastic to see many students keen to get involved and develop their skills on the court. An absolute tremendous effort by all involved and again making the College proud.

 

Yi Jiang

EAL COORDINATOR

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SENIOR SCHOOL

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Term 2 is a short term in terms of completing Units 1 and 3. Year 10 and 11 students are heading towards mid-year exams. Year 12 students are busy completing many SACs and coursework items. A reminder that the due date for coursework across senior school, both VCE and VCE-VM is Thursday 8th June. After this date, results are given to the VCAA Coordinator and no changes can be made. Please check your Compass to ensure you have all your coursework items completed.  

GAT 

The 2023 GAT will take place on Thursday 15th June. All students who are completing a Unit 3/4 subject, including VCE and VCE-VM students must be at school on this day.  

The General Achievement Test (GAT) is a pen-and-paper test of general knowledge and skills taken by students in the course of completing their senior secondary studies. 

The GAT plays an important role in the quality assurance of VCE assessments and also provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate they meet the Victorian Literacy and Numeracy Standards expected at a senior secondary level. 

No special study is needed. Past study of subjects like English, Mathematics, Science and History prepares students for the GAT by building their general knowledge and skills in writing, numeracy and reasoning.  

Cross Country 

A number of senior students represented their House in the Cross Country event that took place at Lilydale Lake earlier this Term. Congratulations to Reuben Johnson, Year 11 for taking out the senior boys and Holly Waite, Niamh Delaney and Rhianna Gray for winning their respective age groups. Well done to everyone who competed.  

Year 12 Formal 

The Year 12 social committee are busy organising their Year 12 Formal. This is being held at Chateau Wyuna in Mount Evelyn on 8th June. We are looking forward to celebrating with the Class of 2023. Photos will follow in the next newsletter. 

 

Michelle Colette

SENIOR SCHOOL LEADER

 

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DUKE OF EDINBURGH

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The Duke of Ed class has returned from the Cathedral ranges after completing their practice Journey.  

With resilience, positivity and an amazing sense of team spirit this group handled the challenging conditions in a way that that would make all parents proud! We experienced rain all day on our first day, but students still managed to hike, set up tents, cook dinner and play games with smiles on their faces. 

 

 

 

 

Day two was the big expedition; hiking across the Cathedral Ranges. A day that challenged students and tested their teamwork, leadership and resilience. I was humbled to see everyone support and encourage one another whilst they took responsibly to navigate themselves throughout this trek.

 

We enjoyed lunch at the Cathedral Peak and prepared ourselves for a trek along the ridge.

 

We celebrated the achievement with a well deserved camp dinner and night games.

 

Day three saw us hike Stevenson’s Falls in Marysville, students were still positive and starting to feel a lot more connected after spending 3 days supporting each other.

 

 

This camp was a great opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills we have learned in class in a challenging environment. I am confident that these students have learned new skills throughout this experience and will be able to rely on this as they complete their Adventurous Journey in Term 4.

 

Jade Hubben

DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD LEADER

 

 

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STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL

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The SRC are pleased to report another successful start to the term.  We hit the ground running with Open night, as we assisted in Tours, performances and the MCPA BBQ.  It was great to meet so many new families and prospective students and share what makes our school so special! 
 
There hasn’t been much time to catch our breath as we then prepared for the Women’s Day stall, running several lunches.  It was great to expand on what was a sellout one day event last year, into a larger event, with even more to offer.  It’s so important to us to be able to recognise the important women in the Mooroolbark community, and the shift in our culture to celebrating these incredible people on Mother’s day is something we’re proud to be a part of.  We look forward to holding a similar event later in the year for Men. 
 
Next on the agenda; Athletics Carnival.  One of our biggest days of the year for us, and a great chance to gather and have some fun outside the classroom.  The SRC will be back selling chips and cans of soft drink to fundraise, as well as running some games and competitions.  Some great prizes up for grabs this year thanks to some generous sponsors, so be sure to stop by with some cash! 
 
Got an idea for an activity?  Or are you keen to volunteer?  We’d love to hear from you!  Please message Aliyah Orwin (President) on Teams to find out when our next meeting is and how you can get involved! 

 

Aliyah Orwin 

SRC PRESIDENT

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HOUSE UPDATE

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Welcome 

Term 2 has started very well, and we are so pleased to see so many students wearing correct uniforms, attending Home Group and having locks on their lockers. As we move into the colder months, it is important that students remember to wear the correct school uniform and to keep warm wearing their school jacket. All of these aspects are in line with the school values and it is so pleasing to see so many students demonstrating the school values, and then in turn receiving Merit certificates. Once students receive a Merit for each value, they receive a Values Award.  

 

Cross Country 

Our students enjoyed participating in the Cross Country on Monday 8th May, at Lilydale Lake. The Year 7s and 8s all participated and students in the other year levels had the opportunity to join in, if they chose to. We were pleased to see so many students taking part, despite the unpleasant weather. Students earned points for their House, as well as enjoyed some down time afterwards playing on the play equipment. It was a fun afternoon all round! We look forward to seeing all the students participating in the Athletics Carnival coming up soon. 

 

Homegroup 

It has been great to see so many students attending Homegroup, as well as keeping up attendance for each of their classes. Homegroup is an important time to spend with each other and get involved in activities that promote community and connectedness. Homegroups have had a variety of competitions and activities including Capture the Flag, which was run by Biik House in Term 1. Other activities have included spelling competitions and Footy Tipping. Students who have had outstanding attendance have received a certificate and $5 Canteen Voucher. Congratulations to those students who received this prize. 

  

Year 9 Activities 

Recently, the Year 9 students divided into House Groups, and the girls participated in Flourish Girl and the boys participated in Man Cave. Flourish Girl worked with students to empower them to improve their emotional intelligence and create a safe space where students could open up about their concerns and difficulties that they experience as young people. Man Cave worked with male students to explore the idea of gender stereotypes and how they impact attitudes and behaviour of young people. The students found it a very interesting and inciteful program. 

 

David Quinn (Baan), Tracey Leicester (Biik), Sarah Garnaut (Darrang), and Matthew Bell (Ngawan) 

HOUSE LEADERS

PreviousSTUDENT REPRESENTATIVE COUNCILNext PATHWAYS REPORT

PATHWAYS REPORT

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The Pathways Team have had a busy start to 2023. Working our way through Year 12 and Year 11 Career Meetings, where each individual student is met with to discuss their future plans. Our doors are always open and we welcome students to make contact with us if they have any questions. With many Open Days for tertiary institutions coming up over the Winter months it’s a great time to start putting some dates in your diaries. 

Applications for the La Trobe ASPIRE program are also now open and we encourage all Year 12’s to apply, even if they aren’t looking at going to La Trobe Uni. To apply for the Aspire Community Contribution program, students need to write two 100-word statements explaining their involvement and impact. We like to keep it simple, so they just need to tell La Trobe what they’ve done and how they’ve helped. Examples of Aspire students’ contributions include: 

  • fundraising for charity 
  • coaching a sports team or volunteering at the club 
  • helping with care or nursing at home 
  • volunteering for an organisation and much more. 

To apply go to Aspire Early Entry Program | La Trobe University www.latrobe.edu.au/study/aspire 

Our Year 9 students completed their Morrisby online Profiling in Term 1, with their complimentary interviews with a Career Practitioner early Term 2. These individual interviews were helpful for students to understand the results that they got from Morrisby and look towards their future subject selections and pathways. 

Work is currently underway for our upcoming Pathways Days for Years 9 – 12, where external organisations have been invited to come and share with our students in preparation for subject selections, future careers, further study and other pathways options. 

 

Jenny Roache

HEAD OF PATHWAYS

PreviousHOUSE UPDATENext MOOROOLBARK COLLEGE PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION

MOOROOLBARK COLLEGE PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION

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Wow! What a busy couple of months it has been for the MCPA; cooking up a storm at the Bunnings BBQ as well as putting the College BBQ’s (purchased by MCPA) to the test at the Mooroolbark College Open Night! 

MCPA BUNNINGS BBQ – APRIL 2023 

 

 

On Saturday, 22nd April the Mooroolbark College Parent’s Association (MCPA) had the pleasure of hosting the Bunnings Sausage Sizzle.  The weather was on our side and the distinct aroma of sausages cooking on the BBQ was too much for most to ignore. The day saw a steady flow of customers with several busy bursts to keep us on our toes.  

The day was a huge success, with the proceeds going towards resources for our new library. 

A BIG thank you to our wonderful parent helpers, students, MCPA and staff members who gave up their time to come and lend a hand, and to the community for coming down, buying a snag and supporting our College. 

 

OPEN NIGHT 2023 SAUSAGE SIZZLE   

 

Open Night this year saw the MCPA and the Student Representative Council (SRC) come together to host a free sausage sizzle for our visiting families. Our BBQ’s were certainly given a good workout, with just over 500 sausages cooked! 

These events wouldn’t be nearly as successful without the support from our local community. 

 

Thank you to the following local businesses who supported these events: 

                                                                                                                                  

 

 

Patricia and Lyndle from Mooroolbark Fresh Fruit Shop in Brice Avenue Mooroolbark for the donation of sliced onions 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baker’s Delight Mooroolbark, Kilsyth and Croydon for the donation of bread loaves.  

 

 

 

   

 

Coles Mooroolbark 

 

 

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CANTEEN

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Welcome back to Term 2! 

 Please find attached the new Winter Menu for terms 2 and 3. I encourage you to place a lunch order if you know what you would like to order from the canteen. This ensures that you will receive the food you want and avoid waiting in canteen lines. You can place a lunch order via the Flexischools app or by coming into the canteen prior to 9am and placing an order with staff. 

The canteen is providing a new service to the Mooroolbark College Community and is now selling some basic stationery items and padlocks. Please see flyer below for more details. 

As we move into the cooler months, remember that we are open from 8am daily and serve barista made hot chocolate and coffee. Our resident barista, Campbell Robertson (Year 10), is happy to provide you with a caffeine fix! Prices are extremely reasonable and all hot drinks are served with a special treat, bitesize Coffee Biscuits! 

We also wish to extend a warm welcome to our newest staff member in the canteen, Miranda! Miranda joined us last term and has settled seamlessly into our team. We are extremely grateful for her contribution to the canteen! 

Thank you for your continued support of the canteen. 

 

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Mooroolbark College Newsletter – May 2023