Edition 14: September 1 2017

News from Wellington Secondary College

Wellington Journal

UPCOMING DATES:

Last Day of Term 3 - September 22

3 Way Conferences - September 19

It’s Been a Big Week @ WSC...This fortnight at the College has been an eventful one.

It started with a special College assembly with Yassmin Abdel-Magied as our guest speaker. Yassmin was invited to the college to promote the College’s 4R’s program - Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships. She addressed our students enthusiastically with a lot of personality and had a Q&A session with our Year 10 students.

Also during this fortnight the 17th Annual Presentation Ball was held, where our debutantes made their grand entry into society. Thirty pairs of Year 11 students had rehearsed tirelessly over the past few months and it paid off with spectacular dances.

This event-filled fortnight then concluded with amazing performances from our Production Crew in this year’s Production - The Little Mermaid Jr.

Keep reading inside for more information about these events!

Principal’s Report

This last fortnight has indeed been full of highlights. Our students have been involved in a vast array of activities and performances.

Book Week, Monday August 21 – Friday August 25Renowned author, James Phelan, visited the College on the Monday. In the morning he spoke to all students in Years 7 & 8 in a most engaging manner. In the afternoon the workshops he ran enabled students to experience a wide range

of techniques to use in their future writing tasks.

Alpine SchoolThe Year 9 students who attended the Alpine School in Term 2 recently completed the final part of the project they commenced while away from Wellington. Earlier this term they raised funds to donate to Beyond Blue by having a BBQ for the whole school and a Casual Clothes Day for the Middle School Students. On Wednesday August 23, a guest speaker from Beyond Blue addressed all Year 9 students, raising awareness of issues associated with anxiety and depression as well as giving strategies to assist in bringing about positive outcomes for young people within the community.

Presentation BallAfter weeks of after school dancing lessons in the Fogarty Gymnasium, sixty Year 11 students graced the dance floor of The Grand on Cathies last Friday night, August 25. Mrs Gayle Vermulst and her daughter Nikeisha, with the assistance of Ms Dianne Salmon, are to be congratulated for the choreography and excellent standard of dancing that the thirty couples exhibited. Once the formal presentation had concluded the dance floor continued to be the central focus for most guests. Our guest of honour, The Hon. Daniel Andrews MP, Premier of Victoria, was warmly welcomed by all present. It is indeed an honour to hear The Premier refer to himself as 'a friend of the College' and we sincerely thank him for taking time out from his extremely busy schedule to celebrate the night with us. On behalf of the College Community I also wish to congratulate and thank Ms Lauren Elverd and Mr Peter Clarke for not only the terrific job that they did as comperes for the evening's formalities, but also for their untiring devotion to all of the tasks they undertook leading up to the big night.

Victorian Young Leaders to China (VYLC)Over the weekend of August 26 – 27, staff members Ms Zhiyan Ren and Mr Peter Rowley-Bates accompanied eleven of our Year 9 Mandarin students to their Induction Camp and Blazer Presentation at CYS in the city. Our students spent the weekend preparing for and meeting other students from within Victoria who will also be travelling to China for 6 weeks in October and November this year.

Monash District Finals for AthleticsMr Greg Whyte coordinated a team of approximately 85 students to represent Wellington in the Monash District Finals at the Knox Athletics Park on Tuesday August 29. Jack Scott-Smith from Year 11 was a standout competitor, not only winning several events but breaking long standing records as well.

The College ProductionThis week we have all had the opportunity to be entertained by and applaud a fantastic group of students and staff as they

presented to us The Little Mermaid Jr. Students from St. Joseph's Primary School in Springvale thoroughly enjoyed the matinee performance on Tuesday August 29 and were then eager to meet and talk to the cast and crew afterwards. The colour and standard of costumes made an immediate impact on the audience and was matched by an overall wonderful performance. Good news spreads very quickly as not only was the opening night, August 29, particularly well attended, but the final night's performance, Friday September 1, sold out in just one day. Congratulations to everyone involved in such a great performance. On behalf of the College Community I particularly wish to congratulate and thank staff members Mr Aben Alexander, Mr Duncan Lake, Mrs Jen Tunnicliffe, Ms Rachael Masterton, Ms Erin Daniels, Mr Michael Shadur and Ms Claire Bruce for their work and dedication in assisting the students to deliver such a fine production. Well done everyone.

VCAL StudentsI recently attended the Modern 8 Degustation Dinner at the Zest Restaurant at the Glen Waverley Campus of Holmesglen. I was both surprised and delighted to be greeted by one of our VCAL students, Harry Nguyen. As part of his weekly TAFE Course he, together with Johnny Nguyen, were working as 'front of house' team members, while three other students from 11V were working behind the scenes in preparing a wonderful array of food which I had the pleasure of sampling during the evening. I congratulate these 11V students for their work and wish them well in their future endeavours.

35 Years of Service to State EducationIt gives me great pleasure to have the opportunity to finish this report by acknowledging a milestone for our Principal, Mr Hugh Blaikie. Hugh was recently recognised by DET for his 35 Years of Service to State Education. He began his teaching career in 1981 at Altona North High School and from 1982 – 1987 taught at

Warrnambool High School. His journey at Wellington began in 1988. In his time at this College he has been a Year Level Coordinator, a Head of a Sub School, the Assistant Principal for Student Programs for many years and now leads this great school as Principal. On behalf of the College Community I congratulate and thank him for his service to State Education, but in particular for his great contribution to Wellington Secondary College.

Dulcie CommonsAssistant Principal

Production 2017 - The Little Mermaid Jr

Since March of this year, students have been rehearsing for this year’s Production - The Little Mermaid Jr. There was a twist on the classical version of this play, as we decided to give it a “environmental” spin.

There was much more than just performing that happened. There were many staff members and students who also worked tirelessly to design and make the sets and costumes, to apply the make up and to help direct and supervise to make sure all the nights were a success.

More about the Production will be in the next issue.

International Student Activities

We regularly hold competitions at lunchtime in the International Centre where local and International students can participate together. Local student Jenny Eang Year 11 won the Origami Competition. Winners of the Donut Eating Competition were Year 12 boys (made up of both local and International students) Khang, Cheang, Viseth, Tyrese, Kong and Pho Le). We had 8 teams of 6 competing. The winners managed between them to eat 36 cinnamon donuts in 10minutes. Runners up were Visal, Kong Yew, Ravi, Astra, David and Zack (to all our girl teams, better luck next time). It was very entertaining for all of us to watch. Any donuts left at the end (of which there were not many) were shared by spectators who cheered on their teams. Congratulations to Kong Yew and Visal for winning their competition at the recent Intermediate Interschool Table Tennis competition. They will now continue to compete at the next level and we wish them well. Special congratulations to Kim Sun(Year 12) for his performance in the Senior Table Tennis Team, who were State Runners Up. We encourage all students to get involved in the whole life of the College.

Connie TzelepisDirector of International Programs

MAV Maths Games DayOn August 15, eight of us (Kevin Giang 9F, Nina Lim 9M, Alexander Nguyen 9C, Justin Thiha 9M, Julia Giang 9I, Kirill Kucherov 9C, Quang Ong 9M and Jonny Tran 9M) were fortunate enough to have been chosen to participate in this year's MAV Year 9 Maths Games Day which was held at Williamstown High School. At the start of the day, we and Mrs Rangarajan took the train to Williamstown. As we arrived at our destination, we met other students who shared our passion for mathematics alongside our innovative and 21st Century collaborative skills.

Once we were gathered in the Williamstown school gymnasium, we were separated into our two teams and allocated to our respective tables. Soon after, the room was packed with teams that came from numerous schools from across Victoria. When everyone was settled and ready to go, the hosting school's Principal welcomed everyone. The speech was really inspiring and ended with “Let the games begin” and from that point onwards the day had officially commenced. First, we had to solve a variety of problem-solving questions, which related to applications of real life. Once that was over, we had a short break and went into the next section.

This next phase consisted of three games played against other teams. The games were "Create 57", "Paddocks" and "Make 24". We would compete against a new school for every game. Each member would individually play an opposing player in one of the games and the winner would be determined by the most wins. The points differed depending on who won, tied and lost; which were 10 points, 5 points, and 0 points respectively.

Lunch was our last chance to regain our composure. Once we had all returned to our teams, we were introduced to a puzzle called “KenKen”. This puzzle was similar to Sudoku where you have to try to fill in a grid with numbers ranging from however many rows there were. In addition to having used a digit once in each row and column, cells would be grouped together. Cells that were grouped had to have a tallying number that was comprised of digits using the given symbol. There were a lot of factors included in this puzzle which made it quite challenging.

The final activity of the day was a relay competition. For this competition, teams would have to answer a question, run to an official and have it checked and proceed from there. If an answer was wrong, the team would be given two more chances to answer it correctly, or otherwise, it would be skipped. In the time we were given, we had to answer as many questions as quickly and correctly as possible.

Over the course of the day, the points accumulated from each game were tallied and counted. The teams were then ranked based off how many points. Out of the 55 teams that competed, one of our teams (consisiting of Nina, Jonny, Quang and Kirill) finished in 6th place; a very impressive achievement. The Maths Games Day was an amazing and unforgettable experience we could never forget. It was an opportunity for us to think outside the box and challenge ourselves.

Kevin Giang, Justin Thiha and Nina Lim Year 9 students

Presentation BallOn Friday August 25, we had thirty pairs of students who participated in the Presentation Ball. The venue was filled with supportive family, friends and staff as the debutante pairs showcased the efforts that they had gone into in preparation for the night. Here are some student accounts from their experience:

“The 2017 Wellington Secondary College Presentation Ball was a once in a lifetime experience which I can happily look back on. I got to experience this with all of my friends and of course I made many more throughout the dance lessons. Doing the Presentation Ball was such a good decision that I made, and of course an excuse for me and the other girls to dress up and feel like princesses. A big thank you to all the staff who helped along the way.”

- Veroza Chhay-Kim 11B

“The Presentation Ball was a great experience for me because I got to experience a night of hanging out with friends and family and just forgetting about my VCE studies for that night. It was a night where we had to have a sense of seriousness and respect towards the audience because we were presenting ourselves to our Principals, our teachers and even the Premier of Victoria. However, it was also a night that we could have fun and be ourselves. I loved the fact that my mother was there to share the moment with me and I will never forget the smile she had on her face. It was certainly a night to remember and I encourage those from Years 7 – 10 to do it when you hit the first year of VCE or VCAL.

#blessed”- Lauolo (Junior) James 11D

“The Wellington Secondary College Presentation Ball 2017 was a night to remember. It was full of enjoyment and laughter with friends and family. Miss Elverd and Mr Clarke created a memorable night for everyone with the help of Ms Vermulst and her devoted team. From clumsy mistakes that made us laugh, to the struggles of trying to find the perfect outfit for the night, and the stumbles and falls on the dance floor; the overall experience was amazing. It is something that we will never forget.”

- Eiro Karyotis 11D

“Friday August 25, 2017 was an amazing night that I will always remember. Nothing will compare to the countless memories, dancing mistakes and laughs that I got to share with everyone. Although I felt so nervous, I was able to enjoy myself knowing that I was having fun with my friends and partner.”

- Laureen Moun 11F

Yassmin Abdel-MagiedOn Thursday August 24 all staff and students had the opportunity to hear an inspiring address by Yassmin Abdel-Magied. Yassmin was born in Sudan and came to Australia before she turned two. Her heartfelt story of growing up in Australia and the challenges that she faced was inspiring. She is an engineer, author and presenter with a string of awards to her name for service to the Community, including Queensland Young Australian of the Year in 2015.

Throughout the presentation she held the whole audience captive with her unique and engaging style. She encouraged all students to aspire to and strive for their future hopes and dreams. Her 'can do attitude' was infectious and had queues of students lining up to speak with her at the end.

Dulcie CommonsAssistant Principal

Empowering Women Through Education

Six of our student leaders attended the Empowering Women through Education breakfast which is hosted annually by the Soroptimist International Society. Our Wellington leaders heard keynote speakers, Naty Guerrero-Diaz, a top tier commercial lawyer who co-founded an Animal Sanctuary where diversity and inclusion are embraced and practiced and Annabelle Chauncy OAM, who co-established the School For Life Foundation that built and runs two schools in rural Uganda. Pictured here with our mentor from Monash University are Rameen Khan, Marina Mitsopoulos, Victoria Bahn, Nisha Udayakumar, Antherine Wang and Maheen Khan.

Barbara WandochSRC Liason Manager

Alpine SchoolThis year during Term 2, five Year 9 students (Jemma Doan, Nick Barth, Haykal Afkar, Ahad Nizar and Cloe Mcleod) attended the Alpine School for Leadership at Mt Hotham. The Alpine School was like home to all of us and the friends we made were amazing. We are still very much in contact with them.

The days started at 6.30am with breakfast and some free time after that. We then had a variety of sessions for different days, such as bike riding, first aid course, hiking, bridge building and various others. The emphasis with these activities was on team-building, collaboration and spontaneous participation. We also had to work on our CLP – Community Learning Project, which is a project based on School and the Community. Our CLP was focussed on addressing Mental Awareness for the Year 9s. We had Ms Rae Bonney, an Integrated Well-being Specialist from Beyond Blue to speak to the Year 9s. We also had 2 fund-raising activities: the BBQ Sizzle and a Free Dress Day for Middle School. We collectively raised $800 to be donated to Beyond Blue.

Here is an account from a student of his experience at Alpine School:“My experience was an amazing one as I got to make a lot of new friends that I still stay in touch with, along with getting to have fun with the variety of activities provided such as skiing and mountain biking. I enjoyed Alpine School and would recommend it to everyone as it welcomes all types of people and accommodates for different learning styles. The work was fun and educational even though it was different to normal school, such as how we didn’t do any Maths but instead we learnt about metacognition.”

- Nicholas Barth, 9I

Science WeekFrom August 14 to 18 the Science Department celebrated National Science Week. The theme for 2017 was Future Earth and in their classes students were asked to imagine how the world may have changed in 2050. Students were also asked to consider how we might change 2017 to ensure a better world for 2050.

As part of our celebrations lunchtime activities where students could make their own herb garden, working mechanical hands, wind turbines and kites were provided. Thank you to all of the students who participated in these activities and all of the science staff who helped to supervise them.

Congratulations goes to our competition winners with Tony Ly of 7J winning the student quiz and Mrs Hronopoulos winning the staff quiz. Thank-you to all those students who entered the writing and art competition, congratulations to Haykal Afkar of 9K for his story about a world ravaged by pollution in 2050.

Thank you to all staff and students for your participation.

Christina GibsonScience Curriculum Area Leader

Nouvelle-Calédonie 2017

In September, 12 Year 9 French students will be taking part in an immersion program in New Caledonia as part of the Internationalisation of Education.

The language immersion program is designed to prepare students to live and work in a globalised world. This is aligned with the Victorian Government's focus in Year 9 on life skills and personal development experiences outside the normal school setting. The program’s objective is to increase the number of Victorian students with strong leadership capabilities and 21st century skills, including inter-cultural competence and language proficiency, thereby preparing students to live and work as citizens and future leaders in an inter-connected global community. Ms Fry and Mr Sookhareea will accompany the students on the trip.

On August 1, Emmily from GET Tours was at the information night and provided students with their plane tickets and itineraries. We thank all the students and parents for attending.

Mr Bushan SookhareeaCurriculum Leader for Languages

Ms Melanie FryYear 8 Coordinator / Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator

Literacy and Vocabulary

Ms Marie-Louise Marollas Director of Literacy

Mrs Vicky HronopoulosLiteracy and Numeracy Coach

Word Definition

Incorporate The word incorporate, just means “to include”. To incorporate, means we are adding something into whatever was already existing.

“Add the tomatoes, the salt and pepper, stirring thoroughly to incorporate the tomatoes well in the soup.”

Grant The word, to grant something, is to give them what they wish for.

“If you finish your all your homework, I will grant you one wish.”

Deny The word deny, means that we will refuse to accept, recognise or believe.

“I never did like to work, and I don’t deny it. I’d rather read, tell stories, crack jokes, talk, and laugh-anything but work.”

VYLC Pre-departure Orientation Camp

To help prepare the students for the VYLC Program in China, the Department of Education and Training provided a pre-departure orientation camp on the weekend August 26-27 for travelling students and teachers.

The students were involved in a variety of activities, such as: introductions and expectations for orientation, team activities, how to prepare for and adapt to the new culture, how to build leadership capability during the VYLC Program, intercultural activities and games, city walk activity, VYLC Program code of conduct and expectations for the 6 weeks in-country. Our Principal, Mr. Hugh Blaikie, also attended the formal ceremony and the presentation of program uniforms on Sunday August 27.

Ms Zhiyan RenMandarin Teacher

Important Information Regarding the College Uniform Shop

From Term 4, 2017 the College Uniform Shop will be moving to an OFFSITE location at:

BUXWEAR UNIFORMS / DANDY SCHOOLWEARFactory 8/169 Cheltenham Road, Dandenong 3175Ph: 9792 0424

Please refer to Compass for further information in relation to this significant change.

Wellington Journal - Fortnightly Newsletter of Wellington Secondary College - Designed & Edited by Mr Simon Coles.Wellington Journal - Fortnightly Newsletter of Wellington Secondary College - Designed & Edited by Miss Teresa La

Cheap Thrills at Wellington

All Year 9 students enjoyed the Brainstorm Productions performance of 'Cheap Thrills' in the Theatre on Friday July 28. The one man show was energetically performed, with the assistance of two 'volunteers' and had the students totally engaged. The story (based on real life) explored the choices young people make and the consequences that can flow from them. The major message was that each person is responsible for making decisions that look beyond the moment (the temporary cheap thrill) to make sure they and their friends are safe. I hope this experience has started conversations between students and their parents about the issues of safety and choices relating to drugs and alcohol.

Peter O'Bree Student Wellbeing Co-ordinator

Melbourne International Film Festival Excursion

On Wednesday August 9, the Year 9 French class went on an excursion to the city. We spent most of the morning at Federation Square for the Screen Worlds: The Story of Film, Television and Digital Culture exhibition. Afterwards, we had lunch at The Emporium and our class split off into groups to go on our own mini-adventures.

Then we returned to the ACMI center for our French movie. The movie was called "Swagger" and it was about disadvantaged kids living on the poorer side of Paris, and their dreams. The movie was interesting but felt more like a documentary. It addressed many issues the new generation of young people are facing nowadays; for example how attitudes to different cultures are shaped, attitudes towards immigrants, how young people define their identity, what issues are important to young people.

Overall, the day was enjoyable and the movie increased our inter-cultural knowledge and awareness of the French language.

Palvani Moturi 9I & Suhavi Singh 9B

Woolworths Earn and Learn ProgramThis year, our College is once again participating in the Woolworths Earn and Learn Program. Please collect stickers for the school, which enables us to receive MTA educational equipment and resources. Anyone from our school community - staff, parents, grandparents, neighbours and friends who shop at Woolworths can collect the stickers.

Thank you for your support!

Supporting Monash Hospital

We were very excited to have Bas Kerbage from Monash Health with us at the level assembly this week. Sandra Smiglewska along with the Junior School Leaders organized a Free Dress Day to raise money to provide toys for children at Monash Hospital. Thanks to students who participated in the Free Dress Day almost $400 was raised for this worthy cause. Sandra presented a cheque to Bas and I am sure that the money will be put to good use.

Congratulations to Sandra and the Junior School leaders for the work done in running this fundraiser. It is always great to see our students caring about those less fortunate than them and doing something to raise this awareness and help in a practical way.