Senior School Newsletter Issue No. 5 Term 1 2018

Inspire, Shine, Create.

Dare to be wise.

Dear Parents and Families,

Welcome to Term 2, and if you can believe it, the beginning of May!

We have students from Years 7 and 9 preparing for NAPLAN during class sessions, and if they choose to attend, in Period 6 on Thursdays and on the weekends. Staff are working with students to address points of need in Reading, Writing, Language Conventions and Mathematics. While NAPLAN is only one guide for student and school achievement, it is a significant one, as it is taken into account when our Year 9 students move onto Senior High schools, as well as one that the community takes into account when making school choices. NAPLAN also helps staff to address teaching and learning needs of students, both for individual needs and whole cohorts. By analysing the data from NAPLAN results from previous years, as well as using a range of in school assessments, staff have been working with students to build their capacity identifying misconceptions, determining areas of improvement and ultimately to improve their potential raw score and thus improving their overall ‘Band’ achievement. From our research, a difference of two or three correct answers can significantly alter a student’s overall result on the NAPLAN report supplied to parents.

NAPLAN in held in week 5 of Term 2 for Grade 3 and 5, and Years 7 and 9:Tuesday 15th – Language Conventions and WritingWednesday 16th – Reading Thursday 17th – Numeracy

The Secondary Curriculum day, held on Friday 4th of May, is an opportunity for staff to consolidate and build upon their knowledge of the Middle Years Programme as we embark on our journey towards authorisation. This ‘Launching the MYP’ workshop is held by IB workshop leaders from schools in both Victoria and New South Wales, and they will be working with staff from the 7-9 Mini-School to explore the philosophy of the IB, what strong inquiry teaching and learning looks like, and helping us to develop units of work that are rigorous, challenging, engaging and relevant to our students.

In preparation for the term ahead, staff are reminding students to keen on top of homework, uniform and their general organisation. Winter uniform should be worn for both Terms 2 and 3. Students are also reminded to fully charge their devices at home, as due to OHS concerns we cannot have students charging their computers or iPads in the classroom.

Looking towards the rest of the year, expressions of interest for upcoming tours have been sent home: Uluru for Years 8 and 9, and Great Barrier Reef for Year 7. If you would like your child to attend one of these experiences, please return forms in a prompt manner, as this helps teachers to better organise flights and finalise costs.

We wish the Year 8 Photography camp all the best for their trip to Wilson’s Prom next week! Our fingers are crossed for clear nights and warm days, and we can’t wait to see your wonderful work displayed around the school.

Dare to be wise.

Kirsten Sullivan and Ryan MaActing Assistant PrincipalSecondary SchoolAlamanda College

Alamanda College

Address: 86-100 Alamanda Blvd.

Point Cook PO Box 6606, Point Cook

VIC 3030

Telephone: 03-8376 5200

Email: alamanda.k9@edumail.

vic.gov.au

IMPORTANT DATES

Year 8 Photography - 7th-9th May

Year 9 1000 Steps Dandenong Ranges - 22nd May

Year 9 Mini Expo 6PM-7PMAlamanda Theatre - 23rd May

Year 7 CYC The Island Camp18th-20th June

Last Day of Term 229th June

Dogs are not permitted within the Alamanda school

grounds unless given approval by the Principal.

The exception to this policy is for dogs that assist people

with disabilities.

The purpose of this notice is to support the promotion of a safe school environment and to ensure the safety of all students, toddlers, and parents within the school

yard.

IMPORTANT NOTICEThis term in English we have been continuing to learn a new ‘Word of the Week’ which is expanding our vocabulary. We have been including the ‘Word of the Week’ into our persuasive writing with the aim of being more articulate, persuasive and engaging for our readers. When working on persuasive texts we have been practising building our writing stamina, working on our writing goals and implementing persuasive devices such as; anecdotes, rhetorical questions, repetition, emotive words and inclusive language. In preparation for NAPLAN we have also been working hard on our persuasive and narrative writing, language conventions and reading comprehension. At the end of some English lessons we have been playing an interactive learning game called ‘Kahoot’. Playing Kahoot helps us revise and consolidate what we have learnt in a fun and engaging way. - Rafferty Jones, Holly Johnson and Yunseo Lee, 7D

YEAR 7 ENGLISH

YEAR 7 HUMANITIESThis term in Humanities we have a new statement of inquiry which is; “Urban environments support the development of communities”. It was explained to us that we will be looking at this interdisciplinary unit through a geographical lens. Since week 1 we have practiced our note taking and summarising skills whilst learning about the seven concepts of Geography. They are place, environment, interconnection, sustainability, scale, space and change.

At the moment, we are currently working on mind maps around the key words of our statement of inquiry. - Rafferty Jones, Holly Johnson and Yunseo Lee 7D

Year 7 Wood TechnologyWelcome to Term 2 and a new group of year 7’s to Design and Technology – Wood Technology. So far this term Students have been learning about safety within the Design and Technology domains. In Wood Technology students have been introduced to a variety of different basic hand tools and what they are used for. Students have been working

through a safe work procedure with each of the tools and have been given a chance to show their understanding by creating a variety of simple to moderately complex timber joints. This process helps with the understanding of how materials are connected, jointed and laminated together.

Students have been keen to develop

new skills and extend themselves in Wood Technology as they are eager to start their Wood Technology project. In the coming weeks students will begin their first Wood Technology design brief, which is to design a bread board using a variety of recycled timbers and to develop a design or logo that will be laser cut into the board.

Year 8 Wood Technology

This Term Year 8’s are entering into the production phase of their design brief. The challenge that was set for the students was to design and develop a lamp using timber, acrylics and LED’s. Students have developed working drawings of their designs and are at the moment creating prototypes to see how their designs will come together. The students are looking forward to completing their lamps and having them on display in the senior building.

Year 8 EnglishOur IDU in English started with all year 8’s receiving a novel called “The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas” and throughout the term we would read it together as a class or as homework. Once everyone had finished the book we were told to write an essay on it. Around about a week after we had started the book we started to get into the history part of our IDU, learning about WW1 and parts of WW2. Because of the novel we were reading it mostly focused on the Holocaust and WW2. When we were given our humanities project a lot of people focused on wars and battles, describing what happened to start it, how it was resolved and lots of information on the topic. Personally, I enjoyed learning about WW2 because I felt like it has had one of the biggest impacts on people ever recorded. It was interesting to realise how different global interactions can

be during times of Peace and Conflict, and how different people react under different circumstances. One of my favourite parts was going off on my own and enquiring into the different nuclear weapons used during WW2 and after. Cities crumbled under the impacts of bombs and, towards the end of the war, nukes. - Kaycee Carr, 8E.

The Alamanda College Racing program is in full swing with 40 students from year 6, 7, 8 and 9 participating in the engineering and design challenges. The F1 in Schools STEM Challenge™ is a global competition with teams from 17,000 schools in 44 countries competing to design, manufacture, test and race a miniature car capable of reaching over 80km/h. In Alamanda’s second year of competing we will have seven teams aiming for the Victorian State Championships in October.

In year 9 Team Slipstream are working towards producing a car that can achieve a time of 1:00 second (on the 30m track), in their first year of the Professional Jr class. This team is made up of Henrik Steins and Sandra Sujith from Alamanda, and Louis Jarillas and Serena Peterson from Suzanne Cory (both ex-Alamanda). The professional class is a demanding category, with

F1 Updateteams held to an industry-capable standard in both their enterprise and in their engineering. Slipstream are hoping to once again make it to the Australian National Championships.

The year 8 F1 elective are working towards the 3D print-a-car challenge held at Quantum Victoria, applying their understanding of physics and fluid dynamics alongside rapid prototyping to develop race car prototypes.

The year 7 F1 group, comprised of 4 teams in Development and Cadet Class, have been meeting every Monday (morning and afternoon), Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to build skills in collaboration, team management, design research and innovation. This group of 25 students has been developing their teams as racing businesses, identifying risks, managing finances and presenting marketing plans, alongside the engineering of their car designs.

The F1 in Schools STEM Challenge is a demanding and intensive program that sets students up for success in a wide range of fields from graphic design, project management, engineering, manufacturing and science, and this year we are collaborating with several different businesses in order to support our students in reaching their goals. This includes BOSCH, who will work with our students to improve the aerodynamics of their designs and to streamline the manufacturing process, XEROX will be assisting with the graphic design and printing of the portfolios and POPCORN Displays will work with our students to produce their trade booth designs.

Please contact the office or Mr Nikolsky if you would like to know more about the project, or if you would be able to offer industrial experiences or collaboration for the students.

HumanitiesIn Year 9 Humanities, the students have been unpacking the history of Australia at war and its impact during the 20th Century. As part of this inquiry into the global context of fairness and development, they have been applying their knowledge of various graphic organisers to record and present ideas. Below are some examples of work completed at different stages throughout the inquiry. It showcases the student’s ability to use visual representations to communicate ideas, use of a key and compass direction, note taking and summarising.

Year 9 Humanities/English

The 1000 Steps ChallengeOn the 22nd of May, all Year 9 students will be participating in an excursion to the Dandenong Ranges, where they will visit a Kokoda Trail memorial site and also attempt the 1000 step challenge. We are looking forward to this experience and will feed back to parents in our next newsletter.

EnglishIn Year 9 English, the students have been exploring their own personal line of inquiry in relation to an issue of conflict or social injustice. As part of

this unit, the students are required to craft a letter of advocacy, presenting their view point and call to action in regards to their personal inquiry. Below are some examples of the letters we have received. Please see examples on pages 8-9. InquiryAt the beginning of this term, students chose a novel that they would like to read in relation to our inquiry into the global context of Identities and Relationships. The books have now arrived and the students are settling into the routine of reading daily,

Mr.  Donald  Trump  President  of  the  United  States  The  White  House  1600  Pennsylvania  Avenue  NW  Washington,  DC  20500    Dear  Mr.  Trump,    Gun  laws  in  the  United  States  have  been  a  debate  for  many  years.  Half  the  argument  states  that  guns  are  dangerous,  and  the  other  half  is  arguing  that  it  is  the  American  population’s  right  to  own  a  gun.  But  why  are  guns  needed?  What  is  so  good  about  pulling  a  trigger?  Why  are  guns,  weapons  that  can  easily  kill  a  person,  not  under  stricter  laws?    Guns  kill  people.  There  is  no  argument  that  can  possibly  be  made  against  the  solid  fact  that  guns  are  a  weapon  that  cause  death.  Every  single  day,  on  average,  7  children  or  teenagers  are  shot  dead.  That  is  over  2,500  children  or  teenagers  shot  dead  every  year,  based  on  those  statistics  alone.  These  young  people,  with  families,  with  lives  ahead  of  them,  shot  dead  because  of  America’s  lack  of  gun  laws.  Times  have  changed  since  the  constitution  was  written  in  1787.  Now,  the  United  States  has  the  largest  military  in  the  entire  world;  it  is  entirely  unnecessary  for  citizens  to  be  carrying  a  gun  around  with  them.  The  presence  of  guns  only  results  in  the  country  being  more  dangerous,  which  is  why  guns  need  to  be  regulated  under  stricter  laws.    There  has  been  over  2,000  mass  shootings  since  the  Sandy  Hook  school  shooting  in  2012,  which  killed  20  children  and  6  adults.  In  these  shootings,  over  1,800  people  have  been  killed,  and  a  further  6,400+  have  been  wounded,  which  proves  that  the  gun  problem  is  truly  a  problem.  These  shootings,  deaths,  and  people  hurt  could  have  been  prevented,  however,  it  is  so  incredibly  easy  to  gain  possession  of  a  gun  in  the  United  States.    State  laws  not  a  solution,  either.  Chicago,  a  state  with  some  of  the  strictest  gun  laws  in  the  country,  also  has  a  high  amount  of  gun  crimes.  60%  of  guns  come  from  outside  the  state.  In  New  York,  74%  of  guns  come  from  outside  the  state.  There  is  a  gun  smuggling  route  going  from  the  southern  states  to  New  York  so  well  known  that  it  even  has  a  name.  Surely  this  should  prove  that  the  current  laws  regarding  guns  in  America  must  be  reconsidered,  if  gaining  possession  is  so  simple.      In  1996,  a  mass  shooting  in  Port  Arthur,  Australia,  prompted  a  change  to  Australia’s  gun  laws  within  weeks.  Elected  officials  in  Australia,  with  help  from  police  and  the  prime  minister,  banned  semi-­‐automatic  and  other  military-­‐style  weapons  all  across  the  country.  The  government  prohibited  the  import  of  the  weapons  and  lawmakers  introduced  a  gun  buyback  program  to  encourage  Australians  to  freely  give  up  their  weapons.  After  the  ban  on  these  weapons,  Australia  managed  to  drastically  bring  down  the  amount  of  violence  in  the  country.  Soon,  they  also  added  a  handgun  agreement,  and  gun  violence  in  general  declined.  As  of  2014,  Australia’s  murder  rate  fell  to  less  than  1  killing  per  100,000  people.  This  is  one  fifth  of  the  size  of  America’s.  So  much  of  the  violence  in  America  could  be  changed  by  pushing  to  change  their  dangerous  laws,  as  was  done  in  Australia.    America  has  more  guns  than  it  has  people,  which  is  a  scary  thought.  That’s  a  lot  of  weapons  that  can  be  used  to  kill  innocent  people.  If  guns  can  really  help  people  be  safer,  America  would  be  one  of  the  safest  places  in  the  world.  However,  the  statistic  simply  show  that  guns  do  more  harm  than  good.  So  if  you  care  about  your  country  and  the  people  residing  within  it,  maybe  changing  the  current  gun  laws  to  make  them  stricter  is  a  decision  that  should  have  been  made  a  long  time  ago,  and  one  that  will  definitely  be  best  for  the  future  to  make  people  happier  and  safer.      Kind  regards,  Eloise  Perrin  

Eloise  Perrin  Alamanda  College  86-­‐100  Alamanda  Boulevard  Point  Cook,  Victoria  3030  Australia  per0018@alamandacollege.vic.edu.au  

Mohit  Thakur  86-­‐100  Alamanda  blvd  

POINT  COOK  VICTORIA  3030  

AUSTRALIA  tha0024@alamandacollege.vic.edu.au  

28  March.  2018    Bans  Lansdrop  Co-­‐founder  and  CEO  of  marsONE  Stationsplein  28,    AMERFOORT  3818LE  THE  NETHERLANDS    Dear  Bas  Lansdorp,    My  name  is  Mohit  and  I’m  curious;  curious  about  what  will  happen  if  a  child  is  born  in  space?  Will  they  have  human  rights?  This  is  a  topic  that  I  believe  will  be  taken  seriously  when  humans,  as  a  species,  will  try  to  colonise  the  solar  system,  Milky  Way  and,  eventually,  the  30  odd  galaxies  in  our  local  group  (if  humans  can  survive  to  do  so).  Since  astronauts  such  as  yourself  will  never  come  back  on  earth  and  the  objective  is  to  make  a  permanent  settlement,  then  re-­‐population  is  a  must  so  it  is  important  to  consider  whether  a  child  born  in  space  has  human  rights.  In  my  opinion,  they  should  simply  because  the  Declaration  of  Human  Rights  states  that  every  human  should  have  said  rights.  A  child  born  in  space  shouldn’t  have  to  go  through  hardships  due  to  this  issue  growing  up;  every  citizen  of  earth  should  be  abiding  by  the  Declaration  of  Human  Rights  and  the  child  is  a  citizen  of  earth.    To  commence,  according  to  the  Declaration  of  Human  Rights,  all  humans  should  have  human  rights  with  no  exceptions.  The  Declaration  of  Human  Rights  states  that  ‘...universal  rights  a  living  reality  for  every  man,  woman  and  child,  everywhere.’  This  means  it  doesn’t  change  due  to  one’s  origin,  health,  or  other  special  cases.  This  is  also  restated  in  article  2;  ‘Everyone  is  entitled  to  all  the  rights  and  freedoms  set  forth  in  this  Declaration,  without  distinction  of  any  kind,  such  as  race,  colour,  sex,  language,  religion,  political  or  other  opinion,  national  or  social  origin,  property,  birth  or  other  status.’  Therefore,  not  giving  such  a  child  the  same  rights  as  the  rest  of  us  is  going  directly  against  an  official  document  that  is  the  ground  work  of  many  constitutions  and  laws  across  the  world.      Furthermore,  the  rights  were  placed  to  protect  all  humans  from  acts  that  are  deemed  to  have  ‘outraged  the  conscience  of  mankind’.  We  must  question  our  morals  and  ask  ourselves,  do  we  want  to  expose  a  child  to  abuse  and  slavery  just  because  he/she  was  born  in  another  place  from  us?  This  child  is  one  of  the  greatest  steps  forward  in  space  colonisation,  why  should  he  or  she  be  betrayed  by  the  government  where  billions  and  billions  of  people  and  from  that  millions  of  criminals  are  protected  by  it.  How  does  that  make  any  sense?    In  addition,  every  citizen  of  the  world  should  have  protection  due  to  human  rights;  why  can’t  this  child  have  the  same  benefits.  If  this  future  child’s  parents  are  born  and  raised  in  the  United  States  for  example,  the  child  would  become  a  US  citizen.  It’s  called  acquisition  of  citizenship.  In  my  case,  I’m  born  and  am  currently  finishing  middle  school  in  Australia  but  both  my  parents  are  born  in  India,  I  automatically  acquire  Indian  citizenship.  The  child  would  have  the  same  law  applied  to  them.  It’s  impossible  to  tell  what  the  nationality  of  the  parents  but  the  child  should  get  citizenship  of  country  x  and  have  protection  by  the  Declaration  of  Human  Rights.    You  are  empowered  with  the  capacity  and  privilege  to  make  a  difference  since  you  are  a  founder  in  one  of  the  most  important  and  influential  project  in  the  century.  I  urge  you  to  take  my  reasoning  in  consideration  and  bring  up  this  topic  in  an  organised  meeting.  This  is  so  the  decision  isn’t  rushed  and  there  aren’t  going  to  be  riots  due  to  a  poor  decision.  Everyone  makes  mistakes  and  the  more  influence  a  person  has;  the  more  the  mistake  has  an  effect.  Hopefully  we  can  make  the  first  step  into  universal  colonisation,  a  successful  one.      Thank  you  for  your  time.  I  hope  that  I  can  count  on  you  for  your  support.  I  look  forward  to  hearing  back  from  you  in  the  coming  weeks.    Kind  regards,  Mohit  Thakura   I   a   I   a   I   a  

conferencing with teachers and contributing to weekly literature circles in which they delve deeper into the themes, vocabulary and authors style of their chosen novel. NAPLANNAPLAN testing is fast approaching and we would like to commend the students on all the hard work, perseverance and commitment they are placing towards setting and achieving personal learning goals in both literacy and numeracy. We will continue to support the students throughout this time by offering additional NAPLAN studying sessions on Thursday during Period 6 and also Saturday’s from 9am until 11am. If your child would like to attend, please request a permission form from the office. RegardsSarah O’ConnorActing Leading TeacherYear 9

Musica Viva has been bringing premium quality live music to Australian schools for over 35 years. Specialising in presenting the best

Musica Viva

small ensembles Australia has to offer – dynamic, accessible and culturally diverse groups that perform in a wide variety of music styles.

This year students from Year 5-9 will have the opportunity to enjoy Adam Hall and his Velvety Players. Inspired by soul icons James Brown and Ray Charles, the ensemble has travelled the world to great acclaim. Renowned for their slick presentation and raw energy, they are ready to take you on your own tour of the classic Rhythm & Blues of the 1940s and ‘50s. Singer/trumpeter Adam Hall and his foot-stomping, hip-wiggling, shoulder-shaking “little big band” will be performing at the school theatre on Monday 22nd of October in the Secondary Theatre. Limited tickets will be available so please be sure to return completed permission form with payment of $10.00 by June 15th. Forms are available at the Main Office.