J O U R N A L

News from Wellington Secondary College Edition 12: August 9 2019

UPCOMING DATES:Presentation Ball - August 23

Production Week - August 26 to 313-Way Conferences - September 18

On Friday August 2, 41 students and eight teachers were up before the break of dawn, ready to make our school’s annual trip to Mt Buller. The promise of beautiful weather made the early morning wake up a little easier, but there were still plenty of people sleeping on the bus trip up to the mountain.

Students spent the first hour and a half in either skiing or snowboarding lessons and many soon realised that it is not as easy as it looks.

After a quick bite to eat to refill our energy levels, most were back out on the slopes again, however some opted to take a more go-slow approach and were having great fun building snowmen and enjoying the beautiful views.

By the afternoon, the snow was stating to melt and the runs were turning a little slushy. This made for some extra cushioning when falling over. Sadly, 4 o’clock came around too quickly and we found ourselves on the bus again making our way back down the mountain. With a quick dinner stop in Yea, we were on the last leg home and made it back to school safe and sound by 8:30pm.

I would like to thank all the staff members who gave up their time to help supervise this trip, along with all 41 students who personified the true Wellington Way all day on the mountain.

Troy DiazHead of Middle School

Year 10 Snow Day

P r i n c i p a l ’s R ep o r tMasterplan UpdateWe are now entering Stage 2 of our masterplan and putting to use the knowledge gained over the last three years as the Vanellus Centre was designed and constructed. A number of architectural firms will be presenting to us late next week, we will then choose the company to design the rebuild of Blocks A, B and C and the transformation of the old Library into a new Wellbeing

and Inclusion Hub.

Presentation BallStudents have been practising for some time for the ball which will be held on August 23, a much anticipated event on our calendar. We are looking forward to Mr Daniel Andrews, Premier of Victoria, again making time to attend and be a part of the official party.

Planning for 2020Students have almost completed the process of subject selection for next year, taking a lot of care to ensure that their pathway needs will be met. I thank all of the staff involved in guiding the students through this process. When this process is complete, we will be deciding class numbers and unfortunately all students may not get their desired subjects – staff will work with those students to choose alternatives that will still meet their needs.

Prospective Year 7 students have submitted placement forms and the number of families choosing Wellington is again high. Enrolment packs have been sent out to these families and we will know in a few weeks what our number of new students will be.

We have begun the process of addressing our staffing needs for 2020 and will be advertising vacancies and appointing staff as needed. As is the case every year, we will be farewelling staff at the end of the year and welcoming new staff for next year.

Parent Opinion SurveyEach year, the school conducts an opinion survey amongst a sample of the school community. The data from the survey will be used to inform and direct our future school planning and improvement. If your family was selected to participate in the 2019 Parent Opinion Survey you were emailed a link to the survey and instructions on how to complete it.

If you have already completed the survey, thank you for your feedback. If you haven’t yet completed the survey, we ask you to take a few minutes to do so prior to August 18. Please be assured that your responses are anonymous and completely confidential.

College Production - ShrekYet another anticipated item on our calendar which will be fantastic. Those involved are putting in an incredible amount of work to ensure the success of this production which will be staged from August 28 to 31. Tickets are selling fast. If you would like to come along, please purchase your tickets soon.

Overseas TravellersMiss Connie and Mr Rowley-Bates have returned from their trip to Vietnam and Cambodia, making contact with many parents of our International Students and reporting on the progress of their child. These parents find the visit invaluable and are reassured that their child is being cared for whilst in Australia.

Another element of the trip is to maintain contact with the Education Agents who facilitate the enrolment of students from these countries into Australian schools. We continue to have strong links with these agents and have developed a strong reputation as a school of choice, thanks to the work done on these trips.

Dan ButlerAssistant Principal

B i g T h i n g s M u r a lLast year, the Year 10 combined Visual Communication Design and Studio Arts classes produced a series of posters celebrating Australian provincial towns and their “big things”. This year, the works are out on display and form the “Big Things Mural” opposite the Vanellus. The VCD/SA class included Nephele Bermpatis, Caila Browning, Kiarra Clearihan, Jordan Davis, Zayne Ferguson, Sama Harris, Donald In, Izaak Kamira, Mary Kranias, Tahlia Margiolakis, Blake Mcclain, Cloe Mcleod, Annie Nguyen, Michelle Pham, Jenny Phung, Leila Rekic, Nancy Trenh, Helen Vo, Yasmin Yim.

Evangelos SakarisArt Teacher

RACI Titration CompetitionThree students (Tony La, Mimi Thoi and Quang Nguyen) completed the Royal Australian Chemical Institute titration competition on Wednesday July 24.

They determined the concentration of a vinegar solution through a series of titrations. The aim was to get within 0.0001 of the true value. Results will be announced late in August.Good luck.

Penelope HaleDirector of STEM Education

P r e s e n t a t i o n B a l l R e h e a r s a l sThis year’s Presentation Ball has been such a fun experience to be a part of. It’s been really great to hang out with my friends and do some physical activity.

The first few lessons were a bit awkward, since none of us really wanted to dance with the people we didn’t know, but we all got used to it and it has been awesome getting to know everyone else taking part. Mrs Vermulst is an amazing dance teacher and she’s really gone above and beyond, putting so much of her time into teaching us the dances. Mrs Salmon has also been great in helping us learn all of the dance moves as well.

I’m really looking forward to seeing the whole night come together and dancing in my dress that was way too expensive.

Holly Pirotta, 11I

Climate Crisis The climate crisis is a warming of the Earth. Greenhouse Gases are released into the air causing reactions with our environment and heating up our earth rapidly. So, why should we care? This crisis is not just affecting other countries but our own as well. Australian wildlife are dependent on certain environments, and if these environments change, wildlife can become extinct, which means no more kangaroos, koalas, platypuses, wombats, etc. The Great Barrier Reef will continue to be bleached, killing all the sea life around Australia. This crisis is also affecting our Australian homes. Now, in Western Queensland, there is the worst drought that has happened in Australia in a long time. The fires around Australia have grown larger each year with the increasing of the climate crisis.

Earth hour is an event that people do all over the world where they turn off power to conserve energy and raise awareness of the impact that energy consumption has on the environment. In this movement, we empower environmental conservation, and how much difference one hour of no energy can do to our environment.

So, what are we doing for this?

The E-Squad is holding an event called Earth Hour on September 11 at 11am-12pm. We ask for as much cooperation as possible. We would like classes to go without lights, devices, aircon/heating or projectors. However, we understand that some classes might need power for their classes. The classes will have activities based on Earth Hour, and will outline why we are doing Earth Hour.

Global Village Speech Competition - “China in my Eyes”

On Friday July 26, Alejandra Amaya (8F), Leon Adcock (11A) and Zakeem Imran (8J) participated in the pre-selection of the Global Village Speech Competition at Melbourne Grammar School. In this competition, all participants were required to give a two minute speech in Chinese without referring to any kind of notes. It was a very lengthy competition starting from 6.30pm and ending at nearly 11pm. Alejandra excelled during her performance and successfully made it through to the final held at Fintona Girls’ School on Sunday July 28. She was awarded the 3rd prize in the final.

Year 11 student, Leon Adcock, also made a very impressive speech on the night even though his turn was at nearly 11pm. He was very close to making through to the final.

I’d like to commend the students’ courage, passion, determined effort, perseverance and most of all, their exemplary Chinese speaking skills as second language learners. I would also like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Ms Dong for her support to Alejandra’s speech scripts

Haijin ZhuangLanguages Curriculum Leader

On Friday July 26, I attended the 10th Goodtalk (Global Village) Children and Youth Bilingual Speech Conference, where I, along with many other primary and secondary school students from all around Victoria, spoke about ‘China in my Eyes’. Approximately 100 students took part in this competition, of which only 15 primary school students and 10 secondary school students qualified for the finals. I spoke about many of my interests related to China such as the Ice and Snow Festival held in the city of Harbin and the Chinese television drama ‘Meteor Garden’, entirely in Chinese, in the presence of three judges and many spectators. Thankfully I was selected to proceed to the finals after presenting my speech.

As a part of the finals I was paired with a Chinese exchange student. We combined the speeches we had made into one, to produce a speech that was 3 minutes in length. ‘Sally’, who was my partner, spoke in English while I spoke in Chinese once again. On Sunday July 28, we presented our final speech and received 3rd place. I am very grateful that I was presented with the opportunity to participate in this competition as I got the chance to observe and learn many things about Chinese culture that I did not know and also meet new people.

Alejandra Amaya-Ruiz, 8F

IF YOU WERE SELECTED, PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY BY SUNDAY AUGUST 18

It takes no more than 10 minutes to complete. As the survey is anonymous we have no way to tell who has completed it, so we have to email everyone that was invited to participate. If you have completed the survey and receive a reminder, we thank you for taking the time. If you have not completed the survey and receive a reminder, we ask that you please take the time to complete it.

Natasha DickinsonActing Assistant Principal

Parent Opinion Survey

There is a lot of conflicting advice and emerging research around screen time. The right amount of screen time can depend on a range of factors like;• your child’s age and maturity• the kind of content they are consuming• their learning needs and• your family routine

Be involvedSharing screen time and online activities like gaming with your child helps you gauge the appropriateness of what they are doing and manage potential risks.It’s also a great way to start conversations with your child about their online experiences.

Work with your child to set boundaries for screen useIf you decide that setting screen time limits is right for you and your child, discuss these new rules with your child. Older children are more likely to cooperate if they have been part of the decision-making process. Colourful pictures or charts of daily limits and other import-ant activities is a fun way to get younger children on board.

Be clear about the consequences of not switching offPart of our role as parents is to set clear limitations and boundaries. The same applies to technology limitations so, being clear and consistent about the consequences for your child if they do not stick to these rules is paramount. The Raising Chil-dren Network provides some useful tools and advice.

Set device-free zones and times at homeDevice-free zones can help you manage your family’s dig-ital use. Here are some ideas for setting digital boundaries within your home:• no devices in the bedroom for younger children• all screens off in bedrooms after a certain time for older

children• all screens off at least one hour before planned bedtime• all family members switch off at dinner time• charge devices overnight in a place your child cannot

access

Ask your child to explain their screen useGet your child in the habit of explaining why they want to be in front of a screen or online. It’s a great way to get them thinking about their own digital habits and balancing screen time with other activities.

Use tech tools to help manage accessThere are robust products and device functions which allow you to see which apps are being used in your home and for how long. But try not to use these tools to secretly monitor your child. Instead, be open about the process and check the whole family’s usage, including your own. Start with Goo-gle Family Link for Android devices or parental controls and Screen Time for iPhone/iPad.

Lead by exampleYour behaviour is one of the most effective ways to help your child develop a positive digital mindset. Show your child you can put down your device too.

S c r e e n t i m e Fo r Yo u r C h i l d

Wellington Journal - Fortnightly Newsletter of Wellington Secondary College - Designed and Edited by Miss Teresa La

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