YARRA HILLS SECONDARY COLLEGE

PO BOX 42 MOOROOLBARK 3138 Mooroolbark Campus: Tel: 9839 8800 Mt Evelyn Campus : Tel: 9736 3650

www.yarrahills.vic.edu.au

21 September 2018 Monthly Bulletin Issue No. 6

Respect ♦ Endeavour ♦ Achievement ♦ Pride

College Principal’s Report

September

As we approach the conclusion of Term 3, we have a great deal to reflect on, recognise and celebrate.

NAPLAN

The 2018 NAPLAN (National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy) results were recently released. NAPLAN testing occurs across Australia at Years 3, 5, 7 & 9. At secondary school level, while we closely monitor the results of our incoming Year 7 groups, the growth data from Year 7 to Year 9 is used by us to track our ‘value added’ component and identify how much progress we have been able to achieve with our students as they move through the school. I am pleased to say that our 7 – 9 Growth data has continued to improve and showed the best results for many years, outper-forming state measures in several areas. This is testament to the many innovative and engaging programs being imple-mented across the college in recent years, as well as to the dedication and enthusiasm of our teaching and non-teaching staff. Congratulations for your fine efforts.

Having said that, the NAPLAN is still limited in its scope and doesn’t assess many of the key attributes we as a college community see as essential for our students. Things such as communication skills, perseverance, resilience, artistic or musical talent, entrepreneurship and civic/community spirit. Our hope is that our students can continue to progress and develop in all of these areas as they make their way through the college and depart from the school as lifelong learners with positive spirit.

College Concert & New Zealand Music Trip

I again had the privilege of attending our fantastic College Concert on Monday Sept 10. As usual, it was a great event with our talented Instrumental Music groups taking us on a musical journey including old time classics, movie themes and stirring opera numbers. This year’s concert was held in the Karralyka Centre Auditorium at Ringwood, a change from the Mooroolbark Community Centre, to accommodate the increasing numbers in attendance. We had almost 300 in the audience for a great night that showcased our incredible students and staff. Well done and congratulations to all involved. Along the same lines, less than a week later our New Zealand Music Tour departed for their overseas tour. At the time of writing the group had arrived safely and begun their various performances in the ‘land of the long white cloud’. I have included below some photos sent through from the group.

Yarra Hills Community Art Show

Last Friday night saw us hold the official opening of the annual Yarra Hills Community Art Show. This event is another in the college calendar that has gone from strength to strength. With an extensive display of art from not only our own Yarra Hills students and staff, but also from many of the local primary schools. Awards and prizes were handed out in many categories and presented by many special guests and dignitaries. Christine Fyffe MP and Bridget Vallence Liberal for Evelyn again attended and spoke of the great event and the connection to the Mt Evelyn community. Thanks to the Art KLA team and others who helped on the night. Well done! Finally, best wishes for a safe and restful holiday break! Darren Trippett College Principal

From the Mooroolbark Campus Principal

As Term 3 comes to a close, it is hard to believe where the time went. It has been a very busy few weeks, culminating this week with the Year 9 Queensland Camp, the Instrumental Music tour of the North Island of New Zealand, Year 10 Work Experience and Year 12 ‘Practice Exam’ week. For all those students and staff travelling I wish them safe travels and hope they have a wonderful time.

So what’s happened for students and staff over the last few weeks? Too much to mention all, but here are some of my highlights:

Book Week

Well done to all of the students who took part in our Book Week celebrations in the week of Monday 20 – Friday 24 August. It was great to see so many students and staff dress up in the favourite ‘book’ character and get into the spirit on our out of uniform day on Tuesday August 21. Thanks again to our Student Representative Council for their help in organising the day. Parent Student Teacher interviews

Thank you to the students and their parents who attended the interviews on Thursday September, 6 on a wild and wet night at the college. The opportunity to speak with families about their child’s progress is really important and worthwhile. If you were not able to attend I recommend parents making contact with teachers via email or phone.

Subject Selection Process & Planning

The process for selection of elective subjects for 2019 for the Year 8-9 and 9-10 is now complete and planning the time-table is well underway. I would like to thank the students for completing the selection forms as a group so quickly and efficiently, and thank the parents for their support of their children and helping them with the process.

College Music

The College Music Program, led by Richard O’Toole, has been in full rehearsal mode for the upcoming New Zealand trip, and the College Concert. Just over 2 weeks ago at our Music Marathon the students rehearsed and stayed over-night in the Mooroolbark Campus Performing Arts Centre. There was lots of practice undertaken, although I am not sure about them getting much sleep! A big thank you to all the parents and staff who helped feed and supervise the students. The College Concert, held this year on Monday September 10 at Karralyka Theatre in Ringwood East, is always a high-light of the school calendar and again the students did not disappoint. I was truly proud of the efforts of all our students (& music staff). Their talent and hard work shone through. The Parents and Music Staff should be so proud of the efforts of our Instrumental Music students.

Year 7 & 8 Spelling Bee & Numeracy Competition On Tuesday September 4, during Period 4 our annual Spelling and Numeracy competition for Year 7 & 8 was held. Well done to all of the students who represented their Homegroup. Congratulations to Katelyn Harris from 7E our winner for 2018, and to Aliyah Baulch from 8B who was our runner up. A big thanks to Rebecca Fletcher, Carly Joyce and Chris Gurr for organising and running this event. Year 7 Debating Congratulations to Emma Turner and our Year 7 Debaters, who have been taking part in Debating Association of Victoria competition at Melba College. Our students have learnt much about debating and have won their first 2 rounds. Rotary 4-Way Speaking Contest Congratulations to Emily Russo, who represented Yarra Hills Secondary College at the annual 4-Way Public Speaking contest. Emily competed against other students from different schools in the region and won! This is a fantastic effort. We wish Emily all the best as she takes part in the finals in the coming weeks. We appreciate the support of the Montrose Rotary Club who sponsored Emily and who sponsor our students in a number of events throughout the year. Thank you to Staff I would like to thank the following staff:

David Audesho for taking on the role of Head of Junior School;

Simone Ritchie for filling in as Year 10 Year Level Coordinator; and

Rebecca Leahy for her work in Sport in Term 3 I hope all families enjoy the Term break. Greg Cowan Campus Principal

From the Mt Evelyn Campus Principal

As we draw to a close on yet another term, I often reflect on what we have achieved throughout the term. Year 8, 9 and 10 students have been advised and assisted in selecting their subject choices for 2019. This has required stu-dents to think about their interests, strengths and of course their future career path. Thankfully it was a streamline process and I thank all students and staff for helping us making it so. Our Year 7 Life Skill classes have also been busy assisting our neighbours the Yarra Ranges SDS put plants in. From all accounts, it was a very productive visit and Yarra Ranges SDS were very appreciative. The annual music marathon was held last week with music students managing to get plenty of practice and refining their skills throughout their 30 hour stint before the grand performance at the college concert. Spelling Bee

Every year we hold a spelling and maths bee. It is a wonderful opportunity for our talented spelling and maths students to shine. Each homegroup put forward their candidates to battle it out with each round getting harder and harder. It was our year 7 students who managed to make it to the finals with Seth Spenceley and Josh Neave being our final two. Our final winner was Seth Spenceley. Congratulations Seth, it was a great effort!

College Concert was amazing!! With all the hours of practice, the music lessons, band rehearsals, not to mention the individual tuition, the time had come to put all this together for the annual college concert. This year, it was held at Karralyka as we had outgrown the last venue. Each of the bands performed several items to showcase how much they had grown throughout the year. It was also an opportunity for our year 12 students perform their solos. We were fortunate to have the Australian Youth Band’s drumline perform some very impressive music pieces. Katherine Rosevear was flawless in her flute performance while Matthew Davidson’s singing raised the roof. I was so proud of all our music students, as were many parents sitting in the audience. Thank you to all the instrumental teachers and of course Richard O’Toole for his guidance and leadership of this fantastic program. Well done everyone!!

Yarra Hills Community Art Show; a real winner!! Once again the Yarra Hills Community Art Show is an impressive exhibition of the talents of students both from our school and local community. This year we chose to focus more on our young people rather than professional artists. Our Art extension program running at both Mt Evelyn and Birmingham Primary School saw many students enter some amazing art work. The quality of their art is certainly well beyond their years. Our own students from all year levels entered such a variety of creative pieces from traditional art, technology pieces, photographs, sculptures and even textiles work. Art work also came in from 8 local primary schools culminating in an extensive exhibition. Last Friday night was the opening to our Art Show and we were fortunate enough to have Bridget Vallence and Christine Fyffe who both spoke so positively not only about the art work but also about Yarra Hills as a school. Many prizes were given to the winning artists in a variety of categories. Congratulations and thank you must go to Robbie Bechaz, Katya Barnes and the entire Art faculty as well as all other staff who helped to make this show one of the greatest!! Finally I would like to wish every student a safe and restful break for the holidays and look forward to seeing you all refreshed for term 4!

Robyn Dew Mt Evelyn Campus Principal

Mt Evelyn Year 7 Table Tennis and Basketball On Friday August 31 the year 7 students competed in the Yarra Group Division for Basketball and Table Tennis. The Year 7 boys table tennis team which consisted of Ben Lombardi, Seth Spenceley, Rohan Waterson and Justin Bale, finished 1st overall. They won all their group matches and then beat Lilydale High School 4 rubbers to 2 in the final. The other boys’ teams finished 5th and 7th. The Year 7 Basketball girls also won the B division title. Well done to all! Demos Koullacas

KEY DATES

OCTOBER

Monday 8 Mary Poppins Jr—Cast & Crew get together 3.30pm—5.00pm at MB ME & MB

Tues-Fri 9-12 Year 8 Camp Rumbug ME & MB

9 Senior Band Rehearsal 3.30pm—4.30pm MB

Thursday 11 Intermediate & Junior Band Rehearsal 3.45pm—5.30pm ME & MB

Tuesday 16 Senior Band Rehearsal 3.30pm—4.30pm MB

Wednesday 17 Year 10 Photography City Field Trip 8.30am—3.10pm MB

Thursday 18 Interschool Girls Cricket EMR Zone 8.45am—3.10pm MB

Year 7 Immunisation—2nd Round ME & MB

Year 8D Box Hill Tafe-STEM Program Virtual Reality Workshop 9am—3.10pm MB

Intermediate & Junior Band Rehearsal 3.45pm—5.30pm ME & MB

Friday 19 Year 9 Photography City Field Trip 8.30am—3.10pm MB

Year 10 Transition—ME Staff & Student Morning Tea 9.00am—12.05pm ME

Year 7 Boys Eastern Zone Table Tennis 9.00am—3.10pm ME

Monday 22 Year 9 OED Alpine—Indoor Rock Climbing 11.45am—4.00pm MB

Tuesday 23 Year 12 final day of Classes & Celebration Day MB

Year 8E Box Hill Tafe-STEM Program Virtual Reality Workshop 9am—3.10pm MB

Senior Band Rehearsal 3.30pm—4.30pm MB

Wednesday 24 Year 8 Eastern Zone Girls Table Tennis 9.00am—3.10pm ME

Year 10 Science/Health/PE—Body Worlds Vital Exhibition 9am—3.00pm MB

Thursday 25 Year 9/10 OED Cathedral Ranges Hike ME

Year 8F Box Hill Tafe-STEM Program Virtual Reality Workshop 9am—3.10pm MB

Intermediate & Junior Band Rehearsal 3.45pm—5.30pm ME & MB

Monday 29 Year 7 Boys Eastern Zone Tennis 9.00am—3.00pm ME

Year 8L & 8M Rock Incursion ME Campus 9.00am—11.30am ME

Tuesday 30 Year 10 METEC Driver Training Session 1 8.45am-3.00pm ME

Year 8M Box Hill Tafe-STEM Program Virtual Reality Workshop 9am—3.10pm ME

Senior Band Rehearsal 3.30pm—4.30pm MB

Wednesday 31 Year 12 Exams Commence MB

National Aerobics Competition

Ishi Trehan has been doing aerobics since Prep, competing at state and national level during primary school. Over the past four years she has been working really hard to make it to Nationals. Ishi is a member of an aerobics club and this year is competing the Federation of International Sports, Aerobics and Fitness (FISAF) competition which has a scope for going to internationals. Recently Ishi competed in Nationals which were held in Brisbane on August 9 -12th. Ishi’s team came fourth in the competition which is a great effort at such a high level of competition.

Fiona Plant

Netball Sport Education Program In year 8 PE students participated in a Netball Sport Education Program (SEPEP). Students were given a chance to participate in their own netball league in a range of team roles, duty roles and competition matches. Each student had a main role in their team and then selected a duty role either being referee, scorer, timer, statistician or media officer. Players got to choose their own part in the game either being in the centre, a defender or an attacker. For all games the duty team voted on the best and fairest players as well as on endeavour. At the end of the unit students got to evaluate their skills and game sense, comparing their skills from the start of the unit to the end of the unit. Stu-dents celebrated their success by having an awards ceremony where prizes were awarded to the overall winning team, as well as for the players with the most votes for endeavour and the best & fairest players. Congratulations to the following students who took out the endeavour and best and fairest awards: Amy Hoang (endeavour), Bailey Smoors (endeavour), Blake Meakins (endeavour), Alexis Craig (best and fairest), and Corey Kelly (best and fairest).

Leah Marchant

Quantum Excursion for Year 9 On Monday September 3 our adventurous year 9s discovered a new world at the Quantum Science Centre near La Trobe University, Bundoora. Our Forensic Scientists worked through the many clues left by a thief to solve a mystery. Throughout the student lead investigations, facilitated by the Quantum staff, we worked through the various activities like blood analysis, hair magnifications, shoe print identifications, soil PH testing and interviewing techniques. After careful analysis, our clever year 9s worked out who the thief was. Whilst, our forensic scientists were working away, upstairs our other year 9 computer experts carefully designed a device of their own choice using CAD software, and then printed them with the 3D filament printers. Another fantastic day at Quantum was had by all. The students always love this excursion. So much excitement and much appreciation for this experience.

Sandra Lombardi