Newsletter, Term 2, 2023

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Congratulations to everyone on a great term 2! The term has been non-stop with many activities, excursions and other events taking place throughout the term. The range of activities taking place is also amazing, with something for everyone!

Some highlights for the term include:

• Our Robotics team competing at the VEX Robotics World Championships in America (I recommend having a watch of the quick video from the Worlds. It looks intense!)

• Our Swimmers winning medals at the State Champs

• Term 2 Community Integrated Learning focus on Living Cultures

• End of Semester Showcases for Music, Drama and Dance

• The first ever Immersive Arts camp

• The many, many different excursions held

• Many, many more throughout the school!

The depth and range of the activities available to our student has been great to see. As said at the end of term 1, the school year is a marathon, not a sprint. Term 2 has built on the successes of term 1 and we are looking forward to all that term 3 brings, including the Course Counselling process.

This course counselling brings a lot of excitement as students look at their options for 2024 and beyond. There are a few disruptions as we hold student parent teacher interviews and course counselling day, but these will give an important opportunity to get more information and then confirmation on plans for 2024.

I do encourage you to have a look through the excellent newsletter. There is such a range of activities that have taken place that it might give you some inspiration for things to join in with in term 3.

Congratulations once again to all for your contributions towards the TC Community in term 2.

Peter Ellis
Principal

State Swimming Championships

Congratulations to our elite swimmers on their successes at the SSV State Swimming Championships.

Tiana, Grace, Ginger and Imogen came FIRST in the female 4X50m Freestyle relay and Heath, Lucas, Siddanth and Joel came SECOND in the male 4X50m Freestyle relay, both massive achievements! Congratulations!

Imogen and Joel also both placed third in 16yo 50m Breaststroke and Open 100m freestyle respectively.

Big Science Competition

TC students interested in science this term competed in the Big Science Competition. Congratulations to everyone who participated, the following results were achieved:

• Year 8 - Morrie T (D)

• Year 9 - Olivia G (C), Delanah S (P)

• Year 10 - Aaron L (HD), George T (HD), Eirron W (HD), Aidan C (D), Alborz A (C), Camille C (C), Tiana H (C), Mateo P (P), Zahra P (P), Matilda P (P).

Zoos Victoria Youth Leadership Program

Millyca and I applied to the Zoos Victoria Youth Leadership Program, and we were both successful at getting into the program. The program accepts 25-29 Year 9 and 10 students and runs for 11 days throughout Term 2. In the first 5 days of the program, we stayed in the rainforest room in Melbourne Zoo and learnt about what the program entailed we also did something called a race around the zoo which was like a scavenger hunt in groups 5-6. The second day we were off to Healesville Sanctuary, where we learnt about some first nations history. On the Third day we were back at Melbourne Zoo, and we looked at data collection and got to have a behind the scenes experience with the seals. We got to watch a training session and learn about the different forms of enrichment for the seals that are in place. On the fourth day we went to St Kilda beach with the port Phillip eco centre and learnt about litter audits and then did little rubbish audits around the beach. The fifth day we went to Werribee Open Range Zoo, we met up with one of the river keepers and got a tour around some of the Werribee River and got to look at some macroinvertebrates under a microscope, we also ended the day by going on the safari. After the first five days we have around a month back at school to get the survey out to our school and to do a few bin audits. Then we were back at the zoo. When we returned, we went into the city and went on the Yarra River cruise to learn about the history of the Yarra, we also went around and collected rubbish from the banks and then looked at what type of rubbish was the majority of all. The next day we went down to Phillip Island where we looked around the Nobbies and then went on a seal cruise as the campaign we were helping create has the seal as an ambassador animal. It was a lot of fun. On day 8 we were back at Melbourne Zoo. We learnt about different leadership styles and then met with people in leadership positions around the zoo such as an elephant Keeper and the CEO of Zoos Victoria, Dr Jenny Gray. It was so cool meeting Dr Jenny Gray; we all got her autograph and then 6 of us got a private tour of her office and got to take photos with her. On day 9 we looked at the data we collected with our bin audits and surveys to come up with campaign ideas and how we could move forward with the ideas. On the last day we prepped for our graduation which is the last day of Term 2. We learnt about presenting and how to keep the audience’s attention and then started putting our presentation together. The program was very fun and educational. We learnt a lot, made new friends, had lots of fun and we will never forget this experience.

By Delanah

Animal industry Skills Zoo Excursion

The Animal Industry Skills class capped off their unit on Exhibit Design & Enrichment with a visit to Melbourne Zoo. Equipped with booklets, they moved around the zoo observing the wide range of enclosures on display, and how these varied. They were joined by the Zoology classes, who were learning about education campaigns. We were lucky enough to listen to a keeper talk for the elephants, which are taken up mostly with the classes being entertained by the Zoo’s THREE new elephant calves. Students were keenly observing enclosures to look out for as many forms of enrichment as possible. On return to TC, they worked on a learning task that looked at designing an enclosure based on the animals natural environment and behavioural needs. It was a fun out for all involved!

Animals Instagram

Term 2 ‘Living Culture’ Recap

Term 2’s Community Integrated Learning theme was ‘Living Culture’. The whole term saw a wonderful range of activities that explored both First Nations and global perspectives in the classroom, at whole school events, and during staff professional development.

For staff, the term began with a Cultural Engagement Forum co-hosted by TC and Melbourne Uni academic Dr Alex Crooke. The forum featured special guests Machehi Komba, Mary Quinsacara, and Jason Catherine, who all work in diverse intercultural education contexts. Together we asked some big questions about how we can engage with diverse cultural groups in a meaningful and mutual beneficial way.

Throughout the newsletter you will read about many different classroom activities that featured our living culture theme these are just a few:

• Melbourne Indigenous Transitional School students came to TC to jam and record with our Stage & Beyond students.

• VCE English students were lucky to hear Garth Cupido speak about his experience as a teacher in South Africa during the apartheid era. His talk was incredibly moving and showed students both the impact of racism as well as the power of students to enact change in society.

• VCE VM students learned about Restorative Justice through their study of ‘Face to Face’ – a short film about conflict resolution.

• Unit ¾ Sociology students interviewed hip-hop artist and creative facilitator Machehi Komba about her experience growing up in Melbourne as an African-Australian.

• Unit ½ History presented their research findings about 1920-1930’s Germany and USA to FLE Humanities.

• Physics ½ classes ran a debate on the cultural, social, environmental, economic, and scientific arguments for and against Nuclear Energy in Australia.

• Food Tech students made and tasted a range of cultural dishes from China to Lebanon.

And many more! Thanks to all staff and students involved in these subject based activities!

In week 5 we joined Wanyara and eight other schools for the inaugural Treaty Cup to celebrate the centenary anniversary of the Aboriginal Advancement League. It was excellent to play Buronjin against other schools and connect over food, stories, and a shared commitment to reconciliation. Our team won a game, lost one, and drew one. It was great to see our friends from the Melbourne Indigenous Transitional School there too. For more info about the Aboriginal Advancement League: https://aal.org.au/

In Week 6 our Indigenous students visited Doncaster SC for a social catch up with other Indigenous students living in our area. It was great to see students connect, learn and share stories about their respective Countries, eat food and play traditional games. In the afternoon we learned how to weave with emu feathers and make necklaces with string.

In Week 7 Wurundjeri artist and language knowledge holder Mandy Nicholson was joined by our student leaders and a team of staff to learn about Woiwurrung language. Mandy helped us to write our own Acknowledgement of.Country in Woiwurrung as well as learn about the process of reclaiming language after many years of the language being lost due to the impacts of colonisation and dispossession. It was very inspiring to see student leaders begin to use their Woiwurrung language acknowledgments at school gatherings.

All in all, our ‘Living Culture’ adventures led us on many varied paths of learning, immersion, and research. It was a true whole school experience with staff and students following their own interpretation of the theme according to their subjects, passions, and interests.

Term 3’s theme is ‘Me. You. We.’  - exploring how the individual relates to the community or collective, identifying our own personal values, and how those values inform our choices in the world of work and learning. Students will embark on Course Counselling during Connect as well as Consent lessons that emphasise the importance of respect and empathy is everyday life as well as in relationships. We can’t wait to see this term’s learning journey unfurl!

For questions relating to Community Integrated Learning or to get involved in our term themes, please email Ryan Griffith at RGR@tc.vic.edu.au.

Athletics

On Tuesday the 23rd of May TC headed down to the Doncaster Athletics Track (on George St.) to hold our annual Athletics Day. The students and staff arrived with lots of energy and excitement. They were dressed in their Community Colours and some even in fancy dress.

The events started with the relays lots of fun and participation. It was great to see how many students came along and represented their Community. Communities competed their hearts out at traditional athletics games as well as joining Yorta Yorta organisation Wanyara to try out traditional games such as Jumpinpin, Pulloga, and Buronjin. The day ended with a round robin comp of Buronjin, to read more about traditional Indigenous games: https://www.wanyara.com.au/traditional-aboriginal-games-1

Some highlights were the traditional Tug of War, between Communities and then the inevitable Staff vs Student Tug of War. It was also great to see how many students and staff hit the track for the annual dance party!!! As the TC tradition of doing the Nutbush continues. Some of the students really didn’t want to stop dancing and allow the sprinters to have their track back.

The amazing artsy staff and students were doing portraits of anyone who asked. Using an amazing range of media to make wonderful art. The Dungeons and Dragons crew had to set up multiple games to allow for the number of players. We even had an E-Sports section.

A huge thanks to everyone who helped and participated on the day!!! First place went to Green, Second to Red and Gold took third place on the day.

Community Table Tennis tournament

On Thursday the 18th of May 32 staff and students competed to see who was the best table tennis player at TC, and which Community would take home the trophy. So we had an amazing sign up prior to the event, nearly all slots were filled. Blue came out strong with a huge number of sign-ups.

The action was wild and energetic as students fought their way through round after round of games. The semi-finals were crazy, spectators going nuts screaming for their preferred player, students commentating games over the PA.
The winners of the quarter finals were Max Kong, Jamie Sarisky, Aidan De Fazio and Sam Cowling. These four valiant champions faced off in the semi-finals. Jamie and Aidan came out on top and progressed to the finals.

Everyone gathered around the one table and watched these table tennis giants face off. It was an amazing game, full of thrills and spills, but int the end their could be only one winner. In the end the winner of the 2023 Community Table Tennis Tournament was Aidan De Fazio. He won the coveted trophy for the Blue Community, where it now sits with pride along with the Drama Trophy. Blue has now won more events than any other Community. They had skilled players and an amazing participation. 

Community Cross Country

On Wednesday the 10th of May the students and staff of TC took on the cold conditions to participate in this year’s Community Cross Country Event. It was looking like a cold wet day but that failed to dampen everyone’s spirits as they warmed up outside the Hub!

One thing that was clear was how many runners the Red Community had ready to race. In fact Red had twice as many runners as any of the other Communities. At the end of the day first place went to Red, second to Blue and Gold took third place. Great work everyone! I would like to thank all the staff and students who helped organise and run this terrific event. Hopefully we can make it even bigger and better next year.

Community Soccer Tournament

On Thursday the 8th of June the four Communities went head to head in the 2023 Community Soccer Tournament. There were two competitions, one Junior and one Senior. They were played side by side on the synthetic turf outside the canteen. Staff and students helped to plan, organise and run this amazing event.

The students played with passion, skill and enthusiasm! There were some very exciting moments where the ball went wild and surrounding staff had to stay on their toes not to get hit too often (even the AP’s were not immune!)

The finals saw Blue and Green battle it out for first place. In both Senior and Junior matches the decision came down to penalty shoot outs on multiple occasions.

In the end there could only be one winner and as it turned out the same Community won both the Junior and Senior competition. The winner was Green Community. Congratulations to everyone who got behind this event and a huge thanks to all our wonderful soccer stars.

Green has now won more events than any other Community. They had lots of skilled players sign up and played with fierce determination on the day.

Community Music Tournament

On Thursday the 22nd of June the four Communities battled it out to see who were the best musicians in the school. Each Community chose a different Queen song to present; Red chose We will rock you, Blue chose We are the champions, Green chose Bohemian Rhapsody and Gold chose Don’t stop me now.

Blue went first and had the audience singing along, waving arms in the air and having a great time. They sounded fantastic and together scored an impressive 23 points out of a possible 30. Judges scored the students on participation, musical skill and entertainment value.

The second act was Red Community who got the whole room to their feet, stomping and clapping along with the intro to We will rock you. The sound was amazing and they managed to score an amazing 25 points.

Then came Green Community who chose the all time favorite of Bohemian Rhapsody. Again everyone sang along, there was even a considerable amount of head banging at various stages. Green scored one 9, and two 10’s putting them into first place on 29 points.

To finish up the event was Gold Community. There were heaps of them, crammed onto the stage, loads of staff as well as students. Led by Bec on vocals and Brady on lead guitar they really rocked the room. Again the crowd sang along for the majority of the song. There was only one score that would allow them to claim victory, a perfect 30. Against the odds they actually beat all the other Communities and came out on top with all of the judges giving them a perfect score.

Thanks to everyone who helped organise this amazing event. Special thanks to all our performers, students and staff. It was great to see the Music Room filled to capacity. Next year we hope to fill the PAC, so everyone can see how amazing our musicians are.

Mock United Nations Excursion

As one of the students that decided to participate in a Model United Nations (UN) Assembly at a specific high school that runs in accordance to what an actual UN meeting would look like. The topic discussed was Planet Ocean, and there were many different countries represented by a small group of students from varying high schools who were all contributing to the forum. I wanted to attend this meeting mainly because the topic was something that I'm very passionate about and interested in, I also was curious about how a UN forum would work. The structure of a real UN meeting is one of the many things I got out of the experience, as well as meeting new people, learning about the other countries position on the matter, working with your team, and the experience itself! The most challenging part for me, was to actually do all the research required. It takes quite a bit of time, as you don't get any in class time to do it. In the end, I didn't need to do as much as I thought, as everyone present had to research accusations made by other countries anyway! The most exciting part was talking to the other countries in the Moderated and Un-Moderated Caucus session, where countries could pose questions to other countries. The Un-Moderated Caucus was the most fun, as it was quite fun to meet and make alliances with other countries. Overall, the experience was very memorable and enjoyable, and a perfect opportunity if you want to learn more about politics, the topic present at the meeting, or just learning about other countries themselves! If you're interested and you spy the invitation (most likely from Meg Bailey) don't hesitate to contact her and get in, I promise you won't regret it!

By Luca

Education Equity Workshop

Students participated in a workshop to give feedback about the education system to key stakeholders. They had fun sharing their ideas and were all really passionate about equitable education for all.

Refugee week and The Ration Challenge

TC are once again supporting asylum seekers and refugees in Refugee Week.

In Week 8 we invited Niro Vithyasekar back to cook some yummy Tamil curries for our school community. We were inundated with orders this year and actually ran out so Niro had to race to the supermarket and cook a whole other batch of curry to fill the dinner orders.

Niro is a Tamil asylum seeker who has lived in Australia for a while now. He escaped his homeland over a decade ago and spent many years in an Australia detention centre because he was intercepted in a people smuggler boat. For the past few years we have supported him and his ‘Tukka Tukka Roti Man’ business. This year we raised over $1500 for him through over 150 orders of food. Thanks so much for supporting this initiative (and sorry if your curry was a bit light on towards the end!).

This year 6 staff, 2 parents and 6 students signed up to raise money and awareness for refugees living in camps overseas by eating the same rations a refugee in a camp would get. This is a very boring diet and consists of lentils, chickpeas, beans, rice and flour. You can earn bonuses through fundraising such as protein, tea bags and salt. Although there is plenty of rice to get you through, the lack of our usual access to tasty treats and variety of flavours makes you really empathise for those who can spend years in refugee camps.

Elli said: “I chose to do the Ration challenge to give myself an idea of how hard it is for refugees to live off absolute basics and how lucky I am.” and Will reflected: “I did the ration challenge to personally experience the same thing refugees do everyday, it was a good way to help me learn how to produce good food out of limited amounts of food as well as value what i have.

As of the writing of this article we had exceeded our goal of $5000! Thanks to everyone who supported us and by doing so helped provide food and health care to people who really need it.

Project-Based Learning Semester 1

This year we have stepped up our Project-Based Learning (PBL) in Entry and FLE1 and have planned to do run two programs in each year. In doing so, we hope students will develop important skills such as critical and creative thinking, looking more deeply at issues and collaborating in groups.

ENTRY SCIENCE MATHS PBL

This term we ran an Entry PBL across Maths and Science classes looking at energy that we use in the morning. We provided workshops in different forms and uses of energy and students chose a direction to focus their solution on, be it in regards to transport, electricity or food.

It was terrific to see the wide range of creative solutions they came up with in such a small amount of time and visiting parents remarked on the quality of the presentations and how great it was that students are learning in this way about this important issue.

Faye Adams, Senior Sustainability Officer from Manningham Council, launched the final expo at TC. She sent through a message afterwards saying, “The work you are doing is wonderful, inspiring and oh so important.”

FLE 1 United Nations PBL

Our FLE 1 student did quite a different style of PBL based on a real United Nations forum where students role-played diplomats from a different countries, debating on issues such as refugees, climate action and the war in Ukraine. They spent a few lessons researching their country and collaborating on a Position Statement speech, in response to their global issue or challenge. The final day of the project was the conference which saw the students present their statements, debate on policy, and vote on how to fix the issues, involving diplomacy, negotiations and deals.

Dara's group was Syria and their topic was refugees and asylum seekers. She recounts her favourite part of the experience as the, "discussion on the operatives and arguing over them, also learning about the situation and issues in other countries, not just Syria, was really eye-opening."

Also, Jessica's group and represented China and debated about climate change. Her group were supporting minor pro climate action initiatives and acknowledging that the effects of climate change were being felt, but weren't inclined to act on something major or that went against China's real life views. She said she found this hard because she strongly supports climate action and had to suppress the urge to agree to certain parts of the debate!

Dr Dan Bray, a Senior Lecturer in International Relations from LaTrobe University, came to launch the UN project. Dr Bray described TC's program as "valuable for highlighting the relevance of humanities and social sciences to students."

There will be another Entry PBL next term and another FLE 1 one in Term 4. 

Debating

The TC debating team have had a great start to the season, with just one round to go in the DAV School Debating Competition, our Senior team has done exceedingly well, going against many experienced schools, we have had 3 wins and 1 loss. Finals is still a chance! Our Junior team remains undefeated! They have done amazingly well, and will have one final debate against Tintern Grammar, for the title of regional champions!

For this to be our first time ever, I am so proud of every student who has competed for us this year. In a league dominated by private schools, it's been an absolute thrill to see us add our TC flavour and thrive in it. The final debates are early term 3 and we can’t wait to hear the results!

By Michael Allan

Finns Reserve Poetry

Entry English students were blessed with a break in rain for their CIL excursion down to Finn's Reserve where they learnt about how the area had been used by out First Nations people to farm eels in February and March and fresh water clams at the beginning of spring. We also learnt that the suspension bridge was where the travel route (or Songline) of our First Nation's people crossed the river. Students then took some time to contemplate this new knowledge and put their thoughts down in the form of poetry. Here is just one of those poems:

The river is an ancient source of memories and life,

it has seen the past and it will see the future

if we are willing to bother caring for it.
By Tilda

ACMI Pride / I am Malala English Excursion

On Wednesday, 21st June 2023, around 100 English Unit 4 students gathered at ACMI.  Our excursion was to watch the film Pride and then to listen to a lecture comparing it to our text I am Malala.  Students enjoyed getting into the city independently for a 10am start.

Pride is a fantastic film that tells the story of the seemingly unlikely bond between group of gay and lesbian activists who decide to raise money to support the families of the striking Welsh miners in Thatcher's 1980's Britain.   Seeing Pride on the big screen was a great deal better than watching it on a television at school. The film was warmly received by the students with applause throughout the closing scene.  Both texts explore ideas and  themes such as tolerance, community, working together for change, justice and human rights.  After the film we heard a lecture on the similarities and differences between the texts. Despite Pride being set in 1980's Britain and I am Malala being 2000's Pakistan, students could see the parallels between the texts.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable and valuable excursion that has provided a great base for students understanding in their final unit of English.

Grads continued their Thursday Fun Themes, getting festive and celebrating lots of different ideas!

Dress as a staff member

Childhood Movies and TV

Senior Boys AFL

The senior boys AFL team embarked on their maiden football carnival at Elgin park. The morning dew was kicked off by the teams prior and anxious boys were settled with rousing pregame speeches from Guy Dickson. The team was exactly that, a team, from trainings at school to the first bounce. With some of the team having to sit out due to resounding interest and players on the day, these players still played a role in goal umpiring and bench coordinating. They knew their teammates, their skills and how best to utilise this knowledge on the park. Each game started slow, the boys newly defining the phrases of ‘keeping us on the edge of our seats’ and ‘hearts in our throats’ starting lowly then kicking into gear in the second half, made for compelling viewing as we stormed home by narrow margins in each of the games we played. We went undefeated and sung ‘we are the champions’ valiantly in victory as we left the oval, in case all the other teams weren’t aware.

Little Desert - Outdoor Education unit 3

Senior 3&4 Outdoor education students embarked on a long journey to Little Desert National Park in an effort to understand the environmental movements that took place in the 1960’s to preserve this land, rather than turn into more mismanaged farmland. Our first stop took us to Mt. Langi Ghiran where we saw some Aboriginal rock art. The students got to see an example of government conservation initiatives as the site was fenced off to limit impact from tourists and continually preserve this site. We then stayed at Lake Fyanns in Halls Gap, a beautiful site that shone the colours of the horizon brilliantly amongst the backdrop of the Grampians. We left early the next morning to abseil rock formations next to Delly’s Bridge in Halls Gap. Students demonstrated courage and resilience pushing themselves, rather, falling gracefully past their fears to meet us at the bottom of wall, feeling achievement and success in their decent. Tuesday night saw us bush camping at Lake Hindmarsh, another beautiful location equipped with an undercover kitchen which would be the chopping board for a masterchef cooking extravaganza from Ryley on how to make TVP tacos. After successful night and early breakfast we were met by Adam Blake of Trust For Nature and taken for a tour around Snapes reserve. Trust For Nature are a charity who buy land and are legally bound by a covenant to protect, preserve and regenerate this land for future use. Students were able to gain a first hand account of conservation work and attained some knowledge around management practices of private landholders which they will soon be able to compare with management strategies of public landholders. Wednesday night saw us at our final destination, Little Desert Lodge. We were given a tour of this beautiful land from the pioneer ‘Whimpy’ who was a major player in ensuring that Little Dessert remain native and preserved rather than cordoned off and farmed.

We were Whimpey’s first school group in 13 years, a tale of fortitude and resilience through adversity and changes of ownership saw Whimpey unable to return to his protected land. On behalf of the senior Outdoor students, we were beyond privileged to welcome Whimpy back to his land and have him passionately present to us.

We got sick, with resilience, again, we overcome. Most students spent Thursday at the top of Mt Arapiles and exploring a nearby pink lake, they even harvested some salts to take back home. Students were all ready for bed early on Thursday night, perfect preparation for an early breakfast and the five hour journey back home the following day.

Sovereign Hill

In term 2, the FLE Humanities class visited Sovereign Hill to finish off their unit on the Australian gold rush. We followed a jam-packed schedule which involved going down a mine, watching a gold-pour demonstration, attending the theatre, watching a lolly-making demonstration, doing some historical problem solving, and more! Jeremy even got to hold a gold bar worth $300,000. Some students had a chance to try their hand at old-fashioned bowling, while others spent their lunchbreak making candles the traditional way or visiting the bakery. Others found time to try their hand at gold-panning but unfortunately didn’t strike it rich! It was a great day out with a relaxing bus-ride home, complete with harmonica music and raspberry sweets. If this sounds like fun, you might consider FLE Humanities as an elective in 2024. 

Scienceworks

Some international students and friends had the opportunity to visit Scienceworks.  Some of them have contributed their reflections and photos captured of the day.

Language Centre Party

The Language Centre (LC) celebrated the end of the semester with food and games.  They also took the opportunity say bye to some friends leaving the TC community who are returning to their mainstream schools.  Some of our neighbouring government schools do not have their own LC so they send their new international students to ours for 2 terms.

Athletics Day

International students having fun and participating in the sports and the fun.

International Program

Next Semester we are expecting the biggest intake of international students since 2019.  We are hoping to welcome 26 new international students to our TC community.

MAP had an exciting term entertaining students and staff who were visiting from Maria Montessori Children’s School in the Philippines. They took them on many cultural experiences including showing them Brockspur farm where MAP have camped and worked throughout the years and also some touristy musts such as visiting the penguins at Philiip Island and going to a footy match at the MCG.

During Living Cultures week Didjeridoo Australia joined MAP for a cultural immersion day that started with learning about types of boomerangs and techniques for hunting. Everyone loved the boomerang throwing competition! Later in the afternoon, students learned about various cultural artefacts such as possum skin cloaks, marngrook, and storytelling through art.

They visited treetops adventure in Belgrave to learn about the Australian bush and took a ride on Puffing Billy as well as visiting Healesville Sanctuary. To finish off their excellent visit our guests made their own pavlova’s, an Australian delight!

Take a look about what happened in math under the community tab with PBL! Instead this section will celebrate dogs!

Living Cultures Concert

Week 4 saw the PAC pack out for our Living Culture concerts. Wurundjeri dance group Djirri Djirri launched the 2-hour concerts in which TC Musos shared the results of their creative research into their own cultural experiences or issues relating to Living Culture. It was inspiring to see so many young musicians expressing their identities and proudly speaking to the issues that they felt passionate about. Thanks to everyone who came to support our talented TC Musos!

Drama Unit 1 Performance

The Unit 1 Drama Ensembles night was a huge success - the crowd was large, the action was intense and the laughs were loud! Five small groups presented their own entirely original plays to an audience full of friends, family and teachers, cleverly exploring complex themes and ideas whilst still leaving room for levity.

Class-mates became cast-mates, a bond they’ll not soon forget: what a night!

Theatre Studies Unit 3 Performances

The Unit 3 Theatre Studies class put on a great show, performing two plays “Accidental Death of an Anarchist” and “Circle Mirrow Transformation” this term. Congratulations to the whole class.

Science Works solutions excursion

Earlier this year Solutions classes participated in an excursion to Science Works. Students explored the interactive ‘Beyond Space’ exhibition where they could bend the fabric of space, work together to create vortices and collaborative light sculptures. Students also watched the lightning show learning about their upcoming topic of energy and finishing with a fantastic display of how lighting is generated.

Girls in Physics

The Girls in Physics breakfast ran on 25/6 and 5 keen students braved the cold and early morning to listen to Professor Rachel Webster on the Physics of Black Holes. Students had the opportunity to ask questions of the presenter but also chat with scientists on their tables and discover their journeys into Science. For many students these valuable discussion highlighted the many opportunities available and the possible pathways into a range of STEM careers. For more information see https://wheretowithphysics.org.au/

Zoology and Ecology

The focus of Zoology and Ecology has been more on the ecology part this term, looking at the interaction between living and non-living factors in nature, foods chains and food webs, symbiotic relationships and conservation of endangered species.

Some highlights have included dissecting owl pellets (owl ‘vomit’ or ‘fur balls’) to find evidence of what they have been eating and students also enjoyed dissecting cane toads and rats, to learn about and compare the reproductive systems, as well as hone their technical laboratory skills. We have also continued training Comet the eel to swim through a hoop!

Another fun part of the course was taking our completed ‘stories of symbiosis’ over to Templestowe Heights Primary School to read to their Year 2 students. Some students were very nervous and had not had much prior experience reading to children, but they all enjoyed it and learnt a lot from the experience. The primary students and teachers loved this so much that they have asked us to come back with stories from our Earth and Beyond elective next semester! 

Students in Zoology were challenged to communicate complex scientific ideas to a primary school audience. They created a short story about symbiosis which they shared with Year 2 students at Templestowe Primary school. Here is a selection of their stories.

Training Comet the Eel

In Zoology once a week we get to pay a visist to the fish programs eel, Comet, to train him. When we train him, we use positive reinforcement to encourage him to swim through the ring like we're currently doing. He's come a long way since we first started training him - from simply bumping a bright ping pong ball on the nose, to swimming through a ring effortlessly. Training Comet usually takes only two, sometimes three people - one hold the ring with the ping pong ball behind it for his to swim through and bump his nose one, a second person to flash a torch into Comets tank to tell him he did what we wanted, a the third to feed Comet his fishy reward, and help him affiliate doing these tricks with snacks.

By Namila

Pre Biology Primary School Outreach

When a local primary school teacher lamented to one of our TC teachers that she didn't know how to teach Science in an engaging way TC's Pre-Bio students came to the rescue! A group of 10 TC students worked together to plan a fun and informative 1-hour session about 'living and non-living things' and took their show on the road. 

The students commented that they loved working with the littlies and the affection was more than returned, with the Anderson's Creek students announcing how much they looooooved the lesson, especially using microscopes, doing puzzles and catching crawlies from the water samples we brought.   

Environmental Science

This term in Environmental Science we have been learning about sustainable development and how we can plan projects that benefit people, the economy AND the environment.

Our SAC was on the local endangered Eltham copper butterfly which was in the way of the Hurstbridge train line duplication project. In preparation for this we enjoyed a presentation from a local environmental scientist who helped us understand how to conserve this species.

We also headed out for a magical evening at Mount Rothwell Sanctuary. By twilight we made bait balls out of sardines, peanut butter and honey (blurgh!) and in pairs set traps. We then went on a long spotlight walk to see the many and various native animals living there in the absence of introduced species like foxes and cats. When we came back we checked our traps and found a couple of bandicoots and a betong. The bandicoots we were able to see up close and we helped do a health check on them before safely releasing them again.

VEX World Championships

What an incredible trip to the VEX World Championships! Our students had an absolute blast exploring all that Louisiana has to offer. They started by touring the swamps in New Orleans and visiting the prestigious Haynes Academy. In Baton Rouge, they had the opportunity to tour the USS Kid and learn about its fascinating history.

But the highlight of the trip was definitely getting to explore NASA and see the Space Station ground control live. Our students even got to enter the Apollo era ground control, which was an unforgettable experience.

Of course, we can't forget about the VEX Worlds themselves. The senior Team 1002T won an impressive half of their matches, and the junior team had 10 incredibly close matches, ultimately winning one. We are so proud of our teams and all the hard work they put in leading up to the competition.

And to top it all off, our students wrapped up their trip with a fun-filled day at Six Flags. It was the perfect way to end such an amazing adventure. Thank you to everyone who made this trip possible and congratulations to our incredible students!

IM-PERMANENT Exhibition

On 22 May 2023, a group of Templestowe Design and Technology students embarked on an exciting excursion to attend the inaugural exhibition of IM-PERMANENT at Melbourne Design Week. The exhibition showcased avant-garde experimentations in mycelium design by Australian design professionals. Located at Abbotsford's Convent, The Store, the exhibition aimed to bring attention to the design potential of mycelium fungi and inspire a reevaluation of production and traditional design methods.

The IM-PERMANENT exhibition featured a diverse range of creative works incorporating mycelium fungi. Over 20 sculptures, apparel, lighting installations, architectural pieces, signage, and panels were on display, captivating visitors with their innovative designs and unique use of materials. The exhibition aimed to push boundaries and challenge conventional design practices through the exploration of mycelium as a sustainable and versatile medium. 

Mycelium design refers to the practice of utilizing mycelium, the root structure of fungi, as a sustainable and biodegradable material in various design applications. The exhibition showcased the potential of mycelium to create aesthetically pleasing and functional objects, promoting a more environmentally conscious approach to design.

Permaculture

Permaculture students have been busy building infrastructure this semester. Catherine oversaw the completion of the cob wall planter in the nursery, which looks terrific. A new pig shelter was built, to give Peabody and Sherman their own spaces. In the third pig pen, a crush was put together for vet visits – keeping staff safe while their medical checks are completed. Students built benches from salvaged materials – old classroom table frames, scrap timber and salvaged steel – to house our new forges. They also altered four stumps to mount the anvils to and then enjoyed blacksmithing for a few lessons. A wall was built for our (display only) composting toilet – the ‘Humanure Hut’, and the goats enjoyed their new run along the E-wing driveway. The ‘Share Shed’ is a new structure in the nursery and we’re looking forward to getting it operational after the holidays – gifting excess items from TC Farm to the community. Well done to all the Permaculture students for all their efforts this term – enjoy a well-earned break! 

By The Permaculture Team 

Jewellery Marking Semester 1

Cafe & Baking MasterChef Challenge

The Masterchef Challenge in Cafe & Baking this week. Students were given a set of mystery ingredients as well as a pantry of staples to create a dish of their choice using the skills they have gained during the semester.  This class is designed to reflect the 'Mystery Box' challenge as seen on the television show, MasterChef.  Such a fun class and the students were enthusiastic and creative...there was churros with chocolate, mousse, pasta, fried rice,  pizza from scratch and so much more!  

Baking Prahran Market Excursion

Baking classes visited Prahran market to explore and taste delicious food that make up the Australian cuisine as part of community integrated learning week - Our Place on Country.

Dandenong Market Excursion

As part of the Community Intergrated learning week of culture students visited the multicultural Dandenong market. At the market students split into 3 groups and discover what the market has to offer. Everyone congregated to share lunch from some of the cuisines on offer. Dandenong market represents 157 cultures and has been operational since 1866. 5.3 million visitors every year. That’s 50 full MCGs!

With the implementation of a new, more theoretical based study design VCE Vocational Major has had a major overhaul in its applied learning context and capacity. Students still have managed to apply learning in real world contexts throughout the course of the year. With the guidance of our trained chef Vicky, VCE VM 1&2 students prepared and hosted a culinary experience for the rest of our TC community at the Pool Party in Term 1. Students developed a broader range of skills through opting to cook nacho bowls rather than the conventional sausage sizzle. In completing this task students were able to apply maths skills in ordering the required amount of food for an indeterminate number of ‘customers’, in unit conversions and measurements to ensure the appropriate quantities were made. They handled finances and gave change whilst serving and honing their hospitality skills. The senior students planned games and events on the day and raised money for Laps for Life a charity initiative run by Reach Out Australia who support young people in overcoming mental health challenges. The day was a beaming success, feedback that was provided frequently by an array of staff and students on the day.

Senior students had a double excursion to an indoor climbing gym and the Young Workers Center at the Melbourne Trades Hall where they had a first hand practical experience looking at the history of Australian trades and unions and learn further about workers rights and responsibilities in the workplace. This excursion while directly aligning to the curricular, provided students with a new found sense of ownership over their current and future work lives. They left with the knowledge to know what they are entitled to as young workers and the confidence to speak out against employers who may try to shirk these rights from them. Indoor rock climbing was a practical experience related to Personal Development Skills, whereby students were in small teams and provided feedback, guidance and encouragement to their peers as they clambered up the vertical wall. The path to the top isn’t always clear, it was beautiful observing students provide their peers with guidance and support to both keep going and advise on what path they should take.

Students of 1&2 VM are required to have a broad understanding of issues within their communities and develop strategies to solve such issues in a real world context. To initiate the thinking surrounding this major task, students went into Melbourne CBD on an excursion that aims to follow the schools motto in changing the status quo. Through integration and observation in real world contexts. Students’ perspectives were challenged at the Intersection walk, it is built on the foundation of changing and adding to the single stories that we generally base our perspectives on. The intersection walk achieves this by exploring homelessness, stereotypes, hierarchy, colonisation, power, addiction and connection to community through interactive storytelling, that fosters student understanding in the strength of diversity in building a healthy city and society.

Students of VM are required to carry out activities for the benefit of a chosen community. Throughout this term students have organised themselves into small teams, run formal meetings whereby roles and responsibilities were discussed and divided between the group members. Students have been working on maintaining and revegetating our native garden to then critically reflect on their own and their teams ability to work together and complete their roles. Students have also been repairing benches and seats around the school. As well as a small contingency of Senior VM 3&4 students who are planning, organising and developing a GAGA pit for the schools sports program to utilise years after these students have left TC in their wake.

Rowdy and Adam visited from Valiant Barbers, volunteering their spare time to give some free haircuts and so students interested in the profession could do a look and learn.

Semester 2 will prove to be an eventful and practical application of learned skills throughout the students’ time at TC. We have some major projects on the go that solely aim to benefit our TC community. Students will have to document these projects and the work they have done throughout this year to make a portfolio of their achievements. Something to proud of, something to look back on something to demonstrate the stellar achievements of our graduating class of VM students.

I am looking forward to it.
Ryley Norris

Art Immersion Camp

A bus load of intrepid artists headed down to Anglesea on Wadawurrung Country for our first Arts Immersion Camp. Artists spent time in nature, cooking together, and independent time working on their chosen medium. We were lucky to spend time with Wadawurrung musician and artist Uncle Norm Stanley. Norm taught us about his connection to Country and how he uses traditional ochre in his paintings that have been exhibited in galleries, printed on textiles and distributed internationally. TC artists were able to experiment with the ochre paints and incorporate them into their own style. It was such a magic time and we look forward to Arts Immersion Camp next year!

“The Arts Immersion Camp was one of the best camps I’ve been on, even compared to fun outdoor camps with many activities. The fact that we didn’t have designated things happening at certain times was almost the best part of it. Yes, the things like the Indigenous family that came and did activities with us, or the group campfire we all went to was very fun and I’m glad it happened, but the freedom we had made us plan things amongst ourselves. Things we all collectively wanted to do and got excited for. Whether it be walks, a big game of hide and seek, or going through the little scout courses past the trees together. I also really enjoyed the actual main reason for the camp; being able to create art amongst nature. Being able to connect with nature, especially with the people I like the most or befriended while being there, is such an amazing experience. As artists we might tend to disconnect ourselves from everything to create our art but the camp gave me so much inspiration, and for all sorts of different forms of art too. I can confidently say for my experience that it was the perfect place to create art. Also, as fun as the art was, it was also just the best to be able to get away from everything for a short while and experience nature alongside my friends. Everyone that was at that camp, including the teachers, were such enjoyable people to be around, and it just made it so much fun for everyone involved. I think I can say for almost everyone that we wish it had lasted longer and that we absolutely can’t wait for the next one.”
By Bailey Jones

TOP ARTS EXCURSION

Celebrating 29 years at the NGV in 2023, Top Arts is an ever-popular annual exhibition presenting the exceptional and thought-provoking work of VCE Art Making and Exhibiting and VCE Art Creative Practice students undertaking the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE).

TC students attended the NGV to view the Top Arts exhibition and high scoring folios. In recent years, TC students have been both shortlisted in selection and successful in exhibiting their final artwork at the NGV. High scoring folios are viewed by current students to critically reflect upon for the continuation and progress of work.

Demi Nicolaidis

Think Talk Make workshop and ACCA Gallery and Exhibition

‘Mithu Sen explores myths of identity, and their intersection with the structures of our world, whether social, political, economic, or emotional. Sen works fundamentally as a performer, tangling with the politics of language, disciplining of bodies, conventions of society, and polite impositions of the art world. Known for her provocative, alluring, and playful examination of these hierarchies, Sen is committed to perpetual unbecoming through performative interventions, symbolic and linguistic counter-narratives and intricate territorial tracings.’

Art elective students attended ACCA to experience a contemporary solo exhibition by New Delhi based artist Mithu Sen. The exhibition ‘mOTHERTONGE’ included a series of installations and was presented an illuminated mind map. In this exhibition, our students saw works that expressed language in forms such as drawing, sculpture, media, and performance.

After the exhibition viewing and educational tour and talk, students participated in a hands-on workshop, inspired by the work and practice of Mithu Sen.

Top Screen and Top Design Excursion

On Friday 28th April, Media 3/4 students went to both Top Screen at ACMI and Top Design at The Melbourne Museum. Both events are designed to celebrate excellence and outstanding talent in VCE Media. There were a variety of top media productions on show with Top Screen screening all the films and animations and Top Design exhibiting all the print, photography and audio productions. Students were then involved in a panel discussion with three students who’s works were screened and the state reviewer for media. Students had the opportunity to ask questions to better inform their understanding of the Media Production Design. This excursion is a valuable experience for current students to understand in more depth the media production process, how to create and develop a concept and present this as a folio. Olivia Hick says ‘it was interesting to watch each students films at Top Screen and understand how they came up with their ideas’. Sahara reports that she ‘really liked looking at folio's in top designs, particularly the graphic novel ones as it helped me get a better idea of what my pre production and production would look like’ Alexander Di Camillo was impressed by the level of technicality in the films and how students portrayed their narratives. Jessica Ogle found the interviews with students really helpful in understanding the process they undertook and how they approached their media productions. A great day had out by the entire 3/4 Media class! 

photography elective

Long Exposure

Double Exposure and Light Painting

Depth of Field

Fractured Portraits

Pre VCE Art

Instagram

A great way to follow the visual arts @TC is to follow us on Instagram! TC Visual Arts (@tcvisualart) • Instagram photos and videos here is a snippet of posts below

Strength and passions

We were lucky enough to get funding from School Focused Youth Services to run a group program. The Strength and Passions group was facilitated by Kate and Jane from the Human Development Workshop. The group met weekly and it took place over term 1 and 2. Students spoke about their skills, strengths and passions.

One of the things they identified in our community is how inclusive we are at TC but that Manningham council were severely lacking in visible support for the LGBTIQA+ community, so the group decided to create a petition to get council to start making some changes. It was amazing to see the students connect each week and work with Kate and Jane. Students also worked together to run an activity with a class from a  local primary school.

Thanks Kate and Jane! You will be missed.

Sign the petition here:  https://chng.it/tTDp2g4L9k

Every week TC journalist Bonnie-Mai Smith provides the community with a insight to life at TC. 📰
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