Newsletter Term 3 2021

Back to remote! A term in-and-out and then stuck in lockdown. What did TC get up to?
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As Term 3 draws to a close, we have been reflecting on the achievements of the term. Whilst the term didn't necessary go as planned we have achieved so much as a Community.

I have enjoyed working with everyone in Blue Community this term, and acknowledge the extensive effort put in by everyone this term - our young people, families/careers, and the TC Staff. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed!

In addition, I would like to thank everyone for their involvement in the Subject Selection Process this year. I was reflecting with Nicole, Jessie and Guy how enjoyable this process has been in 2021 and the passionate discussion we've had with our Blue Community while looking at our ILP.

Throughout the term the Blue Community we have shared Trivia Questions, our favourite coffee shops, places are young people work, and Netflix recommendations on a daily basis! Thanks for everyone for the engagement and recommendations - I'm looking forward to trying a few more cafes post restrictions.

I hope that everyone takes a rest over the next few weeks, enjoys a little time outside and a few coffees

I look forward to seeing everyone's face again in Term 4!

All the best.
Sando
PS - Go Bulldogs!

Book Week

During week 7 we as a school celebrated book week 2021 together. Throughout the week our student leaders ran lots of exciting activities via the community teams page. Events ranged from an online treasure hunt, to word scrambles, and a dress up event. It was great to see lots of students getting involved, whether they were attempting the treaure hunt, sharing their bookweek costumes, or having a go at the schoolwide kahoot. It was also really interesting to hear everyone share what they were reading during lockdown, and celebrate the small literary joys while we are apart.

By Georgia Collier

E-Sports

TC held an esports competition online this term (on the 3rd of september). The game was Minecraft and it was wonderful to see a lot of enthusiasm and participation from students across all the communities. Players entered into a tournament after school on the Friday and got to show off their building skills and how well they can stay cool under pressure. The winner ended up being a student from Red, Thomas Radford, who played exceptionally well. Red was followed up by a student from green and third place went to a student from blue. While there was tough competition, all the players were very positive and had great sportsmanship. You can tune into this week's connect TV to see a montage of the event.

By Troy Jordan

Wear It Purple Day

Wear It Purple Day celebrates the inclusion and pride for the LGBTQIA+ Community. In support of this, staff and students posted photos of themselves wearing a splash of purple in their community pages!

Chess competition

We ran a chess competition using Chess.com on the 9th of September. There were six participants in an arena like format. Everybody was putting their brains into overdrive to figure out how to outsmart their opponents. This tournament was dominated by gold community, with half of the participants being from gold community. Everyone did very well, but in the end Caleb Doyle of Blue Community came in first with Beren Finlay and Michael Allan of Gold Community coming second and third respectively. All in all, the participants had a lot of fun playing in an online chess tournament.

By Brandon Mumtazi

SNOW CAMP

TC managed to go on snow camp between lockdown 5 and 6 - very exciting for all involved!

It was a brisk 20°C on Monday the 2nd of August. As the Sun rose at 0719 so did many eager Templestowe students. The reason behind some of these student’s eagerness was the much-anticipated 2021 snow camp.

Emotions were high as a lockdown had literally just been lifted. Some would say it was a sign from the heavens, mandating that Templestowe deserved to go on this adventure.

Not phased by talk of another quarantine session, the brave party from Templestowe college set out for the mighty Mount Bulla.

While the journey up to the mountains was not as traditional as some would have liked, such as a scheduled stop to purchase quality meat pies, the avid snow people kept their wits about them, and made it to their target destination with no problems.

While the next few days did see a couple of injuries, most of the attendees seemed to enjoy themselves. And all in all the Templestowe crew appeared to enjoy their time together on the mountains, creating memories that would last them a life time.

Gold students and staff have been sharing photos and stories of all the wonderful things they've been making, learning about, seeing and listening to. From crafty creations to outdoor adventures, it's been fantastic to see members of the community connecting through the Gold Teams page and chatting about life during lockdown. The Gold Community Executive Team continue to be incredibly proud of our students and their resilience, and thank you also to parents and carers who are supporting them. Please continue to reach out when help is needed - we can't wait to see you all in person again!

As we approach the last week of a disrupted and for many, an emotionally trying term, I thought it was important to touch base to quickly thank some people and to also remind us of who we are and what we aspire to in the Green Community.

We are an amazing school, particularly because of our willingness to say "Yes" in so many situations and our commitment to valuing every member of our community through initiatives like the "One Person Policy".

Having these values doesn't mean we always get things right, but what it does mean is that we have a strong set of moral reference points that we can refer to when we need to. Our policies and values are the compass and guide that help us on our journey, individually and as a school.

I would ask that over the holiday break we are kind to those around us and kind to ourselves. We need to remember the power of our words and deeds to express love and support for those who are close to us, because small acts of kindness and consideration are the glue that holds families and relationships together. Just as significantly, research indicates that being kind to others will improve your own mental health and wellbeing, reducing the production of stress hormones, improving cardio-vascular health and extending life expectancy.

As far as thanks go, I would like to thank Kyra, Georgia and Yanina for all the amazing work that they do in our Community. This term our amazing Student Leaders have helped organise and / or got behind:

• Book Week

• E-Sports Competitions

• Online Chess

• Wear It Purple Day

• Minecraft Sessions

• Colours Day

Their energy and leadership have been remarkable, and I am so thankful and proud of what they have been able to achieve. Kyra, Georgia and Yanina are brilliant at what they do on behalf of all of us.

The same goes for Vicky and Luke, our excellent Community Leaders. People will never truly appreciate how hard Luke and Vicky work behind the scenes and how valuable that work is. The same goes for our dedicated and caring Wellbeing Team.

Massive thanks to Connect Teachers for the great work they did with subject selection and an equally massive 'hooray for you' to Ryan and the team at Connect TV.

Have a great break everyone. Enjoy the next two weeks and I look forward to next term and the prospects of a brighter end to 2021. Finally, I would like to leave you with this thought, first articulated by Medieval Persian Sufi Poets, but adopted by cultures around the world to provide comfort in tough times.

این نیز بگذرد
(This too shall pass.)

Michael

Good Luck to our International Grads! 🎓🌍

I would like to take the opportunity to wish our 9 international grads good luck with their exams!

Activities during the June/July Holidays

Holidays are always a bit harder for the international students who are not here with their families.  To give the students something to look forward to and something to do during the holidays we arranged a few activities.  Our focus was to give them some fun and treated them to a meal, these were activities they chose to do.  We had trips to the Melbourne Star + Yum Cha, latitude and a special meal just for the grads in Box Hill.

We are lucky to have squeezed in a trip to the Star as they have just announced their permanent closure.  We also invited our language Centre teacher Cathy Dewar to come along as she has been with these students since their arrival in TC and it was nice to share some yum cha with her. 

This time around with the help of the students we selected cuisine that were specific to some of the students’ home.  Giving them a taste of home and sharing that with us and other students.  For our grad lunch we had Sichuan cuisine.  Sherry Yang, who is from Chongqing, is from the Sichuan region and was so excited to share all her favourites.  This cuisine is known for being spicy.

When we had our trip to the city, we had some yummy Yum Cha at Docklands.  Celia Li who comes from Guangzhou did a wonderful job ordering and telling us all about the different dishes. We were so busy eating we didn’t take a lot of photos of the group but a lot of photos of the food.

18th Birthdays

Happy Birthday Fred Siahpoush!  Sorry we had to miss it because of lockdown!  Cake when we are back at school for Fred.

We were able to celebrate John Huang’s 18th birthday when we were still at school.  Pictured is our pizza celebration for his friends instead of a cake.

Senior Hockey

After multiple postponements and automatic progression to the EMR round, our Senior Hockey Boys went out to Hawthorn/ Malvern Hockey club to play in the regional finals. A tough game one against the eventually winners Camberwell was played in great spirit. Credit to Issac Noble in goal who put in a great performance against many high quality shots on goal from the opposition. In game two, TC took on Blackburn in a close battle. Finn Dalton lead the way and scored the game winner late in the second half. Well done to the team on getting together with limited training and special mention to Max Kelly on leading the team through trainings and on game day.

Senior Basketball

The Senior Boys & Girls Basketball teams managed to get out in between lockdowns to play in the EMR finals at Dandenong Basketball stadium. The boys got off to a great start with a very strong win against Fairhills HS. The boys then played against two extremely strong schools in Box Hill Senior Secondary College & Doncaster High School. The team played well with the lead changing in both games on multiple occasions. Unfortunately the boys went down by a basket in each game but should be commended for their efforts throughout the day.

The girls team put in two huge victories against Boronia K-12 College & Cantebury Girls High School and then played in an epic battle with Box Hill Senior Secondary College. With scores level late in the game, Box Hill got away to win by 4 points. The girls were extremely impressive all day and played great team basketball throughout the day.

Congratulations to both teams and well done to all our Grads who represented TC for the last time in an SSV competition.

Occupations

During remote learning the work provided in occupations aimed at keeping students away from their screens as much as possible, getting them active and learning by creating and making things. Every fortnight, we had 4 choices of tasks across multiple disciplines, physics, chemistry, psychology, biology and environmental science. Physics challenges included landing an egg with a parachute and home made rockets. Chemistry challenges included making plastic with milk, making homemade fire extinguishers and food preservation. Biology challenges included a fermentation task and a sport science task. Environmental science challenges included performing an assessment of the local environment and psychology work included work on mental health and a pet training challenge using Pavlov’s theory of conditioning. Here are some examples of work submitted by students.

By Aurelie Appasamy

MAP Theatre Tour

Every year since MAP started staff and students have devised a play to take on the road and perform for schools around Victoria. All of our English Language classes for Term 2 were devoted to writing, experimenting, playing theatre games, and eventually rehearsing the show. COVID waylaid us somewhat in 2020, but we were able to pivot and created a feature-length film instead, slicing together shots taken by 60-odd students and staff in their own homes!

This year has presented another challenge for theatre tour, after initially thinking we’d avoided disruption by shifting to Term 3 we began creating an adaptation of Charlie Mackesey’s The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse. But with Delta throwing things up in the air students have once more had to adapt - shifting rehearsing, casting, screen tests, script refining and general fun online. The mantra of our class meetings has been “the show must go on” and people have worked very, very hard. It’s been an incredible success so far, and we have all 62 members of the MAP community involved making and designing costumes, rehearsing a script that now makes sense, and putting in place all the backstage jobs that are needed to take a show on the road. We’re still unsure when and where we’ll get to perform The Child, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse… but when we do it’ll be a heck of a show!

By Callum McDonald

In addition to the Theatre Tour itself, to travelling around Victoria for 5 days, to performing at 2 different schools every day, to the Grand Finale at the TC PAC on the Friday night, there is what may well be the signature moment of the whole term – the creation and presentation of the Theatre Tour hoodies!

Since 2012, all cast and crew members have received an individual hoodie or tee-shirt with the name of the production on it, plus an individual painting on each one. Some crazed staff member started the habit, and it is now dearly looked forward to – plus they become prized possessions.

As mentioned, this year’s play is based on the Charlie Mackesy book: ‘THE BOY, THE MOLE, THE FOX AND THE HORSE.” The rear of the hoodie presents a Charlie Mackesy drawing and the title (we altered it to “THE CHILD, THE MOLE…” etc to be gender inclusive), and on the front of each is a painting in fabric dye of one or more of the main characters, in designs selected by the students. 66 hoodies painted in one week!

They love them, and it is my gift to them for their efforts every year. Here are some samples to enjoy….

By Steve French

Entry Math

In Week 6 of this term, the Entry Math classes have been working on a group task regarding Patterns and Algebra. We were split into teams and aimed to complete a series of questions or "days". We met via Microsoft Teams and worked together to complete the 9 days. The questions included functions, graphs, tables and coordinates.

Following on the back of the successful Synthesesia concerts, TC Musos went to Empire Music Studio to record their original songs. Each band recorded their song whilst spending time learning about the recording process. It is a perfect space to relax, play pool, and enjoy hanging out with other musos in between recordings. We ended up with 10 incredible tracks that will be released on a TC Records album soon. Stay tuned...

A number of our amazing bands have entered Rockfest 2021, a national band comp. This year the comp is online and we have submitted some live videos of our bands doing their thing. There is a professional judging panel and lots of $ worth of gear up for grabs for the musos. There is also a People's Choice award for the most watched video - that's where you come in!

If you can spare a few minutes to check out the clips below that'd give our musos the chance to get some new gear and keep their love of music flowing:

Dante and his friends ran a “GREATEST SONG OF ALL TIME'“ poll on their community team, here are the final results:

It's finished! Over 5 weeks, with a grand total of 359 votes, the TC public have chosen their greatest song of all time. We had two songs in the final, Bohemian Rhapsody and Take On Me.
So I am very pleased to announce that the song voted greatest of all time by you, was... Bohemian Rhapsody!
Thank you so much for voting, and to celebrate, we have recreated the Ballad section of Bohemian Rhapsody in Soundtrap! We hope you enjoy it!
Thank you all so much,
From Nicholas Pyle, Dante Tuscano, Quinn Scotti and Eirron Wong

Message from Steven Knight – Red Community Director

This time last year I was writing about the ‘new normal’ and how we were working our way through uncharted waters. At this point, we are seasoned veterans of the remote learning campaign. Words like struggle, difficult, resilient and languishing are at the forefront of our mind. However, I would like to challenge your way of thinking to make use of these words: opportunity, reflection and self-care.

As I reflect upon who I was in 2020 compared to now, I recognise my resilience and ability to persevere have increased, along with my drive to succeed. The opportunities that will arise from this time involve finding ways to implement this newfound resilience and perseverance. My personal self-care routine has involved garden work, learning to use a charcoal grill and listening to copious amounts of heavy metal. With this in mind, I encourage you as an individual and as a family to discuss the following questions: Upon reflection, what lessons have you learned to enhance your way of thinking/learning/living? What opportunities have/will arise from this current situation? How have you managed your self-care? How have you assisted those around you?

You have all grown through this difficult, unprecedented time, be proud of who you are now, and implement the lessons you have learned.

Message from Craig Carter and Mia Cooper – Red Community Leaders

We want to take the time to congratulate you all on a wonderful term. It has been a challenging time for us all, however being a part of our community makes it all that much easier – we’ve totally got this!

Some highlights for us have been checking in with the Red Entry students each week for Connect. We have learnt a lot about each other’s hobbies, met some quirky pets, seen some amazing examples during fun hat Friday and of course Jeremy’s Kahoots gets everyone passionately involved.

That being said, it’s been fantastic to see all the Red community student’s contributions as part of various events this term; Science photography competition, chess competition, clash royale tournament and simply sharing what keeps you busy during lockdown through class discussions. The literacy week activities ran by the student leaders were also a raging success.

We want to take the time to wish you all a restful break and remember to look after yourself. Use the next two weeks as an opportunity to reflect, be screen free and do something for you! It might be going for a bike ride, walk, doing something artistic, a face mask or simply a Netflix and doona day. Look after yourself and return to school with refreshed energy.

Entry Science

During remote learning, Entry science had opportunity to explore water use around their homes. They spent a class investigating water use at home and taking photos of water using devices, water tanks and water saving ratings before creating a mind map for their family. Some students estimated their daily water use and compared this to the Victorian target of 155 litres per person per day. Exploring water chemistry, we looked at the composition of water as a molecule and also its common use in mixtures and as a solvent in solutions. We revised states of matter and spent time considering the language and process of the water cycle. Students were given a creative challenge to describe what happens to a molecule in the course of changing states in the water cycle. Some students were able to conduct a practical at home to shine a laser through various mixtures and observe the light beam on some occasions, depending on the particle size. Others were able to observe transpiration in plants by covering a branch of leaves with a plastic bag for several days. The final week of term saw students pursuing a project of their own interests from bottled water versus tap water, Indigenous perspectives on the Yarra River, how to make and use a water purifier at home and the urban water cycle in Melbourne.

Here are two student's work of the creative challenge:

I remember falling out of the sky; I didn't wanna go down. I liked dancing around with all my friends. Even though I'm just a waterdrop I didn't want to fall.  Splash - I landed on a car window and saw a human.  Then all of a sudden I started to feel really cold - I was cooling soon enough.  I was almost as cold as ice then all of a sudden, the sun came out.   I started to melt again and became water, then started to evaporate.  I was full of energy again with all my waterdrop buddies, bouncing around in the air, loving life.
Amber Firgaira

I am, as a water molecule, in everything. To dinosaurs and ponds, rain, sky and of course clouds. My story starts here at the cloud.   It's freezing cold open the sky and I am a gas. I have evaporated and I'm now condensing into rain. I fall from the sky now as a liquid.  Depending where I fall, I will be warm or cold. I fall on top of an iceberg and immediately freeze. I am now a solid. I melt and am evaporated into a water vapour then turn into a cloud again.
Hannah Radford

Entry Science also studied the differences between plant and animal cells, and learned about organelles, the small components of cells. Thankfully, they were able to return to onsite learning for a jam-packed week using microscopes to explore the different types of cells and their differences and similarities. In an effort to step away from their screens, students created their own versions of plant or animal cell from different things they could source from around the house.

Solutions Using Science

This term in Solutions Using Science students have been learning about energy. We studied what energy is and the difference between renewable and non-renewable energy sources and how they produce power. It was fun experimenting with our new wind power kits and students explored how different variables such as blade angle and length impact electrical output.

Students next completed a learning task where they imagined they were advisers called in to work out the best option for powering a small, off-grid town, Remoteville who have been relying on an old diesel generator that is about to conk out – should they change to a new model diesel machine or change to wind or solar? They constructed ‘Sankey diagrams’ to compare different models and make their conclusion using ‘claim, evidence and reasoning’.

The second half of the term has been exploring biofuels as an alternative to using fossil fuels. Students were encouraged to do simple experiments at home (or observed their teachers conduct the experiments) about emulsions and fermentation, important background understanding for how starch from feedstock can be converted to biofuel. Finally, students worked in groups to research the best feedstock for a foreign country, playing the role of agricultural scientists and industrial chemists from their chosen country.

Forensics Science

Fiona set up a blood spatter experiment in her car port. So many neighbours walked by and stopped to see what she was doing! She made fake blood and then created blood spatter patterns for us to analyse.

Students then planned, set up and documented a crime scene at home to demonstrate their knowledge of forensic techniques. The crimes included the theft of cookies, donuts and chocolate bars; cats stole puzzle pieces; walls were covered in graffiti; banks robbed; murders committed and pets abducted. No siblings, pets or homes were harmed in the making of these scenes but there was some excellent acting by both siblings and pets.

Pre Physics

Conservation of momentum as demonstrated by bottle rockets.

Physics Unit 1&2

Spring constant of a face mask practical at home experiment developed by Pre-service Teacher Andrew Yen and tested by students in Unit 2 Physics. Variations included adding coins, knives, water, rice and spoons as fixed masses and measuring the extension of the elastic band using a ruler.

Science Achievements

Four students competed in the Junior Science Olympiad during lockdown. Although last minute changes meant the entire competition was online and was plagued with network issues they persisted and achieved 3 distinctions and a participation. Well done to Nicholas Pyle, George Thornber, Zack Patton and Alborz Aboufazeli.

Science Week Photography Competition

This year we needed to run our annual Science Week Photography Competition from the comfort of our own homes, but that didn't stop the flow of some amazing photographers in our midst. The student winner this year was Koru Farag with his delicious-looking picture of a pavlova, complete with description of what makes this fluffy delight so fluffy. We also awarded a special mention to staff entries by Steven Knight (droplet of rain) and Bruce Stewart (swirling foam). Thanks to all the entrants this year.

Jewellery

App Development

This term in App Development, students have been working on creating various different apps for Android devices. Students undertaking the elective for the first time, have been learning how to design the layout of apps, before recently learning a programming language that will allow them to make their apps functional. Students taking the subject for a 2nd time, have been given more freedom, and have created their own calculator app, a game that tests a users reaction time, and a simple sign-up form app. Working from home, has allowed the students the opportunity to install their apps onto their own phones, rather than the virtual device on their laptop. I have been very proud of how all students have engaged with the class during this difficult remote learning term, and I'm looking forward to seeing more amazing creations in Term 4!

By Alex Curl

Electives

This term TC students found inspiration in their own backyards, kitchens and loungerooms. They were encouraged to become aware of the ordinary and sometimes overlooked items in their homes to generate concepts for creativity. Developing ideas for compositions that transformed inanimate still life objects, impacts of unpredictable weather, and the confines of home into works of art were explored. It’s astounding and interesting to see how the students interpreted their surroundings in the works of art seen in art and photography elective classes during lock down.

VCE STUDIO ARTS - ART INDUSTRY CONTEXTS
VIRTUAL EXCURSION - NATIONAL GALLERY OF VICTORIA

VCE Studio Arts students attended a virtual excursion at the National Gallery of Victoria over the remote learning time in Term 3 to hear about the work that goes on behind the scenes in preparing and presenting artworks for exhibition in a gallery. As part of the current study design, students study the curatorial and conservation considerations, and the way exhibition design reflects the vision of the exhibition. The French Impressionism Museum of Fine Arts, Boston was an immersive virtual exhibition that helped students to experience key elements and broad themes of the Impressionists’ work and practice; painting en plein air, using a lightened palette and quick brushwork to capture the changing atmosphere, and their interest in natural, domestic, and urban environments.

Education officer for the NGV, David Menzies, provided a great talk and walked the students through the key considerations for their preparation on the assessed coursework and the end of year exam. It was a valuable experience to be able to visit the gallery and ‘walk through’ the spaces, hear from the conservator, marketing team, exhibition designer and curator to better understand the unique style of the French Impressionists, the pre cursors and inspiration, influences and the relationships formed, and how this played a significant role in the creation of this blockbuster exhibition.

French Impressionism | Exhibition Introduction | NGV

By Demi Nicolaidis

OG Courage Program

The Courage Program is run every semester by our educational psychologist Mei and Social worker Amy. TC’s very first group commenced in 2019. The Courage program was developed to improve the social skills and self-esteem of young people, maximise the school and educational experience and set them up with better skills to support moving forward in life. After their program finished the group decided to organise a catch up once a week which has continued on virtually, it gives the students opportunity to have open discussions in a judgement free space as their friendships grow.

Queer Club

Queer club is held every Thursday Lunchtime and is an open and safe space for anyone LGBTQIA+, questioning, or an ally of the community. The space has become a go to for connecting with other students with similar experiences and/or interests as well as discussing how to make our school a safe and inclusive place. The club facilitates connections and making friends with other individuals of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Trans* Club

This is a sub-group from queer club. Its for students who identify as Non Binary/ Trans/Intersex/gender diverse/ are gender questioning and allies. The group was started and is facilitated by the students, topics and discussions are held each week regarding many different issues, including trans* representation in film as well as books, music and tv recommendations. It is all about promoting a safe space and making connections.

Food sent out to students

During lockdown 5.0 we offered food packages to some of our families. Steph and Jess, our social work students, reached out to some families and organised the packages with the help of two of our amazing social workers Amanda and Amy. It was a great way to lend a helping hand and promote positive community wellbeing.

TC Wellbeing Instagram

Follow us @tcwellbeing

Mullets for Mental Health

In the month on September Guy Dickson is raising money for the Black Dog Institute. 1 in 5 of us will experience symptoms of mental illness in any given year. In Australia that’s around 5 million people. And roughly 60% of these people won’t seek help. He is raising funds to show support for mental health research. Support his mullet and empower everyone in Australia to look after their mental health. 

If you would like to donate - please follow this link: https://www.teamblackdog.org.au/fundraisers/guydickson/mulletsformentalhealth

Have you been reading the TCNEWS in the weekly email? Every week TC journalist Bonnie Smith provides the community with a insight to life at TC. And we did not stop with lockdown! Click on any of the icons below to revisit a story.

Thank you for reading! Have a happy holiday 🎈🌞🎉🥳