Newsletter Term 4 2021

Another very unusual beginning to the term but we loved having everyone back on site eventually and enjoying their learning experiences.
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As 2021 draws to a close, I would like to thank every member of our Blue Community for their achievements throughout the year. I have been proud to be a member of our community as we tackled the challenges placed in front of us!  Some of the highlights from 2021 include– Entry and Grad Camp @ Anglesea, the Subject Selection Process, Snow Camp in between lockdowns, the way our students adapted to Remote Learning, and the return to onsite learning for all students!

I would like to acknowledge the work of Guy Dickson, Jessie Ravenscroft and Nicole Harris and as Blue Community Leaders during 2021. Both Nicole and Jessie will be on maternity leave in 2022, and we wish them, and their families all the very best for the exciting adventures ahead.

On a personal note, my time at TC will come to an end this year. I have been thoroughly honoured to work at TC and lead our Blue Community over a number of years. TC is a very special place, and something we should all be proud of.

In 2022, Anthony Owen’s will be our Community Director support by Guy Dickson and Kate Meehan as Community Leaders.

Stay safe and enjoy the summer break.

By John Sanderson

TC Entry Orientation Day

2022 Entry students joined us from their primary schools on the 7th of December to meet their peers and get involved learning about TC! In small groups students did a tour of the school with their connect teacher, did musical drumming and PE in the gym.

Connect TV

This year has seen the launch of Connect TV, a TC production that aired episodes during Connect all year, showcasing events and activities that the community were involved in, but also ‘Shout Outs’ a segment that highlighted individual student achievements in all sorts of fields and Culture Critics who reviewed movies, television and music. The show explored different cultures and celebrations such a Luna New Year, Persian New year and Diwali and did a road-trip episode to explore the local Templestowe area featuring the areas rich Aboriginal history. It explored topics ranging from big picture such as Harmony Day, Violence Prevention Month, Reconciliation and NAIDOC weeks, and International Women’s Day and also got students perspectives on neurodiversity, climate change and sex education.

We look forward to the Connect TV team coming back bigger and better in 2022 with a new expanding cast and crew to bring you all the important events of 2022! See how far our two hosts Kiannah and Eve have come from their first episode in December 2020 to wrapping up 2021! Congratulations to everyone involved!

Peer Support

During Headstart our 2022 Peer Support leaders undertook a range of team building and leadership activities. It was terrific to see them develop their skills and confidence throughout the day and we can’t wait to see them working with the Entry students in their Connect classes in Term 1 next year.

Congratulations to our new leaders:

Imogen Pappas-Zanatta, Sam Yoannidis, Callista Addamo, Souki Goyma, Eve Macri, Estelle Kardaras, Dante Griffith, Tya Robinson, Lucy Alexander, William Genat, Jasmine Fuga, Kyra Techtail, Harry Wightman, Cate Reynolds, Desiree Haramis Cokalis, Reda Kotob, Meg Kearney, Jasmine King and Camille Crawford

Community head start week

During the second week of head start our 2022 FLE1, 2, and 3 students were onsite, and enjoyed an immersive, interpersonal and community focused week of learning. It was designed to foster connect and community amongst our younger students.

The week included daily Community events across the week during our morning 90-minute periods. Students enjoyed watching The Nightmare Before Christmas in SWING which was converted to a movie theatre, Quidditch on the oval and games in the PAC. Another highlight was the walk to Ruffy Lake Park with a community coloured donut at the playground!

Big Group Hug Collection

Thank you to all families who donated new items such as baby items, sanitary items, toys and games and gift cards to Big Group Hug a community service working together to support vulnerable children.

Our efforts are very much appreciated by the organisation.

Level Up

The game based writing English elective has gone from strength to strength this year, from beginning their own website to publish articles to being featured in The Age last week. Congratulations team on such a successful year. You can read more at their website - Yelling At Children and The Age article, both listed below.

English Language and Literature

Masterclass Micro fictions

During the final week of masterclasses, a small group of students experimented with a hybrid of micro fiction (very, very short stories) and ‘found’ poetry (using the words of other writers as a springboard for an original piece).

Drawing on the beautiful prose of Alice Munro students were struck by two phrases: ‘A door opening on nothing’ and ‘the town falls away in a dejected jumble’, which generated the following micro stories:

They lay on the concrete, face down. A door upstairs opening on nothing (Echo)

A body, still. A plan, gone wrong. A door upstairs opening on nothing (Riley)

And this enticing opening line “As you leave the Orderly, the Town falls away in a dejected jumble” (Eirron)

At TC the learning never stops!

Co-constructed VCE Resources for English

During the final weeks of a long, long year, a number of graduate English Language and Literature students generously came back to TC to provide their thoughtful and enthusiastic input into the development of VCE ‘Readers’ for the respective 3/4 courses.

The reader model was introduced in 2021 as an up-to-the-minute resource for VCE English Language students to help them in grasping the breadth and range of the course and as a support for independent learning (invaluable during lockdowns!). A similar reader was developed for Pre VCE-Literature (as a supplementary text and overview of the course) with similar success.

The readers in 2022 will benefit from and be enriched by the contributions and insights of the ‘end users’ and demonstrate that even within the strictures of VCE, co-construction and student collaboration is possible and always powerful!

With thanks to:

• Alex Bruce

• Maia Choat

• Emily Claringbold

• Maya Halfpenny

• Emma Helmore

• Beth Jellis

• Megan Jepson

• Troy Jordan

It’s been another busy term for the Gold Community! Seeing our students return to on site learning with enthusiasm and resilience was fantastic. We also welcomed some lovely new students to Gold with an orientation day for both our new 2022 FLE students, and our 2022 Entry students.

It is with sadness that we say goodbye to Anthony Owen as a Community Leader for Gold as he takes on the role of Blue Community Director. We are excited, however that Cathy Dewar will be stepping up as the newest member of the Community Executive Team! She has been a valued member of TC since 2013 and has already formed many great connections with Gold families. Please remember to email gold@tc.vic.edu.au for any queries and myself, Cathy or Mark Allan will get back to you.

We would like to also thank our Gold Student Community leaders for 2021 – Angel Waterman, Brandon Mumtazi and Troy Jordan for their leadership of Gold both on site and online this year. We welcome our new Student Leader Ash Pickard for 2022! Ash will be working with the team to support students in Gold through Community events and activities.

We hope all of our Gold families have a fantastic and well-deserved holiday period. We have been undertaking lots of planning to make sure we start 2022 with engagement, connection and fun. See you then!

Ceri, Mark and Cathy

As I contemplate the end of the year, I am reminded of the late, great, wresting commentator Jack Little, who used to say at the end of a particularly exciting bout, “THAT’S ALL THERE IS! THERE ISN’T ANY MORE!” If people will indulge me, I think the wrestling motif is a good one when we consider 2021 and the year that we have had. At different times this year, each of us has probably been ‘on the ropes’ and some of us have probably felt that we were ‘on the canvass.’ There is no mistaking the fact that after 2020, we were all hoping for a different 2021 to the one we have experienced, but that was not to be. That said, the thing that makes me proudest, as a teacher, Green Community Director and member of the wider TC Community is the enormous resilience and joy that I have witnessed this year. Just when it looked like we were ‘down for the count’ many of us were able, with the love and support of our families and friends, to stand up and recommit ourselves to our learning journeys and to each other. As we emerged form lockdown and came together again at TC, the joy and enthusiasm that emanated from students and staff as we reconnected in person was amazing. There can be no doubt that we have all been tested, but I really feel that in the process, we have become clearer in terms of knowing what we value and who we are as individuals and as a community.

One thing I am also sure of is that we have ALL TRULY EARNED THIS SUMMER BREAK!

In terms of thanks, I would like to recognise the amazing work of our Green Community Student Leaders, Kyra, Georgia and Yanina. Their commitment and energy was phenomenal this year as a Community we were fortunate to have such strong role models and leaders.

The same goes for Vicky and Luke our excellent Community Leaders. People will never truly appreciate how hard Luke and Vicky worked behind the scenes and how valuable that work was. It was sad to see Luke leave towards the end of the year, but it is also a great pleasure to welcome Leija Harman to the team as a Community Leader. Leija is a great addition to the Green Community.

Massive thanks to Connect Teachers for the great work they did on behalf of students all year and an equally massive shout out to Ryan and the team at Connect TV. 

Finally, a massive thankyou to the Wellbeing Team, who would have to be the most committed and student-centred people I have ever worked with. Their work over the last two years has been incredible and they have managed it with skill and dedication.

So, there you go, another year has passed and another year approaches, but not before we all enjoy a well-earned rest.

Have a summer full of love and laughter,

Michael Mance
Green Community Director.

Legal Studies

This term in Units 1+2 Legal Studies we learnt about recent cases before Australian courts. We then divided into teams to represent the prosecution or the defence. This required each legal team knowing all of the important facts and circumstances of the case in order to advocate for our client and present the strongest legal arguments. When mini-trials were underway we needed to think on our feet when responding to arguments put forward by opposing counsel, drawing on research and our detailed knowledge of the case. It was a great way to put into practice our established knowledge of the Australian justice system.

T20 Blast

It was great to see TC students again participating in sport after an interrupted couple of years’ worth of sport. TC was able to field one team in the T20 blast competition with both Entry and FLE1 students. Throughout the day TC fought hard and were able to make the final against Auburn High School. Unfortunately, in the final Auburn was too strong a got the victory. Special mentions to Charles Crawford-Boyce & Nicholas Pyle who hit 50 runs in a single over and 70 in two overs. Best bowlers on the day were Mikayla Sekhon and George Haviaridis.

Futsal

TC had a huge showing for the Futsal Gala Day event in Term 4. TC entered 5 teams into the competition with assistance of 6 students to referee the event. A total of 37 TC students went out to Knox Regional Football Centre for the competition in 34-degree heat. TC year 8 boys/mixed team made the final lead with great play from Oscar Barbieri & Lachlan Young only to go down in a great game and shoot out. Both TC year 7 boys/mixed teams made the Semi Finals and played well throughout the day. Eros Addamo played well in attack, whilst the shot stopping from Jadon Pretoruis was at the highest of levels. Our Year 7 girls’ team of Violet Muleta, Zara Georgiou, Leilani Gauci & Bronte Xanthopoulos won the day and played in great spirits with all opposition teams respecting and enjoying the company of our team. Well done all for your efforts on the day.

ESDP Update

The ESDP Basketball program were able to finish the year off with a basketball tournament organised by Basketball Victoria the week beginning November 15th.

All students in basketball were able to compete with junior, Intermediate and Senior levels of play available. The juniors had a tough tournament with both the girls and the boys coming away winless.

The intermediate boys and girls both made the finals which were held the following week. The boys were unfortunately without Amos Harvey and Riley Bowen for the finals where we lost all our games narrowly. The girls were also without Lilly Amor and they competed very well before losing narrowly in the Grand Final to Rowville Secondary College.

The Senior boys and girls also both made the finals with the boys losing narrowly to Marcellin College in the semi final and the girls going down to Box Hill Secondary College in the Grand Final.

We said our goodbyes to students graduating from the program with Zac Anderson and Tayha Watkins having been with us from Entry level. Other’s graduating was Mitch Blackburn, Jack Booth, Aris Hagopian, Pat Ramsey & Noah Gorgievski.

2022 Sports Captains

On behalf of the PE, Health and Sports Department we would like to formally congratulate our three TC Sports Captains for 2022: Chloe Mayson, Finn Dalton & Jasper Brown. Chloe has been involved in the sports leadership group for the last couple of years and has shown great engagement in the sports program assisting with all carnivals and interschool sports. Chloe’s passion is Basketball and Leadership and will be a great captain in 2022. Finn like Chloe has also been involved in the program throughout the last couple of years and was the schools Sports Vice Captain in 2021. Finn has demonstrated a strong ability to lead and bring together a group. Finn is a highly accomplished Hockey player with strong ties to many sports. Jasper is new to the sports leadership team in 2022, however is a strong contributor to the TC Sports program. Jasper has presented the school in many sports including AFL, Basketball and Hockey to name a few. Jasper has a strong leadership background through his primary school year and will be a great addition to the team in 2022. I would also like to congratulate George Kardaras and Lara Holder on their inclusion to the leadership team of Ruby Elms, Jessica Ryan, Logan Muller, Matilda Brougham, Zoe Harris and Yumi Jahr.

Notes from the Montessori Adolescent Program, Term 4, 2021, when, after a short delay, lockdown eased and we met each other again, face-to-face.

We began back together with two solid days of games, puzzles and activities, all designed to reconnect and allow the adolescents to rediscover their relationships and inter-relationships. By the third day there was a thirst for learning activity - studies were organised so there was a predominance of group work, giving students the chance to build their learning alongside the important skills of re-socialising.

Patrick Ness’s novel AND THE OCEAN WAS OUR SKY, a re-imagining of Moby Dick from the whale’s point-of-view created a vast array of creative and deeply philosophical responses. We did enjoy following such a deep and intense work with THE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE, which was our roundabout way of teaching instructional and didactic writing.

The focus in Occupations was on First Aid and Human Health, and devolved into the production of several studio-length movies with detailed role-playing and hearty enjoyment. The Renaissance was relived by assigning student groups different parts of the world from which they brought knowledge and wonders to the chief influencers in Florence, the deMedici family.

The end of week 8 saw the end of three years – two of them severely disrupted – for our 2021 MAP graduates. 23 young adults left our ranks and ventured into Headstart – but not before a day out in celebration, bouncing at Latitude and, naturally, spending the afternoon in a children’s playground. There were graduation teddies all round, signed by their friends in MAP.

Immediately following was Headstart, where we welcomed in 28 new students, almost all of whom were able to attend TC for the whole week. Coming from a huge range of backgrounds and schools – Montessori, Steiner, independent, State – they took next to no time in making the MAP space their own, forging friendships and discovering how learning happens in our space. It was a wonderful and happy start to their lives at TC.

We ended the year with the camp-that-wasn’t-a-camp: too hard to get all the paperwork and preparation done for overnight stays and Department permissions, but we wanted to give the MAP kids – including the graduates – the chance to spend quality time together. Three days at school (until 9pm) working in ‘Corporate’ groups to learn more and more about environmental and ecological stewardship, along with cleaning up Ruffey Creek and planting native trees at school. Plus the bonus of being able to cook together and for each other: a core of the Montessori experience is the preparation and providing of food, one of the most generous things one person can do for another.

By Steve French

music

Our music team have worked hard to produce work in and around lockdown. Please enjoy this sample from the Graduate Final Assembly, produced by Luke Holder and the TC Final Assembly performed by The Stage and Beyond class.

Music Achievements

TECH

The performing arts team isn’t always in front of the camera and we would like to acknowledge the hard work students do in the tech department to put on our shows! 👏🎶 Congratulations to Jack Willis-Hall and Kayla Quinn - lighting 💡, Dante Griffith - videography and camera operation 📽, Kyra Teichtahl - photography 📸 and Daniel Gray and Finn De Blacquiere-Clarkson - audio 🔊 and stage management 🎭.

As you read this article, a collective sigh of relief has been released by the students and staff here at TC. This year has been another extraordinary year, but rather than discussing the past I set my sights on the future. I know that this holiday break has been well and truly earned for all members of the TC community. I for one will be focussing on my mental health and wellbeing over the break, which will include some camping trips to places I have never been, riding my motorbike until the wheels fall off (not literally I hope) and relaxing to the soothing sound of crashing waves. I implore you to focus on your own wellbeing, reconnecting with friends and family and exploring new ways to relax.  

I would like to send a massive congratulations to our graduate students in 2021. I look forward to hearing from you in the future to see the impact you have created on the world. With the older students leaving, the Red Community executive team have been fortunate enough to spend time with our incoming entry cohort. It was fantastic to see the smiling and eager faces ready to embark on their new learning journey. All the Red community mentors are keen to get you involved in continuing to build our great community. Remember: the opportunities will be available, its up to you reach out and take hold. Speaking of opportunities, I would also like to acknowledge and thank all the work that Keisha Sadler, Daniel Gray and Roxy Dodson for all their efforts in the Red Student Community Leader space in 2021. The Red Community has continued to go from strength to strength under your leadership and guidance. 

During week 10 this Term, the younger students of the Red community participated in a number of engaging activities to help foster our sense of community. The capture the flag game demonstrated how far the bonding between red students had occurred throughout the week, with significant levels of connectedness, passion and pride in our community being displayed. Those who were there know exactly what I am talking about… 

2022 will also see the introduction of Cherish Ossai and Daniel Gray as the Red Student Community Leaders. Mia Cooper and Craig Carter will also continue working along side me as Red Community Leaders. Together we will continue to build our great community. Expect to see a range of exciting community events and community evenings taking place in the future. 

On behalf of the Red Community staff, I wish you all a safe and relaxing break. 

Regards, 

Steven Knight 
Red Community Director 

Solutions

Solutions using Science this term was split into two units of learning; Sounding Out Light and Healthy Oceans.

In our sound and light unit students learnt about properties of waves and constructed their own musical instruments. They then measured the frequency of the sound created and modified the instrument to change the frequency, learning about how tension, density, volume and length play a part in creating sound.

Healthy Oceans explored the importance of healthy ocean ecosystems and students learnt about issues such as plastic, bioaccumulation, warming and acidification in the world’s oceans. They conducted titrations to learn about acids and bases and made their own ‘bioplastic’ out of potato starch, and tested different plastics to better understand terms like ‘compostable’ and ‘degradable’. Finally they researched and presented solutions to help fix the problems such as education campaigns to reduce single use plastic and ocean clean up initiatives.

We also explored titration: a method or process of determining the concentration of a dissolved substance in terms of the smallest amount of reagent of known concentration required to bring about a given effect in reaction with a known volume of the test solution.

Earth and Beyond

Students measuring the diameter of the sun in our new subject Earth and Beyond. It was a waiting game with sunshine. Results gave an order of magnitude estimate that was only about 4x larger than real value. Not bad for a cardboard box pinhole camera. Students also created a Solar Oven (to melt chocolate), indoors as the Melbourne sun was not cooperating!

Forensics Science

To end the semester the forensic science classes worked together to solve a murder committed at TC. Teams of students applied their knowledge of crime scene analysis, fingerprints, the relationship between stride length and height and used their deductive reasoning skills to determine "whodunnit".

Pre-Physics

During head start students were problem solving how to get a ping pong ball into a bucket using projectiles, ramps, catapults and trebuchet

Pre VCE Psychology

This semester after returning to in person learning, the Pre-VCE Psychology students worked together to investigate a psychological question of their choice and produced podcasts for your listening pleasure. Please enjoy, we hope you learn something new!

Science Achievements

Science Talent Search winner: Nicolas Pyle (Distinction in Creative Writing), Yanina Dehaerne (Distinction in Video Production) and Abby Dearman (Merit in Photography)

Science Festivities

Robotics

Templestowe enjoyed its first Robotics competition of the season at Whittlesea on November 27! The enthusiasm was high as we were all excited to be competing against other schools.

The junior VEX IQ division did strong in the first half of the day, taking the lead but though they tried hard, they lost their rankings in the final rounds. What an exciting day.

Backyard Permaculture head start projects

VCE Excellence Achievements

Top Arts

An annual favourite on the NGV exhibition calendar, Top Arts showcases the exceptional work of students who have completed Art or Studio Arts as part of their Victorian Certificate of Education in an extraordinary past year. Comprising work selected from applicants across Victoria, the exhibition encompasses a range of media, including drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, digital and mixed media.

Top Arts celebrates the outstanding abilities and the diverse concerns of our newest emerging talents and in 2021 Templestowe College students Pearl Butler, Miah Gioia and Erin Kim were successful applicants who presented their final artwork in the National Gallery of Victoria.

Pearl Butler’s artwork Ambiguity, explores the unique shapes and forms of the female figure in motion either floating, falling or flying. The surreal outer space landscape and composition suggests that the figures could be performing movements.

Miah Gioia’s work consists of two prints. ‘Although Sections one and Sections two are different, the image is created from the same copper plates, and so therefore belong together. Sections one, the original image, depicts an anatomically correct solid dahlia root. The abstracted composition of Sections two rearranges the image, removing viewers familiarity and prompting new interpretations. By rearranging each copper plate, I feel I have created a balanced composition of which enhances the sculptural beauty of my subject.’

Belonging, by Erin Kim represents a home of comfort and belonging; a café she regularly visits. ‘I always felt alienated in the country I was born because of my race. This insecurity went even as far as wanting to erase my Korean side.’
Acceptance by Erin Kim ‘captures the moment I felt like I was accepted by my Korean side when I went to South Korea. I also felt distant from my Korean heritage because I was raised in Australia. I felt alone without a place to belong with people like me.’

Once again, we are excited to announce that Templestowe College students Holly O’Brien, Sheoaka Flett and Aston Smythe have been shortlisted for the 2022 Top Arts Exhibition. It’s been an incredible year where students of VCE Studio Arts have shown resilience and consistent hard work, developing, and refining their ideas and skills in an ever-changing environment. I am very proud of all the students who managed to quickly adapt to working at home for the most part of 2021. Congratulations to Holly, Sheoaka and Aston in being shortlisted for 2022 Top Arts!

Holly’s work focuses on the chaotic world occupied inside her mind and the way she managed to overcome lockdown and isolation over the past 18 months. She symbolically presents feelings and emotions that plagued her and the resilience she had to ‘keep going’.  

Sheoaka’s work centres on the theme of “small world” and refers to the restrictions that lockdown presented to her, making her world feel small, while settled in the world that she had at the time. ‘My inspiration, drawn on my perspective during 2020, when my mundane routine, and the monotonous nature of lockdown gave me a much more appreciated outlook on my everyday life and the people around me.’

Aston’s large canvas painting is overwhelming. ‘The use of bold colours creates an overwhelming scene, projecting sharp and daring elements that are individual to each person. The use of blended paint creates a fading effect that conveys an essence of mystery, reflecting the overall space.’

Top Designs

This year we also see Templestowe college students Holly O’Brien and Amelie Thompson shortlisted for Top Designs 2022, exhibition at the Melbourne Museum. In VCE Media Holly produced a graphic novel and Amelie’s unique textiles product design in VCE Product Design and Technology display outstanding efforts, and we congratulate them in their achievements.

Top Screen and Design

Erin Kim has been shortlisted to Top Screen and Design for her animation. Both Erin and Sheoaka had works displayed in the 2020 exhibitions and we wish all shortlisted applicants good luck for the final showcases.

By Demi Nicolaidis
Learning Area Leader, Visual Arts 2021

It was a big term for TC Queer club. It was great to be able to meet in person again and we discussed many interesting topics including coming out, queer identities and queer life at TC. We also welcomed Nevo Zizin, a queer writer and activist, to TC where they shared their gender identity journey and writing career with us. We also had Simone and Britt from Manningham Youth Services come and visit us with their glitter station. Students were able to have glitter designs on their arms or faces while they chatted to the team from MYS. 

We have an exciting line-up of discussions and activities ready to go for next year’s Queer Club so if you’re interested in coming along we have a Queer Club Team which is always happy to accept new members.  

Guest Speaker - Nevo Zisin

Nevo Zisin, a non-binary queer rights activist, and published author, came to our school in weeks 6&7 to run self-love writing workshops for the ‘So You Want to Be a Writer’ and ‘Fears and Ideas’ English classes. They also did a talk to the TC Queer Club, about their journey with gender, and sexuality and how society constructs and assigns gender to people, from the moment they are born. Nevo Zisin, is the author of ‘Finding Nevo’ (2017) which is an autobiography of their experience with finding themselves and coming out. They have also written the ‘Pronoun Lowdown’, this year, which is a book about demystifying and celebrating trans and gender diverse individuals. The Self-love writing workshops were very well done, as they not only focused on body positivity but mental health awareness, and the importance of prioritising caring for your mental health. Their talk was also incredibly inspiring, as they not only openly discussed their highs and lows with coming out but talked about how society drills the idea of ‘girl and boy’ into our minds from the very beginning, so it was equally emotional, and eye-opening.

By August

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