Senior School Newsletter Issue No. 10 Term 3 2018

Inspire, Shine, Create.Dare to be wise.

Welcome back to Term Three! It has felt like only a couple of days have past since the school holidays, but flipping through our busy Alamanda Calendar, we are into week three. Where has the time flown?

Over the last couple of weeks, Kirsten and myself have attended a few professional development opportunities, addressing some key legislative documentation in which Alamanda College are required to participate in, heading towards 2019, namely the School Review Process. During this process, students, staff and parents are invited into a process where we, as a collective learning community, critically analyse the teaching and learning that is taking place at Alamanda College. We will be identifying the areas of strength and weakness, as well as highlighting enabling factors, along with barriers preventing us from meeting our mission statement.

One area that I would like to address is how the secondary

school staff at Alamanda College have focused a lot of their time and efforts in 2018 towards empowering students and building school pride. Effective schools build a culture where teachers and students work together, and where student voice, agency and leadership are understood as inter-related factors that contribute to the notional of empowerment and sense of school pride.

Student Voice – is not simply about giving students the opportunity to communicate ideas and opinions; it’s about students having the power to influence change.

Student Agency - refers to the level of autonomy and power that a student experiences in the learning environment. Agency gives students the power to direct and take responsibility for their learning, creating independent and self-regulating learners.

STUDENTVOICE,

AGENCY &LEADERHIP

Student Leadership - Student leadership includes listening to and being able to clarify the issues of the students they represent and advocating on their behalf. Trust, autonomy and relationships are enhanced through the development of leadership qualities.

Research has clearly identified that relationships can affect student learning – there are effects for both positive and negative relationships (Roorda et al, 2011). Negative relationships can make students less happy about coming to school or participating in class and that teachers can significantly improve relationships by showing they understand and care

Alamanda College

Address: 86-100 Alamanda Blvd.

Point Cook PO Box 6606, Point Cook

VIC 3030

Telephone: 03-8376 5200

Email: alamanda.k9@edumail.

vic.gov.au

Dogs are not permitted within the Alamanda school grounds unless given approval by the Principal.

The exception to this policy is for dogs that assist people with

disabilities.

The purpose of this notice is to support the promotion of a

safe school environment and to ensure the safety of all students, toddlers, and parents within the

school yard.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Dare to be wise,

Kirsten Sullivan and Ryan MaActing Assistant PrincipalSecondary SchoolAlamanda College

about individual students and trying to see student perspectives (Hattie, 2009). As part of his research, Hattie found an effect size of 0.72 for teacher-student relationships on improving student academic outcomes. Any number which is above 0.40 is considered to positively effect student academic outcomes, so therefore 0.72 is a significant effect size which teachers need to note.

In addition to Hattie’s research, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) results shows that (OECD, 2013):

• drive, motivation and confidence in one’s self are essential if students are to fulfil their potential

• students who are in schools where student-teacher relations and disciplinary climate are poor are more likely to have low levels of engagement with and at school

• teachers can help students develop perseverance and motivation by supporting students in their efforts to meet high expectations

• teachers’ practices can promote students drive and willingness to engage with complex problems, such as use of cognitive-activation strategies, and helping them to learn from mistakes

• teachers and parents can hold high expectations and reward each student who achieves specific learning goals

• student motivation and self-beliefs are impacted by whether other students are performing better than them in the class or school

• streaming students into different schools can negatively impact student motivation and drive for learning.

Experts support the promotion of student voice in schools and point to the importance of linking student voice with action. ‘Authentic’ student voice is not simply to provide data for others to make decisions, but it should encourage young people’s active participation in shared decision making and consequent actions (Fielding, 2001; Hargreaves, 2005; Holdsworth, 2005).

As you can see, there is a significant research body which highlights the importance of building school pride and strong relationships between teachers and students. If I compile a list of all the opportunities that Alamanda College provides its’ senior students, in terms of empowerment, voice and choice of curricular activities, this column would stretch 25 pages. This also highlights that we’ve make a big dent into mile one of a thousand-mile journey, in terms of providing our students the best possible educational experiences in which to richly enhance their lives.

Later this term, we have a few big agenda items heading full steam towards us. Following on from last year’s great success, we have our second Great Barrier Reef Experience occurring on the first week of September. We will possibly have our first ever Ski Camp heading out towards Mr. Hotham or Mt. Buller. We also have a plethora of inter-school competitions lined up throughout the term with a heavy focus on basketball, athletics and table tennis. Nearing the end of term, teachers will be eagerly awaiting the NAPLAN results which the students sat in mid-May and, of course, we’ll be doing a big data churn to track student learning growth and to identify new personal learning goals for the students heading into Term Four.

Year 7 Sports News

Alamanda NetballIn term 3, the Alamanda netball team went out to Kardinya Park in Geelong to participate in the Victoria Netball State Championships. The Year 8s and 9s played against year 9s and 10s and the year 7s played against year 8s and 9s. The Alamanda College Netball Team trains every Monday morning and every Thursday at lunch. Our training helps us improve our game play and skills. During the tournament, each game had 8-minute half’s which didn’t feel very long. We were very nervous to go and participate in the championships and represent Alamanda College. Even though we didn’t win, we still had fun participating in the tournament and we were very competitive. The Alamanda Netball Team would like to thank Ms Sobey and Ms O’Connor for taking their time to help train the team and get us ready for our big day. In year 7 PE, we will also be focusing on netball. Students from the Alamanda Netball Academy will help teach the classes the rules and basic skills of netball. This peer coaching will not only help our students who don’t know how to play netball, but also will help the Netball Academy girls develop their own leadership skills. - Kyla - 7C Interschool SportsAn abundance of students were excited when our teachers informed us about the upcoming interschool Table tennis and basketball competitions, and that training is going to start soon. There were many boys and girls who signed up to participate in these sports. Training for table tennis and girls’ basketball will be held on Thursdays after school and boys basketball training will be held on Wednesdays after school. We will train hard, have a go, and try our best at the competition. Wish us luck!- Jared - 7C Class Soccer TournamentsIn Physical education this term we had the opportunity to compete in a

soccer tournament. The teams were decided in a blind pick in which the captains of each team took turns to choose players. We then completed a round robin where we competed against the other teams twice. After the round robin rounds, the team in fourth place was ‘Blue Team’, third was ‘Plain Team, second was ‘Green Team’ and in first ‘Yellow Team’. We then competed in the semi-finals with Yellow defeating Blue and Green defeating Plain with Green scoring

a goal in the last 10 seconds. So the Grand Finals was decided Green v. Plain, the game went for 16 minutes and after an intense first half and the scores were even 2-2. In the second half, each team scored an extra 3 goals each to place it in a tie again 5-5. When then finished the game with an extra 5 minutes, in that time 3 goals were scored and the final score was 6-7 with Yellow scoring the 2 goals and finishing on top. - Jesse – 7D

Year 7 maths students have spent the first week starting on the Algebra unit whilst some of the student’s spent lunchtimes getting assistance finishing off the assessment task. The results of the first inquiry maths tasks were of a solid standard. This week students are working from the continuum with some students being extended into linear equations as they have demonstrated that they are well

Year 7 Maths

above the A standard at Algebra. The majority of the students have made a positive start to the second semester.

Year 8 Maths

During the first few weeks of Semester 2, Term 3, we have done a series of different activities and worksheets but the biggest achievement we have been working on/completed would be the ‘Financial Maths Business Plan’. During the process of this project, we are supposed to plan out a business as if we were beginner entrepreneurs. For the purpose of this project, we have learnt various amounts of concepts which are essential to achieving success in a business as an entrepreneur. The concepts taught in Math include Design Thinking and SCAMPER. The 5-step Design thinking routine is to help us plan our business more effectively and structure our thinking. SCAMPER on the other hand, is to help us think out of the box and design our own special product for sale. These different concepts include Problem Observations, Definitions, Designs and co-creations, prototypes and lots of tests and validations.

In the first stage of our business plan, we learned that it is important to empathise or to observe problems. This means, we need to observe and understand the customer experience and includes what they want and what they need. In the second stage, we define our business idea. We were taught to reframe the customers’ needs into an actionable problem statement.

In the third stage, we move to the design phase. In this phase, we were encouraged to generate a variety of solutions to the problems. At the fourth stage, we then develop our ideas further. We were also taught to visualise possible solutions by creating quick prototypes

Design Thinking, Financial Math and Business Planning

By Jovan WirantoAnd finally, at stage 5, we are to test and validate our product and this means gaining feedback and refining our final business plan.

During the project, students in the year 8 cohorts are expected to create a survey and research on the needs of our customers, produce a marketing plan in the form of at least 5 possible

scenarios, look at the prices for the different ingredients need for the business, list marked price formulas to show understanding, create an analysis for supply and demand, and finally, a reflection for showing how much you have learnt and how you have approached you goals during the task.

Late in term 2, students in years 5-9 competed in the annual Alamanda College House Athletics Carnival. Students competed in a range of events including sprints, long distance races, relays, high jump, long jump, discus, shot putt and javelin to gain points for their house. Throughout the day, students also cheered on their peers and showed a great amount of house spirit. It was great to see so

Years 5 – 9 Athletics Carnival

many students participate on the day. A big congratulations to Wood House, who were crowned the overall carnival winners for the second year in a row. Congratulations is also given to Hocjee Liaw (Year 7) and Nyanadeng Mayen (Year 9) who were crowned

the overall boys and girls school champions for gaining the most individual points across all students in the school. Below is a copy of the Year Champions. These are the students who gained the most individual points for their house.

Girls Champion Girls Runner Up Boys Champion Boys Runner Up

Year 5 Christina Mamaia Mackenzie Payne Matthew Kereti Joshua Maslen Jason Tan

Year 6 Molly Reilly Aaliyah Monshizada Rico Salem Joey Vervoort

Sienna Mione Diing Mayen

Year 7 Arya Shenoy Rafferty Jones Hocjee Liaw Oliver Tarakaturi

Annika Hemstrom

Year 8 Alio Teo Bernice Liaw Richard Sakama Ulu Pologa

Benjamin Rollo

Year 9 Nyandeng Mayen Guylaine Ibizi Chanmin Oh Henrik Steins

Over the weekend, Alamanda College hosted its first secondary performing arts production, a double-bill of pantomime, titled Romeo & Juliet’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Taking William Shakespeare’s classic plays and performing them in a reinvented pantomime style, the students worked incredibly hard of the rehearsal process to learn and master the performance style. Deftly led by our student team of directors, Josh Kelly and Leslie Esera, stage-manager, Katrina Gurry, and producers, Sova Mohamad and Esther Sangwa, the production was an overwhelming success, entertaining sold-out crowds over the two nights. I am incredibly proud of the students’ work; the dedication, commitment and energy shown by the whole cast throughout rehearsals and performances was truly above and beyond. I congratulate all involved students, and encourage those interested to get involved in

Period 6 Drama Club in Term 3 and 4, and with future productions.Lucinda Burney, Secondary Performing Arts Teacher

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Director’s Note

As a show, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is fun and uplifting for the audience. The show has many amusing, relatable moments that captivate the imagination and attention, appealing to people from all walks of life. When reading the script, I pictured a very silly, fast-paced production. All of the characters are very likable, while having their own unique quirks. I wanted the set to reflect a calm forest, which is the traditional setting of the show, yet be very bouncy and high-spirited. I imagined the costumes to really reflect the characters’ personalities, with the royals being quite stuck-up

and proud, the fairies being dramatic and wild, and the actors being a troop of dopey, yet lovable workers. The rehearsal process was quite a journey. Casting was difficult, as everyone who auditioned impressed us thoroughly. When we all got together as cast, we played some drama games to begin to build a strong connection, which is needed in performance. When plotting each scene, it was a challenge to figure out where everyone and everything would fit, and I learned so much along the way. I am extremely proud of all the work and dedication I have put into the show, and the amount of time and effort the whole team has put in to make the show happen.

Josh Kelly, Director of A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Romeo & Juliet’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Romeo & Juliet Romeo and Juliet is filled with love, desperation and overacting. The show is filled with diversity, and has an explosion of energy with every line delivered. Laughter and despair is what we are all looking for in a production. I wanted to place the action in a medieval time, set with a few modern tweeks. We will not be using any microphones to be authentic to the Shakespearean era when players performed at the Globe theatre. Since this is a pantomime interpretation of the

original Shakespearean version, I felt that we had to exaggerate every line, gesture and every reaction from each actor on stage. Every emotion will be displayed on stage and hopefully the audience will feel the same emotions we are displaying. The cast has put in so much time and effort into this production which only makes it an even prouder moment when we finally perform; such a talented cast has made my job easier. Everyone was very eager to spread their wings as performers and just enjoy the moment. It came with

positives but also was challenging. Not only was performing something new to some of the cast, it was even more confusing for me in the director’s role. Throughout the process, I have grown so much, and so has the cast. I hope you all enjoy this magical moment as much as we do. A big thank you to the technicians and backstage crew for all their efforts towards this production. Leslie Esera, Director of Romeo & Juliet

Year 9 Science

Students in Year 9 have made a really excellent start to the term and have shown enthusiasm towards our new unit of inquiry on genetics and evolution. Students have developed their own personal lines of inquiry based on the statement ‘Diversity and evolution in living things depend on mutations.’ By following the Kath Murdoch inquiry cycle, we have followed Step 1 of the cycle; tuning in, by reflecting upon what we already know about these concepts and what we are interested in learning. We have spent some time revising over the structure of cells, focusinxzg

on the importance of the nucleus and what it does. Year 9’s then explored the structure and function of DNA and made models out of pipe cleaners and beads understanding how complimentary bases are paired. We have completed a practical demonstration to extract DNA from a strawberry. Students assisted in breaking down the cell membranes allowing the DNA of the strawberry to escape! The Year 9’s revised over the components of a practical report and used this to formally write up this demonstration.

Students are encouraged to access our science websitehttp://alamanda9science.weebly.com to catch up on classes missed and revise over class content.

I have been really impressed with the amount of focus and commitment the Year 9’s have demonstrated and their ability and attitude to work productively in groups.

Keep up the amazing work Year 9’s! Mrs. Natalie BrysonYear 9 Science Teacher

Term 3 has commenced with a bang, students have quickly snapped out of holiday mode and are making great progress in the wood technology room. Students have begun hand tools skills, with a strong focus on construction and joinery joints.

Students have demonstrated the ability to safety operate, hammers, chisels, tennon saws, marking gauges and set squares to execute a number of timber joints.

There is a strong emphasis for students to understand the complexities of timber, Its characteristics, attributes and its finite nature. Students are exposed to many different Australian hard woods and many discussion around its availability and sustainable future. Year 8 students have commenced their new electives, a recap and refresher, operating hand tools as once again demonstrated the high level of talent on show in year 8 wood technology. A number of strong Year 8 Wood technology students have really stepped up in the last couple of weeks. With a busy start to semester two, Students such as Dylan, Marcus, Brayden, Aydin and Langi have all put their heads down to complete a number of special order jobs requested for distinguished guest in week 2 and 3. This level of support and enthusiasm certainly has not gone unnoticed and has been commended by many staff around the school. Great Job boys and keep up the good work!

Year 9 Students are beginning to feel the pressure of a looming Exhibition in term 4. Students have made a strong start to term three with 85% of students beginning the construction / production process. The sign of progress, has certainly spurred fellow class mates in to action. I believe in the coming weeks all students will be well underway in the construction progress.

Wood Technology

Students watching documentary on ‘Hydro wood’ program in Tasmania.

Kirsten from year 9 will say goodbye in coming weeks, her dedication towards her Wood technology is commendable, Kirtsen has worked extremely hard to complete her natural abstract timber art piece and I suspect in the coming days she will finalise her finishing touches. Great job Kirsten, wishing you all the best in the future and we hope your Timber Art piece brings fond memories of your time at Alamanda College.

In Term 3, Year 7 Mandarin program gives the students the opportunity, under the Global Context of Personal and Cultural Expression, to integrate and inquire about the Beliefs, Values, Philosophy, Systems that are related to Chinese architecture, myth and legends.

During the term, the students will explore the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; and our appreciation of the aesthetic. They will have the opportunity to complete a project on A Comparison Between Chinese Traditional Architecture and Egyptian Architecture. The inquiry questions allow the students to link their knowledge to the learning objectives, philosophy, belief, language and linguistic systems. This task also enables the students to compare, contrast and rethink the cultural difference.

LOTE-MandarinCultural aspects include Mid-Autumn Festival, Chinese housing industry, Chinese modern technology, facts about China, Chinese cities and tourism. During the course, the students will concentrate on organisation, thinking, comparing and creative skills throughout their approaches to learning.

The students have been displaying enthusiasm and curiosity for their language study. They strive to formulate questions which guide them through their learning. They add new ideas to each piece of new work and attempt to develop their existing ideas and use them in new ways. The students have been displaying great collaboration skills through actively participating in class and peer discussions and expresseing their opinions, ideas or information.

The following are reflections from the student:

This term I have been doing Mandarin language as an elective and so far I’ve learnt a lot, some of which I had learnt a little bit about in primary, and other components, which I had never learnt. Some things that I have learnt include complex Chinese numbers; how to express time and dates in Mandarin. I am amased to notice that there is a logic connection between English and Chinese expressions in time and date, although they are exactly in an opposite order. For example, English time is expressed from small to big concept, while Chinese time is explained from big to small concept. I find out Chinese is a very logical language and its culture is embedded in the language and pronunciation.

Although It has only been 3 weeks, I’ve learnt quite a lot and I hope to achieve more through this term and excel to my best ability. I find extremely interesting and beneficial to explore Mandarin language through its online programs and Edpuzzle.- Balraj Gill

Year 9 Community Project for Uluru TourThroughout this year, we have been designing and creating calico bags for Uluru. The bags will be used to make stationary packs for Indigenous students in remote areas of the Northern Territory. These will be delivered to the children in term 4 when Year 8 and 9 students tour Uluru. During this process, we have been challenged with making 60 bags for the stationary packs and designing a logo to screen print on each bag that incorporates Indigenous culture and Alamanda College Logo. We are working on the Global Context of Fairness and Development as we strive to improve the educational opportunities and outcomes for these remote communities. This project has allowed us to develop our textiles time management skills, and these have improved our technical skills in textiles. Our goal for term three is to encourage extra assistance to help

complete this project as we still have 39 bags to make. - Min Thongnoppharat, Mai Thongnoppharat & Esther Lee