Senior School Newsletter Issue No. 3 Term 1 2017

Inspire, Shine, Create.

Dare to be wise.

Dear Parents and Care Givers,

Firstly may I thank all those parents who braved the terrible traffic conditions to attend the launch of our Middle Years academic year. It was wonderful to see you all there supporting your children who had been working hard to present

their learning and vision for the 2017 academic year.

I’m sure you will agree that our keynote speaker, Dr. Marcia Behrenbruch, was quite inspirational and very informative about our journey towards candidacy of the Middle Years Programme of the IB.

Dr. Behrenbruch has taught in every level of schooling from the early years to year 12. She has lived and worked in Canada, Australia, Vietnam and Singapore. Most of her 15

years in administration focused on curriculum innovation and facilitating change.

As she pointed out, the rapid growth of knowledge and the need for dialogue around globalization and sustainability requires us to rethink our education system and curriculum delivery. Concept based inquiry learning requires a lot of students. It necessitates a high level of research skills, problem solving ability and higher order thinking, communication and collaboration. It develops creative and critical thinkers who are able to reflect on their learning to take action to make the world a better place for us all.

Dare to be Wise,

Jeanette FineganAssistant Principal Middle School

2

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

IMPORTANT DATES

23rd March12:30 - 3:15PMGroup 1 - Year 8A and 8BSecondary Swimming Programme

24th March 12:30 - 3:15Group 1 Year 9Secondary Swimming Programme

17th and 31st March12:30 - 3:15Group 2 Year 9Secondary Swimming Programme

31st March12:30 - 3:15PMGroup 2 - Year 8C and 8DSecondary Swimming Programme

31st MarchLast day of Term 2:15PM Finish

18 AprilStart of Term 2

Students’ reflections on MYP Night

The MYP Night was different from my experience at the PYP Night. I felt older and more mature at the MYP Night because, there was no primary things such as jumping castles, face painting and etc. Instead we were able to showcase and share our learning throughout all of our subjects, including electives. The food from the cafe was delicious that the students had made, and everybody around me wanted more and more. It was very professional and I felt proud to be an Alamanda student.

For the classroom presentation we were able to share the differences between the MYP and PYP. We were also able to explain to the parents about our Maths goal-setting and continuum process. The parents really enjoyed our presentation and were proud of their children for putting so much effort and pride into what they were doing for the past term.

“MYP night was amazing. There were lots of people around the new building. Our class

presentation was great and the parents enjoyed it. Jot and I presented together and I felt both

nervous and excited.”

I personally enjoyed last night as well, it was great fun roaming around with my friends watching all the projects that were going on. - By Sri Bobba

The MYP night was really exciting, it was great fun presenting our work to our parents. I had a lot of fun at my first MYP night. The food was great and all the students enjoyed taking part and working as a team to present. I introduced the maths goal-setting process with Sri. All the parents were pride of their children.

I am looking forward for more MYP nights to occur in the future. - By Shradha Pattnaik

MYP night was amazing. There were lots of people around the new building. Everybody grabbed a sausage and a few bites from the cafe (Cafe’ Dare). I was starving. Our class presentation was great and the parents enjoyed it. Jot and I presented together and I felt both nervous and excited. My mind wandered off and I forgot it was my turn, but luckily my friends were there to remind me. After our class presentation, I went over to Mrs. Osborne’s textiles

class and I continued with a laptop bag I designed in my elective classes. Over all, the MYP night was wonderful.- By Praysor Lameta

Excerpt from ‘The Flood’ by Emily Kim

“I heard that the slaves are going to build something in Cairo,” says Biti as he rolls around in the red sand. “What are they building?” I ask. “I’m not sure. Probably some kind of statue to worship the gods.” He answers back. I can see the red sand rolling around in the wind.

Tiny bits of sand hit my face and my arms. I try to grab Ako’s attention.

On MYP Night, all Year 7 classes presented their learning with pride and confidence. We talked about our current interdisciplinary unit of our inquiry. An interdisciplinary unit is when multiple subjects combine into one big idea. Rohan G, Rohan K, Carolina, Illirian, Eklavya & I took place in presenting the Interdisciplinary unit to our parents, siblings & friends in our homeroom class of 7C. We were also able to show our parents our narratives

“The MYP Night was different from my experience at the PYP Night. I felt older and more mature at the MYP Night because... we were able to showcase

and share our learning throughout all of our subjects, including electives.”

we had written that incorporated information we had learnt in Humanities about Ancient Egypt which showcased our Interdisciplinary learning. There was also a sausage sizzle and delicious drinks at café dare. I look forward to having another MYP night next year or share our learning. By Hayden Chan

Excerpt from ‘Cleopatra’ by Stella Soesanto

It was the happiest day of her life. The wedding of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Sure, Cleopatra didn’t exactly have the best reputation the love world, but still. She loved him and he loved her. And together they will continue to rule over Egypt and live happily ever after. But the only teensy – weensy tiny – winy problem was that they were beginning to lose power. The citizens were starting to disagree and the people in charge were all

arguing. Every day at work was starting to become a chore, unlike Cleopatra’s earlier reigning years, where she always enjoyed her job as Pharaoh.

Excerpt from ‘Tutan in the Past’ By Sri Bobba

As the ceremony ended, a strange looking man strolled up to Tutan. He wore mustard coloured linen clothing, and looked really desperate to talk. The man looked at Tutankhamun for a long two minutes, then knelt to the ground, kissed the grotty floor and got up. The peculiar man then handed a round

object with the number 1-12 to Tutan. The object had two sticks on it, one stick was small, and the other slightly longer.

Excerpt from ‘Time Travel’ by Osten Sullivan

A few nervous days later. They were ready to test. “This is test 1.0. Test subject Scarlett. Destination Egypt 2686 BCE”. Scarlett was nervous but ready for the test she was wearing a hazmat suit. 3 2 1. “Portal is open.” Scarlett took one huge leap. WHOOSH!

YEAR 7 PHOTOGRAPHY

Photography has been an amazing experience for me. “Everyone is a photographer but not every picture is a photograph,” is what this experience has taught me. The ability to transform a simple picture into to something interesting—a photo, is something I have learnt. Insights into angles, colours, lights, distance, etc. have all helped me to understand photography in a totally different perspective. I now know that the art of photography is not only taking photos but is understanding what a photo is trying to tell us. Our elective sessions during school including our trip to take photos at Bayview Park has helped build on our knowledge on the subject. We have learnt about aperture, shutter speed, ISO, exposure, editing, using tripods, conveying our thoughts through a photo, and will hopefully continue to learn much more in the future. - Nihdi Anand 7E

Langi JONES-PRICTOR

Ariana SMILE Zayvian LANGKILDE-FALE

Anamita MAHALANABIS

Nihdi ANAND

YEAR 9 ENGLISHIn English during Term 1 the Year Nine students have been exploring the novel ‘The Feed’ by M.T Anderson. The Feed is about a group of teenagers who take a trip to the moon to have fun but it turned out to completely suck! When a constant stream of games, shows, chats and ads feed directly into their brains, they wonder if the world makes sense without them.

The protagonist Titus and his friends marvelled in the wonders of their streams of data and information until a hacker causes their Feeds to malfunction leaving them stuck with only their own thoughts for days. During this trip to the moon Titus also met a girl named Violet, who made the decision to fight the Feed which, inevitably causes things to go haywire!

The overall themes of the book include identity, friendship, consumerism and technology. The Feed relates to our unit of Inquiry ‘Technological advances can enhance connections and conflict between humankind relative to societal decisions.’ The class have creatively retold elements of the story from different characters perspectives, really encapsulating the language, vocabulary and dialogue of the original story.

PE

Lily Van Bert & Matteo ChinapenSchool Captains

Hayley LambertStephanie Boukouvalis

Sports Captains

Cooper HillierAlyssa Maleko

Vice School Captains

Fletcher SnellShae Moran

Pannya TrehanGyumin Kim

Vice Sports Captains

Kaitlyn ForssellSebastian Simmons

Clarke House Captains

Congratulations to our 2017 Secondary Leadership Team. We are looking forward to watching these students develop as leaders and learners as they implement their new

ideas throughout our community.

Yizi ShaoElla Larkin

Hannah HermawanAnamita Mahalanabis

Clarke Vice House Captains

Kirsten CanaresSasha Wickrema Arachchi

Hollows House Captains

Annabelle CampbellBella GilsonElla HansenShaq Hamja

Hollows Vice House Captains

Ebony ChiazorCleo Lilai

Teo House Captains

Evonne NguyenHayden Chan

Mithra ArulTeo Vice House Captains

Leitu IfoChelsea Wilson

Wood House Captains

Ally JohnstonSkye Swale

Alexandria Palafox,Oliver Rickman

Wood Vice House Captains

Front Row: Hayley Lambert, Lily Van Bert, Matteo Chinapen, Stephanie Boukouvalis. Second Row: Kaitlyn Forssell, Sebastian Simmons, Kirsten Canares, Sasha Wickrema Arachchi, Cooper Hillier, Alyssa Maleko, Ebony Chiazor, Cleo Lilai, Chelsea Wilson, Leitu Ifo. Third Row: Yizi Shao, Ella Larkin, Annabelle Campbell, Bella Gilson, Fletcher Snell, Shae Moran, Evonne Nguyen, Ally Johnston, Skye Swale. Fourth Row: Hannah Hermawan, Anamita Mahalanabis, Ella Hansen, Shaq Hamja, Pannya Trehan, Gyumin Kim, Hayden Chan, Mithra Arul, Alexandria Palafox, Oliver Rickman

THE FOLLOWING STUDENTS WERE SUCCESSFUL IN THEIR APPLICATION FOR THE FOLLOWING POSITIONS:

MUSICMiddle School Music The Alamanda College middle school music program embodies the idea that everybody can create and enjoy playing music. The new program is all about practical music making and celebrates the music students want to play. So far, students have looked at new skills in percussion, guitar, keyboard and voice. Through these collaborative activities, students have developed a strong sense of belonging and connectedness that is clear to see in the classroom. Looking forward, this will promote student-led projects, playing their own music and directing their own groups.

Isabella Francene from Year 9 has reflected on what the year 9 class is doing: During Year 9 music, we have been learning to play different percussion instruments such as: bongos, maracas, woodblocks, tambourines and more. With the instruments, we jam out to music with each instrument having their own part, we played to songs like, Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes, a Bob Marley song and See You Again by Wiz Khalifa. Currently in music we are assessed to form a small group (like a band), and perform a song we have chosen with each member on an instrument.

Ocean Ow from year 7 has reflected on three activities from music class so far: I really enjoy doing the guitar jams and the keyboard jams because guitar is my favourite and main instrument and I get to play guitar in class and learn how to play the keyboard with my classmates and its really great when we harmonise with the keyboards and guitars because its great and it’s fun to be able to play in a group and to be honest this is my favourite part of music class. Other activities include Show tell perform, when a student (or teacher) brings something music related in and shows, tells or performs in front of the class. I really enjoy show tell perform as it gives me a chance to see what my classmates (and teachers) can

do, or see what they have brought in to show the class that I may not know about. I also really enjoy percussion jams because we all get to play to a

song using only percussion instruments and its pretty fun, although as much as I love doing percussion jams I do admit it can get pretty loud.

MUSICInstrumental Music Lessons Term 2 GRADE 3 – YEAR 9

We are currently taking new enrolments for Term 2. Please see the main office for information packs and enrolment forms. DUE March 27th

Quality instrumental music lessons offered by some of Melbourne’s most experienced teachers and performers.

• Piano • Voice• Drums• Guitar

For enquiries please contact Alamanda College at:Email: alamanda.k9@edumail.vic.gov.au

Phone: (03) 8376 5200

• Bass • Violin • Viola • Cello

Create music and inspire one another with the universal language of mankind.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC LESSONS

Quality instrumental music lessons offered by some of Melbourne’s most experienced teachers and performers.

• Piano • Voice• Drums• Guitar

For enquiries please contact Alamanda College at:Email: alamanda.k9@edumail.vic.gov.au

Phone: (03) 8376 5200

• Bass • Violin • Viola • Cello

Create music and inspire one another with the universal language of mankind.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC LESSONS

BAKERS DELIGHT HOT CROSS BUNS FUNDRAISER

In partnership with Bakers Delight this Easter you have the opportunity to purchase packs of Bakers Delight Hot Cross Buns at the special price of $7.00 per half dozen.

There are several yummy options to choose from - traditional, chocolate, apple & cinnamon, fruitless and mocha. There is

bound to be one to cater for your tastes.

This is a fantastic opportunity for your family to help the School raise much needed funds to please ask your extended family and friends if they would like to purchase some too. For each pack we sell the school will receive $2.00.

Your hot cross buns will be delivered to your child on Tuesday, 28 March by the end of the school day. Please note the closing date for all Bakers Delight Hot Cross Buns is Tuesday, 21 March 2017.

To place your order, please follow the link on the Skoolbag notification.

Allow our Year 9 baristas to serve you a delicious

coffee!

Open for service: 7:30am – 9:00am 2:30pm – 3:30pm

Closed Friday afternoon

Please note – cash only, no EFTPOS available

Café Dare