What’s Happening at Middle School Highton
Week 5
- Mon, 23 May – Tues 24 May – Year 9 GEOS – The Prom Camp #1
- Tues, 24 May – GISSA Inter Girls (Y9 & 10) Netball Championships
- Tues, 24 May – Year 8 Medieval Day
- Wed 25 May – Friday 27 May – Year 9 GEOS – The Prom Camp #2
- Thurs, 26 May – GISSA Inter Boys (Y9 & 10) AFL Championships
- Fri, 27 May – Yr 9 Editorial Excursion – The Lume, Melbourne
Week 6
Highton Campus Learning Support Needs Lego!
We are looking for:
- Loose Lego pieces
- Full sets with or without instructions
- Mini figures
If you can donate in any way, we would be truly grateful.
Please contact me via my email address: k.bowyer@ccg.vic.edu.au or donations can be left at the Front Office.
Kathrine Bowyer
Six Thinking Hats
Edward De Bono, author of Six Thinking Hats, developed the term, lateral thinking. He inspired and challenged educators to always be better.
Our role now, more than ever, is to teach students to become critical thinkers. It is becoming increasing difficult for students to decipher what information is appropriate and accurate due to the amount of digital misinformation that is imposed on them daily. It can be confusing and often misleading.
Determining validity and credibility of a source, looking for bias and fact-checking are useful tools to help students steer their way through the digital information highway.
This week students in Year 9 Marine Studies and Year 8 Geos were taught handy digital skills to help with their research tasks. They practised using Boolean search commands (and “parenthesis”), compiled lists of key words to narrow down searches and utilised the Control F function to skim through documents to locate information quickly. Opinions were also challenged in discussions around the use and reliability of controversial site, Wikipedia!
“There’s a danger in the internet and social media. The notion that information is enough, that more and more information is enough, that you don’t have to think, you just have to get more information – gets very dangerous.”
― Edward De Bono
Jaki Groves
Fun With Film
This term our year 7 Media Arts students will plan, write, film and edit a short film. They may choose any topic to create an entertaining or documentary style short film using a variety of media such as photographs, videos and audio.
Students will then collate a sequence from their filming and sound recordings and use software to edit, mix and arrange their digital materials into their short film. Students are currently in the planning stages of their work, and I look forward to seeing what the students create later this term.
Felicity van Kan
Year 8s Rock out at the Coast
Year 8 students attended an excursion this week to explore the geological features in our local environment. It was a great opportunity for students to apply their knowledge to the real world. Living near Anglesea and the Great Ocean Road provides us with great examples of different geological features to study and examine.
The excursion provided the classes with experiences of field work. Activities conducted included examining samples of sand in different locations, collecting samples to study back in the classroom under microscopes and discussion of the formation of the shoreline and other features.
The trip was a great success and students gained a lot from the experience. Student reflections from 8B: “Me and fellow classmates went and explored the outdoor environment of Anglesea, I enjoyed taking samples and exploring the beach with my friends.” Holly “On Monday my peers and I went on the Science Geology Excursion where we looked at the natural landforms of Anglesea and how the cliff faces were formed. I had lots of fun on this excursion and look forward to studying samples from our trip and learning more about natural landscapes.” Emily
Victoria Corkin
Year 6 Excursion to Melbourne
On Monday, Year 6 students had their excursion to Melbourne to visit the Immigration Museum and Sandridge Bridge.
The hands-on session began by acknowledging that Australia has been home to First Nations People for over 60,000 years and immigration began 234 years ago. Students heard real stories of immigration and were shown artefacts and images of people and their journeys to Australia. It was fantastic to see students grasp a more in-depth understanding of the hardships and challenges people faced coming to a land of new opportunities.
Students explored the Immigration Museum and collected information and facts in their task book ‘Passport’. A highlight of the day was investigating the Sandridge Bridge, which is home to 128 panels that provide information on the First Nations People and all immigrant nations and peoples who have helped shape Australia’s diverse and multicultural society. The day concluded with a special guest speaker, Pak Zacky, who shared his own story, ‘Dream, Believe, Pray’, which spoke of his journey of coming to Australia from Indonesia.
Gemma Steenholdt
Stephanie Hambrook
Year 9 Textiles – Sustainability
This term, the Year 9 Product Design Textiles curriculum is highlighting the problems caused by fast fashion and ultimately aims to inspire the students to create more sustainable items. Students learn how to reduce products going to landfill by designing products to last. They also look at how design features, sustainable natural fibres and fabric quality can increase a product’s life. Students are currently designing a skirt that is adjustable in size to increase its longevity – the wearer can get multiple uses out of the garment due to clever design. By the end of this term, students will reflect and demonstrate how sustainable textiles design can have a positive impact in our world.
Felicity Rogerson
The Back Creek Farm Experience
Hi! We’re John McClure and Oscar Kattwinkel and in Term 1 we were at Christian College’s Back Creek Farm. The farm was an amazing experience where we strengthened bonds with friends, created new ones, and learnt life skills. However, this was only ever going to be a single term experience, and now that we’ve been back in regular classes for a month, the reality of normal school has truly set in. We’re now here to share the highlights of being back.
In our opinion, the best part of the farm was the ability to connect and be around friends. We learnt about others and learnt skills off their opinions and experiences. We had a lot of freedom and were able to be independent whilst working on a farm and enjoying ourselves. This has had a lasting effect on our relationships with others, strengthening friendships, and creating positive change in friend groups, as we learnt the responsibilities that came with being trusted as we were. The hardest part of coming back was having to switch back on to doing work and having set classes. Everyone else had already commenced getting back into schoolwork so it felt like we were behind. Other friends were also going away for their turn at farm. School made it easy for us to relate to others as our homeroom class was made up of the people who had already gone to farm, this was also the case with electives. In the end, the experience was well worth it and our friendships with others have helped us back at school. We learnt about inter- and intra-personal relationships, and we became better men as Richie (a Back Creek teacher) would say. Getting back to school was difficult but we are enjoying being back and look forward to hearing about others experiences.
Living of the Future
Throughout Term 1 and 2, Yr. 9 students have been investigating how measurement concepts are used to develop the houses we live in today. Through initially determining surface area and volume of given designs, students are prompted to design and construct their own “tiny home”, a popular housing trend that has continued to grow in recent years.
With parameters and specific guidelines they must follow, students are required to plan, calculate and cost the required materials needed for construction, as well as apply Pythagorean Theorem and Trigonometry knowledge to problem solve. Additionally, students have been encouraged to use Computer Assisted Design (CAD) throughout this process, with some using the laser cutter to pre-fabricate all components of the house, then assembling together. With a strong foundation of mathematical knowledge, this investigation allows students to discuss such topics as continued house price increases in the Geelong area, the effects of increasing interest rates on repayments, as well as the ever-increasing population and migration in the Greater Geelong area. It is an aim that students will be able to think beyond just the house construction, and grapple with the idea of whether we are living in a sustainable way, or do we need to adapt?
Sam Nichols
We’re Hiring!
As is currently the case in many workplaces Australia-wide, there have been staffing challenges for our College. We currently have a number of vacancies, including for casual Bus Drivers, an Assistant Café Manager at Back Creek Café (full or part-time), Basketball/Netball Coaches and various teaching roles.
While we regularly advertise positions on Seek, our social media platforms and in a range of other outlets, we also want to spread the word among the many connections within our College community. If you are suitably qualified/experienced for one of our vacant roles and are interested in the possibility of working with us or feel that someone you know may fit that description, please visit the Employment page on our website – or encourage friends/neighbours/other acquaintances to do so (Homepage > Join > Employment). A link to it is here. Thank you
Golf Tournament
The Foundation Golf Tournament is set for Thursday, 27 October 2022. Join us at 13th Beach Golf Links from 8:00am for a shotgun start. Tickets are $190 each ($150 for members) or $750 for a group of four. RSVPs close on Thursday, 6 October 2022 at 5:00pm.
Funds raised from this event will be allocated to our Foundation Scholarship Fund, supporting current students who are in need of financial assistance.
Book online at: The Foundation Golf Tournament
A MYTERN Thought for This Week
No matter what road you are travelling down, there is one decision that only you can make....to either take control or to blame others. Your perspective has the power to change your life. Your wheel, your choice 👍👏
Discover more about MYTERN here
