As we head into the semester break, we look forward to a little bit of time to reflect on the year to date. I trust that all students and families have a safe and happy two weeks. Please be mindful of the new semester subjects for students in Years 7-10 which will commence in Week 1 Term 3. Check Compass over the holidays to ensure your children are aware of their new electives and room changes.

Year 9-11 exams have come and gone, and we are very pleased with the commitment shown by our students. It has been several years since we have been able to run these exams and they provide a wonderful opportunity to experience the rigour and expectations required to be successful in Year 12.

Semester reports will be available on Compass by the end of this week, and I encourage all parents and guardians to spend 15-20 minutes with their child reviewing and reflecting on the report. This is a terrific opportunity to celebrate successes and to look for areas of improvement. Of particular importance is the effort, participation, and completion of set work. There is no magic formula for success other than sustained effort and every one of us is capable of improving our effort and efficient use of time. Academic achievement is built around student commitment to their studies.

To our Year 12 students, it has been a very busy semester, especially in recent weeks with many Unit 3 assessments having been completed. I strongly recommend that VCE students take the time during the two-week break to summarise notes to help consolidate understanding. If possible, commence some trial exams via past exam papers or Checkpoints resources. Essentially, there is only one full term of secondary school remaining.

A special thank you to all our staff who have worked tremendously hard during the first semester this year to ensure Rosehill students are given every opportunity to succeed and make this school a great Educational College for our families and the community. I would like to acknowledge Ms Sarah-Jane Baker who is leaving us at the end of this term to pursue a new career in nuclear energy. She has been an asset to our school, and we wish her the very best on her new career path. We also wish Ms Laura Jago all the best as she takes maternity leave. It is an exciting time for Laura and her partner as they become parents for the first time, congratulations!

The building works adjacent to our library have commenced and we look forward to the competed indoor/outdoor reading space. Unfortunately, there has been a delay in the commencement of the Capital Works demolition of C-wing due to the global supply chain issues. Our project management team and the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) are working through a resolution.

I am pleased to announce that the College has secured the services of numeracy consultant, Rob Park, to help continue our exciting work in this space. Next term we will commence a numeracy trial at Year 7, with a focus on improving student capacity to understand multiplicative thinking. We believe a focus on this area at the junior levels will help build a stronger numeracy base for all students, many of whom have been impacted by lockdowns over the past few years. Together with our literacy consultant, Terri Campbell, who has been working with us for the past 30 months, we feel the College is well placed to continue to deliver high quality teaching and learning outcomes despite the real staffing challenges all schools are currently experiencing.

Finally, I take this opportunity to remind you that reading is a great way to immerse yourself into a different world and relax after a busy couple of terms. As an avid reader I have not been able to read as much over the past few months, so I look forward to reading a great novel or two in the coming weeks. Please encourage your children to do the same, the benefits can be profound.

Despite the difficulties we have faced this year I leave you with this quote by Elizabeth Edwards, I hope it will inspire us to continue our work in the current environment.

“She stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails.”
― Elizabeth Edwards

Arthur Soumalias

PRINCIPAL

Last week our Year 11, 10 and 9 students completed their Semester 1 examinations. Congratulations to students on the way they conducted themselves during these assessments. Our message to all students was to ensure they prepared well and did their very best. I hope that all students feel satisfied with their personal performance, and that they take the opportunity to reflect upon what worked well, and even not so well, in their approach. Developing effective examination techniques is an important skill and one we want our students to grow and master as they move towards their final years of secondary school.

I would like to thank our Year 11, 10 and 9 Student Management Team – Daniel Wallace, Laura Jago, Matthew Hosking, Bethany Allen, Beth Cook and Sonia Mortensen – for ensuring the examinations ran so smoothly every day and that students understood our expectations of them. Thank you also to our teaching staff and Learning Area leaders for their work in preparing the examination papers and the revision materials that helped students prepare for their midyear assessments; and to Maree Kelly who ensures the exams are all photocopied and correct, ready to go for each subject.

Frances Snow

Assistant Principal

Our Year 7 and 8 students recently had the opportunity to learn about online activity and the law in a recent workshop conducted by the Jill Kilpatrick, Youth Resource Officer with the Moonee Ponds Police.

Students learned how the law operates with regards to online behaviour, including cyber bullying, and the transmission of images without permission. Most adults will agree that this is an area where guidance and support for our young people is critical, as they (and we) navigate social media platforms in daily life.

Students were surprised to learn that being part of an online (or physical) group where harassment or bullying occurs can place them on the wrong side of the law, even if they are not the person doing the harassing or bullying. Jill spoke to them about what they should do if they find themselves in such a situation.

As a follow up to this student workshop, on Tuesday 21^st June we will be hosting a seminar for Year 7 and 8 parents titled SafetyNet for Parents, with the aim of providing parents with knowledge and strategies to help their young people use online technology in a safe and responsible manner. Scheduled just prior to the holiday break, we hope this seminar will provide our families with some tangible actions for creating safe and agreed online behaviours if using social media and other online platforms at home. We look forward to welcoming our parents and carers along to what should be a very informative evening.

Frances Snow

Assistant Principal

On Thursday 26^th May, 110 very excited Year 7 Humanities students, boarded the Melbourne River Cruises boat for their fieldtrip from Southbank to Williamstown. Although the weather wasn’t on our side, it was cold, wet and miserable, we still managed to enjoy the day. As we cruised past Southbank, Docklands, the Port of Melbourne and into Williamstown, students took note of the changing landscape and developments that have occurred, and the ‘robots’ that unpack our goods at the Port.

The focus of the day was to compare the liveability factors in Williamstown to the student’s own suburb. We walked along Nelson Place, which is geared for tourists, compared this to the local shopping strips in Ferguson Street and Douglas Parade, and also checked out the housing, particularly on the The Strand. A bus trip past the Botanical Gardens and Williamstown Beach wasn’t enough to convince students that Williamstown is more ‘liveable’ than their own suburb.

The overall consensus, as reported in student assignments, was that whilst Williamstown has the beach and great ice-cream shops, they much prefer their own suburbs which have far more recreational activities and shopping options for their age group!

A special thank you to Ms Handris for taking on a big role in the organisation of the day. A huge thank you to the staff that attended and assisted us on the day: Kerry McKay, Vicky Handris, Michelle Mitchell and Gladys Mora. We couldn’t have managed without you.

Shannon Smith, Emily Nancarrow and Nellie Harbourd

Year 7 Humanities Team

In week 4 of this term, the Year 7 cohort went on an excursion to Melbourne Zoo as part of the Classification unit for science.

Students had the chance to see many different animals (and AFL players!) while completing an assignment, to better understand how their characteristics help us to classify them.

Student feedback afterwards was that they enjoyed having the time together, and thought that it helped their understanding of the subject.

A big thank you to all the staff who attended, some at very short notice due to Covid.

Tim Cole

Science Teacher

Lady Northcote Recreational Camp was an amazing experience. It started off by catching our buses, I was on bus 1. The bus ride was short which I liked, so it didn’t take long to get there. When we arrived, we grabbed our bags and set them down at the main area, so we could eat our lunch.

The Lady Northcote Team Leader provided an introduction speech to us about the camp and what would be happening over the next few days. We ended up getting settled into our cabins for a little bit to adjust, then we went outside for our group activities.

Out of seven groups I was in number 2 with many of my friends. First off, my group did low ropes and initiatives which was extremely fun as we played so many games. Last off we headed to high ropes and leap of faith as our end of day group activity. I decided to do the leap of faith which was scary but so worth it.

Then we got settled in for dinner, group 1 was duty group, so they set up, and my group did clean up. We had an amazing pasta dish with any sauce of our choice, followed by ice cream for dessert with five different sauce choices.

On Tuesday, I started off with a bike ride as my first group activity, then went to sport activities. The most fun activity I had was the giant swing. I went all the way to the top which was super fun and scary.

Ending our wonderful camp journey on the day we were leaving; we did a mini amazing race which involved lots of mini activities. We ate some burgers for lunch.

Overall camp was the best experience ever, I’m sad it’s over but I’m so glad I got to go. I’m sure everyone who went had a blast.

By Ella 8F

Recently, our VCAL students participated in a barista course and were shown essential coffee skills under the supervision of a qualified barista trainer. The course teaches students how to make coffee from scratch.

With no prior experience the students were taught how to:

• Grind coffee and dosing
• Clean and maintain the coffee machine
• Create different coffee styles
• Develop skills required to texture milk
• Taste and understand the range of strengths of coffee

Students prepared a variety of espresso coffee beverages under the supervision of our trainer and were evaluated on the taste and appeal of their work. Overall, they had a fun filled day making and drinking the different types of coffee. In fact they had so much coffee, they couldn’t stand to see another cup!

These worthwhile qualifications will not only give the class the expertise needed to make great coffees at home, but could also help the students get a job as a barista.

Vicki Handris

VCAL Co-ordinator

I am volunteering at Hume Valley Primary School. This school is a special needs school for children from Prep to Year 12. There are three campuses to accommodate all these year levels. The campus I am working at is the middle school. The daily tasks that I undertake are: assisting and supporting students of all backgrounds and disabilities, looking after them while they are playing and eating and joining in with their music lessons.

While I am helping the students I am learning all about them and how they live life. Some of these students have challenging lives. I work with a range of different teachers and education support workers. The classroom I am in for the whole term is M4 and the teacher’s name is Miss Mei. She is an awesome teacher and amazing with the children. I am working and learning from the trainee education support student teacher who is amazing too.

I would love to do this job one day. Having this work experience has benefited me as a student, it has strengthened my career choice when I finish Year 12. I wasn’t 100% sure if I would love the job, as it can be extremely challenging and overwhelming, but I soon found out that this is the career I want to start and I will be taking on an education support traineeship starting in Term 4 2022.

Aliyah

Year 12 VCAL

On Thursday 16th June, Rosehill Secondary College had seven students competed in the Regional Interschool Cross Country event at Brimbank Park.

Students ran through harsh conditions including heavy rain, mud, and wind.

Three students from our College ran a fantastic race and have qualified for the state competition to be held in Week 1 of Term 3.

We wish the following students the best of luck for their upcoming event:

• Dakota Reynolds (Year 10)
• Jack Roberts (Year 10)
• David Jankulovski (Year 11)

Well done to all competitors on the day!

Erin McIntyre

Sport Coordinator

Traineeships in International Freight Forwarding - positions available NOW!

Future Force is a locally based training and recruitment company who have numerous traineeships available in the rapidly growing area of International Freight Forwarding. Click on the link below for further information:

https://prezi.com/view/hA0KEnnOOZnuHA27skj9/

Caitlin Kennedy

Mental Health Practitioner

The Portable Basketball Ring was used as part of the set for the High School Musical performance last year.

It is free to a good home. Will need to pick up from Rosehill Secondary College this week.

Please contact Annette Ellis 9337 2488 or email the school at rosehill.sc@education.vic.gov.au

Annette Ellis

Performing Arts Coordinator