KEYSBOROUGH
COLLEGE
Newsletter No. 10
COLLEGE
REPORT
PRINCIPAL’S
Year 10 Scholarship Winners
Sophie Young of year 10 has
been awarded the prestigious
Australian Business and Community
Network (ABCN) scholarship for
2015.
Sophie is one of only
twelve
students
nationally to receive
this award which is a
reflection of both her
outstanding academic
record
and
her
capacity to succeed in
her future endeavours.
The scholarship offers
recipients mentoring
and financial support
during their VCE
studies and the first
year of their tertiary
course, to enhance their capacity to pursue their
chosen tertiary pathways.
The mentoring is to be provided by a staff member
of the ABCN group of companies which includes the
Commonwealth Bank and KPMG.
I would like to congratulate Sophie on behalf of the
College Community for her success and I know that
the scholarship will offer her great assistance in the
years to come, in achieving excellence in her
academic endeavours.
11th November 2014
Kelly Huynh of year 10 is also the recipient of an
award for 2015, being from the Skyline Foundation
Bursary Program.
This award has been developed to provide financial
and mentoring support to
senior school students in the
state of Victoria, to help
them to achieve their very
best results at years 11 and
12. Currently across the
state, there are just 28
recipients from 10
secondary colleges who are
recipients of the Skyline
Bursary.
Congratulations to Kelly on
receiving the Skyline
Bursary, it recognises her
current outstanding
academic achievements and her own high expectations
of herself in the future.
Year 12 Graduation Ceremony was held at the
Springvale Town Hall on October 22 to present our
departing year 12 students and to award those students
who have shown leadership in the College or wider
community, together with students who have achieved
outstanding academic results in their subjects during the
year. Our special guests and presenters for the
ceremony were College Council President Erica Moulang,
Martin Pakula, State member for Lyndhurst, Jessica
Foster, Deakin University and Corporal Andrew Harris
from the ADF.
Acacia Campus:28 Isaac Road Keysborough 3173 Ph: 9798 1877 F: 9798 5196
Banksia Campus: 8-20 Janine Road Springvale South 3172 Ph: 9546 4144 F: 9558 5761
Postal Address: PO Box 211 Noble Park 3174 email: [email protected] website: www.keysboroughsc.vic.edu.au
College News
I would like to congratulate the
many students who received an
award during the graduation
and in particular, acknowledge
the outstanding efforts of Kim
Bui, who was awarded subject
awards in Chemistry, English as
an Additional Language, Further
Mathematics and Mathematical
Methods (CAS) for her efforts during the year.
Mr Boyd with the College Captains for 2014
Welcome to our 2015 year seven students and
their parents who will be receiving a copy of this
newsletter as future members of the Keysborough
College Community.
On November 11 and 13 from 6.30pm, we are
holding our annual Year 6 information night at the
Banksia and Acacia campuses respectively. Parents
and students will be provided with information
packs and advice on becoming a secondary school
student and parent. We will also provide
information on our iPad program, Music program
and the camping program which will be available
to all 2015 year seven students.
Patrick Boyd
Acting College Principal
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ACACIA CAMPUS
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
Louis Theroux is my favourite documentary maker.
He uses events, locations, situations and people to
explore what it means to be human. He has a
unique and gentle way of entwining himself into a
family, organisation or business so that people open
up their thoughts to him and explain their beliefs. It
was with great sadness that I watched a recent
documentary called “Louis and the Nazi’s”
His topic this time was the rise of neo-nazi racism in
America. Louis, in his inimitable style, followed,
questioned and observed people going about their
daily lives. The hate filled beliefs and rages of
these people was appalling to witness. They could
see nothing wrong with just hating someone for
‘what’ they were and not even considering ‘who’
they were. The label was more important than the
person.
What disturbed me greatly was the influence of the
adults on their children. They were raising them
singing race hate songs like they were nursery
rhymes. The children, 11 year old twin girls, could, word
for word, recite the same spiteful message of their
mother, who was a ‘White Supremist’. They performed
songs on stage denigrating other races, all at the behest
of their mother.
I went to bed upset that there were people in the world
who could not see past another person’s skin, race,
religion or position in society. Why do they need to
hate? Why do they need to hurt other people? Why
can’t they accept people as individuals? I felt more upset
that there are parents in the world who think that it is
acceptable to indoctrinate. I think the answer to this and
many ills that are befalling society is that we don’t put
enough stock in empathy. Empathy is the ability to
understand and feel something from another person’s
point of view.
What a wonderful, valuable and caring skill to have. To
be able to understand the feelings of others and to care
how the feel! How many of the world’s problems could
be made better if the two antagonists could see
everything from the opposite side.
We should always aim to make people feel
comfortable, accepted and cared about. We should
teach our children, both as teachers and parents, to
understand and empathise. Next time you go to say
something hurtful, ask yourself the question: “how would I
feel if someone said that to me?”
I came to school the day after watching the
documentary, still upset and worried so I took a walk
around Keysborough College I saw people who
genuinely care for their friends, who want to be happy,
who display real empathy and who do
not display the hate I witnessed in that
documentary. This makes me happy. This
makes coming to school a joy!
Richard Hastings
Campus Principal
BANKSIA CAMPUS
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
Welcome to Week 6 of Term 4. We recently officially
farewelled our Year 12 Class of 2014 at our Campus
Assembly and luncheon held on the 21st of October. The
following evening the Year 12 Graduation Ceremony
was held at the Springvale Town Hall where we
honoured our Year 12 students and congratulated them
all on finishing their 13 years of schooling. We are very
proud of the manner in which our Class of 2014
celebrated their ‘finish’.
Their final day fun and behaviour ensured a lovely day
of celebration was enjoyed by all the campus
community. Thank-you, from all of the staff, to the Class
of 2014 and we wish you all the best for your results
and for 2015 and beyond.
Currently the Year 12 VCE students are completing their
final Year 12 exam assessments and will await their
final results in December. As we look forward I would
like to encourage all our Year 7 to 11 students to ‘Strive
for Excellence’, as our College motto espouses, for the
remainder of 2014. With five school weeks to go I
encourage all students to focus on achieving success
Congratulations to Year 12
VCAL student, Seven Rath.
Seven is undertaking her
Certificate III in Community
Activity Programs with Smart
Connection. She has made a
great impression on the people
at the Noble Park Aquatic
Centre where she has been
employed over this past year
in conjunction with her studies. Seven has proven
herself to be a great ambassador for the VCAL
and SBAT (School Based Apprenticeship Training)
program and for Keysborough College.
College News
through 100% attendance, continuing to develop good
work habits through being well organised, completing
work at school and at home and to prepare well for
their final assessments and exams.
Y12 2014 Final Assembly Flash Dance
Lynda Portelli
Campus Principal
Ms Weir Year 12
Teacher Team Leader
( Queen of Year 12,
2014) Farewelling the
Class of 2014
I would like to congratulate the following students who
have achieved a leadership position on the Banksia
Leadership Executive for 2015 below. We congratulate
Mei Mei Bun and Duong Nguyen for being appointed
as Banksia Campus Captains and look forward to them
continuing our tradition of strong and positive student
leadership. The Year 8, 9, 10 and 11(Vice Captains) will
be announced shortly.
School Captains: Mei Mei Bun, Duong Nguyen
Admin Officer: Natalie Nhean
SRC x 2: Tracey Le, Rithysak Huot
Performing Arts: Veronica Thay
Technology Captain: Linda Truong
International Student Leader: TBA
VCAL/ VET Captain: Josephine Tusani
Sports Captain: Tony Ta
Lunchtime Activities & Interschool Sports: TBA
House - Red: Anabel Tran, Si Nguyen
House - Green: Lisa Kang, Tbd
House - Blue: Lisa Le, Trung Dan
House - Yellow: Opal Le, Alex Aberahama
Staying Focussed in the Final Weeks of Study
Term four is underway and Senior School is a hive
of activity with Senior students preparing for their
assessments and final examinations. Staff have
been very impressed with the focus of our Year 12
and Year 11 students who are studying a year 12
subject. These students sat practice exams on the
last day of Term 3, and again on Wednesday 8th
October, and have also been completing additional
practice exams in their own time.
VCAA examinations have begun for our students
undertaking VCE Unit 3 and 4 studies with our
language students undertaking the oral component
of their examination. Across the State, all VCE
students sat the three hour English or EAL
examination on Wednesday 29th October with all
examinations completed by the 20th November.
Students are required to wear school uniform and
arrive at school at least half an hour prior to the
start of their exam and ensure they have their
VCAA timetable and photo ID.
Year 10 and 11 students are now facing end of
year exams. We remind all senior students that you
are expected to maintain a focus on your studies,
right up to your final day of school this year.
Optimising positive results in all areas of school
work for the remainder of this year will result from
employing good work habits both during school
time and at home. Good work habits are
demonstrated when students are punctual to school
and classes, organized with their laptop, notebooks
and equipment for all classes,
completing
homework, revising class work and actively
engaging in class activities. The senior school
teaching team encourages students to employ these
positive work habits in their school life now and in
the future.
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Jess and Andreas Presenting the incoming Captains Mei
Mei and Duong with their blazers
SENIOR SCHOOL NEWS
College News
It is of particular importance that all students fully
participate in the Head Start Program planned for
each senior year level. These programs are
designed to provide an introduction to your 2015
studies and will enable you to feel confident and
well prepared to achieve academic success next
year.
Farewell to Our Year 12 Graduates
In recent weeks the college has farewelled our Year
12 students and acknowledged their many
contributions to the school community over the
course of the years they have been with us. There
have been a number of events organized for our
Year 12 students to mark their final passage at our
college; The Celebration Day assembly and
luncheon and the Graduation ceremony.
Year 12 Celebration Day, Tuesday October 21st
A special day was planned for the Year 12
students for their Celebration Day. A final Campus
assembly provided quite a spectacle for the rest of
the school as the Year 12’s entered in costume to
much fanfare and exited at the end of the
assembly to a standing ovation. Our School
Captains gave a speech offering advice for the
incoming 2015 student leaders and thanked the
student leadership team they had worked with this
year. Following this formality, the Year 12’s shared
a sit down lunch with VCE teachers and presented
awards acknowledging those who had assisted their
learning and supported them over the years they
had spent at Keysborough College. Hugs, laughter
and tears were shared.
Year 12 Graduation Ceremony, Wednesday October
22nd, Springvale Town Hall, 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Proud parents and teachers celebrated our students’
success and achievements at a Graduation Ceremony,
held in their honour at the Springvale Town Hall.
Academic Awards were presented and a number of
students received recognition for their efforts beyond
academic studies by organisations such as Deakin which
provided a Technology Scholarship for four students, the
ADF Long Tan Award and the Community Spirit Award,
provided by local members of parliament, Mark Dreyfus
and Claire O’Neal. An ex-student from Chandler, Mr
John James addressed the audience and spoke about his
own experiences since completing secondary schooling
several years ago. John offered some thoughtful advice
for this year’s graduates and made some interesting
observations about the need for persistence to overcome
obstacles as we strive to achieve personal goals.
Proud Year 12 Students at the Graduation Ceremony
Donation of Year 12 Uniform Items Please
We encourage Year 12 students and their families to
consider donating uniform items back to the College for
needy families.
We take time to thank our year 12 students for enriching
our college through involvement in their learning, sport,
music, drama, house competitions and other school and
social activities.
We wish our Year 12’s every success in their life’s
journey.
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Acacia Captains Christine and Charlie speak at
their last Assembly
Colourful last day celebrations at Acacia
2015 Student Leadership Interviews
Current Year 11 students were recently invited to submit
applications for 2015 Year 12 Student Leadership
positions. It is gratifying to see how hotly contested these
positions have become and the quality of the field of
candidates. Many students participated in the selection
process and have undergone interviews in the last week.
The successful appointee’s will be presented to the rest
of the school community in several weeks’ time at a
special Student Leaders Presentation Assembly.
Although we are unable to offer positions of
responsibility to all applicants, each individual who
participated in the selection process should feel very
proud of themselves. Every one of these applicants
presented their ideas effectively and impressed the
interview panel.
Sue McDonnell
Acacia Campus Senior School
Assistant Principal
Estelle Alder
Banksia Campus Senior School
Assistant Principal
VICSRC’s Group Action Awards
The Inside Out project is a project which transforms
personal messages of personal identity into works of
art. This year is the second year that our school has
taken it on. Last year, our topic was discrimination and
this year, the topic the team voted on was positive
body image and self-confidence.
Our goal was to have over 150 photos of students at
the school and we surpassed our goal. This project was
even bigger and better than we expected, we also
created a Facebook page for people outside of the
school to be aware of this project. We’ve also had a
launch event for parents to come and see what the
project was all about and view all our hard work and
effort.
The Honourable Martin Dixon MP and our Keysborough College
representatives
BEACON
On the 14th of October an excited group of Year
10 students accompanied Allan Stanford-Porter
and Lynda Del Din to Lord Somers Power House to
participate in their first Beacon event.
The students were greeted one by one with a hand
shake by Alan and Bec the facilitators for the day.
The students, with the help of Bec and Alan
explored the etiquette of first impressions and job
interviews.
A few nervous students soon came out of their shells
and found the activities of great benefit for their
future summer job interviews.
They participated in several activities such as
putting themselves in order of their birth dates,
which they had to do without speaking, and had to
keep one foot on a rope. Difficult for some to do in
silence and keep their feet planted. However, they
achieved a perfect score 100%.
The day was finished off with a great meal and all
students received a certificate.
Thank you to all that attended you represented
your school well. Thanks Allan for driving the bus
and to Lord Somers Power House for hosting the
event.
Lynda Del Din
Beacon College Coordinator
Page 5
There was also an awards night which VICSRC held for
various awards. The Inside Out Project from our school
was one of the top 3 finalists. Unfortunately, we didn’t
place first but we placed second. This was a huge
accomplishment for the project knowing that this is only
the second year we’ve completed this project.
There were 6 representatives who came on behalf
of the whole Inside Out team to accept our award.
It was a great night; there were many different
people from different parts of Melbourne who had
come to the awards night. Martin Dixon, a member
of the Victorian Legislative Assembly also took his
time to come and award us with our prize which
was a certificate and $300.
It was quite an amiable and memorable night to
meet new people and learn about what they’re
doing in their schools.
We are hoping that next year, the Inside Out
Project will expand to the Acacia Campus.
Jane Choeung
9E Banksia Campus
College News
Important Dates
Wed 29th Oct: Year 12 VCE main examination period
commences
Mon 10th – Fri 14th Nov: Year 11 Exam week
(some exams also held on Fri 7th Nov)
Wed 12th – Fri 14th Nov: Year 10 Exam period
– for all Subjects (no official classes)
Mon 17th –Fri 28th Nov: Year 12 (2015) Headstart
fortnight
Mon 24thNov – Fri 5th Dec: Year 11 (2015) Headstart
fortnight
Mon 24th Nov: Lamont Senior English Novels Sale Senior Village - both Campuses
College News
Keysie’s Got Talent
The ‘ Keysborough’s got talent’ 2014 Talent quest
was again very entertaining event for our school.
There were many heats during Term 2 with the
Grand Final being held on 9th October in the Drama
Centre.
A big thankyou to the School Leaders for supporting
the event and especially to Y 12 Student organisersChelsea-Lee Peachman, Andreas Scicluna and Arosha
Perera and Judges, Mark Di Marzio, Jonathan Boyd
and Raelene Weir.
Congratulations to our Winners of this years Talent
quest:
Keysborough College
Writing Competition
The English faculty organised a Writing Competition for
all students at years 7-12 from both campuses. Students
were able to choose from two categories, Short Story
and Poetry. Each entry was assessed by a number of
English teachers from both campuses and we were very
impressed with the high standard of work in all age
groups and genres.
All participants will receive a certificate of participation
and the winners of each category a book prize. I
congratulate all students on their excellent efforts and
encourage more students to participate in next year’s
competition. Thank you to Ms Jansen at Acacia for
assisting me in the organization of this worthwhile
competition.
Thanks everyone for your support and participation
and goodwill towards this event. It is a really good
way to engage the students and helps build great
school spirit and ethos!
The winners of the 2014 Writing Competition are as
follows:
Senior school:
Poetry
Winner: Angela Ly - Year 12, Banksia
Short Story
Winner: Steven Dickson - Year 12, Banksia
Second Place: Kim Lay Taing - Year 12, Acacia
Middle school:
Short Story
Winner: Djimon-Afridi Faiva - Year 10, Banksia
Second Place: Kelly Huynh - Year 10, Banksia
Third Place: Thu Anh Duong - Year 10, Acacia
Junior school:
Poetry
Winner: Paige Barber - Year 7, Banksia
Short Story
Winner: Emily Chea - Year 8, Banksia
Highly Commended:
Seth O’Donnell: - Year 7, Banksia
Daniella Ngin: - Year 11, Acacia
Mark Di Marzio
Banksia Senior School Teacher
Ms. Maggie Kildea
English Area Leader
Adrian Hogg, Imre Scicluna (left) and Tri Nguyen entertain the
crowd during the Grand Final
1st- Amie Vo & Veronica Thay
2nd- Adrian Hogg & Imre Scicluna
Thankyou to all other Grand Finalists:
Jessica Le, Tri Nguyen, Phoebe Marcelo, Angela Ly.
Is your spare bedroom worth
$250 per week?
您有空余的房间租给海外留学生吗?
Bạn có phòng trống nào để cho du học sinh thuê không?
Page 6
Keysborough
Secondary College
Urgently requires Homestay providers who can speak English
and would like to host an international student in their home
in 2014.
For more information please call:
Mrs Mitze Ho
International Student Program Manager
B/h: 9546 4144 or Mobile: 0403 189 283
World Vision 40 Hour Famine
I would like to thank all of the students who participated
in the 40 hour famine this year and acknowledge their
efforts. The money raised supports projects that help
African families build irrigation channels which then
enable them to plant and grow fruit trees.
Thank you to Meg Lee, Amy Tang, Amandeep Kaur,
Celestine Marsters, Michelle Simiona, Christina Van,
Tracey Le, Caitlyn Naitoko, Lisa Lee and Seth O’Donnell
for giving up to help others much less fortunate.
I would like to make special mention of Seth’s
contribution. He raised $400 by giving up food for
twenty hours and then furniture for another twenty hours.
What an amazing effort from one of our Year 7
Leaders!
Ruth Rayner
Banksia SRC Leader
College News
SAFEMinds Comes to Town!
headspace – the National Youth Mental
Health Foundation will be presenting a
FREE session in Dandenong for parents
to learn about early detection and support
for young people through the SAFEMinds
mental health training currently being introduced for schools and families across
Victoria.
Time:
7pm to 9pm
Date: 12 November 2014
Venue: headspace Dandenong
196 Lonsdale Street
Dandenong 3175
Parents interested in attending can
register via www.eventbrite.com.au/o/
safeminds-7552791023
Girls Sport Expo
On the 2nd September 15 Year 9 girls had the
opportunity to be involved in the ‘Girls Sport Expo’. This
event was run by the City of Greater Dandenong Youth
Services and Sport and Recreation. The venue was at
Greaves Reserve in Dandenong.
The Girls Sport Expo was a full day of action packed
activities that the girls were encouraged to participate
in. The aim of the day was to promote health and
recreation for young women in the City of Greater
Dandenong. This was achieved by the girls playing a
range of sports including Netball, Rugby, Tennis, Soccer
and Aussie Rules Football. Workshops were also included
in the day and run by Sarah Wall (Ex-Swifts Netball
Player and founder of Jeanie Boy/Netfit) and Steph
Prem one of Australia’s professional snowboarders.
Page 7
Our students from Keysborough Secondary College
were part of 11 schools and 175 students. This was
a great day for meeting new people and running
into some old friends.
At the end of the day, the girls were given show
bags with important information about services in
the City of Greater Dandenong as well as
information about the sports that are available for
them to get involved in throughout the year.
The girls had a great time and would like to thank
the Sport and Recreation team and Youth Services
for giving us the opportunity to attend this
excellent day.
Natalie Barber
Youth Worker
College News
DATES TO REMEMBER
10th November
Year 11 Exams all week
11th November
Year 7 information Evening 6.30-8.30pm Banksia Campus
12th November
Year 10 Exams commence
13th November
Year 7 information Evening 6.30-8.30pm Acacia Campus
17th November
Year 7, 8, 9 Exams all week
Year 12 2015 Headstart all week
18th November
College Council 7.00-8.30pm
24th November
Year 11 & 12 2015 Headstart all week
28th November
Last Day Year 11
1st December
Year 11 2015 Headstart all week
1st - 10th December
Year 7/8 Swimming
KEYSBOROUGH COLLEGE
PO Box 211,
Noble Park, 3174
Page 8
Year Eight Girls Real Drama Program
Several Year 8 students were recently involved in the Real Drama program where we met up with three Deakin
University students who ran games and activities based on the idea of building resilience.
All students involved thoroughly enjoyed the activities and felt that they benefited from the many skills they
gained throughout the program.
The girls would like to thank Lauren, Lauren and Beth
for all of their imaginative and engaging activities.
Thanks also to Jeff Andrews for suggesting the idea.
“It was fun getting to know more about the other girls”
Asha Gure
“Thank you for teaching us! It was a fun experience”
Malina Neang
“It was fun. I enjoyed it” Olivia Williams
“It was fun and relaxing” Kiana Te Rongo
“It was awesome being with friends” Nikita Wright
Emma Woodcock
Year 8 Assistant TTL