Principal Report

Welcome to this edition of our W-Files. I would like to commence this report by acknowledging that even though we are focused on returning to “normality” in terms of our school programs, COVID (and now the new flu strains) is still having an impact with significant numbers of staff and student absences. We aim to ensure students can continue to access school work on Google Classroom from home when sick and also when their teacher is absent due to illness. The Department of Education is working with schools across the state adversely affected by absences, and would do the same with us if needed to minimise the impact. Despite the challenges, I must highlight how pleasing it has been to see our students happily engaging in school life and reconnecting with both peers and staff.

Term 2 has seen a number of regular events and activities occur. Drama productions, excursions, incursions, respectful relationship workshops, camps, careers days and expos at both campuses, Tech Tasters, NAPLAN and our Open Night for prospective Year 7 families on site (with over 800 in attendance) have been just some of the fantastic experiences that have taken place in the first four weeks of this term. The Open Night received glowing feedback from the excited families who attended. It was warming to see the reactions from some Year 6 students even from simply looking at our facilities such as Food Technology, Science and Marine Centre rooms. NAPLAN testing was conducted all online this year and proceeded smoothly with minimal challenges in terms of our internet infrastructure and supports. Both campuses celebrated IDAHOBIT day in the most joyous manner with celebrations of individuals and educational material made prominent. IDAHOBIT is the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia. It aims to raise awareness of LGBTQIA+ rights violations and stimulate interest in the work being done in this area worldwide.

The 2021 Attitudes to Schools Survey

The Attitudes to School Survey is an annual student survey conducted by the Department of Education and Training. It involves all students from Years 7 to 12. The survey assists us in gaining an understanding of students’ perceptions and experience of school. We use the survey results to assist in planning programs and activities to improve the schooling experience for our students. We will have access to the results during Term 3 and use them to reflect on student engagement and performance. This year the Attitudes to School Survey will take place from Weeks 4 to 8 of Term 2. The survey takes 20-30 minutes to complete and occurs during class time. Privacy and the confidentiality of every student’s responses is protected at all times and there is no personal data collected in the survey.

New School Jumper

Following an extended period of consulting and designing, we received the final prototype of our new school jumper last week. We took the opportunity to show students at both campuses one final time. The excitement and positive response from the Year 10s as well as focus groups of Year 7-9s confirmed this would be well received. We have now informed our uniform suppliers to go into production and have requested a timeline for completion (we anticipate six to eight weeks).

Annual Implementation Plan for 2022

Our 2022 Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) has now been finalised, ratified at School Council and is available on our website. The AIP includes the focus areas for our staff and leadership team for this year based on the goals we set in our new 2022-2025 four-year Strategic Plan. One area that we have been working on in recent years and continues to be highlighted in our current AIP is our work on Mathematics, particularly at Years 7-9 where the foundations are set. As a result of this work, there has been significant growth in student outcomes and this has been recognised at a regional level with several requests asking us to present our work in this area to other networks of schools. The presentations highlighted three key areas we have focused on: Early pathways focus - helping our students understand the relevance of mathematics for them and linking this to the impact on pathway options for them Refinements to our mathematics curriculum - a greater connection between our unit plans and our instructional model Critical thinking and mathematical communication focus - finding gaps in understanding and explicit teaching of “solutions vs distractors” The presentations showcased the depth of our work and of particular interest was the positive impact on differentiation and higher order thinking that strategies two and three developed. I would like to thank our Mathematics team and leaders Cory Duker and Dat Che for their continued work in this area. Just to finish off, I would like to mention how pleasing it was to visit our after-school Robotics Club, Homework Club and Alumni Tutoring Programs. I was amazed by the number of students participating and the great atmosphere evident at each of those activities. We have also engaged a senior mathematics tutor to specifically support our Year 12 Mathematics students. All these initiatives we believe impact positively on both student outcomes and, just as importantly, student engagement.

Holdfast!

Bayview Campus Principal Report

Dear parents and carers

We are looking forward to completing our first semester completely ‘face to face’ since 2020 for approximately two thirds of our students; this last occurred when they were in primary school. The end of a semester involves completion of core and elective units and assessments, including examinations for Year 9 students. To do this, and for our young people to feel most confident and supported, we need to work together. If in the event you do not feel you are ‘in the picture’ in regards to learning tasks and assessments, please speak with your child and contact homegroup and classroom teachers. Please also indicate how you can support your child at home and how we can do this further at school. Please also consider using the Student Diary for this communication.

Our learning environment

We are continuing to learn more about the original thinking behind our building design through contacting architects Spowers and looking at specifications and plans. The landscape and outdoor spaces continue to be areas we’d like to further develop for our students, including types of plantings. Spowers planned for the vegetation to reflect what was in this area when the Traditional Owners, the Bunurong people, inhabited this site.

At present, staff are working with students to remove litter from the grounds, including that which accumulates in the Jawbone Reserve. We regularly find single use cutlery, cling film and snack-size potato chip packets and similar packaging. Our canteen provider, H&H Canteens, have already addressed the cutlery issue by providing timber forks - our environment will thank us! Please also support us in this quest to have our grounds in optimum condition for our school community by choosing not to provide food for your child in single use packaging. All students are able to access their lockers during recess and lunchtime so are able to return items to their bags to take home. We will continue to address this issue as a school and as part of the local community.

Technology use for students at our canteen

Students who ‘choose to bring mobile phones to school must have them switched off and securely stored during school hours’. At our school, this is in their locker. We are in the third year of implementing the State government’s policy. If your child has the capacity to make payments through the available mobile telephone technology, please do not expect that this will be permitted at school. Please provide an alternate payment type if you require your child to purchase food and drinks at our canteen.

Communicating

At times, we appreciate that your child may arrive late to school or be required to leave early. Classroom teachers are ‘loco parentis’ and are ‘assigned’ this responsibility for each minute of their timetabled class and, as such, will not be confident to permit your child to leave their class without written communication from you in some form. As indicated above, please consider using the Student Diary to document this information. Your child can show their teacher your request and your child can be waiting at Reception for you, if needed. Please support our Reception staff - Samantha Smith, Susan Day, Jem Davis and Nicole Jarry - and our teachers by taking these steps.

Staff welcome

We are welcoming a number of staff employed through the Tutor Learning Initiative that will continue to support students in literacy and numeracy as indicated through a range of measures. To Bayview, we are welcoming: Angus Freeman - Literacy; Gavin Clifford (returning) - Literacy; Eloise Hamill - Literacy and Numeracy; and Leo Li - Numeracy. These tutors, with the exception of Gavin Clifford, are currently completing an education degree.

Additionally we have welcomed Katherine Versteegen, who is replacing Liam Keating, who was appointed to a role at the Pasco Campus; Tom Verco, a Numeracy tutor; and Jennifer Burchill, Education Support Class, who is working now at both the Pasco and Bayview campuses. We also welcome Alex Robinson, who will replace Ann Hyland, our Student Welfare Coordinator, who is taking leave and is due to return at the start of Term 3.

Student breaks when raining

If in the event it is raining during recess or lunchtime, students will now be able to access the following rooms: Year 7 to Room 28, Year 8 to Room 8 and Year 9 to Room 9. Our Yard Duty teachers will be reallocated to these areas so students will not be able to stay in the grounds when a ‘wet day’ has been arranged. All students are able to access the Atrium and Library at breaks regardless of the weather.

Pasco Campus Principal Report

Welcome to this edition of our W-Files and the Pasco Campus update. Term 2 is always an action-packed term and a number of successful events have already been and gone, with many more to come.

On Tuesday, 17 May, our campus celebrated IDAHOBIT day with activities in the library at lunchtime - including some themed art, a video screening, and free rainbow donuts. We also had a Casual Dress day to allow students to express themselves, where we collected a gold coin donation from each student for local charity and support network Minus18.

National Careers Week

We have also celebrated National Careers Week. Our Year 9 and 10 students attended an expo in the Pasco library, where they gained some valuable insights for possible courses and career pathways in the future. This was well received by students as we had a range of exhibitors from tertiary pathways, workplaces and industry. We have also had our Year 11 students attend the University Experience excursions, and our Year 12 students attend the WRICA Careers Expo. You can read more about these specific events in other W-Files reports.

All of the above-mentioned career experiences are informative sessions aimed to assist our students in making informed decisions about future pathway options.

Alumni Tutoring Program

The Alumni Tutoring Program has again been an amazing success this term. We have had up to 70 students in the library getting support from our former students, who are our alumni mentors, each Monday and Wednesday afternoon from 3:30pm-5:30pm. This initiative will continue throughout the upcoming examination period for our students and I do encourage students to keep attending.

Our Year 10 and Year 11 VCE students are busily finalising assessment in preparation for the upcoming exam period. In terms of the learning journey for our students, these exams are a vital experience as they will use revision techniques and strategies that they will develop over time in preparation for the Unit 3 and 4 VCAA exams.

As parents/carers you can provide support by ensuring students have a conducive space to study, and engage in any forms of practice with your child.

We will send information to all students and families about the upcoming exam period in the near future.

Strategic Principal's Report

Inspire Robotics STEAM Club

Students are well underway in building their robots and are preparing for their inaugural WHS Robot Soccer Championships in a few weeks’ time. Each team will design and build their robot to play a round robin tournament. The even will take place in the Bayview Atrium at lunchtime on Monday 20 June. There will be some great prizes up for grabs and all students are welcome to come and have a look at the action.

Tutor Learning Initiative (TLI)

WHS is pleased to welcome a number of tutors into our Tutor Support program this term. Most tutors are undergraduate education students from Melbourne University who will provide valuable in class literacy and numeracy support at both the Pasco and Bayview Campus. WHS are part of the Western Region TLI Community of Practice who meet regularly to ensure a best practice approach is adopted to support student learning.

Wyndham Tech School (WTS) Excursions & Immersion Program

All year 9 students attended the Wyndham Tech School Tech Taster experience in Week two this term. Students were exposed to emerging technologies in a range of industries and emerging career pathways in this exciting industry.

We have partnered with the WTS to offer a fully immersive E-sports/F1 in schools program for Year 9 students in Semester 2, more information will follow for students interested in this exciting STEAM learning opportunity for WHS students.

Inclusive Education Learning Specialist Report

Supporting our students with Dyslexia

Early this term the Additional Educational Needs Coordinators and Learning Specialists from both Bayview and Pasco campuses gave a Professional Learning Teams presentation to staff on how best to support students with dyslexia.

The focus of the presentation was for staff to look at small changes they could make to their teaching and resources for all of their students that would not single out students with dyslexia, yet would support them in their learning. Teachers also had the opportunity to trial the assistive technologies that students at Williamstown High School have access to for free.

Suggested changes to resources included using sans serif fonts on all student materials, considering font sizes, left alignment, line spacing, using bold rather than underlining for headings, numbering bullet points and including images where possible.

The use of visuals, demonstrations and videos was also highlighted so that students can improve their mastery of a topic, concept or skill independent of their reading ability.

All students at Williamstown High School have access to hundreds of free audio books and eBooks through the Wheelers ePlatform and year-long loans of C-Pen Readers are available to students with dyslexia.

The speech-to-text features of Google Docs and text-to-speech of Microsoft Immersive Reader were highlighted as assistive technology tools available to students. Immersive Reader can be used with Office 365 for Word, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook and Excel, or as a Google Chrome app for web pages and interactive textbooks. All students at Williamstown High School have access to these programs through the Office 365 suite and their Google accounts.

Teaching and Learning at Williamstown High School

Throughout Term 2, professional learning for teaching staff has been guided by the focus areas within the Professional Learning Teams (PLT) structure. Within their PLTs, staff have had the opportunity to discover new assistive technologies that effectively support all learners, use data to continually drive practice excellence and observe one another ‘at work’ in the classroom.

Supportive Peer Observations are an important part of professional development at this school. The following teachers have provided an insight into how peer observations are supporting the learning that occurs in the classroom:

In English, we are working to build consistency of practice in the modelling, practising and assessment of reading strategies in our Library Reading period for Year 7 and Year 8. The peer observations were incredibly helpful as they allowed me to model best practice for some of the new English teachers who needed to see how the lessons work. - Kim Paatch, Literacy Leading Teacher

The reading strategy rotation lessons designed for the Library Reading period clearly had amazing potential but, as a new teacher, running such a lesson without any prior experience was a relatively challenging prospect. By observing a much more experienced teacher organise and run the lesson (particularly the small reading circle) I was able to gain invaluable insight and understanding as to how such lessons should be ideally conducted. This allowed me to then run the lesson effectively myself, backed by the confidence that could only come from observations. Reading a lesson plan or having one explained are certainly useful, but observations are extremely valuable. - Corey Genis, English Teacher

Towards the end of term our focus will be developmental assessment practices at Willi High.

Lastly we would like to congratulate one of our team, Grace Robertson, and her partner Ollie on the birth of their little baby Willow. We hope she enjoys her time on maternity leave.

Student Engagement and Wellbeing Report, Bayview Campus

Term 2 is a time when students really become familiar with the learning intentions and standards of their classes. During the term, the school runs several engagement activities to further develop student connectedness and learning.

• Our Year 7 students have participated in workshop activities aimed at helping them to navigate friendships and learn important organisational skills – both vital areas at this age.

• The Year 8s have attended Roses Gap camp in the Grampians, where they took part in a range of team-based outdoor and adventure activities with their peers. The camp, completed in picturesque conditions, will be discussed in more detail in the next edition of W-Files. However, I would like to extend my thanks to the 20 WHS staff who gave up their time to support this amazing student experience – especially the Year 8 SMLs Mathew Grossman and Nicholas Hughes, whose tireless planning made the camp run smoothly.

• The Year 9s have completed their Tech Taster excursions, as well as the Respectful Relationships incursion, delivered as part of the RRRRs (Rights, Resilience and Respectful Relationships) curriculum being implemented across the state.

As a campus, we have had the pleasure of celebrating IDAHOBIT Day – a day aimed at bringing awareness to LGBTQIA+ discrimination and diversity in both the school and wider community. The student leadership team, led by Amy Curran, developed a homegroup lesson, art competition and lunchtime festival to help celebrate the occasion.

Friday lunchtimes have also been entertaining as of late with Year 8 and 9 students taking on their teachers in a series of ‘Staff vs Student’ sports matches. These matches – so far including dodgeball and netball – have been a great way for everyone, onlookers included, to unwind and have a bit of fun at the end of the week, as well as strengthening important staff-student relationships.

I look forward to many more opportunities for students to connect with their social, emotional and academic learning across the year.

Year 8 students at Roses Gap camp

Staff vs Students lunch time competition

Student Engagement and Wellbeing Report - Pasco Campus

Our Year 10 students began the term experiencing life in the workplace. Overall, our students were excited for this opportunity and conducted themselves commendably.

With many Year 10 students keen to apply for their Learner’s Permits, to help educate our students and keep them safer on the roads, a road safety workshop by VicRoads took place early this term. Participating students are also able to take part in a free driving lesson (details of which, were provided to students during the incursion). Also on the day, students participated in consent workshops and learnt about the importance of online safety and what to do if they feel they or another person’s online privacy has been compromised.

The Year 10 Phillip Island camp deposit payments are now open on Compass. Please make sure to get all forms and payments in on time so as to not miss out on this fun and fantastic opportunity. Further information about the camp will be released on Compass shortly.

Year 11 students were able to consider their further study options with a visit to RMIT and VU in the city and Footscray respectively. Students listened to presentations about the exciting opportunities each institute has on offer as well as partake in a tour of the engineering facilities at VU. These visits have inspired further discussions about students’ possible career pathways and goals for achieving them.

Year 12 students also had the opportunity to attend the WRICA Careers Expo to meet representatives from different tertiary institutes and career areas to help educate and inspire them and assist them to make informed decisions around employment and further educational opportunities.

With exams approaching quickly, students should be busy preparing themselves by engaging in revision, seeking teacher assistance, attending the after school tutoring Monday and Wednesdays in the library and ensuring they are looking after themselves and getting enough rest.

To assist parents and carers with practical strategies for helping their child with their studies, time management and motivation, a webinar by Elevate Education for our parents and carers will be running Weds May 25 at 6:00 pm. Details available on Compass.

We wish all students well in their upcoming assessments and exams, and a productive and enjoyable second Semester.

Student Leadership Report - Bayview Campus

The start of term 2 welcomes our new year 7 student leaders to both the Junior School Council and Events Committee. The entire team now consists of 55 students, with the following teams working on various projects and events around the Bayview campus - Junior School Council, Events Committee, House Captains & Curriculum Captains. Each of these teams are well supported by the School Captains - Anais McColl & Rivi Zdraveski (School Captains) and Ruby Dunn & Jordan Azad (Vice School Captains).

IDAHOBIT Day

The Events Committee and interested student leaders created an organising committee to help plan and conduct IDAHOBIT Day activities. Bayview campus recognised and celebrated this day on Tuesday 24th May to enable our year 8 students to join us after returning from camp. IDAHOBIT Day or International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia & Transphobia celebrates our LGBTQIA+ community and raises awareness for the work still needed to combat discrimination.

The day included an out of uniform day with students donating a gold coin donation, with all proceeds in support of Minus18. Minus18 is Australia’s charity for LGBTQIA+ youth with a focus on building social inclusion and advocating for an Australia where all young people are safe, empowered, and surrounded by people that support them.

The main event for the day was a lunchtime festival that took place in the atrium. There were so many activities for students to participate in including badge making, face painting, chill out room, games, lolly jar guess, art & flag display, photo booth and a free sweet treat for all students! The student leaders ensured this was a positive and fun event and succeeded in their brief - great work team!

House Captains

The WHS Athletics Carnival was also held in term 1 with the House Captains and some additional student leaders taking a major role in running the novelty events. Our students had a lot of fun with a variety of house based races including the 3 legged, wheelbarrow and egg & spoon races. There was a flurry of house colours with the house captains leading students through the races. There was also a best dressed competition and prizes awarded to one winner from each house.

Congratulations again to Green House for winning the athletics carnival.

Junior School Council

The Junior School Council (JSC) have begun their work collecting student data on student thoughts and feelings on issues that concern them. They have devised a survey that all Bayview students will have an opportunity to complete. The JSC will then collate and discuss some focus areas that they would like to work on, either as a entire team or smaller working parties. Stay tuned for an update on this in term 3.

Well done to all student leaders who are continuing to develop their leadership skills and contribute to the Bayview community. A great start to 2022!

Junior School Council

The Junior School Council (JSC) have begun their work collecting student data on student thoughts and feelings on issues that concern them. They have devised a survey that all Bayview students will have an opportunity to complete. The JSC will then collate and discuss some focus areas that they would like to work on, either as a entire team or smaller working parties. Stay tuned for an update on this in term 3.

Well done to all student leaders who are continuing to develop their leadership skills and contribute to the Bayview community. A great start to 2022!

House Captains

The WHS Athletics Carnival was also held in term 1 with the House Captains and some additional student leaders taking a major role in running the novelty events. Our students had a lot of fun with a variety of house based races including the 3 legged, wheelbarrow and egg & spoon races. There was a flurry of house colours with the house captains leading students through the races. There was also a best dressed competition and prizes awarded to one winner from each house.

Congratulations again to Green House for winning the athletics carnival.

Student Leadership Report - Pasco

In Term 2, the Student Leadership team organised a free dress day promoting self-expression and identity on IDAHOBIT Day. The Willi High Queer Club organised the celebration at lunchtime by running games such as “Guess the Pride Flag!”, having live music played by music students and a documentary was run in the library raising awareness for issues plaguing the LGBTQIA+ community.

Colourful, Pride-themed badges were handed out as well as free donuts to students to celebrate sexual and gender diversity in the Willi High community.

The money raised by Willi High students via gold coin donations was donated to Minus18, a charity leading the change, building social inclusion and advocating for an Australia where all young people are safe, empowered and surrounded by people who support them.

More information on the great work they do is available on their website: https://www.minus18.org.au/about

We would like to thank and acknowledge the efforts of Mr Hrasko and the Willi High Queer Club, Ms Bermingham, Megan Antonini and especially Marnie van Luinen in the library for their efforts to make this day wonderful.

Club Carnival

On Monday, 23 May, a vast display of lunchtime clubs were showcased to promote the variety of extracurricular activities and social groups WHS offered in the Club Carnival. On show were games, environmental, karaoke, art and the Hold Fast school paper clubs. Students had a chance to see the clubs that the leadership team and teachers had been working on, and were able to see the people running each club to ask questions and play activities. This was a fun school event to allow students to find amusing lunchtime activities to participate in, feel a sense of unity with their peers, and experience the diverse interests of the school community.

Reconciliation

We are proud to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land that Willi High is based on, the Yalukit Willam tribe of the Bunurong people. We pay our respects to their elders past and present, and all other indigenous people that gather on this land today.

Reconciliation Week and National Sorry Day, on 26 May, provided the Williamstown High School community with the opportunity to focus on the past, look at the engendered racism that still permeates through Australia today, as well as forge a future built on reconciliation and mutual respect.

Connor De Petro & Lily Mir | Vice School Captains, Pasco

Curriculum Report

Over the past two weeks, students in Years 7 and 9 have been undertaking the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) and conducted themselves commendably. Not only was this the first time WHS has delivered NAPLAN via an online format, but for our NAPLAN students, there has been a four-year hiatus between NAPLAN testing, as it was cancelled statewide in 2020 due to COVID.

With the new online format, the tests became adaptive and included features that allowed audio where appropriate and visual zoom functions. All these features will improve the quality of the collected data and the students’ testing conditions.

WHS conducted over 1810 individual NAPLAN tests over four days, including catch-up sessions the following week, to accommodate for student absences during the official testing schedule. Results will be mailed home to parents in Term 3, but at this stage VCAA has not announced a specific release date.

With NAPLAN over, the next major event in the Bayview curriculum calendar is Year 9 exams, which will take place in the last week of Term 2. These exams will provide valuable feedback for students, parents and teachers, and help to guide our Year 9s during Term 3, in which subject selections for 2023 will take place. Well done all Year 7 and 9 students.

Bayview Campus Art Report

Hi, we are the 2022 Bayview Art Captains. Our names are Anna Cooke, Chloe Wilson and Zahara Rediger Jones, and we are in Year 9. For the past term, we have been working with the Arts staff to create more opportunities to practise art around the school. All of the Art captains have chosen to take this position for a collective reason: We all love art. It is our goal this year to get more students involved in the arts.

This semester we have been helping run Bayview Art Club, which occurs every Tuesday at lunchtime. At Art Club we play music and help add to a chill atmosphere. Students can attend and create artwork that does not fall under the curriculum.

Art Competition

Last term we had the opportunity to announce the 5x7 Art Competition Winners to the Year 7 cohort. Speaking at the assembly, we read out the winners’ names and gave a brief description of the prize, with work based on the theme: ‘What Matters’. Thank you to all the classes and students that participated and congratulations to all that won!

Ms Bacon and Year 7 parents and students attended the 5x7 Exhibition on Saturday, 9 April. The award for winning 2nd Prize was a $100 voucher from Atelier Art Supplies, which will be used to give the 24 winning students a prize of art equipment.

IDAHOBIT Day

Recently, we have been contributing to the preparation for IDAHOBIT Day. At the Bayview Campus we ran an art competition to celebrate diverse student work. We also put up posters that celebrate LGBTQ+ artists throughout history.

Arts & Technology Week

The first week back of Term 2, was busy with our involvement in the Arts & Technology Week Events and Celebration. Students were involved in many lunchtime activities, including a dance workshop, Kahoot! library quizzes, Art Club, robotics displays, and the Open Mic music event on the outdoor stage. Students can also join in continuing activities such as the Pet Photography Competition, which closes at the end of this term.

Year 9 Excursion - Lorne Sculpture Biennale

The Year 9 excursion to the Lorne Sculpture Biennale was great. It was a unique experience and special event for the Sculpture students, many of whom had never been to Lorne. For some this was their first time seeing this beautiful pristine seaside town, with its beautiful foreshore and quaint charm.

Lorne has an amazing history and we were able to see this in the event’s theme, which was about the history of Lorne. ‘Spirit of Place’ sees a new curatorial model for the Lorne Sculpture Biennale – a model that shows the intrinsic link between art and placemaking. Sixteen artists each provided a sculptural response to one of sixteen locations along Lorne’s foreshore. Each site holds in its history multiple stories all waiting to be told.

We were lucky enough to have the ceramic artist Debra Halpern speak to us about their installation and how sculpture and art have always been a part of their life growing up in a creative household. Debra is well known for the mosaic sculpture Angel, which sits behind the NGV at Birrarung Marr. The installation Debra created for the Biennale was both a history of their time spent at Lorne and a celebration of the Arab Cafe and Wild Colonial Club, which graced Lorne during the 1950s, 60s and 70s and provided artists a place to meet and discuss life, art and all things imaginable.

This famous coffee lounge, a landmark on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, was opened by brothers Graham, Alistair and Robin Smith. The Arab Cafe was modelled on European coffee bars and its espresso machine was only the third in Victoria. Coffee shops like this were popular with bohemian types and associated with the folk music movement. The food served was often very simple and ran to dishes like Welsh rarebit and raisin toast.

Lorne, on Victoria’s south coast, started to become popular as a seaside resort with the opening of the Great Ocean Road in 1923. The road, constructed as a memorial to those killed in World War I, was originally a toll road. The charge was two shillings for motorcars and 10 shillings for wagons with more than two horses.

Stevens Vaughan: The Throne of Potentiality

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrFQaLktcqA&t=232s

https://www.lornesculpture.com

Samples of students artwork

HAPE at our Pasco Campus

The start of the year has seen the return of camps, excursions, and school sport for the HAPE staff and students at Pasco. Students have enjoyed participating in a range of activities through the Health and PE department at Year 10. These include excursions to the ‘Gym’ in Yarraville to participate in boxing classes linking to fitness components as part of a training program. The Year 10 Advance classes have been busy completing outdoor activities such as the Anglesea Mountain Biking and Canoe excursion.

VCE students have enjoyed participating in camps for Outdoor Education including a 3-day Coastal Camp to Torquay where students enjoyed camping while also engaging in surfing, bay swimming and snorkelling with a variety of marine animals. The camp also involved visiting both the Naranda Cultural Centre and Surfing Museum to learn about a variety of issues linked to conserving the natural environment.

Photos from the Unit 3 OED Coastal Camp

Health Studies

Students studying health at Pasco have learnt about a variety of topics as outlined in the article below by Riley Belfall and Lewis Mayer from year 10;

These past two terms we have learnt about the many aspects of health, from much needed education about the healthcare system and the many benefits it provides, one thing the education system has been lacking in is better information about the many challenges you will have to face when you graduate such as accessing Medicare, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and private health care, but due to this semester's excellent lessons we have learnt about all aspects of the health care system that we will one day have to use. In health we have also learnt about nutrition and leading a healthy lifestyle, we have been taught about the unseen sugars in our everyday food as well as our bodies need for Micronutrients and Macronutrients, this information will help us one day lead a healthy lifestyle full of informative choices surrounding our diet and the food we consume everyday. This semester we have also learnt about the 5 aspects of health, physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and mental. We have learnt about ways to better ourselves in all aspects of health and sites we can access for support surrounding issues we may face, this topic was also used to link into problems surrounding the types of bullying that are present in our everyday lives, bullying isn't only physical, in modern times bullying has transformed into, verbal, physical, social, and cyber bullying, nowadays cyber bullying is a big problem, children have never been more connected, so it is up to the users of social media to create a healthy safe environment for everyone.

Humanities Report

The first half of 2022 has been an exciting period for Humanities students at the Pasco Campus. The range and complexity of local and global events have meant that teachers have had no shortage of cases to unpack and analyse with eager students. Ms Horyniak’s Global Politics class has been keeping a close eye on the conflict in Eastern Europe; Mr Watson’s Economics class is making sense of the unpredictable nature of the economy; whilst Mr Fear, and newcomer Mr Lilley, have been studiously analysing the impact of the US War of Independence in History: Revolutions.

Of course, whenever students can extend their learning outside of the class is going to be a particular highlight. This term, the VCE Geography students have been completing their fieldwork. They had guest speakers from Hobsons Bay City Council and the Inner West Air Quality Community Network come and talk to them about issues including the development of Precinct 15 in Altona North, and air pollution in the inner west. Students then went into the field, surveyed locals and collected data on the impacts of these issues. They then compiled a fieldwork report, creating graphs from their collected data, and analysing community feedback and background research.

The VCE Legal Studies classes didn’t have to travel as far when they were treated to a presentation and Q&A from a Supreme Court judge in the Centenary Theatre. Veteran judge, the Honourable Justice Tim Ginnane, was able to Zoom in before his court session for the day to give students a valuable insight into the work of the Supreme Court and the role it plays in the justice system. Curious students were then able to ask some probing questions about His Honour’s many years on the bench.

Mathematics Report

Across the end of Term 1 and beginning of Term 2, as the disruptions of lockdowns become more and more distant memories, I have seen some return to normality in the Mathematics classrooms. In my new role as Mathematics Leading Teacher I have had the pleasure and opportunity to visit a number of classrooms and it fills me with joy to see the chatter of students learning again in-person. I have witnessed routines being rebuilt and students continuing to make strides in their mathematics growth.

One of the key initiatives that the Mathematics team have been, and are continuing to, work on is ensuring a consistent and rigorous teaching of the Victorian Curriculum across every class. This has involved implementing and ensuring several ‘high impact teaching strategies’ are used in every lesson, as well as an increase in visibility of Victorian Curriculum levels for both teachers and students.

Further to this, we are constantly gathering student data across the year through various means. More specifically, we conducted a diagnostic test, known as PAT, earlier this year, as well as another diagnostic test known as OnDemand. We have also introduced another data collection tool through our current use of Mathspace. This Mathspace ‘add-on’ is known as Waypoints, and is used in short bursts (approximately five minutes each) throughout the week in the classroom. The Waypoints algorithm then collates this data and provides a report, visible to both teachers and students, that highlights the current skills a particular student has as well as a series of suggested practice within each of the mathematics subtopics. This report is a highly valuable tool in allowing students and parents to target areas of improvement within the various topics covered throughout the year.

Finally, I would like to give a shout-out to our fantastic Homework Club, which runs every Wednesday afternoon (3:05-4:30pm) in the library. A number of teachers regularly attend to provide specialist support to students in a range of subjects. This support may be to help finish any assessments or homework, a chance for extension, or even just clarification of key ideas taught in class that week. A great way for students to stay on top of their maths learning is through some short, targeted tutoring sessions with myself at Homework Club. If you think this is something that your child may benefit from, please don’t hesitate to get in touch directly or with your child’s Mathematics teacher.

Science Report

During Semester 1, many Bayview science classes have been involved with a program called In2science STEM Peer Mentoring, funded by the Victorian Government’s Strategic Partnerships Program and the University of Melbourne.

Our In2science peer mentors are currently studying university degrees in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) disciplines. They volunteered to join one of our Science classes, once per week for a 10-week period. By working with our Science teachers, the mentors have helped our students, shared their own experiences and motivations for studying at university, and related school work to real-world examples. The In2science mentors have also acted as role models, sharing their passion for STEM and encouraging our students to pursue tertiary studies.

As this semester’s In2science program concludes this week, we look forward to the possibility of extending this partnership into Semester 2, in which more Science students at WHS can experience and benefit from STEM peer mentoring. Our Science teacher, Rachelle Capitano, has done a wonderful job connecting with this program and being an integral part of its implementation at our school in 2022.

School Production Report

Driftwood the Musical

VCE Drama Studies students attended the world premiere of ’Driftwood – The Musical’ at Chapel off Chapel theatre on Sunday, 22 May.

Driftwood – The Musical tells the inspirational story of the renowned Austrian/Australian sculptor Karl Duldig and his artist/inventor wife, Slawa Horowitz-Duldig. We followed their lives in pre-war Vienna, Slawa’s ingenious invention of the foldable umbrella, and an incredible chain of events: miraculously escaping the Holocaust and rebuilding their careers as artists in Melbourne. A magical story of art and creativity, survival and perseverance, family, freedom and love.

Sinner’s Inn

Written by the Drama Studies class of 2022, ‘Sinner’s Inn’ is a play that explores the seven deadly sins and encourages spectators to question their own morals. A story with cabaret to comedy – students entertained audiences with a ‘sold out’ season. Drama Studies students wish to thank all of the audiences that attended a performance making their show a huge success.

If you missed the performance you can watch it by clicking on this link https://youtu.be/hbtAJhRz5X0

Thank you to student Zac Chehate Kardos for filming.

Music Report

Arts Week

Well done to all of the performers at the ‘Open Mic’ lunchtime concert on Bayview Campus during Arts Week.

The Music Department has a new Padlet site dedicated to all things music. Keep an eye on this message board for information about upcoming events and opportunities.

Auditions will be held over the final two weeks of term for performers at our big ‘War Child’ fundraising concert. Look out for the sign-up sheets at each campus.

Senior Band Report

On 14 May, the Senior Stage Band competed in the Victorian All-State Jazz Competition, held at St Leonard’s College in Brighton. This is the second year the event has been held, with Willi High performing in both years. The band competed in Division B, playing three pieces for two judges and an audience of students, parents and teachers. Students were otherwise able to spend the day roaming the various venues and watching other schools’ performances in the other divisions.

While we await final band ranking announcements, Year 12 student Paolo Coladonato was named best drummer in the division, and awarded a position in the 20-person All-Star Band - an outstanding achievement! Well done to all and thanks to Richard Giles for helping out on the day.

Will Salisbury and Lachlan Wyatt

Senior Sport Update

Senior Sport Update

How quick has this year gone!?! It has been a manic start to Term 2 for sport and we have had the biggest number of participants for sport in a number of years, which has been so pleasing to see!

Term 1 sport follow up
Unfortunately, since the last W-Files in Term 1 the senior boys tennis team have been knocked out at the Western Districts. A strong performance from Cooper Whitford was unfortunately not enough to get the job done. For swimming, the U16 boys freestyle relay team made it all the way to the State competition, which was a huge accomplishment in itself. The boys finished fifth on the day.

Senior Girls AFL
I had the pleasure of coaching the senior girls AFL team, who were extremely impressive. Hayley Borg and Stella Cossey were dominant through the midfield whilst Holly Naden managed five goals from the ruck! We are through to the next round, for which I am quietly confident.

Senior Boys AFL
The senior boys AFL squad also had a strong showing, beating all opponents by at least 40 points. Charlie Norris put on a clinic and was the ultimate swingman according to coach Matt Grose. They are looking forward to their next round.

Senior Boys Badminton
The racquet sports were back and so was Cooper Whitford, getting the W for school confidently with a strong partner in Gus Sciberras.

Senior Girls Netball
The team unfortunately went down by a couple of goals in the final against Point Cook. One of the star players, Maddie Mickovski, went down with a dislocated shoulder, which made it difficult. Well done to Point Cook.

Senior Boys Netball
Coach Russel was happy with the performance, which saw them progress, although noted a few areas for improvement. Having had previous success, I look forward to seeing what Russel can do with this team!

Senior Boys Soccer
The senior boys soccer team just scraped through with a 4-1 win in the final. It was a tight contest with Willi conceding the first goal before regrouping and planning their attack.

Intermediate Sport begins this week and I look forward to some more strong performances from the school, really asserting ourselves on our rivals and representing the school with pride! Stay tuned for more updates.

Intermediate Sport begins this week and I look forward to some more strong performances from the school, really asserting ourselves on our rivals and representing the school with pride! Stay tuned for more updates!

Parents and Friends Association Report

Over the last two COVID-impacted years WHS families have missed out on many opportunities to attend on-site information sessions and curriculum evenings. Guest speakers at PFA meetings can help parents feel more engaged and informed about life at WHS, and we were very grateful to have two speakers at our last meeting.

Amy Curran is the coordinator for the Student Leadership Program at the Bayview Campus and gave parents real insight into the opportunities open to students from all year levels. Garrett Drago is Willi High’s resident marine biologist, and he took us on a virtual tour of the nine tanks in the marine biology room – telling us how the Marine Education program is integrated into all year levels at the Bayview Campus. Thanks to Amy and Garrett for their presentations, which all of those present agreed helped us feel more engaged with these aspects of school life.

Save the date! The PFA has been allocated a slot in the Bunnings Sausage Sizzle roster at Altona North on Sunday, 24 July. We’d love to see families come along to support the new venture – either by donning an apron for an hour or two, or buying lunch from us on the day.

The next PFA meeting is on Tuesday, 14 June, at 7:30pm. Tyson Hartwig, from the Student Engagement and Wellbeing team at the Bayview Campus, will be our guest speaker. We welcome all new families. Meeting location/Zoom links will be available closer to the date.