Welcome to this month’s edition of the W-Files. On behalf of the teaching staff I would like to start by acknowledging the parents who attended our second semester Parent-Student-Teacher Interviews. We greatly value the partnership we have with families and the role these events play in improving the learning and educational pathways of our students.

In recent weeks, the Williamstown High School community has been actively engaged in a range of events including: interschool debating, 2024 subject selection, dance concerts, interschool sporting competitions, Indonesian sister school visit and a number of wonderful musical concerts.

Our Vocational Major students were impressive in presenting for mock job interviews in their suits, ties and other formal attire. They also participated in an amazing race in the city with one activity for points being “a thank you gift to the principal”. See the picture below for some of the gifts brought back - no prizes for guessing the group that received the top point (Go Blues!).

Our student-led end-of-term assemblies not only celebrated outstanding student achievement across the school but additionally provided another platform for them to display their diverse and wonderful talents. Our Year 12 students were also able to reflect on their time at school and advise the Year 10s and 11s about making the most of the opportunities ahead. Please enjoy reading about the range of activities our students have been involved in.

Staffing and planning for 2024

Staffing shortages in schools, as well as other workplaces, is attracting lots of media attention at the moment. We have spent a significant amount of time this term preparing for 2024.

Demand for places at WHS continues to far exceed the 250 places we have on offer at each year level. This is evidenced by numbers being almost twice oversubscribed for Year 7 next year, as well as the large number of enrolment enquiries at each of the other year levels (Years 8-12). This is challenging for the school when managing the disappointment for families unable to secure a place, but also reflects wonderfully on the reputation and standing WHS has in the community.

With student subjects and electives chosen, we were able to identify our exact curriculum staffing needs. We have advertised these vacancies and I am pleased to report that applications to work at WHS remain high for both experienced and graduate teachers. We have made some impressive appointments ensuring the quality of staff working with our students remains high. We now have all positions finalised, subject to any late staffing changes, which is an outcome that should be celebrated considering the current workforce pressures.

With extra funding allocated to schools to focus on mental health, we have also advertised and are finalising the appointment of a youth worker for 2024. This position will broaden the skillset of our current student engagement and wellbeing team, which comprises welfare coordinators, mental health practitioners, health/nurse coordinator and reengagement officer. This team will continue to support students in a variety of situations and needs, as well as look to put in place proactive initiatives to educate us all and ensure we are a safe, supportive and inclusive environment.

Staff wellbeing

Staff wellbeing has been identified as a focus area for all government workplaces and schools have certainly embraced the increased awareness of this need. Two recent events that have seen staff come together, supporting, relaxing and engaging with each other, have been our Education Support (ES) lunch and recent Bayview morning tea.

One day each year, a little like Mother’s and Father’s Day, we take time to pause and explicitly show our appreciation for all our ES staff. These staff ensure the smooth running of our school. This includes grounds and office staff, food and science assistants, librarians, IT technicians and integration aides. During our recent PPD student free day, the principal team took the opportunity to put on a lunch, present a gift and say a few words about how we all value and appreciate their work and positive attitudes.

We also have regular morning teas with a roster for teams to host. Staff thoroughly enjoyed the efforts of the admin team at Bayview who went above and beyond last week, organising a Barbie-themed morning tea with staff celebrating the various personalities of “Willi High Kens and Barbies”.

These small actions go a long way to creating the positive and supportive environment we enjoy working in, our students thrive learning in, and our families are proud to be a part of.

BYOD Program

The ICT team has recently conducted a review and updated our guidelines for our Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program. The focus is now on students having access to a laptop device(either Mac or Windows) to ensure maximum capability with software used in learning programs across the school. The full guidelines can be found on our website.

I would also like to remind parents that we have a partnership with JB HIFI to purchase appropriate devices at reduced prices. This is an optional service and you do not have to get your child’s device through them but may provide some competitive pricing options for families to get an appropriate device. The details to access this service are in the BYOD guide.

State Schools Spectacular

I would like to highlight and congratulate four of our students who, following a rigorous selection process, participated in the recent Victorian State Schools Spectacular. This is a fantastic achievement and just another wonderful example of the talented students we have in our school community. Please read below some details from the organisers and we will look to provide more details of the televised event in Term 4.

The Department of Education’s Performing Arts Unit auditioned and interviewed students from across the state for this year’s Victorian State Schools Spectacular Cast and Backstage Crew.

I am writing to notify you about the success of your students who have secured roles in this year’s Spectacular core performing company. These students are commendable ambassadors for your school and your support of their involvement is appreciated.

The Spectacular will be performed twice on Saturday, 9 September, at John Cain Arena, followed by a television broadcast in December. Rehearsals have commenced for this year’s production, which will showcase more than 3,000 Victorian government school students in a performance of music, song, dance, skating, circus, puppetry and backstage areas such as audio, lighting, vision and stage management.

Your students are commendable ambassadors for your school and your support of their involvement is appreciated.

- 2023 Victorian State Schools Spectacular organising committee

Snowsport Championships

Williamstown High School students experience great achievements both at school and beyond. I would like to congratulate and share three fantastic athletic endeavours by three of our wonderfully talented students. The report below includes both details of the achievements as well as contacts for any students interested in being involved in future snowsport events.

Williamstown High students shred it at the Victorian Interschools Snowsport Championships

Williamstown High athletes had an incredible week at the Victorian Snowsport interschools at Mt Buller.

Three athletes competed: Jack Young (Div 3), Angus Young (Div 2) and Drew Giles-Manor (Div 1). Each athlete competed in three events: Snowboard Cross, Snowboard Giant Slalom and Snowboard Slopestyle. Below are the Williamstown High results:

Jack Young (Year 8)

SECOND (of 57) Snowboard Cross Div 3 Boys with a time of 35.60 secs

THIRD (of 61) Snowboard Giant Slalom with a time of 57.61 secs

FOURTH (of 26) Snowboard Slopestyle Div 3 – Score 63.33

Angus Young (Year 10)

FIRST (of 51) Snowboard Cross Div 2 Boys with a time of 34.09 secs

FIRST (of 50) Snowboard Giant Slalom Div 2 Boys with a time of 61.05 secs – Amazing 5.62 secs ahead of second (this is a large margin in this event)

THIRD (of 33) Snowboard Slopestyle Div 2 – Score 70.67

OVERALL Male Snowboard Champion

Drew Giles-Manor (Year 12)

THIRD (of 48) Snowboard Cross Div 1 with a time of 35.01 secs

FOURTH (of 50) Snowboard Giant Slalom Div 1 with a time of 59.76 secs

EIGHTH (of 27) Snowboard Slopestyle – Score 45.00

In addition to the medals, Angus will ‘bring home the silverware’ to Williamstown High with three perpetual trophies for his two first placings and for the Overall Male Snowboard Champion award. This is no small feat as it is unusual for the same athlete to win these two events, and the timing margins really highlight his talent. Well done Angus!

All three athletes qualify to represent Williamstown High at the Nationals.

Williamstown High was not eligible for team awards as we needed two or more competitors per division event to qualify. The athletes competing as a team do not need to be experts and students could compete as a Williamstown team if they have some experience on snow. It is intended as a schools competition and any skiing or riding family interested could make up teams to really improve the representation by Williamstown High in future years. Notably, there are considerably fewer girls competing and female athletes will really make an impact.

Any parent who would like further information can contact James Young or Deane Giles.

Thank you emails

It always fills me with pride when I receive glowing emails about our students, and I do like to share some of these with the WHS community to both instil the same pride in all of us as well as inspire and make visible role model behaviour. Please enjoy reading two such emails with names removed. If the students involved make themselves known and present to me, I will make sure to organise with them a lovely thank you lunch.

Hi Mr Catalano

I just wanted to reach out and mention what I witnessed on Friday at Williamstown Primary School. I was very impressed at the former students coming back to the school to help out. In particular, [they] really helped out ensuring all kids were having fun and that they were feeling included. My son, in Grade 4, loved having her help out and she really made him feel a part of it all.

It certainly put a smile on my face and is in keeping with the school's values.

Dear Sir

I was crossing into our Botanical Gardens this evening at dusk.

I was too interested in not getting my gold tipped shoes muddy and didn’t see a careless brick, which I tripped over and fell.

It hurt… Boy, did that fall hurt and I lay on the grass wondering if I had broken something. Some joggers ran past and women pushing prams… It was quite a relief when two Year 9 students from Willy High came upon me whilst walking their dog and offered me assistance. They helped me get up on my feet and were so lovely and caring that I became emotional. Facts are that we’ve become distant from the worry and pain of others, so your students were a fabulous example of community care. You must be proud of them!

They are in Year 9. The girl’s name is [xxxx], and I believe the young man is [xxxx].

I’d like to show my appreciation for they are a wonderful example of community care. We care about the climate and recycling, the environment, etc. These two extend their commitment to looking after their local community. Perhaps the others who passed me by thought I was moon basking… Offering a hand is a simple gesture and a good habit to take on. I’m certainly pleased they have this mindset!

Wishing all families and staff a restful break leading into a busy and exciting Term 4.

Dear parents and carers

As this third term draws to a close, we anticipate that our students will reflect on their progress thus far including during Parent-Student-Teacher Interviews. Semester 1 assessment task results showed our Year 7 students achieved - 75%, Year 8 - 75% and Year 9 - 71%, on average. We are hoping to improve this across all learning areas by the end of Semester 2. We look forward to continuing this work and thank you for your support in this regard.

Our learning environment

We are continuing to work on maintaining and improving learning environments for our students. We have engaged landscape architects to begin developing a masterplan for Bayview. We hope then to undertake improvements in stages, with the whole in mind. Approval from the Victorian Schools Building Authority to undertake rectification of our synthetic surface is due to be received shortly and we are looking at the development of an engagement and wellbeing wing for students, which may see some change to Dobsons uniform shop. More information on this will follow.

You may note our staff wearing purple high visibility vests when on duty in the grounds. These are personalised with the staff members’ names on the back. With this approach, students can clearly see who is on duty during the breaks and can seek them out, if required. We have taken this step to endeavour to make our grounds a place where support for students is readily and visibly available. As part of the duty, all student toilets are checked. Teachers are also taking buckets and tongs to encourage students to collect litter from the grounds, to prevent it leaving our grounds when classes resume. We are taking this step, at present, and hope that it sees the sun setting each day on grounds free of litter.

Our working bee on the morning of Thursday, 31 August, was productive and saw a small team of interested and willing members of the school community collect litter. We grouped this litter (see photographs) as much as possible and generated ideas on how we may address waste and waste in the environment. Classes and teachers were encouraged to look at the litter collected and share ideas also. Thank you for your support with this.

Please look to have your child bring ‘nude’ food only to school each day. If this is a challenge, please ask your child to leave their waste in their lunch box/bag to be returned home, ie. take the sandwich out into the grounds only. Students may access their lockers during the breaks. However, we don’t see many students returning their waste to their lockers. Please also speak with your child about respecting our environment and encouraging them to be a responsible member of our school community by making an appropriate choice for their litter. As outlined above, we will continue to address this issue as a school and as part of the local community.

Staff farewells and welcomes

We are due to welcome back Marie Glass and Mathew Grossman (from the senior campus), and thank Paul McArthur for his work with their classes this term.

Dale Chapman is due to take leave for Term 4 and we plan for Andrew Raphael and Amanda Casey to teach Dale’s classes in his absence. Bethany Richardson and Daniel Marshall will also be on leave for the first two weeks of next term.

We are farewelling Nikki Nguyen at the end of this term and plan for Nahtasha Nelson-Mirikilis and Paul McArthur to continue teaching Nikki’s classes for the remainder of the school year. We thank Nikki for her contributions to our school and wish her all the best. We are also farewelling Bayview Science Technician, Sukhdeep Kaur. We thank Sukhdeep for her work with our students and staff and wish her all the best in her new full time role.

We are currently in the Poorneet Season of the annual Eastern Kulin Seasonal Calendar, as described by Woiwurrung traditions: Tadpole Season. The elements of this time evident at Bayview Street are temperatures rising and rain continuing, pied currawongs calling loudly and days and nights of similar length. I think the calls of the common froglet and pobblebonk are also audible! If you are keen during the break, please look into the FrogID Mobile App, a national citizen science project to identify and document frog species: https://australian.museum/learn/animals/frogs/eastern-pobblebonk-frog/

Wishing all students and families a safe and fabulous break.

Karen Anderson

Year 10 camp

I had the pleasure of accompanying the Year 10 cohort on the Gold Coast Camp. A wonderful experience was had by all. The most pleasing aspect of the camp was the camaraderie demonstrated between students. An opportunity to come together and bond as a year level will hold you in good stead for the final two years of your educational journey.

Camps really do play an important role in students forming lifelong friendships and memories. The epic ‘beach volleyball’ match on the final night was a highlight. Seeing the independence of our Year 10s as they managed themselves over the four days was a wonderful aspect of the camp.

Year 11 VCE-VM mock job interviews – Rotary Club partnership

WHS and Rotary Club have partnered to provide the Year 11 Work Related Skills students the opportunity to participate in a mock job application process. Each student was required to select from a range of jobs and formally apply in writing. Rotary members then interviewed our students and gave them feedback on their application.

This is a fantastic example of WHS partnering with a local community organisation to enhance student learning. It was wonderful to see our students take the task to heart and present themselves on the day dressed in professional attire. The students have also expressed how much they enjoyed and benefited from the program.

Year 12 students

Our Year 12 students are rapidly approaching the end of their time at WHS. I would like to thank and acknowledge the wonderful contributions they have made over the past six years. For those undertaking the VCAA examinations, on behalf of the school I wish you all the very best. Prepare well over the coming break and give yourself every opportunity to shine. A number of celebration events are being organised for the end of your schooling and I encourage you to participate and enjoy being with your peers to reflect on your school journey.

Hold fast.

Daniel Pearce

Pasco Campus Principal

STEAM update

GHD STEM Pathways Program

The Year 10 Girls GHD STEM Pathways Program is currently taking place. Our selected students went through an induction session with GHD, and will undertake five days of placement at their Melbourne headquarters. You can look forward to reading about our students’ experiences in the next W-Files.

Edutech Conference - English and Humanities Exploring STEAM

On 24-25 August a team of teachers visited the Edutech Conference at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre to learn about how technology can enhance learning in the classroom. The team had a specific focus on English and Humanities, and were looking for ways that students in each of these subject areas could be more active and interactive learners.

The team will be receiving several visits to help determine the best way forward - particularly in the resourcing of Bayview Campus’s IT Room (Room 13), which will undergo some refurbishment to enhance STEAM opportunities for students. Please continue to check up on the progress of this project and we will share more as it develops.

STEM Outreach Opportunity for Year 8 Girls

As we go to press with this latest issue of the W-Files, five of our students and two staff visited the University of Melbourne as part of a Year 8 Girls’ Outreach Program - the aim of which is to support girls to pursue participation in STEM through building their confidence to practise science through a variety of hands-on laboratory and problem-solving workshops. While we will elaborate in more detail in the next issue, the students and staff have so far reported that it was a fantastic experience, where they got to see the beautiful grounds at the University of Melbourne, and also heard that “the future of food is bugs!”

We are certainly going to need to explore this further :)

Gavin Clifford | Strategic Assistant Principal

After last week’s cold snap, it has been absolutely wonderful to experience the warmer weather this week and enjoy living in this liveable loveable city we call Melbourne, known by the Kulin nation as Naarm.

Yes, we are very fortunate with the location of our campuses, especially so with the Bayview campus situated right on the bay next to the Jawbone reserve. With that privilege our students have at Bayview, there is also an increased level of care required to protect the environment of the school and its surroundings.

An example of this additional care by the school was the recent working bee held on Thursday 31st August. The school council thanks Bayview Principal Karen Anderson and the Bayview staff for organising it, and for those who attended and assisted with the working bee. The litter collected is being analysed for its contents, however the initial findings show that much of the litter is from lunch box items brought from home.

Littering is a serious issue that can have a significant impact on the environment. While many drains have gratings, these cannot prevent small items of plastics or micro plastics making their way into the bay and then into the food chain. While Bayview is closer to the bay, the same issue concerns our Pasco campus also.

Staff, parents, and students can take several steps to prevent litter from lunch boxes and other sources from contaminating the school environment and from entering the bay.

Firstly, we can choose to use reusable containers instead of disposable ones. This will help reduce the amount of waste generated by lunch boxes. Additionally, parents can pack lunches in containers that are easy to clean and reuse, such as stainless steel or plastic containers. While adopting a nude food policy for the school is not presently being discussed, adopting this ethos will reduce the amount of litter making its way into the environment. Even small gestures like peeling off the small stickers placed on fruit at home, will make a positive contribution.

Secondly, parents and students can work together to reduce the amount of packaging used in lunch boxes. For example, we can avoid individually wrapped snacks and instead opt for bulk snacks that can be divided into smaller portions. Reusable sandwich bags or beeswax wraps can be used instead of plastic wrap.

Thirdly, we can all be mindful of where we dispose of our waste. we should ensure that all waste is disposed of in the appropriate bins and not left lying around. If an appropriate bin cannot be found, students should be encouraged to bring any waste home to be disposed of correctly.

Our school is so fortunate to be situated in such an amazing environment, I think we can all agree taking extra care is worth the effort.

With spring, well and truly sprung it means that we have approached the end of term three and I hope everyone enjoys the upcoming holiday. To our year twelve students, I hope you can enjoy you last term break at Williamstown High School, knowing that you have an eye towards your final goals. While year twelve is a marathon, you are all about to embark on the final sprint which is a culmination of your thirteen years in the school system. I wish you all well.

Kane Harnden

School Council President

The end of term has come around very quickly. We have recently had Labschool from Indonesia at Williamstown High School. We want to thank the host families from 7A and 7J for their support. We were very impressed with the positive welcome and interactions we saw from all of our students.

Year 7s are also finishing their Career Action Plans, which gives them a sense of where their future may take them. It is important to have conversations at home about future possibilities and interests as well. This term students selected their first elective for Year 8. The same system of entering options is used all the way up to VCE so students have ownership of their choices.

Respectful Relationships curriculum

Respectful Relationships education is a core component of the Victorian Curriculum from Foundation to Year 12. It is all about embedding a culture of respect and equality across the entire school community. Student voice is key to improvements. We would like to thank some of our homegroup leaders, Jemma Fikret (7H), Darby Weston (7G) and Harriet Lear (7F), for volunteering to represent the Year 7s in a review last week.

https://www.vic.gov.au/respectful-relationships

Re-teachings

Our core business is teaching and learning. Re-teachings are provided to students that are behaving in a negative way that affects their own learning and/or the learning of others. If students impact the learning or wellbeing of others, whether at school, online or in the community, they have a “red post” recorded against their name. The coordinators then meet with those students to get their statement and complete a re-teaching activity to guide and encourage better choices so negative behaviours are not repeated.

When students are in uniform in the community, whether it is on a sports activity, riding their bikes, walking home, etc., they are representing the school and positive behaviour is expected. We fully expect our students to be representing our school in a positive manner at all times and appreciate parent/carer support on this.

Lockers

It is really important that students have a working lock on their locker and keep it locked throughout the day to make sure their property is secure. It is also important that students are careful with their belongings, especially their devices.

Mobile Phones - a timely reminder

As per the Department of Education and Training (Victoria) guidelines, we routinely remind students that their phones need to be locked safely in their lockers throughout the school day. Unfortunately, we are seeing an increasing number of students with their devices in class and in the yard. This is a distraction to both their own and others’ learning and creates a barrier to how they interact with others at school.

We ask that parents/carers refrain from messaging or calling their children on their phones during school hours. If you need to contact your child, please do so through our front office and they will pass on the message at recess or lunchtime. Students that are regularly found with their phone on them, rather than in their locker, will be required to report daily to the coordinators’ office to lock it in there at the beginning of each school day and collect it there after school.

We would also ask parents to remind their children that taking photos/videos of others without their consent and particularly posting/sharing it to an online platform is strictly prohibited. With social media unfortunately being a huge part of young people’s lives, it is important to have regular conversations at home and monitor your children’s social media presence.

It is also important that students use their laptop/iPad/tablet wisely, visit appropriate sites and use it only when required in class. Mr Tim Wraight, the ICT teacher, will be sending out information in regards to this. Thank you in advance for your support with this matter.

End of term awards

We would like to congratulate the following students, who have received the Term 3 awards for Academic Achievement and Citizenship:

Isabella O’Malley and Jenny Fsadni, Year 7 Coordinators

With yet another term wrapping up, we see the colder months now behind us and look forward to some warmer weather. Believe it or not, we are now three-quarters of the way through the school year. Year 8 students have continued to shine both at school with their learning and in extra-curricular activities.

Year 8s have now completed their elective selections for 2024. I know this was an exciting process for students to continue to have greater agency over the subjects they take. We are now using those preferences to populate elective classes for next year. Students will be notified of their assigned electives during Term 4. We hope you use the term break to rest, relax and restock any stationery or school uniform items your child will need for the rest of the year.

Mobile Phones - A timely reminder

As per the Department of Education and Training (Victoria) guidelines, we routinely remind students that their phones need to be locked safely in their lockers throughout the school day. Unfortunately, we are seeing an increasing number of students with their devices in class and in the yard. This is a distraction to both their own and others’ learning and creates a barrier to how they interact with others at school.

We ask that parents/carers refrain from messaging or calling their children on their phones during school hours. If you need to contact your child, please do so through our front office and they will pass on the message at recess or lunchtime. With social media unfortunately being a huge part of young people’s lives, it is important to have regular conversations at home and monitor your child’s social media presence. Thank you in advance for your support with this matter.

With the warm weather we have experienced over the past few weeks, there has been an increased sense of energy at school and, along with it, opportunities for student activities and engagement. Some of our Year 9 students from ‘the Big Gig’ subject entertained us during Friday breakfast and lunchtime performances at the outdoor stage, providing lots of enjoyment and a fun atmosphere for both students and staff.

All 250 Year 9 students attended Course Counselling Day with members of staff – either online or in-person – during Week 6, helping to choose their subject selections for 2024. It was an exciting experience for the Year 9s, who had spent much time researching their subject and career interests and were able to take steps toward greater student agency over their senior school pathways.

In Week 7, the Immersion students (9F and 9G) held their Expo Day, raising awareness of a range of important local and global issues, such as ocean pollution, endangered animals, healthy eating and gender-based price disparity of essential health items, just to name a few. Some groups chose to raise funds for a relevant charity, with the groups raising a very impressive $305 total for their causes.

As part of the Homegroup Curriculum at Year 9, students attended an incursion called ‘Think U Know’, run by the Australian Federal Police. This session helped students understand important legal aspects of their own and other people’s online behaviours, advice on how and where to seek help if issues of online bullying or unwanted image sharing occur (families should take note of the e-Safety Commissioner website), as well as some important reminders about protecting themselves and their privacy online.

Mobile Phones: a timely reminder

As per the Department of Education and Training (Victoria) guidelines, we routinely remind students that their phones need to be locked safely in their lockers throughout the school day. Unfortunately, we are seeing an increasing number of students with their devices in class and in the yard. This is a distraction to both their own and others’ learning and creates a barrier to how they interact with others at school.

We ask that parents/carers refrain from messaging, or calling, their children on their phones during school hours. If you need to contact your child, please do so through our front office and they will pass on the message at recess or lunchtime. We also would ask parents to remind their children that taking photos/videos of others without their consent - particularly posting/sharing it to an online platform - is strictly prohibited. With social media unfortunately being a huge part of young people’s lives, it is important to have regular conversations at home and monitor your children’s social media presence. Thank you in advance for your support with this matter.

Tyson Hartwig & Carmen Wiseman | Year 9 Coordinators

Term 3 has proved to be an extremely exciting, fun filled time for all of our Year 10 students. The highlights have included an incursion from Elephant Ed on sexual health, Year 11 subject selections, course counselling, excursions and, of course, the highlight for many: the Year 10 Gold Coast Camp - just to name a few.

Term 3 is always exciting and full of anticipation for our Year 10 students as they face the crossroads period of their schooling at Williamstown High School. Students have been working throughout the term in homegroup periods to decipher their subject selections and pathway options for Year 11 and beyond. Throughout these sessions students had the opportunity to plan their futures and understand all the options for their schooling future to get them a step closer to their goals and aspirations. Students keenly explored the class curricula for VCE, VCE-VM and VET, before being provided special course counselling and VM interview days, which were a huge success, enabling staff, students and families to collectively work through and discuss subject selection. A big thank you to all staff, students and families who took time to join us for these sessions.

The much anticipated camp week finally arrived for our Year 10s in Term 3. Bright and early on Tuesday, 22 August, 159 of our Year 10 students gathered at school to load on to the bus and kick off their Gold Coast Camp. All students were excited and eager despite the 5:45am call time.

Leaving cold, dreary Melbourne behind, we were greeted by a beautifully warm 25 degree day. We headed straight to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, where students had the opportunity to brave their fears on the high ropes course or alternatively interact with some native animals throughout the park. With nerves settled, the excitement kicked in as students challenged themselves across some of the more difficult rope courses.

After a fun-filled and very tiring day we headed across to our accommodation at the BLK Sport Performance Centre in Runaway Bay, where students settled in to the comfort of their new housing for the week.

On Wednesday the Queensland sun was out in full force - 27 degrees and sunny - the perfect conditions for a water park. The students were ready to get out on to the water slides as soon as we arrived; the most popular ride was the trapdoor free fall water slide, with the screams of the WHS students to be heard across the park. There was a lot of fun and laughter throughout the day and all students returned absolutely exhausted from a big day of running around, climbing stairs and riding the waterslides. We headed off that night to watch the Barbie movie, with mixed reviews from our students who either loved or hated it.

Thursday consisted of yet another sunny day, this time at Dreamworld. With the park almost all to ourselves, students had free range on all the big and scary rides - many faced their fear of heights again on the Giant Drop, with the best viewing point at the bottom to see all the stunned faces when the ride was finally over. A new roller coaster also proved to be a hit for many students, lining up time and time again to get their adrenaline fix.

After yet another big day at the theme parks, the students rebounded for an extremely competitive and fun-filled night of board games and a fierce volleyball tournament. With some long-winded battles on the volleyball sand, we eventually got a winning team although there was much controversy over some questionable umpire calls throughout the game. Congratulations to our winning team.

Our last day approached quickly - time flies when you're having fun - and we packed up our rooms, said goodbye to our camp, loaded our bags on the bus and headed off to Movie World to enjoy one last day of fun. The Joker roller coaster and Superman ride were the biggest hits of the day. The students soaked up all of the attractions before saying goodbye to the sunny Gold Coast and heading home, with 159 very happy but exhausted Year 10s. What an incredible week away and a fantastic time to build relationships, face their fears and demonstrate their independence throughout the camp.

It feels like only yesterday the first W-Files of the year was being published, and now it is the end of Term 3 with only one more term before the end of the academic year for 2023. In Term 4, students will be working toward their final assessment tasks in Unit 2 before shifting their attention to Semester 2 examinations and the Headstart program that follows immediately afterwards.

Although it may seem like the finish line is within reach, there is still so much ground to cover. We encourage all students to relax and refresh over the holiday break, but then return to school with a renewed energy to maintain focus and maximise achievement all the way through to the end of the school year.

On 25 August students took part in a day of workshops designed to develop and consolidate their understanding of consent, respectful relationships and making informed decisions around safe sexual relationships. Elephant Ed, a leading organisation in this space, worked alongside school staff to answer student questions about healthy sexual interactions, with student feedback on the success of the day being overwhelmingly positive. Students also had the opportunity to take part in a Silent Disco in between these sessions, with some interesting dance moves on show from students and supervising staff.

Cuppa and a Chat continues to grow with more students and teachers welcoming the opportunity to connect with each other and relax in a supportive environment every Monday at lunch in L Block. A new order of hot chocolate and biscuits has recently arrived, so please do encourage your child to come along in Term 4.

Your child may have received an email from Reform Clothing recently, informing them that production of the Year 12 Jumper for 2024 has commenced. Just under 270 orders were processed and we are hoping that delivery of the jumpers will be in time for the start of the Headstart program in mid-November.

For Year 11s who are undertaking a Unit 4 subject, Ms Vu reminded us at a recent assembly that Year 12 revision lectures and trial examinations will be held during the holidays. If applicable, please ensure your child attends these to give them invaluable guidance and practice heading into the VCE examinations in late October.

As mentioned in a previous W-Files, in late July student Indy Readsmith visited Anjo, Japan, as a Hobsons Bay Ambassador. We asked Indy to report on her visit so it could be shared with the school community, which she has provided below:

“In late July, alongside three Westbourne Grammar School students, I departed for Anjo, Japan, as a representative of the Hobsons Bay International Friendship Association. Anjo, a small city in Japan, is the centre of a much larger international association, promoting cultural connection and understanding in monocultural Japan.

“It was such a different experience from Australia, often being the only non-Japanese person in the area, attracting lots of attention from locals and occasionally photo requests. In our time in the country we lived with a host family; promoted the international association at the nationally recognised Tanabata Festival; made a speech in Japanese at the Anjo City Hall; visited iconic Japanese sites, such as Kyoto and Mt Fuji; and made meaningful connections with local Japanese students and the delegation of students from Huntington Beach, California.

“The overall highlight was visiting the Tokyo National Museum with my host family, as I am a massive museum nerd and an aspiring gallery curator. This trip to Anjo developed my independence and my ability to work through new and difficult situations, as I had to navigate foreign airports and countries, deal with language difficulties, implement cultural empathy and a myriad of leadership and personal skills that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”

Finally, congratulations to the following students who received awards as part of the End of Term Celebration Assembly held on Friday, 15 September:

Academic Achievement Award: Sammi Tapping, Eva Bugeja and Lucy Boukamp

Improvement Award: Hannah Ramsey, Julia Kastanis and Alexander Gacovski

Conscientious Award: Domenic Haby, Joseph Iulianella and Mitchell Hegarty

Positivity Award: Remy Van Merkestein, Lachlan Wright and Shoshana Theilhaber

The end of Term 3 is here and for many of our students, this is the finishing line of their Year 12 marathon. This includes our VCE-VM students and our VCE students who are not sitting exams. A huge congratulations to all of these students on this significant accomplishment. It has been a long year full of ups and downs and many unforgettable experiences. In particular, a huge shout out needs to go to the VCE-VM students, who have been busy presenting their portfolios of work to the leadership team, who have all been incredibly impressed. We look forward to celebrating these achievements further at the school's graduation.

For the rest of our VCE students, the finishing line is getting closer and closer. Although, at this point in time, it can still seem like an eternity, especially when they see some of their classmates finishing up. It is important however that they remain focused on the next couple of months. The content has all been covered and now they must turn their attention to the end of year exams. For a lot of subjects, this exam makes up 50 percent of the students’ study score so it is important that they do their best.

That means a few sacrifices for the upcoming holidays (better known as the Term 3 study break). Students will have revision lectures to attend and trial exams to complete. We encourage the students to be professional students in the sense that they keep to the normal school routine over the break. Waking up at the same time, sticking to their usual class times for revision and having a recess and lunch break. Although it may seem like a lot, we want the students to be able to sit down at their exams knowing that they have done all that they could to prepare, thus giving themselves the greatest opportunity to do their best.

Term 3 from the Teaching and Learning Team

“Feedback to improve teaching and learning”

It is well known within educational research that student feedback as a type of formative assessment can have a powerful impact on student learning in the classroom. When student feedback is received and fed-forward in a timely, encouraging and task specific way, students feel more valued as learners and see themselves as collaborators in their own learning journey alongside their teachers.

This term at the Pasco and Bayview campuses, the Teaching and Learning Team have run professional learning sessions on how to seek and respond to student feedback via the use of the VERSO Student Feedback Tool. In completing short learning-based ‘check-ins’, students use VERSO to communicate and reflect upon the learning intention of the lesson and their ability to meet the chosen success criteria. The information that teachers receive from these check-ins can then open possibilities for teacher reflection and improved classroom practice. The T&L Team will continue to work with staff members at both campuses to use VERSO as a key tool to enhance our collective efficacy and respond to the learning needs of students.

Finally, the VCE and VCE-VM students have had an incredibly busy third term as their important final coursework and assessment deadlines approach. Now more than ever, students in their final weeks of schooling will rely heavily on the insight and feedback from their teachers when completing practice exams and ensuring that the criteria of assessment rubrics and outcomes of the relevant Study Designs can be fulfilled.

Matthew Grose, Bonnie Wong and Glenn Kellam (Teaching and Learning Team)

This term Williamstown High School celebrated Book Week! This year’s theme ‘Read, Grow, Inspire’ emphasised the power of literature in developing a reader’s inner world and how reading can plant the seed of inspiration for them to express their own creativity.

The English Department, in collaboration with our librarians, student leadership and the wider school community, orchestrated a week filled with literary activities and events that truly captured the essence of the written word.

Activities & Highlights

Book giveaway: The week kicked off with a free book giveaway in the library to boost student reading engagement. Students had the opportunity to browse through an extensive collection of books and take home any of interest, free of charge.

Dressmaking with old books: Students participated in a fun hands-on arts and crafts session by creating dresses and other items of clothing using the pages of old books. This encouraged a new perspective on using preloved materials as students turned books into fashion statements.

Dress Up Day: The much-anticipated Dress Up Day saw our students and staff transform into their favourite literary characters. This event not only showcased their creativity but also celebrated the power of literature as a source of inspiration.

There were many prizes to be won throughout the week with book themed trivia, library games and guess your teacher’s book ‘shelfie.’

The week was a resounding success and celebrated the power of literature to inspire, educate, and entertain.

Eliza Lawless

Bayview English Leader

All students in English, English Language and Literature were issued a tiny robot that was programmed to obey their commands and produce written work from a series of prompts. Some students elected to ignore their robots, while others used them to write essays and stories, poems and reflections.

ChatGPT turned out not to be the evil robot it was reputed to be. While it could (technically) provide students in Year 12 with responses to “The Crucible” and “The Dressmaker”, and Year 11 students with the themes in “The Great Gatsby”, these tended to lack any real insight and to be, well, bland.

The Year 10 students who used the AI to create poems and short stories found that a mediocre piece was about as good as it was going to get.

The learning (for us all) came when these tiny robots were programmed for good, and not evil. When we encouraged students to use the bots for research (but to be very selective in reviewing the results) we found that the bots could be trained to work ‘with us’. And so, we learned not to fear the evil robots.

They can be on our side. At least, for now.

We had an amazing response to our theme of Destinations for the 2023 Principal’s Writing Competition and would like to acknowledge all entrants for their creativity and hard work. It certainly made our selection of the winning entries a most challenging process. Congratulations to the following students on their entries, particularly Mirka Cumming (Bayview) and Isaac Makitae Marlow (Pasco) for winning an iPad in the overall Esteemed Writer Award.

In Term 1, some students from the Bayview Campus competed in the Kangourou sans Frontières (KSF). It is inspired by the Australian Maths Trust’s Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC) and is now the largest mathematics competition in the world, with more than six million participants each year. Held in March, the KSF was a great opportunity for students to experience mathematics in a competition environment prior to the AMC in August. Students completed 30 multiple choice questions of varying difficulty and were awarded based on their performance compared to all Australian participants.

Eleven students were selected to participate, based on their results from the previous year’s AMC. Congratulations to the following students who completed the KSF after school on Thursday, 30 March, and achieved amazing results!

Distinction:

• Emilia Wynn - 8B

Credit:

• Nicholas Bettiol - 8F

• Leo Bettiol - 8J

• Harrison Child - 8B

• Miles Haskett - 8B

• Matthew Jones - 8H

• Thomas Royal - 8B

• Matthew Royal - 8H

• Ethan Tran - 8F

A special thank you to Mr Bangun for organising this opportunity for our students and for supervising the event.

In Term 3, the Bayview Mathematics Team held Mathematics Week at Williamstown High School. This ran from Monday, 31 July, to Friday, 4 August, and coincided with the AMC.

“The AMC is an engaging 30-problem competition that demonstrates the importance and relevance of mathematics in students’ everyday lives; it is open to students in Years 3 to 12. Australia’s leading educators and academics, with a deep understanding of our national curriculum standards, actively design the unique AMC problems each year.”

The Bayview Campus had approximately 130 students participate in the AMC, including all students from the Year 7, 8 and 9 SEALP classes. Congratulations to all participants who stretched themselves academically to ‘be a learner’ and we look forward to sharing the results with everyone once made public.

Additional activities held throughout Mathematics Week included:

• Mathematics Meme-Master Competition - 78 entries!

• Mathematics Art Competition (Theme - Divinely Proportional)

• Lunchtime activities (Time Game, Rubik’s Cube Challenge and mathematics trivia)

• Atrium and library displays

• Homegroup Kahoots

• AND mathematics inspired bell music!

Mathematics Meme-Master Competition Winners

Winner:

• Quoc Nguyen - 7F

Teacher’s Choice Awards:

• Thomas Steere - 7B

• Neel Kotwal - 7B

• Angus Grover - 7F

[Insert - Mathematics Meme-Master Competition Winners.]

Mathematics Art Competition Winners

1st Place: Vicky Lin 9B

2nd Place: Zara Johnston 7B

3rd Place: Gabriela Blaszczyk 7D

We also welcomed a former student, Lucy Newbegin, to share her secrets on being successful in Mathematics class, the pathways she took through secondary school and what it is like being a university student studying Mathematics and Physics.

Student participation and support of all activities was overwhelming, and we are already planning for 2024. A huge thank you to all teaching staff for your contributions to ensuring the success of this week. A special acknowledgement to Ezra Bangun, Daniel Marshall, Liz Lorenc and Beth Richardson for supervising the AMC. We received positive feedback from both students and staff about the success of the entire week, stating it provided a variety of engaging activities, enabling mathematics to be viewed with a different lens - do I dare say FUN?!

Felicity Christmass

Bayview Mathematics Team Leader

National Science Week, 13-18 of August, was a science highlight at the Bayview Campus in Term 3. This year the theme was ‘Innovation: Powering Future Industries’. Students, staff and Hobson Bay City Council joined together for this event to develop programs and activities.

The council helped to kick off National Science Week by teaming up with student leaders to run ‘Beyond the Bin’, a workshop designed to educate students on recycling in our area and the future of the industry. Students were challenged to design new products that would be useful and sustainable. From food waste to repurposing old sponges for insulation, the students had some fantastic ideas.

A range of lunchtime and homegroup activities occurred throughout the week. On Monday the 2023 STEAM captains delivered a lunchtime Kahoot, with two lucky students walking away with a bit of chocolate and lots of bragging rights. On Tuesday all students were invited to hone their skills in a favourite class pastime by participating in a paper airplane building workshop. On Wednesday students became researchers and detectives as they fought to beat the clock in a Science Escape Room. On Thursday all aeronautical engineers in training met in the gym for the paper airplane competition. There were prizes for best design, longest flight and best airtime. Congratulations to all the winners.

A special congratulations to homegroup 7E, with the highest amount of individual and whole class participation throughout Science Week. For this they earned a class pizza party. Unfortunately, our end of week rocket launch had to be cancelled due to inclement weather. This will hopefully be rescheduled soon.

A huge thank you to all staff and students who made the week exciting and educational!

The Health and Physical Education curriculum area has once again provided many exciting opportunities for our students to learn through practical experience. The following activities have been just some of the highlights our students experienced this semester:

Outdoor Education

• Unit 3 & 4 Camp: Downhill Skiing at Mt Buller

• Unit 1 & 2: Cross Country and Downhill Skiing at Falls Creek and Mt Stirling

• Year 10 Adventure and Community: Local excursions, sailing, cycling and other outdoor adventures in the local Hobsons Bay community

Health and Physical Education

• Year 10 Fitness: Pursuit Fitness and Boxing Excursion

• Unit 1 & 2 Health and Human Development: Program promoting healthy and respectful relationships, parenting and prenatal and early childhood development. Students experienced many of the responsibilities required of the caregiver of a new infant.

VCE Health and Human Development, Physical Education and Outdoor Education students are coming to the end of their semester and we wish them luck as they prepare for their Unit 2 and Unit 3 & 4 exams.

Term 3 Interschool Sport: Pasco Campus

Williamstown High School students have once again starred on the sporting stage, with many outstanding achievements across the term. The following teams and individuals have represented the school with great success in the competitions so far:

Lacrosse

Lacrosse Victoria Competition

• 3rd place: Intermediate Boys, Senior Girls and Senior Boys

AFL

Western Metropolitan Region

• Runners-up: Intermediate Boys

Basketball

Hobsons Bay Division Premiers

• Champions: Intermediate Boys, Senior Boys

• Runners-up: Senior Girls

Soccer

Western Metropolitan Region

• Runners-up: Senior Girls, Intermediate Boys

Athletics

Hobsons Bay Division

• 4x100m relay winners: Yr 10 Boys (Dash Muir, Charlie Rossi, Aydin Metin, Wilson Hegarty) and Yr 10 Girls (Ella Macleod, Grace Hardiman, Maddie Camillo, Alexandra Kokolios)

• Grace Hardiman: Winner 17 yrs Long Jump

• Luci-Ella O'dea: Winner 18 yrs Shot Put

• Dash Muir: Winner 16 yrs 100m, 200m, 400m

• Ella Macleod: Winner 16 yrs 100m, 1500m

• Kai Hunak: Winner 17 yrs 100m, 400m

• Alexandra Kokolios: Winner 16 yrs Long Jump, High Jump, 200m, Triple Jump

• Aydin Metin: Winner 16 yrs Long and Triple Jump

• Maddie Camillo: Winner 16 yrs 800m

• Jack Thurston: Winner 16 yrs High Jump

• Dylan Lordan: Winner 16 yrs 1500m

Term 4 Interschool Sports

Interschool sport comes to an end in Term 4 with only advancing teams progressing through to the next round of competition. These include:

• Intermediate Basketball (Western Metropolitan Region)

• Athletics (Western Metropolitan Region)

A big congratulations to all students and their sporting success. Please let us know the sporting achievements of your child so that we can acknowledge their accomplishments in the next W-Files.

If you have any queries regarding the Interschool Sport Program at WHS, please do not hesitate to email either:

• Karen Mahoney - karen.mahoney@education.vic.gov.au at the Bayview Campus

• Thomas Schnerring - thomas.schnerring@education.vic.gov.au at the Pasco Campus

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Year 9 Immersion has had seven homegroups (9A - 9G) participate in the program so far this year. Immersion continues to give students unique and rewarding experiences that allow them to develop resilience, recognise the significance of independence, individual responsibility and collaboration.

The current Immersion homegroups (9F and 9G) had a wildly successful Expo Day on 25 August. The Expo groups selected important issues such as shark nets, fast fashion, vaping, healthy eating, the ‘pink tax’ and endangered turtles to present to the some 300 Year 7 and 8 students who visited. Some groups also decided to fundraise for various charities related to their issue. Collectively, more than $300 was raised this term. A fantastic effort!

The Immersion program continues to build lasting and productive relationships with our community service partners who welcome our students throughout the year and continue to praise them for their exemplary behaviour, maturity and commitment to helping others. These partners have included Williamstown PS, Williamstown North PS, Newport Lakes PS, Newport Gardens PS, Vinnies in Newport, Williamstown Library and Hobsons Bay City Council.

Students were also visited by Youth Development Officer Anne Hooker and our own mental health practitioner Christina Frei, who presented the documentary “Stories from the Inside”, a film directed, filmed and edited by the inmates of the Youth Unit at Port Phillip Prison. It was an informative and eye-opening lesson for many students.

During our overnight ‘camp’, students continued Immersion’s ‘Make A Difference’ theme by looking at the issue of homelessness in Melbourne. Students visited Salvation Army Melbourne’s Project 614 as well as FareShare in Abbotsford and the Big Umbrella in Brunswick, where they prepared, cooked and packaged meals to be distributed to needy families and individuals.

There was also time to have some fun - students went on a tour of the MCG, went to the movies, Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq and indoor go karting at Auscarts in Port Melbourne. What an action packed two days!

Rachel Roberts & Tyson Hartwig

Immersion Teachers

PFA – W-Files issue 6, 2023

Thanks to Anita Gatti-Smith who spoke at the PFA’s August meeting about the subject choices, the selection process and subject lesson allocations for each year level at the Bayview Campus.

Scouts and Schools Monster Raffle – the PFA’s biggest fundraiser of 2023

$1.50 of every $2.00 raffle ticket will fund ‘extras’ for WHS students – like the student leadership conference detailed below, new furniture for the Pasco Campus library, and the extensive aquarium upgrade in the Marine Education room at the Bayview Campus.

Raffle tickets are now available via the link below. This is the most important fundraiser for the year, which offers generous prizes including a car, a holiday to Uluru, mountain bikes, stand-up paddle boards and a swim with dolphins.

https://scoutsvic.raffletix.com.au/willyhigh

PFA funding for student leadership conference

The PFA is providing funding to help next year’s student leaders from both the Pasco and Bayview campuses to attend a leadership conference early in 2024. This year’s student leaders also attended a student leadership conference funded by the PFA, and have implemented the strategies and skills they learned whilst carrying out their roles throughout the year.