What a productive and valuable experience Year 7 students have had so far this year! The transition to secondary school is one of the most important in a young person’s life and it has been a privilege to support these young people to discover, create and excel in their new environment and a pleasure to invite families to be involved in the Greenvale Secondary College community through events and conferences.
The cohort has worked as individuals, home groups and house groups to adapt to their new learning community, engaging in new subjects and taking ownership over their learning by reflecting and goal setting. It has been a highlight to celebrate their successes in their learning and see their confidence grow in their interactions and contributions in the classroom.
This term, teachers have focused on collaborative learning in the classroom, working in pairs and small groups to share ideas and present to the class what they have created. Teachers have been working closely with students to support each individual to build their skill capacity – from learning about ancient civilisations in Humanities and presenting persuasive speeches in English, to mastering Mandarin and developing rhythm in Music, each student has been challenged to learn and apply new skills.
The Greenvale Secondary College values of leadership, teamwork, respect and excellence inform daily practice and interactions. During Mentor Group and Health, students have been exploring the value of respect and diversity, learning how to demonstrate respect and empathy in their friendships and relationships in and out of the classroom. This has translated to the Kindness Project where students brainstormed and actioned acts of kindness towards their families, teachers and students. It was great to see so many smiles of appreciation across the College community. During the end of semester celebration assembly, the community will vote on which Kindness Project will be worked on together next term. It’s exciting to see young people so enthusiastic about contributing positively to their community.
One of the highlights of the year so far was the Greenvale Secondary College Sleepover at the end of last term. Feeling safe and comfortable with peers is directly linked to improved learning outcomes and this was an invaluable opportunity for students to enjoy spending time together, participating in a myriad of activities and developing communication and teamwork skills. Many students were recognised for their leadership and respect throughout the event.
Next term, students will embrace exciting opportunities to learn and grow, with two new subjects to explore and skills to consolidate on in core subjects. There are a number of positive programs in store, prioritising the development of students as individuals, learning to be an active citizen in their community and discovering more about themselves as they move toward choosing future pathways.
On behalf of the team, thank you and congratulations to all staff, students and families for collaborating and supporting each other to create a safe and productive learning environment.
GREENVALE SECONDARY COLLEGE ARTICLE
By Narin Karadan
I think we can all agree that the year is going by pretty fast. It feels just like yesterday that we were all lining up in front of the basketball court, getting assigned to our home groups, nervous about our teachers and our subjects and how to open our lockers. But now, we’ve all gotten the hang of our classes and know our teachers, and we mostly are used to the lockers.
We had just finished our school holidays and started Term 2, but all of a sudden, Term 2 is almost finished! It’s been an exciting term, with things such as the athletics carnival, zoo excursion and interschool sports.
This term, we’ve completed our Ancient Egypt unit, stepped into poetry, worked on geometry, studied classification and biology, explored our identity and played table tennis in Health and P.E, played the keyboard, painted our landscapes and learnt to introduce family members in Chinese.
For me, my favorite subject this term was probably art. Planning our landscape paintings was so fun, and I loved how mine turned out in the end! Experimenting with paints is really interesting and intriguing. The art room always feels warm and welcoming!
The athletics and swimming carnival were a great chance for students to participate in sports and activities while showing house spirit, and mostly everyone enjoyed the free time in the pool! Everyone participated and earned points for their house. Congratulations to students who won in their activity! I enjoyed cheering on teammates from my house.
The zoo excursion was definitely one of the highlights of the term for me. Students went to Melbourne Zoo to study and find more about animals and their classification. The whole day, we were in our chosen groups and explored most of the zoo! We got to see so many amazing animals and had free time to explore the zoo towards the end. I didn’t get to see the Japanese garden like I anticipated, however I really loved the butterfly room the most. It was just so beautiful! It also was hilarious seeing everyone run from birds during break times. The zoo was a success!
From what I’ve heard, interschool sports were a fun and great experience! Chosen students went to different schools for the most of the day and competed in sports. It was a great opportunity to participate in athletics and have a fun day out going to other schools!
Overall, I found term 2 to be fun and exciting, with many interesting topics and enjoyable events. My highlight was definitely the zoo excursion. This term went by so quickly, and I hope that everyone is excited for the school holidays coming up and for more valuable experiences in our second semester of high school at Greenvale Secondary College!
