Reflecting on Term 1 goals and achievement

As Term 1 draws to a close, it is an important time to reflect on the amazing achievements of students throughout the College. We started the year with the Ceremony of Excellence for our VCE students and at that time I wrote about setting goals around learning. During this break, parents should check in with how successful their daughters have been in working towards those goals. We are so proud of all of our students - a big congratulations should go to our Year 7s who have completed their first term as secondary students!

Throughout the term, we have spoken with year levels about the process of learning. Learning often takes an enormous cognitive load for our students, so this break is a time to rest and rejuvenate before coming back for Term 2. For our students completing a Unit 3 class, this break should also have time put aside to finish exam preparation notes, pre-read any texts that are coming up and prepare for the coming term. Our Year 10s and 11s have their exams in Week 8 of next term, so they will undoubtably be doing some reviewing of their notes over the break.

Mr Joshua Di Pietro
Deputy Principal Learning and Teaching 

Assessing our local liveability

Our Year 7 Geography students headed out to the streets of Bentleigh recently on a Field Work Excursion for their unit on Place and Liveability. Before the excursion, they researched the elements of liveability such as housing, parking and shops which influence a person’s decision about where to live. They will finish the unit with a report on their findings from the field trip.

Here are their reflections:

"Before the excursion in class we were researching about all the different things that contain liveability, such as the housing parking, shops and more." - Katerina

"On this excursion, we have been learning about the liveability of different places and what has an impact if someone wants to live here." - Mia

"I think it was really good experience and I had lots of fun with my friends.” - Nikoletta

"Something I liked about this excursion was we got to be independent and go on it by ourselves in little groups." - Indie

"After our excursion, we will have an assignment to complete our humanities unit." - Emi

Collaborative and independent learning in Year 11 and 12 Italian

This term the Year 11 and 12 Italian students undertook a detailed study of Immigration to Italy and the personal experiences of refugees embarking on this perilous journey. A variety of text types and mediums were studied (articles, anecdotes, street art murals, documentaries and films). In preparation for their prescribed assessment, students across both year levels engaged in collaborative and independent learning. 

The collaborative activities provided both teacher and students the opportunity to engage in dialogue, search for understanding, solutions and meanings which led to greater depth of understanding. Students were able to present and debate their ideas using the grammatical structures studied and then make choices about which text type and styles of writing they wanted to create. 

Esther (Year 11) adopted the persona of a human rights activist and presented her findings of her experience in an Italian immigrant Welcoming Centre to the Year 12 students. In exploring the topic further, Esther engaged in independent learning exploring the street art of Italian artist Jorit whose murals are faces of humans who are victims of discrimination, oppression and exploitation and a song by Enzo Avitabile titled ‘All children are equal’.

On Friday 21^st March, eight OLSH students took part in Model United Nations (MUN) at Brighton Grammar. This was a fantastic opportunity to research global issues, collaborate with others, and represent different countries with diverse perspectives.

The students were given the opportunity to discuss the topic of: Zero Hunger: Addressing Global Poverty and Universal Food Security, with a large number of delegates (who were students representing their school).

"Participating in Model UN as Japan with my peers allowed me to deepen my understanding of international affairs and the workings of the United Nations. I also learned how to navigate complex global issues, such as 'Zero Hunger: Addressing Global Poverty and Universal Food Insecurity,' with a focus on cooperation and peacebuilding. Overall, Model UN was a valuable experience, and I would highly recommend it to others if given the opportunity." - Amber, Year 10

The MUN Assembly runs according to the UN protocols and procedures followed by the UN General Assembly. Students were required to suspend their own opinions and represent their countries’ position, not their personal point of view throughout the entire process. The day resulted in school team’s presenting their country’s position on Zero Hunger and putting forward amendment(s) to the Draft Resolution, seeking support from their fellow delegates by collaborating, debating, and using their negotiation and diplomacy skills.

OLSH students were assigned Japan and Italy. Congratulations to Sophie, Jamie, Dollwia, Ruby, Imogen, Mia, Amber and Ruby who represented the College at this event. 

"Participating in Model United Nations was an enriching experience enabling us to thoroughly research our assigned country, allowing each of us to present our position statements to the entire group. We engaged in ongoing debates about different perspectives on global issues and worked collaboratively to find solutions." - Dollwia, Year 10