Senior Secondary Colleges - August 2019

ISSUE 1 • AUGUST 2019

Senior Secondary Colleges FEATURING SELECT ENTRY - COURSES & CAREERS

A Star News Group Publication SENIOR SECONDARY COLLEGES & COURSES

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Why some students choose to move to Senior Colleges STUDENTS are seeking more choice in a less restrictive environment and see Senior Secondary colleges as able to provide a welcome stepping stone to adult life. Many students at this level are asking themselves these questions, where am I going and what do I want to achieve?

Senior Secondary Colleges provide a unique learning environment as well as a wider selection of subjects.

Sandringham Secondary College for example in bayside Melbourne runs a senior campus, about 500 metres away from its year 7-10 campus, offering about 70 VCE subjects, plus VET and VCAL subjects.

It is not a separate school but its wider than average choice, and its separate campus, draws new students into year 11 from across southern and eastern Melbourne each year. The school believes that they make every effort to meet a student’s combination of choices, no matter how strange. Not many places can accommodate a love of philosophy with an equal passion for chemistry or a mix of VCE Dance, Agriculture and Horticulture and Media (Journalism). This wide choice means as each year 11 begins “about 40 per cent of our cohort comes from other schools,” says former principal Vivienne Mcelwee.

Whilst at Nossal high school, they develop in their students that capacity to take responsibility for themselves, their learning and their environment in an adult way in preparation for further study and work. Students study in open classrooms where teachers can team-teach, enabling discussion and debate with a wider range of their peers. Nossal’s truly unique learning environment gives students the freedom to utilise the ‘break out spaces’ around the school, during class times to independently study or meet with teachers for advice and support.

Senior Secondary Colleges also accommodate students in regional Victoria such as Bendigo & Wodonga Senior Colleges which offer a rich learning environment specifically tailored to meet the needs of young adults and help them achieve their potential.

Some Senior Colleges offer year 10-12 students the option of allowing them to start their chosen pathway six months earlier which provides more time for teachers to work individually with students to achieve their best academic results.

Senior Secondary Colleges may not be for right for every student but they certainly are an avenue that is worthwhile exploring by parents and their children.

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Some reasons why you should choose Box Hill Senior instead of your Local School 1. We are a senior co-educational learning environment – no uniforms, no bells, and an emphasis on selfresponsibility and individuality. This makes our school unique.

2. Box Hill Senior’s subject offerings are many and varied – We offer individual courses within our VCE, VCAL and VET programs so that students can become anything they want in life – from a paediatrician, a performer, professional athlete to a plumber, electrician or landscape gardener!

3. Our staff are committed to providing successful academic and vocational pathways, through VCE, VET and VCAL at intermediate and senior levels, for all of our students.

4. Box Hill Senior offers many VCE/VET applied learning options, including full Trade preapprenticeships in Building and Construction, Electro technology, Plumbing and Horticulture which provide practical pathways to employment.

5. Excellent Art, Science, Mathematics and Integrated Studies programs deliver strong academic pathways with many students being offered Tertiary places.

6. Specialist Sports Programs: Many students enrol at Box Hill Senior because of the unique sport development programs which feature Tennis, Basketball, Netball and Australian Rules Football (Boys & Girls) plus an Athlete Development program.

Students wrap their VCE around their sporting interests, combining their love of sport with a focus on education often resulting in USA College scholarships.

on Box Hill Senior Secondary Contact: For more information rs visit www.bhssc.vic.edu.au tou College including our weekly 12423799-FA37-19

Strong Science Education crucial to Australia’s future THIS NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK, EXPERTS SPEAK OUT ON THE PRIORITIES FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA PLANTING THE SEEDS OF SCIENCE INTEREST – DR ANNE FORBES Dr Anne Forbes of Macquarie University says that it is important for students to have fun and practical experiences that build their science skills.

“Young scientists need lots of hands-on, interesting opportunities to develop the skills to build robust data sets,” said Dr Forbes.

“Through such experiences they gain insights into the ‘nature of science’ and how it can help us to gain insights into our world.”

According to Dr Forbes, such experiences also enable students to “understand that science experts are those to whom we should turn when making decisions about future growth, industry and business plans to maintain a sustainable relationship with the environment and resources.”

A great approach to this, she said, is through projects that integrate the key components of STEM learning.

“Integrated STEM projects provide great contexts for developing the skills of working and thinking scientifically (S) as well as skills associated with computational thinking (T), design thinking (E) and working and thinking mathematically (M).”

MATHS AND SCIENCE IN THE EARLY YEARS – DR KELLY JOHNSTON Dr Kelly Johnston of Macquarie University is an expert on in mathematics and technology learning in early childhood. She says that a greater focus is needed on supporting mathematical and scientific thinking and learning in the prior-to-school years.

“Many early childhood educators and family members do not see themselves as strong maths or science thinkers or don’t see the relevance of these topics in the very early years,” said Dr Johnston.

“Yet children are engaging incidentally with maths and science concepts and processes daily.

And research shows us that this is a time where important foundations are laid for the school years

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to build knowledge and also to avoid misconceptions.”

“Such children benefit when early childhood educators have knowledge, expertise and a genuine interest in maths and science learning in the early years”.

ENSURING QUALITY SCIENCE TEACHING FOR AUSTRALIA – PROFESSOR JAN VAN DRIEL Professor Jan van Driel, based at the University of Melbourne, is a prominent expert on science education. He emphasises the importance of high quality teaching to safeguarding Australia’s future in science, engineering and technology.

“Australia continues to slip in the international rankings of students’ achievement in science,” said Professor van Driel. “This is of great concern as our future economy and society are dependent on science, engineering and technology.”

“Teachers are the most significant in-school factor in determining student achievement.

While there are many excellent science teachers and excellent schools, there is huge variability resulting in large differences in student achievement between states and school systems.”

“Ensuring access to high-quality teaching in science for all Australian students should be a national priority.”

Ref: MCERA - Media Centre for Education Research Australia contact info@mcera.org.au

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Mind Kind DR JOANNA NORTH is a psychotherapist with 30 years’ experience working with children, adults and families. In the latest book, Mind Kind, she offers values-based strategies for raising healthy minds to parents feeling lost or overwhelmed. In the following extract Dr North takes a look at what it means to parent children when they become adults themselves.

ADULT CHILDREN Parents can be surprised at how demanding it can be to parent their children once they have reached the age of maturity — old enough to vote, marry and have children of their own but not really equipped to cope with all the responsibilities that are about to befall them.

This is really the test of the ‘rapprochement period’ (acceptance of people the way they are outside of the role of parent or child), when young people are flexing their adult muscles and at the same time still needing enough parental support to get them through a crisis.

Young people of this age may move towards work and earning, and this speeds the process of independence rather more than if young people go to university whereby there is going to be some dependence on home (although I realize not all young people have the luxury of returning home with grubby washing and in need of refreshment). Many young people will be expected to leave home at a much younger age and fend for themselves. Consequently, there is a broad range of young people from the age of eighteen (or slightly earlier) to about 24 who are experiencing the experiment of life and autonomy.

Some may experience this as a playground while others are left to get on with it alone.

Children who are left to fend for themselves early will commonly take up the challenge and make their young adult errors on their own or they will find friends who will support them emotionally. As a parent you have to decide how you want to do this in a way that gives your child the greatest chance possible of surviving and coping.

Ultimately, parenting is not really over. If your children go to university this might be the most costly time of your life and your hand might be forever on your credit card in supporting your

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young person. On the other hand, your child may choose work or other training. Whatever their choice, this is a time when your hand needs to be on the emotional credit card because your child’s

Exisle Publishing has kindly offered us 3 complimentary copies of this book to give to the first 3 people who email katrina.mihai@ starnewsgroup.com.au

attitude towards you will change, and you will have to struggle with your own feelings of change, development and even rejection as your child explores independence and continues to use you as a secure base. Their own relationships flourish and their self-identity, which has been building since earlier childhood, emerges and is more defined.

Young teenagers who did not explore their true identity too early, perhaps agreeing too readily with others’ opinions of themselves, can struggle at this stage to experience a happiness with and acceptance of themselves. This struggle may then run unresolved through their adult years.

A young man who accepts a role working in a call centre (a perfectly noble job but not his dream) when his dream was to be an accountant, might have this dream remain unexplored for the rest of his life with a sense of restlessness and discontent unless he finds a way to resolve this conflict. Equally, a young person may become an accountant because her parents wish her to be and then decide that she wishes to be a road sweeper as it gives more peace of mind. Either way, there is work to be done and dreams to be chased.

Children who adapt too easily may be hiding conflict and unresolved issues from their parents that can emerge later, although it may be easier to manage things this way. A child who has not been able to stand up to a parent and speak their mind, who has been oppressed in their opinions or who feels they have been treated unfairly (even if the parent does not see it that way) might want to revisit these experiences in adult years and certainly when they become a parent themselves.

If parents can see that it is, although uncomfortable, better to have your young person ask you to face up to issues with them now, it will be more comforting for the young person concerned and for you in the long run. It is very hard to be reminded of things that have gone wrong for a parent and you might feel shame, upset and anxiety about this. But this is the time to resolve things, to see it from the young person’s point of view, to use your empathy but to share your thoughts and feelings and to seek solutions and completion.

You cannot put things right that you got wrong but you can acknowledge that it may have been

difficult for the young person concerned. It is a mark of the strength of your parenting if an adult child can face you with these things. If you can get over your resistance to it, it could be a major, lifelong solution for you, your child and their children. They may accuse you unfairly or fail to see the bigger picture from your perspective, but you should at least seek to understand that perspective before you pile in there with excuses or self-saving defensiveness. You can also, with patience, explain your own perspective and help your child understand your story.

THE VIEW OF A PARENT OF AN ADULT CHILD I found it really humiliating to be told I had got things wrong with my parenting and it upset me more than anything I can imagine. I had always tried so hard to do the right thing by my family and there were things that were wrong for them that caused them distress that I had not had time to realize. While I went through a period of feeling very upset and very down and such a failure, I eventually was able to realize that my adult child had such faith in me that they brought me in on the issue. They wanted it resolved and over.

IN CONCLUSION Development can be a confusing roller-coaster through life with challenges along the way. On the whole, though, roller-coasters are designed to be enjoyable and a thrill, and really this is what development is. As a parent you get sucked on board with your children at infancy and thrown off the train in adolescence, just when you had become used to parenting, all the time being told to keep your mind and be a provider, and now you’re being told to take the psychology on board, too. It does seem rather a lot to ask. Information is everything on development and so many minor childhood states can be grasped by understanding the developmental stage of the child.

Remember the more we are kind, the more our children will have a mind.

Mind Kind by Dr Joanna North, is available from www.exislepublishing.com and wherever good books are sold.

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Hallam Senior College HALLAM Senior College provides outstanding opportunities for senior students in Years 10 to 12.

The senior learning environment exists within a framework of specialisms, high expectations and pathways support.

Hallam provides a comprehensive senior school educational program with a focus on personalising student programs across the three main certificates – VCE, VCAL, VET. The College ethos balances the need for structure and processes with the understanding that students need to make decisions about their future by accepting and taking on challenges and opportunities.

A focus is linking learning to life and preparing young adults to confidently and successfully embrace their future by developing skills and attributes that set students up to be productive members of society.

Hallam is a vibrant learning community built on the foundation of: ■ A clearly defined and articulated educational philosophy and profile ■ A diverse range of quality programs within Year 10 and the VCE, VCAL and VET certificates ■ A significant academy structure ■ A culture based on high academic expectations, quality relationships, and great teaching ■ Outstanding community, business, academic and industry partnerships.

We are proud of the results our students have achieved over many years. This has come about by developing an exceptional educational framework which shapes pathway provision for each student and sets expectations for student success.

Success can come in a number of forms.

A multiple pathway approach provides opportunities for all students. Whatever the next step, students finishing at Hallam will have formed a clear sense of what they want to achieve and the pathway to this outcome. Students work closely with the staff, professional course advisors and experts from industry to shape their choices.

Staff are committed to student success. The quality of our teaching and support staff is

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Quality teaching and learning in specialisms across VCE, VET and VCAL, provides pathway opportunities not available at other schools. excellent, making a significant difference to student outcomes. Targeted enhancement programs across the Academy structure assists students to reach their potential. Hallam has a reputation for challenging students to be involved in a range of activities which help shape them as a learner and active community member. We expect our students to work hard, be involved in the wide range of extra curricula activities and be active members of the local community.

Readiness for the 21st Century Hallam Senior College is readying students for the challenges of the 21st Century. Students will need to be global citizens with a diverse set of transferable employability skills.

Social competencies and attributes such as leadership, participation, tolerance, and understanding of diversity will be vitally important. At Hallam students will be challenged through their individual and group participation in a range of curriculum and extra curricula programs to develop and extend these skills.

Hallam Senior College is committed to providing the best possible educational opportunities for all students.

Providing outstanding opportunities for senior students in Years 10 to 12.

We value and promote all pathway options by providing broad range of Year 10 subjects, VCE, VET & VCAL options.

Tours also available, visit our website for more information

Hallam Senior College Frawley Road, Hallam, Victoria 3803 P: 9703 1266 www.hallamssc.vic.edu.au 12424087-SN37-19

Regional Science Exchange success HELD annually, the John Monash Science School Regional Science Exchange invites Year 10 students from regional Victorian schools with a passion for science to join them for an immersive three-week block. Participating students attend classes with JMSS students, visit Monash University for science workshops, and experience Melbourne, something they may not have had the chance to do previously.

Students stay with JMSS families during the duration of their stay, they are allocated a buddy, house and mentor group thus increasing the bond with the school and JMSS students.

We have found that all students leave JMSS with a fresh approach to their studies, knowing different options within science and maths all while making lifelong friends. The exchange brings the whole school community closer, with the homestays, the teaching staff and the rural families.

Some of the recent Term 2 student’s reflections were Bailey – “It has given me a solid option of being at Monash University for future education and has given me many ideas for career paths.”

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Simonette – “I do think it has made me want to push and strive even further into going in the direction of a science based career. Something that is definitely makes me more interested is the medical field.”

Jade – “My favourite part was exploring a new school environment and learning about careers and sciences that I never knew existed.”

Montana – “Meeting new people who are also very passionate about science and staying with an awesome host family where my highlights.”

All students are invited back to JMSS in November to present their project at the Australian Science Fair. Student’s work on their project and findings throughout the year along with their teacher back home. This exchange program is one of the great ways students across Victoria are being supported to develop the skills they need in science subjects to set them up for the jobs of the future.

For any Schools or Year 9 students interested in the program for 2020 please visit here: www.regionalscienceexchange.com.au www.jmss.vic.edu.au

Passionate about SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS or TECHNOLOGY? STUDY WITH JOHN MONASH SCIENCE SCHOOL – VICTORIA’S FIRST SPECIALIST SCHOOL FOR SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS AND ASSOCIATED TECHNOLOGIES. A coeducational school catering for Years 10-12, we offer students unique opportunities to pursue their passion for science, to be challenged by their curiosity, and to emerge as leaders in the fields that will shape the future.

WWW.JMSS.VIC.EDU.AU/APPLY 12425445-LB37-19

Nossal Exceptional VICTORIA’S first fully academically selective coeducational Government High School, and one of only four academically selective high schools in the state. Nossal High School has been purpose designed to suit an adult, academically focused and highly aspirational cohort of students. The buildings are high tech. and ICT rich, mirroring features and approaches usually found in universities.

Nossal High School is committed to providing an innovative, inclusive and dynamic educational environment. We aim to challenge our students to be creative and critical thinkers with good communication skills and the resilience necessary to succeed in an ever-changing world. We aim to build their skills, self-confidence, leadership abilities and community spirit through a rigorous, but rich and varied curricular and co-curricular program. We want our graduates to be ambitious, ethical and responsible citizens who conduct

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themselves with humility and compassion.

When you choose a Victorian Selective Entry High School, you are ensuring your child has the opportunity for an exceptional education at one of only four schools exclusively designed for academically talented students. As proud government schools, each school has a unique approach and a shared purpose in nurturing excellence in young adults from Years 9-12. For further information about Nossal visit http:// nossalhs.vic.edu.au/ Applications for Year 9 entry for the 2021 school year will open in February 2020.

NOSSAL HIGH SCHOOL TOURS AND INFORMATION NIGHT Principal tours run from 9.30am on specific dates throughout the year. Bookings for these tours are available at https://www.trybooking. com/XKVK.

NOSSAL HIGH SCHOOL - BERWICK A co-educational, academically selective government school for highly able students in Years 9-12

Unique Opportunities.

Exceptional Futures.

As one of only four Victorian Selective Entry High Schools, we offer a broad range of curricular and co-curricular experiences and programs, strongly influenced by the students themselves who have an active and authentic voice in the running of the school. We offer significant sporting, creative, performing, musical, community, cultural, social, and leadership opportunities to our students alongside a comprehensive academic study program.

Visitors are welcome to attend school tours with the Principal, and information evenings are available throughout the year.

We invite you to visit us.

Applications for 2021 enrolment Open in February 2020 http://nossalhs.vic.edu.au/

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Victoria’s new Tech Schools help students get career ready OUR world is rapidly changing and Victoria’s 10 new Tech Schools are here to prepare young people for the future world of work.

Using the latest technology and innovative industry-led programs, Tech Schools spark interest and prepare students for cutting-edge careers. They also develop vital skills, such as problem-solving, creative thinking, teamwork and communication that Victorian students will need to flourish in the global economy.

Tech Schools are ‘tech’ as in ‘technological’ centres of STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) excellence, rather than the traditional, standalone ‘technical colleges’ of the past.

Located on university or TAFE campuses, they introduce students to post-secondary education environments, potential career pathways and develop the skills students will need for future jobs.

Secondary students from nearby partner schools (government and non-government) can visit Tech Schools to engage in free, innovative learning programs that challenge students to solve real-world problems. Teachers also attend the Tech Schools and receive STEM professional development, building teaching capability in Victorian educators.

While all 10 Tech Schools focus broadly on the exciting ways STEM is applied in the ‘real world’, each school also hones their offering in-line with high-growth and high-demand industries in their particular area.

TECH SCHOOL LOCATIONS Ballarat – Federation University Australia, SMB Campus Banyule-Nillumbik – Melbourne Polytechnic, Greensborough Campus Bendigo – La Trobe University, Flora Hill Campus Casey – Chisholm Institute, Berwick Campus Geelong – The Gordon Institute, City Campus Gippsland – TAFE Gippsland, Morwell Campus Monash – Monash University, Clayton Campus Whittlesea – Melbourne Polytechnic, Epping Campus

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Wyndham – Victoria University, Werribee Campus Yarra Ranges – Box Hill Institute, Lilydale Campus STUDENTS JOIN GLOBAL PROJECT TO SAVE BEES Victorian school students will play a crucial role in a world-first international scientific research project to help save the world’s bee population, thanks to a partnership between Victoria’s Tech Schools and CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency.

Honeybees are vital to food production, providing pollination for about 75 per cent of the fruits, vegetables and nuts we eat and one-third of all food. However, the bee population has declined dramatically over the past five decades.

Australian scientists from CSIRO have pioneered unique tracking technology to help better understand bee behaviour. The bees are fitted with high-tech micro-sensors that work like vehicle e-tags to monitor their movements to and from their hives.

The Bees with Backpacks program will give students visiting Ballarat and Geelong Tech Schools, hands-on experience working with data collected from Victorian bees. This will be used

by Australian scientists from CSIRO to better understand bee behaviour.

Students from local secondary colleges will analyse Victorian data for the global project to help researchers, beekeepers and farmers around the world understand how to improve their health and survival.

To find out more, visit: www.education.vic.gov. au/techschools

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Footscray City Films SINCE its beginnings in 1981, Footscray City Films has held a significant place in Australian social and educational history, and is widely recognised for its initiatives, its standards of excellence, and as an instigator in many areas of Film and Television education.

Our courses are designed to introduce students to professional production techniques where students learn by making their own individual films and crewing on fellow student productions throughout the year as well as through workshops, seminars, lectures, and screenings. We take students from concept right through to marketing of their films while encouraging students to explore different aesthetics in pursuit of their own individual style whether it be through short films, music videos or documentaries.

Our hands on workshops are taught by professionals who are currently working in the Film & Television Industry using industry standard equipment and post production facilities. Our trainers are able to provide students with practical knowledge that is current and meets industry standards, giving students

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employability skills as well as creating vital networks within the Film and TV industry.

Footscray City Films students have the opportunity to travel to major cities around the globe for a study camp. In 2019, students travelled to Los Angeles and shot their own short films and documentaries, visit major film studios, chatted with local filmmakers, attended live television recording.

In 2020, students will have the opportunity to travel to Vancouver, Canada not only will they get to shoot their own short films and documentaries, but work as crew on location on US feature film starring Academy award winning actors.

The Feature Film Project is an annual event where students gain the experience of shooting an independent feature based on a brief of an Australian film distributor, in the span of two weeks. Filmed on location and working with a professional cast and cinematographer, Footscray City Film students will learn first hand how to work on the set of a low budget feature directed and produced by our industry professional trainers.

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1300 GOTAFE (468 233) | gotafe.vic.edu.au *Eligibility criteria apply. Free TAFE on selected courses only. Other fees and charges may apply. (RTO 3094)

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VISIT OUR NEW WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION

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Passionate about SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS or TECHNOLOGY? STUDY WITH JOHN MONASH SCIENCE SCHOOL – VICTORIA’S FIRST SPECIALIST SCHOOL FOR SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS AND ASSOCIATED TECHNOLOGIES. A coeducational school catering for Years 10-12, we offer students unique opportunities to pursue their passion for science, to be challenged by their curiosity, and to emerge as leaders in the fields that will shape the future.

WWW.JMSS.VIC.EDU.AU/APPLY 12425443-LB37-19