Year 12 English Excursion

This semester Year 12 students have been learning about the qualities of inspiring leaders in history, such as Nobel Peace Prize recipient Nelson Mandela who was instrumental in ending apartheid in South Africa. They have been studying the elements that enable great leaders to achieve their visions, namely self-sacrifice, humility, hard work and determination, as well as putting others’ interests ahead of their own. As the leaders of tomorrow, students have been discussing how historical leaders achieved their ambitions and left behind legacies that benefitted future generations.

As part of the unit the students attended an excursion in the city, hosted by ACMI on August 30, which was designed to improve their comparative analysis writing skills.

The students have been studying the Clint Eastwood film Invictus which tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa's rugby team to help unite their country. Newly-elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's rugby team as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match.

The students have been comparing the film to David Malouf’s, Ransom, a novel that tells the story of the relationship between two grieving men at war suffering, sorrow, and redemption: fierce Achilles, who has lost his beloved Patroclus in the siege of Troy; and Priam, king of Troy, whose son Hector killed Patroclus and was in turn savaged by Achilles.

Hosted by ACMI in the city, the students watched a screening of the film before attending a lecture that focused on the points of comparison and difference between the two texts, before examine the language and techniques used to convey key themes and ideas.

Students took copious notes and were able to ask questions to help prepare them for their upcoming English SAC and final VCE exams.

New School Councillor

Hey all, my name is Ash. I’m the new counsellor here at Meadow Fair. I wanted to properly introduce myself to you all as you may have seen me walking around the campus not sure of who I am. My office is located across the main reception. You don’t need to have a big issue to see a counsellor. A lot of students here and at other schools see me for a range of things, from exam stress management or procrastination, to family problems or friendship issues. Counselling is a rare opportunity to be able to speak to someone without having them judge you, and everything we talk about is confidential. Please feel free to pop around my office at any time, I’m currently in on Thursdays and Fridays.

Year 8 Bounce Program

BOUNCE ED is a curriculum program for secondary schools which is developed in collaboration with ACHPER. The program focuses on Movement & Physical Activity, and Personal, Social & Community Health strands of the Australian Curriculum. The program brings to life the H&PE curriculum in a fun and engaging learning environment. BOUNCE ED is an inclusive program for all, no matter what a student’s skill level.

Kenya Trip

My trip to Kenya was a great experience overall, i learnt a lot about the people, the way they they live and what they do on a day to day basis. When walking through the market places people were trying to sell me there products at whatever cost it takes just to make a living for themselves. My experience at the orphanages was unforgettable, we were handing out small things like apples and chocolates at one of the orphanages we visited, and the kids there were SO happy to receive them! Our main purpose of travelling to Kenya was to hand out meat to people there, my experience regarding that was an amazing one but also saddening. The way the system worked was that people had to sign up for the Qurban donation and then they received a ticket which they gave us when we were handing out the meat and some people with out the tickets came to get some meat, but sadly we could not give them any. Also I saw a lot of wildlife, which was a first for me. Overall going to Kenya was a very nice and insightful experience of how life is outside of Australia.