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OFFICE HOURS 8.30AM TO 4.30PM
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BORONIA K12 COLLEGE NEWSLETTER
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Year 3/4 Camp
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SEMESTER REPORTS RELEASED
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STAFF RETURN FOR TERM 1 2023
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PRIMARY STUDENTS BEGIN TERM 1
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YEARS 7, 11, 12 BEGIN TERM 1
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YEARS 8, 9, 10 BEGIN TERM 1
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PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
As we reflect on our first full year of on-site schooling since the pandemic started, I think we have done remarkably well! The other day I was reading about the collective exhaustion we are feeling coming up to the end of this year. Although it is the most ‘normal’ year we have had since 2019, it still came with its own challenges. We all, including the students, were carrying the weight of trauma from the two years prior; the loss of routine and stamina, and the fear of ‘what’s next?’.
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As the year began, COVID cases started to increase. Class sizes grew smaller and, in some cases, tiny. Staff absences due to illness became increasingly difficult to replace and we all had to work as a team to ensure we maintained the best teaching and learning experiences for our students.
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With all this going on in the background, it is exciting that we still achieved so much and were able to build back up the programs and experiences the students, staff and community had missed so much! These include but are in no way limited to:
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- Sporting competitions
- Music concerts
- Incursions and excursions
- Camps
- Parent events
- Running assemblies face-to-face
- Parent/teacher/student conferences on-site
We were able to be involved in community programs again, like the My Generation Project, where some of the Year 4 students worked with older members of the Boronia Community to create a colourful walkway in Boronia near the Library and Progress Hall. It has been wonderful to see these types of experiences and connections being made again to re-engage students back into the ‘life’ of schooling that had been missing.
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Through all the challenges of the last three years, our college has continued to perform well in a number of measures.
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Our NAPLAN results showed a strong improvement with an increase in our Top 2 Bands in 13 out of 20 measures. The Top 2 Bands represents students achieving above average for year level.
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Some highlights of the top two band data include:
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- Year 3 Reading went from 23% to 53% and Numeracy 10% to 21%
- Year 5 Writing went from 4% to 22% and Grammar and Punctuation 12% to 16%
- Year 7 Writing went from 4% to 22% and Reading 17% to 27%
- Year 9 Writing went from 2% to 10% and Numeracy 4% to 8%
In our mean scores, the following areas are our best results in at least 6 years:
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- Year 5 Writing
- Year 7 Reading, Writing, Spelling, Grammar & Punctuation
- Year 9 Writing
And many more are an improvement on last year.
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Our Year 7 students outperformed the Victorian state-wide average for the number of students achieving in the Top 2 Bands in Reading, which is a tremendous effort.
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We have many things to celebrate as the year finishes up and we are excited to begin planning for a terrific 2023.
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As we end the year, we also want to say farewell to a number of staff who have accepted new opportunities at different schools in 2023. However, I would like to particularly recognise a group of staff that are saying farewell this year that have made a significant contribution to the college, both in its current structures but also as its previous separate entities. They have served the college and the community of Boronia and will be missed by many generations of families. We thank them for the years of dedication and support and wish them all the best in this next chapter of their lives!
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Victoria Emerson 19 Years
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Finally, thank you all members of the school community for a fantastic year back together. We wish you all a wonderful festive season and hopefully a restful summer.
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We will see you back brighter than ever in 2023!
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ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
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The end of Term 4 is always a strange time of the year. We are busy finalising one year, with exams, assessments, assemblies and graduation, and at the same time, we have an eye to 2023 through orientation programs for VCE and VCE Vocational Major (VM), Step Up and Grade 6 Orientation. It’s a time of intense planning for these programs, as well as setting our strategic directions as a school for 2023.
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As always, I welcome the opportunity to reflect upon what has been achieved across the school year. Looking back over the year, it has been a pleasure and a privilege to be part of such a wonderful learning community. There are many highlights and here are just a few:
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Year 11/12 Formal: After the disappointment of twice having to cancel a planned debutante ball, we finally managed to hold a Year11 and 12 Formal at the Lincoln on Toorak. It was a fabulous evening and well attended by our combined Year 11 and 12 cohorts. The students dressed to impress and danced the night away.
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Camps: COVID struck once again at the commencement of 2022 and our planned Year 7 camp had to be cancelled. Fortunately, as restrictions eased, we were able to run the camp at the original venue at the end of Term 3. It was exciting to also include the Year 5 and 6 students who had also missed out on camps in Term 4 2021. A little bit of rain did not deter the brave campers who were able to engage in a whole range of fun adventure activities including flying fox, rock wall, bike riding and bush cooking.
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Our Year 9 students were able to head off to the high country for a 4-day bush camp. They needed to be well prepared given they were cooking their own meals and this included washing the dishes afterwards! The students undertook some fabulous bonding and teamwork activities in between horse riding, hiking and paintball.
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Finally, a group of four intrepid Year 9 students sacrificed a term of home comforts to participate in the School for Student Leadership Camp held in the Don Valley, near Warburton. These students spent multiple weeks separated from their families, friends, social media and television. The upside was that they were able to make many new friends as well as developing invaluable collaboration and leadership skills along the way.
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Music performance evenings: These events showcased the many and varied musical talents of our students with many items also featuring prominently in our term assemblies. The different concerts held across the year not only enabled our VET Music students to perform and practise for their final exams but provided inspiration for our instrumental music and elective music students across Years 7 -9. The talent on display in the middle years was very impressive and has us excited to see what they can produce should they elect to enter into the VET music performance pathway.
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Whole School Events: It is always a joy to be able to hold whole school events at BK-12 College. The community feel around the college is displayed at its best during activities such as Swimming and Athletics Carnivals, ANZAC Day ceremonies and end of term assemblies. Having the Early Learning Centre children join in on these activities and be supported and managed by our more senior students such as the VCAL team is fabulous to watch.
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Assessments: Despite interruptions to our teaching and learning programme due to COVID, we continued with our high expectations for achievement and success. For the first time, the College completed NAPLAN testing online and our students were fully engaged in this new process. We continued with our PAT testing, On-demand diagnostic testing as well as our Common Assessment Tasks (CATs). We then celebrated academic achievement and effort along the way via our assemblies and celebration lunches.
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Can I also take this opportunity to congratulate all of our students who have completed exams and semester tests across Years 7-12. I would also like to acknowledge the dedication and expertise of our VCE and VCAL teachers as they supported and guided our Year 12s through their coursework, and for providing them with every possible opportunity to transition to a high-quality pathway of their choice. Thanks also to every member of staff who has helped our students over the course of their secondary education. Our heartfelt thanks to each of them.
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As another “new normal” year draws to a close, I wish all of you a peaceful and joyful break over the Christmas and New Year period and look forward to working in partnership with you again in 2023.
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Secondary Assistant Principal
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ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
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Well hasn’t this term just flown by! Feels like just yesterday we were celebrating a successful end to Term 3 and now the same for Term 4!
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Once again, there have been many exciting events over the course of this term to celebrate
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- Year 3/4 Camp
- 5/6 Interschool Sport
- Assemblies, our regular Junior School Assembly as well as Whole School Assemblies
- 2023 Foundation Transition session
- Children’s University Graduation
- F-6 Swimming Program
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Our Kinder have had another fantastic term, this time exploring Our Community. They ventured down to the shops to learn about the different people in our community who help us and were able to buy some ingredients for cooking. They are looking forward to giving back to the community through the K-Mart Wishing Tree as well. A big thank you to those families who donated.
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It has been wonderful to see them around the school grounds as well as at Transition Sessions for 2023. They have had a wonderful time getting ready for school with the “Sing and Grow” program too. A highlight was their item at the Christmas Concert! Well done to our Kinder friends.
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For most of this term, our Foundation students have been exploring the Central Idea 'There are many types of families in the world'. They have worked really hard to explore what this means from talking about their family traditions to the fun of talking about what they would do with their family if they had a YES! Day! The students also wrote a memoir, selecting a special memory to recreate and share.
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Our Year 1/2 students had their very own Community Day at the beginning of this term, where they worked together to explore friendship, group work and resilience. It was a fantastic opportunity to thrive together as a group and a fun day was had by all. Throughout the term we have some wonderful hands on opportunities to create including cooking and creating masterpieces when exploring materials in our How The World Works Unit. And what a great way to finish off the year with a unit that explores how celebrations help people express their ideas and beliefs. This has included looking at celebrations like Holi, Lunar New Year and, of course, Christmas.
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The Year 3/4 students and teachers began Term 4 with the most exciting time ever on Camp! The weather was perfect and they even go to have a go at surfing! I hear some of our teachers were super surfers! The best thing, apart from the fun activities like bike riding, is the chance to be together and share in adventures, make new friends and reconnect with old and challenge ourselves with new experiences. The maturity and resilience shown was above and beyond our expectations.
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Our Year 5/6 students have been working hard as we head into the end of the year. It has been great to see them sharing their learning through the Probability Carnival as well as creating a space magazine to share with our younger students. Year 5 students have been spending time down in the ELC, being friends and mentors to our friends in Kinder so there is a familiar face for them in the playground next year. Our Year 5s worked hard on their leaderships speeches and we would like to congratulate all students in our Leadership Team for 2023. Our Year 6s have been working on their Graduation speeches and I know they can’t wait to share them with family and friends at graduation.
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Children’s University Graduation
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We were able to host the end of this cycle of the Children’s University program at school in the PAC. It was another fantastic experience, celebrating the extra-curricular activities many of our kids do outside of school that helps them to develop their academic, social, emotional and interpersonal skills to become the best they can be. We celebrate some new students to the program and our two Gold award recipients – Matthew and Connor. A big shout out to Ms Simpson who helped organise the program and this event in the second half of the year. Amazing effort by all.
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After quite a soggy lead up to December 1, Santa was not only good enough to come to our Christmas Concert the celebrate the beginning of the count down to Christmas but to also provide lovely weather for us. We couldn’t have a concert without out dedicated staff who helped organise the night – from those that cooked sausages to the ones helping kids on and off stage and practicing their songs until they were as close to perfect. As well as to the staff and senior students that assisted with sound, lighting and stage. Well Done. In particular, thank you to Ms Harvey - her hard work all term in performing arts this term helped bring together our students for this event. While we know that singing and dancing and being on stage isn’t everyone’s cup of tea we appreciated the effort they made, showing up and embracing the Christmas Spirit.
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Christmas is about coming together with friends and family, celebrating the year that was and toasting the year that will be. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our school community for the ongoing support throughout the course of 2022. We know the new year will be even better!
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On the Wednesday 14 December, we were able to celebrate the graduating class of 2022 – the 100th graduating class for Boronia Primary School Mr Scammell informed us. It was amazing that family, friends and staff were able to come together to celebrate this milestone for our students. Special thank you and mentions go to:
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- Mr Keighley and the Year 5/6 teachers (Mrs Molloy, Ms Barnard and Miss Davidson) for their hard work all year, but particularly in the lead up to the event itself
- Mr Robinson and Anthony, Matthew and Josh for their technical wizardry and set up assistance
- Amanda Wilson for the beautiful cupcakes and graduation cookies
- Mrs Frith for the cool graduation chocolates
- Raymond for the delicious catering
- Jackson Taylor for presenting the Lynne Greenless Award
- Alan Tudge for (remotely) presenting the Ashton Shield
The students speeches and photos perfectly captured the feel of a year of coming back together, appreciating working together and being able to enjoy learning and celebrations together.
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We would like to congratulation the following award winners:
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- Lynn Greenless Award - Mikayla N
- Aston Shield - Oli H
- Principal Award- Mathew P
- Rotary Award - Summer S
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Congratulations to our Graduating class of 2022 – whether you have been with us for a long or short part of this Primary School journey, we thank you and your families for the contribution you have all made to our school and congratulate you on all you have achieved so far.
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Primary Assistant Principal
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WELLBEING & INCLUSION
Mental Health Practitioner
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I thought I’d take the opportunity to reintroduce myself for those new to the school and for those of whom I have not yet met.
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My name is Amy Hayman and I am part of the Wellbeing team here at Boronia K-12 College, my background is in Social Work. I have enjoyed participating in transition activities this term and meeting some of the Grade 6 students moving up into Year 7 in 2023 and look forward to seeing you all again as you begin your Secondary Education.
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In my role as Mental Health Practitioner, I am available for 1:1 sessions if students require some additional support for a short period of time. This may involve counselling, re-engagement support, family support or similar as well as connecting young people in with external services if needed. For counselling sessions, a consent form is needed to be signed by a parent or guardian and returned to the school. I am always happy to answer any questions that may arise. Co-facilitation in community days, psychosocial education and support and small group facilitation including involvement in the LGBTIQ+ Ally Group during Term 4, have all been further aspects of my role here at school which I look forward to continuing into the future.
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Wishing you all a wonderful and safe holiday and New Year. See you in 2023 ?
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MIDDLE SCHOOL
As 2022 draws to a conclusion, it’s important to reflect and be grateful for all we have been able to accomplish together this year. While the effects of the pandemic have still had an impact on our community, we in the Middle School are truly thankful for being able to have supported our students across Years 7-9 to complete their first full year of onsite learning as secondary school students!
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While we did have some delays at the start of the year, we were able to get back into the classroom on time and eventually get back to some other great community-based learning opportunities provided through school such as swimming, athletics, interschool sports days, KIOSC, Year 7 and 9 Camps, City Experience, Community Cohort Days and various other workshops targeted at addressing issues in our society such as the risks of vaping and cyberbullying, as well as mental health workshops such as ‘Mancave’ and Flourish’.
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School for Student Leadership: We continue to enjoy working with this amazing school in 2022 and are looking forward to sending a team of students to attend again in 2023. After a thorough application and interview process earlier this year, four Year 9 students (Baelan, Zoe, Phoenix & Ghia) were selected to attend the School for Student Leadership in Don Valley during Term 4. The School for Student Leadership is a government school initiative where Year 9 students across the state spend a term in a remote setting that develops their leadership skills. The program offers extensive outdoor adventure opportunities, development of leadership skills, environmental learning projects and community learning projects. Ms. Rankine and I were lucky enough to visit our students recently to see the team deliver a presentation of their CLP to a large audience consisting of staff and students from a wide range of schools from across the state. To say how proud we are of these students for their achievements this term really is an understatement. Congratulations to Baelan, Zoe, Phoenix and Ghia for your accomplishments during your time at SSL – we can’t wait to see how your CLP (Year 9/10 Buddy Program) unfolds in 2023, as our community will no doubt benefit from this initiative.
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To all students, congratulations on all of your achievements this year; lets continue to grow a love for learning by demonstrating a commitment to trying your best in everything that you do, show resilience by embracing and taking on various types of challenges that come your way and celebrate each other for doing so. To our parents and carers, thank you as always for understanding the value of education on both an academic and personal level, and for continuing to work with us to help our students learn.
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I’d also like to acknowledge and thank our dedicated staff who continue to give their all to ensure our students are able to learn while also providing support to our community each day. The flexibility, determination and care our staff have towards our students and families is amazing and continues to make me feel proud to be member of this school community. A special thanks to our Middle School coordinators Mr. Camille and Mr. Edwards for your amazing commitment and contributions in supporting our students, staff, families, and myself this year.
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We look forward to continuing working together in 2023. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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Director of Middle School
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SENIOR SCHOOL
The Step-up program in the Senior School
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Clearly maintaining a focus on a goal or the end point can be highly advantageous to the achievement of that goal and ultimately success. In 2023 FOCUS will be the key theme or message that will be guiding the Senior school. Over the past few weeks, the College has run a very successful Step-up program. All Secondary school year levels stepped up into their next year level.
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In the Senior school this meant that year 11 and 12 students began their 2023 VCE and VCE – VM studies. The theme of FOCUS was introduced, and student began to identify how they can focus on doing their best to achieve their educational goals.
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Students were introduced to course outlines and began working on the content and for many of the VCE year 12 students they even reviewed what the exam would look like. This involved teachers and students discussing how to start planning and preparing for the year ahead. Teachers were very pleased and impressed with the students who were highly engaged in class activities and attended classes ready to involve themselves in learning.
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The year 9 students stepped up to year 10 and began their two weeks of step up each morning with a whole year level learning mentor meeting. The FOCUS for them was building cooperation and working together in a team environment. These skills will continue to be built on in the Be Ready program that all Year 10’s will undertake in 2023. Attendance and engagement in classes and learning activities was very high in the Year 10 group also, and if these levels are maintained and the focus levels are consistent then we are sure to have a year where students are able to grow and achieve.
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Director of Teaching and Learning
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Director of Senior School
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VCAL
The final project for VCAL 12V was the completion of the Kitchen Garden. We received another donation from Darren from the Colchester Nursery, the seedlings and plants were planted in vertical planters and raised beds to supplement the Food Tech Department.
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This is our contribution to our school community for the future,
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SECONDARY ART
Virtual Art Gallery
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Our very clever Mrs Lumsden has put together a virtual art gallery for many of the Secondary art works from 2022. We invite you to have a virtual wander in the Boronia K-12 art gallery via the link below. Fantastic work by all of our artists!
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CAREERS
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It’s been an exciting term for the Boronia Careers Department with a number of activities for students including work ready training for Year 9, VET enrolment, orientation and work experience for Year 10 and 11 students, and of course, much work being done by our Year 12 cohort. Over the course of the coming weeks, we will be able to share some information about student post-secondary pathways, but for now, we wish our hard working Year 12 students all the best of luck with VTAC University offers.
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Boronia K-12 College was also the lucky recipient of the Royal Australian Navy Emerging Technician Award this year. This award saw a group of students attend the Navy base HMAS Cerberus earlier in the year and this term the school had received a robotics kit as the second part of our prize. No doubt this will be well used by our STEM teachers to inspire a new generation of technicians, engineers and scientists.
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Students are welcome to make an appointment to see Mrs Bennett to discuss work experience, VET, study pathways, jobs, resumes and interviews. With post-graduate certification in Career Education, and as a registered Careers Practitioner with ACCD, I possess a wealth of knowledge and am here to support students to reach their full potential.
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In the new year, look out for more exciting adventures brought to you by Careers at Boronia!
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LIBRARY
With the resumption of normal school activities gradually being allowed at the start of 2022 and the continued use of sensible COVID-safe measures in place, the Library finally woke up and threw off its dust covers after a couple of years of hibernation, limited usage and activities.
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2022 in the College Library started off in a flurry of activity and excitement that saw our primary and secondary students and staff once again cross the library threshold and trawl the book-laden shelves during their weekly library sessions. Thousands of books and resources have crossed the circulation desk throughout the year, borrowed, returned and shelved ready for the next eager borrower; sometimes not even making it back to the shelf but straight into the eager hands of the next borrower. Throughout the year over hundreds of new books have been catalogued and processed ready for borrowing and put into the hands of eager students thrilled to be the first to borrow a new book. However, that is not all that has been happening within our Library walls.
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This year saw our Kinder students return to visiting the library regularly most Monday mornings throughout the year. It has been wonderful to see them enjoy their weekly sessions in the library with Michelle and the team. What a way to start the week. I love it!
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In August each year across Australia, The Children’s Book Council of Australia brings children and books together by celebrating CBCA Children’s Book Week. The Book Week theme for 2022 was “Dreaming with eyes open…”. During this time, schools, libraries, booksellers, authors, illustrators, and children, celebrate Australian children's literature. The Council shortlists a number of books in different categories and awards prizes to the best books of the year. This year, our Library was able to bring each of these books into our collection, each text given a place on display for all to read and enjoy.
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To celebrate the event and the magic that reading brings, we of course held our annual Book Week Dress Up Day. This year the primary students celebrated Book Week with a pyjama day with most of the pyjamas having book characters or super hero characters on them.
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During Term 4 in October the College Library was used to host a writer’s workshop. Students who participated in the VHAP English sessions with Riana Baensch during 2022 participated in a workshop with author Nova Weetman. These students had an opportunity to speak to Nova about her writing and take part in a writing workshop.
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In November, the College Library held its annual Lamont Book Fair and earned 30% commission on the total sales during this event. This resulted in $540 worth of books being added to our College Library collections. It was wonderful to see the excited and smiling faces of children and parents once again entering the Book Fair realm.
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I would like to take this opportunity to thank the whole of our Boronia K-12 College community in helping our College Library raise funds to purchase these new books, which will enable our staff, students and families to borrow and enjoy sharing the continued lifelong learning opportunities provided by reading.
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Reading for pleasure inside and outside of school has real and long lasting benefits. It unlocks the power of information and imagination, increases literacy skills, and helps children discover who they are as well as the wider world around them. I hope this year has bought our students a wealth of enjoyment as they buried themselves within the Library stacks and the world of knowledge and magic it brings.
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I hope everyone has a relaxing and enjoyable summer break and I look forward to seeing your wonderful excited, smiling faces in the Library again in 2023.
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REMINDER: 2022 STUDENT BORROWING HAS NOW ENDED
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All college library books were due back 2 December 2022.
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Any college library books that students still have at home, in lockers, classrooms, book boxes, library bags etc. need to be returned to the College Library before the last day of Term 4 2022.
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BORONIA K-12 COLLEGE LIBRARY ANNUAL BOOK FAIR FUNDRAISING RESULTS
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First of all, I would like to say that it was wonderful to see the excited and smiling faces of children and adults once again entering the Book Fair realm.
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As many of you are aware, earlier this month the College Library held its annual Lamont Book Fair. Through your valued participation the College Library has earned 30% commission on the total sales amount of $1,801.99. This resulted in $540.60 worth of books being added to our College Library collections.
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I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Boronia K-12 College community in helping our College Library raise funds to purchase these new books, which will enable our staff, students and families to borrow and enjoy sharing the continued lifelong learning opportunities provided by reading.
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OFFICE REMINDERS
Tuesday 20 December will be the last day this year that the office will be open to parents and students. The office will close at 1pm and open again on Friday 27 January in 2023 at 8.30am.
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Office hours will remain the same for 2023, open 8.30am - 4.30pm Monday - Friday.
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Any parents wishing to make voluntary contributions over the break, can do so via the Compass Portal.
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