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OFFICE HOURS 8.30AM TO 4.30PM
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BORONIA K12 COLLEGE NEWSLETTER
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KEY DATES:
THURSDAY 16 DECEMBER: FINAL DAY OF TERM 4
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Next Year First Day Back 2022:-
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MONDAY 31 JANUARY: FOUNDATION TO GRADE 6
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YEAR 7 AND YEAR 11 AND 12 INCLUDING VCAL
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TUESDAY 1 FEBRUARY: YEAR 8 - 10
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PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
Who would have thought at the end of last year that we were about to embark on a year more challenging than the one we had just experienced? This year has rushed by and felt like an eternity at the same time. There is no denying that we are living in highly unusual times.
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As I reflect on the year, although it has been filled with many hurdles to overcome, I feel that as a community we have done well. We have stayed connected, we have worked together and we have made it to the other side.
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When thinking about what to say, I didn’t want to focus too much on COVID – but we also can’t ignore it completely. We can’t forget that we have experienced a significant event, not just in our life but something of global historical significance that is continuing to change the way we live. Our students, families and staff have demonstrated tremendous resilience and strength to not just make it through but also to continue to achieve success in many areas of school.
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Conquering COVID has also equipped our students with life skills that so many of us don’t develop until much later in our working lives. In many respects students are entering this next stage of life more ready due to the obstacles they have had to overcome. I believe that this generation is going to be one of the most powerful, flexible and innovative that we have ever seen.
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As we embark on a new normal, it’s important that we don’t forget the lessons we have learnt:
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- Gratitude for the small things in life
- Empathy for those around us, as everyone struggled through difficult times
- How to roll with the punches… don’t let life’s little setbacks push you off the track to achieving your dreams. We have just been smashed with two years of challenges that tested our resilience… Life won’t continue to be that hard, but it won’t be all smooth sailing either. Don’t let setbacks get the better of you. As you get older, you realise that life is really just a game of trying to solve problems to get to the next level. Enjoy the game and the challenge rather than letting it prevent your progress.
The final lesson I want to point out is probably the most important – we experienced how big a role our physical and mental health play in our ability to operate across all areas of our life; from work to our ability to socialise. Our physical and mental health is what enables us to operate at our peak performance in all areas and will play a key role in your success. It is important that we continue to take care of ourselves and others.
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School is not the building we meet in; school is us as a community. In the same way school is used as the collective noun to describe a group of fish travelling together, I believe school refers to us as a group of people moving together towards our common goals. This was proven this year, when the ability to meet in our buildings was taken away, but we as a school still continued and progressed towards our goals. Our school data showed improvement in both students’ attitudes towards the college and their learning, as well as our academic outcomes. We saw strong growth in both literacy and numeracy in primary and secondary years. In many measures of NAPLAN we saw our best results for a number of years – we definitely have not missed out on two years of learning!
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It has been fantastic to be able to finish the year all together and be able to have celebration events with families involved. We will never take these opportunities for granted again. It is so important for staff, parents and students to come together to celebrate successes and milestones.
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Finally, I would like to say thank you to all members of our school community. To our staff for their incredible flexibility, dedication and hard work to ensure continuity of learning over the past two years. Our families for their on-going support, feedback, kindness and understanding. We are lucky to have such an open and flexible school community that worked with us through these challenges. Most of all, thank you to the students. You have been amazing and have constantly surprised us with how well you have managed all the changes and disappointments.
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I am looking forward to a brighter and successful 2022 at the college!
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ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
“There is no doubt that 2020 has been one of the most challenging years on record. Whilst there must be an acknowledgment of the difficulties faced by students, there is also optimism for the future.”
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When I penned these thoughts for my 2020 Magazine article little did I know that 2021 was going to be even more of a doozy. It certainly has felt like Ground Hog Day. The only positive was that we (the staff, students and families) were fully prepared this year. We knew the drill. Collect all of your belongings before you go home, log into Compass and Webex on a daily basis and join your teachers and peers in the virtual world. Once again, as a school, we were ready to be flexible and pivot as each new stage of COVID developed. Once again, we modified our timetable, varied the way in which we delivered curriculum and adjusted our usual assessment practices. More importantly, once again, our students displayed great resilience, courage and persistence.
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As you will see from the articles that follow, we continued to provide a wide range of academic and extracurricular activities for our students. Prior to the first round of lockdowns we were able to conduct a series of whole school events unique to BK-12 including both the swimming and athletics carnivals and the sombre yet enlightening ANZAC Day ceremony. Year 7 students were able to spend time together bonding at their Rawson Village Camp in early February and a few of our cohorts were able to participate in interschool sports and excursions.
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We also managed to finish the year on a positive note. Our school had a happy and productive buzz as we finished the last few weeks. It was wonderful to be able to celebrate the graduation of our Year 6 and 12 students as well as hold year-level awards ceremonies for Years 7-11. It was rewarding to see the way in which the wide variety of students’ achievements are genuinely celebrated by their peers. Whilst we thank all students for their efforts across the year the following students listed below have been identified as consistently outstanding in their academic efforts and achievements.
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Finally, a special mention to all the Year 12 students and families who are leaving us this year, and on behalf of Boronia K-12 College and the school community, I congratulate you and wish you all the best for the future. I would also like to thank the Year 12 students for their hard work and contributions to the school, but also for the examples they have set and the inspiration they have provided for the younger students to follow.
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We 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 2022.
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Secondary Assistant Principal
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We were thrilled that one of the ‘back to normal’ activities that was able to go ahead in 2021 was our Junior School Christmas Concert – we are so thankful that we were able to open our school to our community once again to come together and celebrate the end of another challenging year.
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Congratulations to our Kinder and Foundation students who performed in their very first concert. They showed no signs of jitters and sang with enthusiasm. Our other year levels took the challenge of performing a piece with just as much zest and excitement. It was wonderful to see such high levels of participation and an amazing array of Christmas attire!
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As with any school event, these things only can occur with lots of hard work behind the scenes. The biggest thank you to Mrs Harvey, for putting it all together, choosing and arranging the songs with the students that ensured they were able to shine. Our Specialists subject such as The Arts were very difficult to continue momentum with in the online environment so it was wonderful to see the students enjoying and sharing this with us all.
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We wouldn’t have been able to hear them without the expertise of Mrs Mclaren and Mr Robinson for the sound and lighting so thank you to them. And a special mention to Mrs Williamson and Prof Dall for assisting Mrs Harvey – Feliz Navidad was one of the highlights for me.
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And finally thank you to all those friends and families who attended, braving the cool night, checking in and supporting our school with your presence, purchasing from our canteen and last of all celebrating with us all.
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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
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SECONDARY ART
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Our Year 10 Step Up students have been doing Pointillism. They have been using dots to create tone instead of shading.
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EARLY LEARNING CENTRE
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Our ELC students having fun during 2021!
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WELLBEING & INCLUSION
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What is Respectful Relationships at Boronia K-12 College?
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Respectful Relationships is about tackling family violence through education.
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Just like other major social and health issues such as smoking and road toll, evidence shows that family violence can be prevented by working across the whole population (in this case, all schools) to address the attitudes, beliefs and knowledge that support violence.
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The Victorian Government is investing $21.8 million to deliver Respectful Relationships and as part of this initiative Victorian schools will be supported to review their practices and policies, and model respectful relationships and gender equality across the whole school community.
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A good education is about more than simply getting good marks. It is about becoming a member of society and succeeding in life – knowing how to build respectful relationships is key to achieving this. When young people build positive relationships with their teachers and peers they feel safer and happier at school, are more resilient and have positive social attitudes. Positive relationships increase a young person’s sense of social connectedness and belonging to school and family, and result in better health and academic outcomes.
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As you are aware, we have begun rolling out the Respectful Relationships program through Cohort community days and staff professional learning. We will be covering all concepts of the program over a 2-year cycle.
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Respectful Relationships is about embedding a culture of respect and equality across our entire community. It teaches our children how to build healthy relationships, resilience and confidence. We will be using the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships teaching and learning materials developed by leading education experts, who tailored the materials to each year level from Foundation (Prep) to Year 12 and made sure all information is age-appropriate and grounded in evidence.
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Teachers will also be supported to deliver the initiative with age-appropriate teaching and learning materials. These evidence-based materials are designed to enable teachers to develop student’s social and emotional capabilities, build positive, healthy and respectful relationships, make responsible decisions and create positive gender relations. The initiative will also provide resources to best support young people who are affected by family violence.
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The curriculum will be taught through the Health and PE curriculum for 2022 as well as Learning Mentor groups and community days. In addition, Berry Street Education Model aligns very well with the Respectful Relationship content so it will be implicit in the way we teach and students learn. Throughout the year we will keep you informed about the work we do and provide you with opportunities to learn the content.
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The Boronia K-12 College Wellbeing Team
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STUDENT LEADERSHIP TEAM
Boronia K-12 is excited to unveil its new student leadership structure for 2022 and beyond!
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Previously, our student leaders felt disconnected from one another, as did the work they undertook. So, we have streamlined this process of student-led change by creating the Student Leadership Team or SVT. The SVT is divided into four portfolios, Community, Wellbeing, Environment, and Teaching and Learning – each of which is headed by one of our four College Captains.
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The SVT will contain representatives from all areas of the student school community and will meet weekly, both primary and secondary together, in order to plan for and drive student-led change for the Boronia school community. We’ll kick it all off with a leadership day at the start of 2022 for students to receive leadership training and have time to plan their work for the year ahead. For more information on how students can get involved, email Mr White at kel.white@education.vic.gov.au
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Peter Ridgway and I were fortunate enough to head out to Dinner Plain and visit the students on Thursday and Friday last week for their CLP Presentation Day. We can comfortably say we felt nothing but pride in seeing how amazing these young people were. Their ‘Drive-Thru Podcast’ CLP looks absolutely incredible and we can’t wait to see this develop over the next few years at school. If the students were feeling nervous and tense in the lead-up to the presentation then they certainly didn’t show it, as they were confident, assured of themselves and highly entertaining during their presentation! In addition to this, we had members of our team helping to MC the presentation, perform musical items and help facilitate the formalities of the luncheon. I know they were all pleased with their efforts and we as a school could not be prouder for everything they have achieved in such a short time.
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SENIOR SCHOOL
Year 12 Valedictory Dinner
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On Thursday 2 December, the College was fortunate enough to be able to hold our 2021 Year 12 Valedictory Evening at Sky High Mount Dandenong. This evening, which involves the presentation of Graduation Certificates to Year 12 students, is a very significant symbolic event on the school calendar and in the lives of these students, marking as it does the end of their thirteen-year school journey. Given that we were not able to conduct this event last year due to COVID restrictions, it was very pleasing to once again be able to conduct this important ceremony and to recognize and acknowledge the Graduation Class of 2021.
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With over 100 students, parents/carers, other family members and friends in attendance, the evening was a most enjoyable one, with each graduating student receiving their Graduation Certificate and a small memento of Boronia K-12 College from School Principal, Mr Matthew Scammell, and Director of Senior School, Mr Wayne Judge. In addition to recognising and acknowledging the Graduation class of 2021, the evening also provided the opportunity to present Subject Excellence Awards and School and Community Awards to some very deserving students.
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Speeches on the night from both Mr Scammell and Mr Judge acknowledged the tremendous challenges that the Graduation Class of 2021 have had to navigate and overcome over the last two years, and they were warmly congratulated on their efforts in doing so, as well as receiving some words of advice and encouragement about their future endeavours. Without doubt, our 2021 Year 12 Graduates have demonstrated remarkable resilience and persistence over the past two years, whilst at the same time developing valuable learning independence that will benefit them enormously in the years to come. They have been considerate, caring and understanding of one another, their teachers and the school community in general, and they have demonstrated adaptability to extraordinary change. We as a school community are very proud of these students and they should also be very proud of themselves.
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The support of parents/carers, family and friends in helping students steer their way through not only these past two difficult years, but also their whole school journey was also acknowledged by both Mr Scammell and Mr Judge, and the school would like to take this opportunity to thank, in particular, the parents/carers of our Graduating students for supporting your children over the years, and for showing faith in and support of the school and so enabling them to complete their schooling journey with us.
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The final words on the night were fittingly delivered by our two College Captains for 2021, Gemma McLean and Jade O’Brien, who both also acknowledged the challenges faced by their peers over the past two years, and who both recognised that as a group that they would all be stronger for having achieved so much despite these obstacles.
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On behalf of the whole College community, I would like to congratulate the Graduation Class of 2021 and wish them all the best for their future lives!
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Director of Senior School
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YEAR 12 GRADUATION CLASS OF 2021
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Maxxine A Claudia A Chloe A
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Natasha B Max B Jessica B
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Jessica C Jake C Daniel D
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Bailey K Amber K Leonidas (Leon) K
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Ariana K Sienna M Bradley M
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Tarni M Chelsea M Darcie McCarthy
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Gemma M Eliza N Maryanne N
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Jade O Dale O Alexandra P
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Sebastian P Kobe R Jackson R R
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Enyi Su Karl Christian S Nihad T
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Subject Excellence Awards
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VCE Health and Human Development
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VCE Biology & VCE Legal Studies
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VCAL Numeracy & VCAL Personal Development
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VCE Product Design & Technology & VCE Studio Art
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VCE Chemistry, VCE English, VCE Further Maths & VCE Psychology
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Year 12 ADF Long Tan Youth Leadership Award:
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The ADF Long Tan Youth Leadership and Teamwork Awards is presented to a Year 12 student who demonstrates the values that are upheld by the Australian Defence Force, including leadership, teamwork, respect for others, doing one’s best and mateship.
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Awarded by the College Principal in recognition of a student who has made a significant contribution to the College community over their time at the school.
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Senior School Awards Ceremony: Thursday 2 December
Thursday 2 December was also the day in which we held our Senior School Awards Ceremony to recognise and acknowledge student achievement in the Senior School across 2021.
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All Year 10 and Year 11 students attended this ceremony held during the school day, and in which their peers were presented with their awards, whilst Year 12 recipients were presented with their awards at the Year 12 Valedictory Evening held latter this night.
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Listed below are all of the Year 10 and Year 11 Award recipients for 2021. Year 12 Award recipients have been previously indicated in the article on the Year 12 Valedictory Evening.
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Year 10 Learning Excellence Awards:
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Year 10 Student of the Year:
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Year 11 Subject Excellence Awards:
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VCAL Personal Development
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VCE Business Management & VCE Psychology
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VCAL Work Related Skills & VCAL Literacy
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VCE Food Studies & VCE Legal Studies
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VCE Accounting, VCE English Yr 12 VCE Business Management
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VCE Health & Human Development, VCE General Maths & VCE Physical Education
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VCE Chemistry, VCE Maths Methods & VCE Product Design & Technology
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Year 11 Student of the Year:
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Sports Excellence Awards:
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Instrumental Music Excellence Awards:
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The English Insights Award is awarded by the English Key Learning Area to a Year 11 student who is identified as having the potential to succeed in Year 12 English.
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University of Melbourne Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholars Program for 2022 and 2023:
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Presented annually as an Encouragement Award to a worthy Year 11 student who has the potential to proceed through to Year 12 and beyond:
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This award recognises a Senior student who embodies the characteristics of resilience; respect and inclusivity towards others; leadership within the school and the broader community; and who strives to be their best in all aspects of their life.
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AMPOL All- Rounder Award:
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This award seeks to acknowledge the all-round contribution that a Year 11 student makes to their school and community, their leadership abilities and the good example they set for others. Criteria include – Attendance, Community Involvement, Sport involvement, Leadership, College Achievements, Attitude and Contributions across the board.
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ADF Long Tan Youth Leadership Award:
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The ADF Long Tan Youth Leadership and Teamwork Awards is presented to a Year 12 student who demonstrate the values that are upheld by the Australian Defence Force, including Leadership, Teamwork, Respect for others, Doing one’s best and Mateship.
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Congratulations to all of our Senior School Student Award recipients for 2021.
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Director of Senior School
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CAREERS
This term has been a busy one with applications for VTAC and VET subjects. Our Year 12 students are also eagerly awaiting their results, which will be released at 7am on Thursday 16 December. Students will need to register through the VTAC website to receive their results at this time. Mrs Bennett will be available on Thursday 16 and 17 December to discuss results if needed. You can also contact VTAC’s PRAS service from the 17 – 20 December on 9637 3877 or by email pras@education.vic.gov.au
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We are also planning for next year, with dates booked for a number of exciting career events including the Careers Expo and Morrisby. Morrisby is a series of aptitude and interest tests that allow students to gain insight into their own values and strengths. This is invaluable information that can be used to help make informed decisions about subject selection, career path and post-secondary study. Parents will need to sign the consent form for Morrisby which will be available soon.
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Our 2022 Year 10 students are also on the hunt for work experience placements. This program has been severely impacted by COVID restrictions, but we are hopeful that in 2022, work experience can go ahead smoothly. Students should look for placements as soon as possible as many businesses and organisation have limited spots available. If students need help with work experience places or anything else careers related, they can contact Mrs Bennett.
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Please find below some upcoming Uni Open Days:-
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Monash University
Monash Change Day Expo
Join us at our online expo and speak with our course advisers one-on-one and find out about your course options, alternate pathways and next steps.
Friday 17 December, 2-6pm AEDT
Monday 20 December, 10am-12pm AEDT
Register: www.monash.edu/change-of-preference
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Deakin University
Deakin Campus Tours and Events
Get a taste of life at Deakin and cement your preferences after receiving your ATAR during our Deakin Campus Tours and Events in Melbourne, Geelong and Warrnambool. With restrictions easing, we are excited to welcome you back to our campuses to tour our facilities, chat to our experts and make any changes needed to your course preferences. For more information and to book: deakin.edu.au/choose
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- Melbourne Burwood Campus: Friday 17 December, 10am-1pm
- Geelong Waurn Ponds Campus: Friday 17 December, 10am-12pm
- Geelong Waterfront Campus: Friday 17 December, 12.30pm-2.30pm
- Warrnambool Campus: Thursday 16 December, 2pm-4pm
Australian Catholic University (ACU)
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OFFICE REMINDERS
A reminder that the General Office will close this Thursday 16 December at 4.30pm.
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In 2022, the office will reopen the week prior to the students return from Thursday 27 january to Friday 28 January between 10am - 2pm.
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The following week when the students return on Monday 31 January, our office hours will return to 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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QR CODE
Schools are now mandated to utilise the Service Victoria QR codes for electronic record keeping.
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QR codes will be required to be used by:
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- all parents/carers/visitors who enter buildings when on the school site.
All building entry and exit points display QR code posters. If you are required/invited to enter buildings on school grounds, for whatever purpose, you are now required to use the provided QR code check-in. If you are not able to check in using a smartphone or tablet, a supported check-in service is available at the General Office.
Using the QR code system does not replace the existing requirement to also sign in on the Compass Kiosk at either the General Office or Gym (when you attend for a purpose such as a parent/teacher meeting). If you are entering the school for a meeting or for an extended period of time, you will also need to show proof of your vaccination status. Thank you for your support and understanding of this important health direction.
It remains important that students/staff/parents/carers remain at home if unwell and get tested if symptoms are consistent with COVID-19.
Thank you for your support!
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BORONIA K12 COLLEGE QR CODE
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LIBRARY NEWS
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2021 has seen student after student, staff member after staff member, cross the library threshold and trawl the book-laden shelves. Hundreds of books and resources have crossed the circulation desk, scanned in and scanned out. However, that is not all that has been happening within our Library walls.
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During this topsy-turvy year of remote learning and face to face learning, I’ve been busy purchasing, cataloguing and processing hundreds of exciting and interesting new fiction, non-fiction books and adding them to the shelves in the junior and senior collections for you to borrow and enjoy reading yourself or sharing with family members.
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To further promote the love of reading and storytelling, in celebration of the Australian Library and Information Association’s National Simultaneous Storytime, on Wednesday 19 May, 2021 our school took part in the National Simultaneous Storytime. At 10:45am our Kinder and Primary students from ELC to Year 6 enjoyed listening to Give Me Some Space! written and illustrated by Philip Bunting in their classrooms. One of this year’s options for listening to the story was to join NASA astronaut Dr Shannon Walker who read “Give me some Space!” from the International Space Station on YouTube.
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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. 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, enjoy.
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To truly celebrate the event and the magic that reading brings, we of course took part in our annual Book Week Dress Up Day. That special day once a year when hordes of favourite fictional characters grace the classrooms of Boronia K-12 College. After extended periods of remote learning our junior students and staff finally got to enjoy the fun and excitement of celebrating this year’s Book Week with the much anticipated Book Week Dress Up Day and Parade held during the second week of our Lamont Book Fair in November.
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During Term 4 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 $490 worth of books being added to our College Library collections.
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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 2022.
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