At the end of last term, the Year 8 and 9 Academic Excellence Program students participated in sessions focused on the students’ socio-emotional development. The Year 8 students participated in a workshop presented by IZRA called ‘Failing Well’ that develops students’ resilience, based on the growth mindset work of Dr Carol Dweck. The Year 9 students completed an intense mindfulness and yoga session with practitioner Sharnell Avery, learning skills to manage stress and anxiety. We learnt that our eyes are actually connected to the bone at the base of our skull and ran through stretches  to release these muscles when they are strained from studying.

On Monday 29 April, select Year 10 students attended the Science and Engineering Challenge hosted by the Rotary Club of Dalkeith in collaboration with the University of Newcastle at the Claremont Showgrounds. They engaged in a series of challenges throughout the day and our teams won half of the activities they completed. An excellent effort!

Our Year 7 students commenced their Creative Schools projects in English and Science in Week 3. The students and teachers, Mrs Kelly Walker and Mrs Laura Morris, will be working in collaboration with creative practitioners over the next 2 terms in projects designed to increase students’ creativity and academic achievement. In Science they are deep-diving into the moon, phases of the moon and its significance in ancient civilisations. In English, students are exploring different ways of responding to poetry. It will be exciting to see the products these students produce in the coming weeks and months.

The Year 6 Primary Academic Excellence Program students returned in Week 3 for their first Science session with Mrs Laura Morris. They are exploring soil science and were met with Mrs Morris’ pet stick insect. They worked in groups to make bait bags and ‘plant’ them in the ground to attract soil critters to be observed over the next few sessions.

The Year 11 ATAR students participated in an exam preparation seminar during Meeting period on Friday of Week 3 organised by Mr Richard Guthrie, Head of Humanities Learning Area. We started the session singing ‘Rubber Duckie’ and learnt about the study strategy of ‘rubber ducking’, with all students taking home their very own rubber duckie study buddy. Mrs Helen Deacon, Mr Tim Bennett and Mrs Tori Maguire also came in to speak with the students and offer their words of advice and encouragement as the students prepare for their first set of ATAR examinations. In Week 4, students participated in ATAR English and Literature exam workshops and coming up this Friday, there will be sessions for students in Chemistry, Human Biology and Biology and Psychology with presenters from Academic Task Force, as well as Mrs Laura Morris and Mrs Teagan Sloman. We thank these teachers for their time in preparing and presenting these sessions and we wish our Year 11 ATAR students all the best as they enter their Semester 1 examination period.

Orietta Stokes
Academic Excellence Program Coordinator