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Melba Voice
20 March 2015
Principal
Terry Bennett
Assistant Principals
Ms Carol Ashton
Mr David Lees
Junior Campus
Croydon Rd, Croydon Vic 3136
Ph:
9725 8277
Fax:
9723 6375
www.melba.vic.edu.au
melba.sc@edumail.vic.gov.au
Senior Campus
Brentnall Rd, Croydon Vic 3136
Ph:
9870 4551
Fax:
9870 1784
www.melba.vic.edu.au
melba.sc@edumail.vic.gov.au
Absence line – both campuses
9539 2345
Important Dates
13 April - Curriculum Day - No
students required at school
14 April – Immunisations Years
7- 10
20 April –
Parent/Teacher/Student
Interviews – no classes
4 May – Open Night from 7pm
26 May – Year 7 Pancake
breakast
School Term dates 2015
Term 1 29 January - 27 March
Term 2 13 April - 26 June
Term 3 13 July - 18 September
Term 4 5 October -18 December
Principal’s Report
Presentation Ball
The school is holding its annual Presentation Ball on Friday 27 March at The Grande in Wantirna. We
have 46 Year 11 students involved and I am certain the evening will be a great success. I am looking
forward to sharing the evening with the students, families, friends and staff. The Guest of Honour is Mr
David Hodgett, State member for Croydon.
Swimming Carnivals
We held a very successful Swimming Carnival on 26 February. This and the Athletics Carnival are
important events on our calendar involving the whole school. I want to acknowledge the great work of
Carla Bourne and Paul Durrant in organising the day.
We also followed up our own carnival and competed in the Maroondah Zone Swimming Carnival last
week. Results are in the sport report.
Information Evening Year 7 2016
Our Information Evening for prospective Year 7 students for 2016 will be held on Monday 4 May 2015 at
7pm in the school hall on the Junior Campus. Parents and guardians who are considering Melba
College for their children are encouraged to come along on the evening to hear about we have to offer
in terms of curriculum and co-curricular programs. Further information will be available shortly on the
website www.melba.vic.edu.au
Pancake Breakfast
A Pancake Breakfast for our Year 7 students and their families will be held on Tuesday 26 May 2015 to
celebrate the students’ first term at Melba College. I hope our Year 7 students and their families can
come along and celebrate the students first term at Melba College.
Students ill at school
Students who become ill at school should always report to the sick-bay or General Office and the school
will notify parents and guardians. I would ask parents and guardians to support us with this process as we need to know where
students are at any time and ensure that when students leave the school this is recorded on the school’s database.
Chaplaincy Committee AGM
The Melba College Chaplaincy Committee assists with fundraising to support the employment of Chris Waddell as a member of the
wellbeing team at the college. They held their AGM last week and want to acknowledge the wonderful work of the committee.
Chris’s role is one of pastoral care and support to students, families and staff. He is also very involved in many of the programs we
run to support our students. Chris also looks after the Breakfast Club on both the junior and senior campus each week. Any parent
or guardian who would like to know more about Chris’s work can contact him at the school.
Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews
Parent, Teacher and Student interviews will be held on Monday 20 April on the Junior Campus from:
12noon to 1.30pm - 2.30pm to 5pm - 6.30pm to 8pm
Students are expected to attend the interviews. Bookings can be made through the Compass portal on the website
www.melba.vic.edu.au and will be available for bookings from 14 April 2015.
If students are required to be supervised at school at other times on the day please contact the General Office on 9725 8277.
Further information will be made available next week.
End of Term
Term 1 finishes on Friday 27 March and students will be dismissed at 2.30pm. School resumes on Tuesday 14 April for all students.
Please note Monday 13 April is our MEC Curriculum Day across the Maroondah Secondary Network and no students are required at
school.
I hope all parents, guardians, students and staff have a relaxing and restful vacation. It has been a very busy term and I congratulate
all students on their efforts and look forward to them returning rested and ready for an exciting and challenging Term 2.
Terry Bennett – Principal
Student Absences Junior & Senior Campuses
Parents are requested to ring the college on 9539 2345 if your child will be absent or late (due to illness or for any other reason) and
leave a message on the absence line outlining the reason, and if known, the length of time your child will be away.
Please also be aware that we mark the roll every period electronically and it would be helpful if parents could notify the school of
absences in the morning. However, if you are unable to do so, the absence line is operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for your
convenience.
Alternatively you may log into your Compass parent portal and self-approve absences. If your contact details have changed please
advise the college as soon as possible.
College Captains
Hello everyone my name is Esther Boih and I am one of the four College Captains. This term is about to end and many students
have made memories for themselves by representing the college, by participating in school events or other personal reasons. Some
of these may include practising for the Presentation Ball and our swimming teams’ success at the recent District Championships.
Year 12's also made a lasting memory which was playing dodgeball against the teachers.
Last week the College Captains and the Junior School Captains went to a leadership conference, known as GRIP, where we got to
learn more about being a leader. There were many great speakers who were experts and professionals in the leadership field as they
have had many experiences in their life. They were able to give us helpful tips and ideas about how to be a better leader for the
school. We also got the chance to meet other young leaders from other schools as well, unfortunately it was hard to meet every one
of them since there were about 1000 of us! But best of all I believed that the eight of us got a very positive result out of the
conference and we all hope to help improve the school by putting our knowledge to action.
On Tuesday 17 March, we had a Year 12 students versus teachers dodgeball game held in the gym at lunch time. It was a very close
game and lots of fun with most students being involved. Thank you to all staff and students who made it possible for the game to
happen.
I would also like to congratulate our swimming team! All the students that participated did a fantastic job. I hope that all of you are
proud of yourselves as much as we are of you because you all deserve it! Thank you all for making our school proud as can be.
I've also heard that many of the Senior students have been keeping their schedules busy with dance practices for the Presentation
Ball. I truly hope that all your hard work will pay off on the night wearing your beautiful gowns and suits and dancing. All of you will
look beautiful and handsome. This will be a great memory for the rest of your lives; enjoy yourselves on the night! I wish you all a
great night.
WOW! It's been a very busy term and it feels like yesterday was the first day of school but now it's about to end. I look forward to the
Year 12 camp and many other events in the coming terms. If anyone wants to raise their concerns or their big ideas for the school, or
you just want to talk about anything, come talk to us, the College Captains, Student Voice Representatives or our teachers. Have a
great term and enjoy your break - and be SAFE!
Esther (Rem) Boih – College Captain
Last Wednesday the four senior captains, the two junior captains, two selected students and Mrs Lange attended the GRIP
Leadership Conference in the City. It was a fun and interactive experience. We are sure the senior captains and selected students
gained as much information as we did. We all came back with loads of great ideas to help us in our leadership positions and to help
improve the school.
Next Monday night debating will be held at Tintern Grammar for the first round of the competition. Melba is entering an A grade and a
C grade team to compete - we wish everyone the very best of luck!
Jessica Scott & Nathan Dugdale – Junior School Captains
Student Voice and Co-Curricular Programs
Student Voice
On Tuesday 17 March, the Junior Campus Student Voice nominees presented their speeches to their Mentor Groups. Then on
Thursday, the Mentor groups voted for their representatives. Once all the votes are counted the Student Voice Representatives for
Junior Campus will be announced and presented with their badges.
Students from across the school attended the GRIP Leadership Conference and the VicSRC Conference. The student reports of
these events are included in this newsletter. The students that attended really enjoyed the events and they look forward to sharing
their experiences and knowledge with the Student Voice Representatives and wider school community.
Debating
The first debating round will be held on Monday 23 March. We have two Melba teams entered and they have been working hard to
prepare their speeches. Good luck to both teams!
Cathie Lange – Student Voice & Co-Curricular Programs Leader
GRIP Leadership Conference
Last week on Wednesday 11 March, the four College Captains, the two Junior
School Captains and two Year 9s attended the GRIP Leadership Conference at the
Melbourne Exhibition Centre. This is a Student Leader conference run by GRIP
Leadership, a team who run workshops to make students better leaders in their
school. There were over 1000 students from all over the state.
The eight of us attended various sessions on ‘How to lead in different situations’,
‘Maximising communication’, ‘Maintain momentum as a leader’, ‘Maximising events’
and ‘How to make the most of leadership opportunities’. The sessions were great and
all of us learnt a lot. We look forward to sharing them with other leaders in the school
and implementing some of great things at school.
David Chandler
VicSRC Regional Conference
On Tuesday 17 March, seven Student Voice Representatives were chosen to go to the Regional Conference at Templestowe
College.
Other schools in the eastern region of Victoria attended and we were able to explore
new ideas to help improve our schools. During the conference, we came up with a
couple of ideas to make our college a better place to learn. We are going to use the
ideas we came up with, and try to discuss them further in future Student Voice
meetings to see some positive changes happen in our school. The ideas we came up
with were: improved toilets, no bottom lockers, improvements to the mentor program,
regular whole school assemblies, and a whole lot more. The day was fun, really helpful
and educational. Overall, we hope that our new ideas will improve the students as well
as the school. We would like to thank Mrs Lange for enabling us to participate in this
great experience.
Tayla McGrath and Sophie Doyle
Junior School
Wow the term has just flown by and now we are just one week away from holidays again. Students will have been very busy with
CATs in all subjects and it must be a priority to get all due tasks in before the break. Many tasks will appear as Learning Tasks on
Compass so families can be monitoring student progress with those. Interim reports will be available next term and keep you eye out
for notifications regarding Parent Teacher Interviews early next term.
Form Captain speeches and voting took place this week and we will have the results for students next week followed by a Student
Leaders Assembly where their badges will be presented.
Our Year 9 House Captains have already been kept busy as Melba Ambassadors for the Lilydale District Primary Schools Athletics
Carnival. Our Year 8 House captains joined the VPYC group to assist in the running of events. As always, the feedback our students
received from parents and the primary school staff was “glowing”. Congratulations to:
Georgia Corless, Sung Ku Sung, Jing Wu, Leisi Seviua, James Heriot, Josh Smith, Annie La, Teagan Wood
Alison Steele – Junior School Leader
Year 7
On Monday we are going to EV’s Youth Centre during Launch Pad time to meet with Sarah Cullen from Maroondah Youth Services.
Please ensure that your child has permission to walk to the centre with the staff. This may be done through Compass.
This fortnight we have had some of our classes beginning their CATs. It is a time where we are consolidating the work we have learnt
in class. At the end of term, it is common for many of the students to be more tired than usual and also a little grumpier. Please
ensure you look after each other at this time.
I hope everyone has a lovely holiday with their family and a peaceful Easter.
Deb Stacey – Year 7 Leader
Year 8
As the end of Term 1 approaches there are two significant items in progress for Year 8 students.
Firstly, all students will be well underway with Common Assessment Tasks and many of these will probably be due next week. The
majority of the tasks are usually completed in class but for a variety of reasons students find themselves falling behind in their work.
They may need to do some homework on their CATs to ensure they get them in by the due dates. Parents can help by checking with
their child and/or accessing Compass to see where they are up to.
Secondly, students who are standing for the position of Form Captains have given their speeches before their respective classes.
Voting will have taken place this week. Congratulations to all those students who put their hands up for this position of responsibility.
They are to be commended on their efforts and their willingness to speak in front of their peers. We look forward to seeing the
successful candidates develop in their personal and leadership skills throughout the year.
On behalf of the Year 8 staff I hope students and families have a safe and happy first term break.
Chris Hunter - Year 8 Team Leader
Year 9
As we begin the countdown to holidays (students and staff alike!) it’s important to remember that holidays are the perfect time to
make sure that we take care of ourselves. A strong work ethic and positive attitude to school are important, however equally so is
making sure that we take time out to recharge. Below is an excerpt from an article on Mental Health and Wellbeing in Adolescence,
published via the Raising Children website. I hope that everyone enjoys a relaxing break, and returns ready to tackle Term 2!
Physical health is related to mental health. To help your child stay emotionally and physically healthy, encourage your child to do
the following:



Keep active – physical fitness will help your child stay healthy, have more energy, feel confident, manage stress and sleep well.
Develop and maintain healthy eating habits.
Get lots of regular sleep. Quality sleep will help your child to manage a busy life, stress and responsibilities. For more information, you
can read the article on sleep for children: 12-15 years.
 Avoid drugs and alcohol.
http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/mental_health_teenagers.html
Sarah Cultrera – Year 9 Leader
Senior School
As Term 1 draws to a close, I would like to congratulate all students on their work ethic and dedication to their studies so far this year.
It has been pleasing to see, that when liaising with the Year Level Leaders, there are a limited number of students that are
consistently being required to re-sit assessments and SACs across multiple subjects.
The ‘Year 12 Success Strategies’ seminar presented to the Year 12 cohort on Thursday was another great example of strategies and
skills students should be using to assist them in their revision and preparation for SACs and exams. We will be offering similar
opportunities to both the Year 10 and Year 11 cohorts as the year progresses, so stay tuned for some advice on how these strategies
can be implemented with support from home!
With the release of Interim Reports and Parent-Teacher Interviews at the beginning of next term, I encourage all families to look
closely at their children’s performance in Term 1, and to utilize the opportunity to meet with classroom teachers to discuss areas for
improvement and progress.
As we move into the last week of term and the school holidays approach, as always, we would like to wish both students and their
families a safe and relaxing break, and look forward to seeing you all at the beginning of Term 2.
Adriana Box – Senior School Leader
Year 10
Term One
I would like to sincerely congratulate the Year 10 cohort for the extremely impressive manner in which they’ve successfully managed
the transition to the Senior Campus of Melba College. I have generally been quite impressed by the maturity with which students
have approached their classes, homework and assessment tasks. It is a pleasure to interact with and manage an intelligent and well
mannered group of young adults.
Work Experience Placements
During the Formula One Grand Prix (Thursday 12 March to Sunday 15 March) Jade Howell, Chloe Rudd, Casey Menhenett and
Alexa Martz completed a variety of placements at this event. These placements were made available to Year 10 students through the
Formula One Corporation and the Beacon Foundation. Speaking of Work Experience, Year 10 students should, where appropriate,
use the holiday period to secure themselves a placement for their Work Experience block in the final week of Term Two.
In addition to this, I sent an e-mail earlier today about additional worksite visits available through the Beacon foundation. These site
visits cover a variety of professions including engineering, construction and law. I have also forwarded Year 10 students general
details about the UPP (University Pathways Program). If you as a parent/guardian would like further information about these
initiatives, you need only contact me on 9870 4551 or e-mail me at benjamin.michael.n@edumail.vic.gov.au
Beacon Event
Beacon Breakfast- This event will occur on Thursday 26 March at 7.30am in the Senior Campus Library. We will be welcoming a
number of guests from a range of businesses in the local area.
Grace Cislin
Congratulations must be extended to Grace for her selection in the Young Australian Broadway Chorus USA. I wish Grace an
enjoyable and successful time in the United States.
I’d like to conclude this, my final entry for Term One of 2015, by wishing all Year 10 students, their families and friends a happy,
memorable and safe Easter. I look forward to seeing all of you again on Tuesday 14 April. Term 2 will be very busy with assessment
tasks and exams, Challenge Week, Work Experience, further Beacon events, the RACV Keys Please session and other related
activities.
Michael Benjamin – Year 10 Leader
Year 11
The Year 11 cohort has been working hard and although I sometimes hear comments like ‘I’ve got so much homework’, I can see
them rising to the challenge. They are becoming more focused and more capable students.
Another thing that the Year 11’s have achieved this last fortnight is a great improvement in wearing the correct uniform. Earlier this
week nearly all the students had the correct uniform and they look terrific in it. Even though we had a few cold mornings, they still did
really well at this. If for some reason a student cannot wear the right uniform one day, they should come to the Year 11 Leader’s
office and get an Out of Uniform Pass.
Presentation Ball
We are winding up rehearsals for our Presentation Ball on Friday 27 March. The students have learnt a lot about themselves, each
other and their dancing abilities! It has been wonderful to see the students and their growth throughout this process. Look forward to
next Melba Voice where you will see some wonderful photos of this once in a lifetime evening!
Thank you to all of the families that have supported the students during the rehearsal time.
Andy Lockey and Greg Mellow – Year 11 Leaders
Year 12
The Year 12 students are eagerly awaiting their Camp to the YMCA facility in Myrniong, which will take place from Monday 23 March
to Wednesday 25 March. Please note, students must bring back both their parent consent and medical forms in order to attend the
camp. If you are unsure whether or not these have been returned please contact the school as soon as possible.
As the cold weather arrives, it is important to note that the college uniform policy still applies, and beanies, hoodies and out of uniform
jumpers are not permitted. Students are encouraged to wear extra layers of clothing under their school uniform. Any students who
come to school out of uniform must report to Mr Allan before the start of the school day to present a note from their parents/guardians
explaining the situation and to get an Out of Uniform Pass.
Year 12 Success Workshop
In one of our mentor groups earlier in the year, year 12 were asked what the biggest challenges they faced this year was. There was
almost a unanimous response of MOTIVATION. So, the year 12 mentor team organised for motivational speaker, Darren Pereira, to
come and do a workshop.
Darren and his DJ Benny spent two hours challenging and entertaining Year 12 as they were shown how they could be their very
BEST by adopting the Belief that they could achieve, a desire for Excellence, good Study habits and the mental Toughness to follow
through.
Year 12’s are to be congratulated for their engagement and positive attitude to the workshops. Darren does about 250 of these
workshops each year across four countries and commented on what an exceptionally focussed audience they were. The feedback
from students was outstanding.
We hope that this can now translate to assisting Year 12 with their planning, organisation and renewed energy for their studies.
Sport
Girls’ rugby
Melba College entered 2 teams in the Melbourne Rebels Viva 7s rugby gala day for girls. Viva 7s is a fast paced version of touch
rugby with 7 players per side, 7 minutes each way and 7 touches per set.
Each team had 4 games throughout the
day. We didn’t win any games, but were
competitive in most. The main positive was
the improvement in the girls’ skills and field
awareness from game to game.
It was great to see a number of girls
enjoying rugby for the first time. There will
be other opportunities throughout the year –
stay tuned!
Junior Team
Mr Coventry - Coach
Intermediate Team
Maroondah Division Swimming Friday 13 March
The Croydon Memorial pool was filled with many Melba students, who produced our best swimming results for several years. The
large number of senior students were a big factor in helping support the juniors in earning many points for the school.
Results:
1. Ringwood
2. Norwood
3. Melba (10 points behind second place)
4. Mooroolbark
Per Capita shield:
1. Melba
2. Ringwood
3. Norwood
4. Moorloobark
Congratulations to Mitch Clavant, the 17 year old boy age group champion and the 20 year old Boys Freestyle relay (Andy Booth,
Rhys Burrows, Mitch Clavant and Ben Stelfox) who won their way to the Eastern Region Finals.
Carla Bourne – Senior Sport Coordinator
College
Student Levies
As stated on the levy sheet any parent/guardian who has a current Healthcare/Pension card and has a child under the age of 16 will
receive a $250 credit against their Essential Education Items for 2015. If you have not given the Office a copy of your current
Healthcare/Pension card please bring it to the General Office at either campus.
Compass
Parents/guardians are asked to check their personal details on Compass and make any necessary changes. Please check that the
email address is correct.
Duke of Edinburgh
Duke of Edinburgh students spent a fun filled day at Smiths Beach Phillip Island with the Island Surf School.
Students learned surf safety and how to read rips and currents, as well as the correct
technique for paddling and catching waves. Students spent 2 hours under instruction
practicing their new found surfing skills. Students also enjoyed lunch in Cowes on a very
beautiful day. Riley Vondrejc our visually impaired Year 9 student had an absolutely awesome
time for 2 hours under the one on one instruction from the director of Island Surf School. All
DOE students are to be commended for their behaviour and the excellent representation of
Melba College.
Much thanks to Marli Gervasoni and Linda McKeahnie for their support throughout the day.
Neil Robinson - Melba College Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator
Avalon Airshow 2015
On Friday 27 February, 5 students from Year 11 and 12 embarked on a thrilling
journey of self-discovery, but also loss. And that was before we even stepped foot
inside the legendary gates of the Australian International Airshow of 2015.
We began the adventure bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 7am ready to begin the 2
hour bus trip to Avalon Airport, but before we left, Mr Lockey made sure to fill up
the tank. But with petrol or diesel? As we were just about to turn on to Flinders
Street, the Melba Mini Bus rolled to a slow stop, and in that moment, Mr Lockey
realized his fatal mistake and failed to
read the "DIESEL" sign printed on the
petrol cap... Anyway, 2 hours later,
we finally arrived at the Airshow.
Initially we received a presentation
about the possible careers that were
open to us in the Aeronautical
industry from representatives of
British Aerospace, the RAAF and
other organisations. All of these were useful and informative. There was a massive
display of aircraft on the ground, although we worried about Nirav who had to touch the
displays.
Then we were treated to the spectacular flying displays of
both national and international defence forces, including
The Roulettes, The Immortals, Hornets and
Superhornets, Catalinas, and many more. All in all, it was
a fantastic day that opened our eyes to the bountiful
opportunities in aerospace engineering and in the ADF.
Caitlyn Wooster
Melba Secondhand Uniforms for sale
The following second hand Uniforms are for sale at the Junior campus General office on Wednesdays from 3.00pm -3.50pm.
Shirts Short sleeve
Shirts L/ Sleeve Boys
Shirts Ladies L/ Sleeve
Summer Dress
Winter skirt
Jumper Junior Rust
Jumper Senior Green
Sports Rugby Jumper
Sports Shirt Polo
Shorts Black
Black Trousers
School Blazer
Sizes 12, 16/S, 18/M, L
Sizes 12, XL
Sizes 10, 12, 14
Size 10
Size 10
Sizes 12, 14, 16
Sizes 12, 14, L, 2XL, 3XL
Sizes 12, 16
Size 16/S
Sizes 72, 77, 82, 87,107
Sizes 72, 87, 92,107
Size 110
Chaplaincy fundraising dates
Trivia night Saturday May 23, Shopping tour Saturday October 24
Careers
Experience La Trobe University
Experience La Trobe is designed especially for Year 10, 11 and 12 students and their parents to get a taste of what it is like to be a
university student for a day and get the inside scoop on what really happens after high school. Students may participate in
workshops of their choice, find out about student life and also check out the Melbourne campus, including student accommodation.
University students and staff will be there to help participants out and answer any questions that might arise. Experience La Trobe
is a free event - with lunch and entertainment provided!
Date:
Friday 9 April 2015
Time:
9.30am – 4.30pm
Venue:
Melbourne Campus
To register, visit Experience La Trobe Melbourne, or email study@latrobe.edu.au for more information.
To find out about the dates and times of Experience La Trobe at its other campuses, visit Experience La Trobe
2015 Young Carers Scholarship Program
Carers Victoria is offering scholarships of up to $250 to secondary school students in Victoria who provide care and support to a
family member with an illness or disability.
Over 105,000 young people in Victoria are believed to have significant care responsibilities. They may support their mother, father,
sister or brother at home because of a disability or illness. Many are at risk of dropping out of school, or have difficulty establishing
social networks and participating in activities that their peers enjoy. Any student who feels they might be eligible to apply for this
scholarship should visit Young Carer Scholarship to access the application form from Monday 23 March 2015 when the
program commences. Students are reminded that applications close Friday 24 April 2015.
Short Courses
RSPCA Short Courses are designed to develop new skills for
people dealing with animals; providing valuable access to industry
experts and utilising quality resources and trainers. Programs are
tailored for those wanting to enter the animal industry or already
working within this field, as well as allowing participants to increase
their skills with their own pets. More information about each
program is at RSPCA Short Courses
The RSPCA also offers a number of programs for students aged
15 – 18 years who are considering working in the animal industry
or simply have a love of animals, and these programs run during
school holidays. There is an upcoming Vet for a Day program that
might interest some students.
Date:
Tuesday 7 April 2015
Time:
9.30am – 3.00pm
Find out more at Youth Holiday Program
Dee Arambasic - Careers Practitioner/VET Coordinator
The Department of Education and Melba College do not endorse the products or services of any private advertiser. No responsibility is
accepted by the Department of Education or Melba College for the accuracy of information contained in advertisements or claims made by
them