Students at Elevation Secondary College have started the year incredibly well. It has been amazing to see such incredibly focused students, coming to classes prepared and ready to learn. This year, we have begun our journey of introducing Senior School, specifically our VCE and VCE VM program. Our new Year 7 students have started the year off with a bang, as they begin to familiarise themselves with, not only the demands of entering high school and the expectations, but also getting a taste of a wide range of subjects including Music, Visual Arts, Digital Technologies, Food Technologies and PE.
As we begin the year it is important to stop and reflect on “learning” and why we come to school in the first place. Learning is the practice of developing skills and building knowledge. It requires focused work. Students sometimes say things like “When will I use this in the real world?” or “Why are we learning this?”
In reality, while the curriculum is separated into subjects, all of the skills and knowledge in each subject builds into a broad “education” that supports students in adult life and in the workforce. Critically, the process of learning information and skills is, in itself, one of the most important life skills that can make students employable in future adult life.
Elevation Secondary College reports on “Learning Behaviours” of Aim High, Work Hard, Be Good, every two weeks. This data is available under “reports” on compass.
Carers and Students can reflect on this process of learning by considering the long term results on compass.
Improvement in these outcomes is the foundation of learning and student growth.
Here a student has gradually improved their performance overtime in Maths – to the point where they are almost “always” aiming high working hard and being good.
Here – the same student has shown improvement across the year, before a dip at the end of term 3. Then, the student had made a huge effort to rebuild their learning behaviours.
PE & Health
As a faculty, we are very excited to have our students back in school alongside the addition of 4 fantastic Physical Education staff members to the team. Mr. McLarty and Mr. French have joined the team as graduate teachers this year and are already making a profound impact. We also welcome Mr. Unsworth who brings a wealth of knowledge from his extensive teaching experience in Canada. Mr. Piccioli will be joining us as a team member as part of the AFL SportsReady program.
We are off to a great start with our year 7 – 10 PE and Health curriculum and are very excited about out first VCE Unit 1 and 2 Health and Physical Education. We look forward to improving our curriculum for our students and have been provided a particularly special opportunity to work with external government agencies and health provides to further improve the delivery of content to our students.
In addition to this, we have already begun our interschool sports program, in which we play against other schools in our area.
2024 is certainly shaping up to be an exciting year for the Health and PE team at Elevation Secondary College.
Brandon Isaac, Learning Specialist- Health & PE
The Arts & Technologies at Elevation Secondary College
Hello from your Arts and Technologies teachers! Here’s what we are looking forward to learning in each of the Arts and Technologies subjects this semester.
Digital Technologies
Our digital technologies teachers this year are Mr Cicek, Ms Aali, Mr Jaraba and Mr Cera. We have been teaching our students how to use various digital systems and tools to solve problems and create digital solutions. They have covered topics ranging from binary numbers and data representation to cloud computing and data analysis.
Visual Arts and Visual Communications
Our Visual Arts and Visual Communications teachers are Ms. Konstantinakos, Ms. Greenwood, and Ms. Hanna. They have been teaching our students how to express themselves through different artistic mediums and techniques. They have worked on projects involving surrealism and collage, typography and logo design, lino printing and the natural world, portraiture and painting, drawing and art history, and reframing design problems and human centred design.
Design Technologies
Our Design Technologies teacher is Mrs Vella. She has been teaching our students how to use design thinking and engineering principles to create products and systems that meet human needs and wants. They have faced challenges such as designing and sketching an original toy idea, building and testing a model bridge, creating and evaluating a sustainable packaging solution, and developing and prototyping a wearable device.
Media
Our Media teachers are Mr Fielding, Ms. Gooch-Andrew, Mr Mulligan, and Mr Stock. They have been teaching our students how to use various media forms and platforms to create and communicate messages and stories. They have produced media products such as horror scenes and film techniques, podcasts and audio editing, animation and stop motion, documentary and research, news and journalism, and social media and digital citizenship.
Music
Our Music teachers are Ms. Iannelli, Mr Le, Mr Schutz, and Mr Wilson. They have been teaching our students how to appreciate and perform music from different genres, cultures, and periods. They have participated in musical activities such as listening to and playing music from various styles, exploring the sounds and characteristics of the instruments of the orchestra, studying and performing music from different eras, learning and applying music theory and analysis, and composing and arranging their own music.
Food Technologies
Our Food Technologies teachers are Ms Gorham and Mr Isaac. They have been teaching our students how to prepare and cook food safely, hygienically, and nutritiously. Year 7 students are becoming familiar with safety, hygiene and equipment in the kitchen. They have learnt how to correctly and accurately measure ingredients as well as safely use the stove and oven by making baked potatoes and chips and nuggets. Year 10 students have been investigating bacteria and how food poisoning is caused and prevented. They have looked at what makes food attractive when plating and used that knowledge to serve bruschetta using various plating techniques.
Student Learning Conferences Update
Coming up this week are Learning Tasks 1 for each of these subjects. These tasks are designed to assess the students’ understanding and skills in the Arts and Technologies domain. They will also provide feedback and guidance for further improvement and learning. We look forward to sharing the learning and growth of each of our students in upcoming Student Learning Conferences in Term 1, Week 9. These conferences are a great opportunity for families to meet with the teachers and hear the students’ progress and achievements from their perspective. Please RSVP as soon as possible to secure your preferred time slot. We hope to see you there!
Aaron Jaraba, Learning Specialist- Arts & Technology