Term 3 is coming to an end, and students and staff will enjoy a much-earned break. It has been a long term with many challenges faced and overcome. I am extremely proud of both the students and staff on how they have approached school this term and together we have achieved some outstanding outcomes.

Parent – Teacher Interviews

I hope parents/guardians and students found the parent teacher student interviews last Thursday to be effective and worthwhile. It certainly was a taxing day for teachers conducting up to 40 appointments, however, teachers also reported how enjoyable it was to connect with parents face to face. If you were not able to attend the interviews, please do not hesitate to contact any teacher you wish to speak to organise a time to speak on the phone. If you have any feedback about the interviews, please get in touch with Assistant Principal, Donna Beauchamp Wylie.

Parent Opinion Survey

Parents have until this Friday to complete the Parent Opinion survey.  The use of opinion data to monitor school performance is a very important step towards making our school the best it can possibly be. Annual and anonymous opinion surveys for staff, students and parents are conducted and the information gained is used to drive school improvements and shape the future direction of the College. Parents/carers have already received the information about the online parent opinion survey, and we ask that you please take the time to complete it. So far, we have 10% of parents who have completed the survey. It would be wonderful if we can get this to over 30% of parents. The survey is conducted online by ORIMA Research Pty Ltd and only takes 15 minutes to complete. It can be accessed from Monday 15 August to Friday 16 September. The survey will help our school gain an understanding of how you view our school climate, student engagement, and relationships. Results will be sent to the school by the start of next term.

Student Attitude to School Survey Results

Carwatha College has proudly been identified by the Department of Education as having outstanding student data. The data shows our students are connected to their school, feel safe at their school, and are engaged in their learning. As a result, we are working with the leadership team to identify the practices we have implemented to achieve these results so that schools across Victoria can improve their performances in this area. We will be working with a team from the department for the next 12 to 18 months to identify and document our practices to share these with all government schools in Victoria.

NAPLAN Results

We received our Naplan data last week and are very excited by the results that our students have achieved from Grade 3 to Year 9. Carwatha College students are performing not only above like school and schools in our area but above STATE in most areas assessed. This is an outstanding result that all members of our community should be proud of. A more detailed report of our achievements is being created and once finished this will be shared with everyone.

Awards Night Wednesday 7 December 2022

This is one of the key events on the College calendar! Every year we come together as a college community to celebrate student successes in a variety of areas such as Academic Excellence, the Arts, Technology, Sport, and Community Involvement.  There are many prizes awarded on the night thanks to the generous sponsorship of many organisations in the school community. After the last two years of recorded awards proceedings onsite, it is very exciting to be heading back to the Drum Theatre for our live event. 

Students are nominated for these awards by their teachers and Heads of House and these nominations are based on specific criteria for each award. I encourage all students to strive to achieve their best for the many awards celebrated at this important occasion.

 
Facility Development Update 

Our new Senior School is coming along on time. It is very exciting to attend the fortnightly site meetings and to see the progress that is being made. The building is due to be finished at the start of December and will be an outstanding Learning Centre for our senior students once it is completed. The construction of the soccer pitch has been delayed, however is still on time to be finished by the start of February next year.

I hope everyone has a great break and comes back refreshed for a busy term 4.

The 2022 school year will come to end for our Secondary Students on November 11^th. With Headstart beginning on November 14^th, at this stage all secondary students will begin their studies for the 2023 school year.

Regards

Pat Mulcahy

Assistant Principal’s Report 

Since moving to Carwatha P-12 I have been impressed by the multicultural nature of our school and the respect and curiosity our students have for all cultures. Our Multicultural Day, held earlier this term, was a joyous occasion for our school community. To see so many cultures represented and celebrated through our whole school assembly, our performances and through the workshops students undertook throughout the day was pleasing. More pleasing is the fact that students at Carwatha P-12 do not just celebrate diversity on Multicultural Day, but every day. This is a respectful and welcoming school community and our students and families should be proud of the culture they have created.

Our staff have been working exceptionally hard to improve outcomes for our students. Staff are volunteering their time outside of working hours to be involved in camps, excursions, VCE preparation sessions, course counselling exhibitions and more. They are dedicating more of their time to arrange amazing incursions, hands-on learning experiences and opportunities for students to excel no matter their strengths. In the midst of state-wide staff shortages, many schools have had to cancel or strip back these experiences for students, but I would like to thank our staff for working tirelessly to find a way to ensure our students have these experiences.

All teaching staff have continued their work embedding the department of education’s ‘professional learning communities’ (PLCs) as part of our every day practice. PLCs involve structured time for staff to collaborate, examine student learning data and work samples, identify evidence-based strategies they can incorporate to improve student learning, trialling these, then measuring improvement. Our focus through these PLCs has been improving student writing and it has been pleasing to see the improvement our students have been making. Our staff professional development day earlier this term was also an opportunity for staff across the school to share practical strategies to improve writing.

Preparations are already well underway for 2023 and we are busily preparing curriculum, staffing, timetables, booklists and the like to ensure a smooth transition into a new school year.

As we move into term 4, we will be working with students to emphasise the importance of student attendance. A student who misses 5 days of school per term will miss 260 days of schooling from P-12, the equivalent of more than 5 school terms. It is important that every student comes to school every day unless they are unwell or have an important reason to miss school. We ask that parents/carers support the school in ensuring that students are at school and on time and by communicating with the school if there is a reason for an absence or lateness.

Mr Matthew Oke

What a busy and fun filled two Terms we have had!

From our first swimming lessons at ‘Jump’, cooking pizza and cookies with the secondary students and learning all about Money with our Little Shops.

We have also had a lot of special occasions, celebrating our cultures on Multicultural Day, dressing as our favourite characters for Literacy and Numeracy week, completing experiments during Science week and let’s not forget we completed our 100 days of school!

We hope you love all of our photos!!

We have had another busy term in our classroom.

Reading has been a focus, reading and enjoying both Fiction and Non-Fiction books. We have been learning to synthesise, summarise, analyse and critique the books we read. All of these reading strategies have helped us to improve our reading levels and understand what we are reading.

Writing has been diverse this term, we have worked on using capital letters and full stops, while adding more details and descriptions to our writing. We wrote about an alien adventure using our imagination, we also recounted special events and wrote some poetry.

We wrote an acrostic poem about Archie and also used our own name to write about. Then we wrote an ‘I am’ poem about ourselves and how we feel about certain things. We also learned how to write a letter. We wrote to our parents, describing our day at school and then wrote a letter to Miss Levy while she was in Israel, telling her how much we missed her!

We also wrote procedures based on our cooking experience with the Year 9 students. We made pizza and chocolate chip cookies and enjoyed eating the food we made, it was delicious!

‘I AM’ Poem

I am special because I am one of a kind!

I wonder if I will be elderly

I hear birds outside

I see my hair

I want to be a rich person with 1000 toys

I am special because I am one of a kind!

I pretend that I am a rabbit

I feel that I can be fluffy

I touch pom poms

I worry about my cat going missing

I cry when I get hurt

I am special because I am one of a kind!

I understand how you feel

I say that I am tired all the time

I dream about being a bunny

I try to be nice to everyone

I hope that I will be safe!

I am special because I am one of a kind!

By Iris

‘I AM’ Poem

I am special because I have lots of friends

I wonder if I will be beautiful

I hear birds

I see my mum

I want to be a teacher

I am special because I have lots of friends

I pretend that I am a butterfly

I feel that I can be a bunny

I touch soft toys

I worry about Mum

I cry when I get hurt

I am special because I have lots of friends

I understand how you feel

I say that I can do it

I dream about my teacher at the park with me

I try to be a butterfly

I hope that I will be tiny forever

I am special because I have lots of friends

By Phoebe

ACROSTIC POEMS

Adorable

Running

Cute and Chews

Happy

I love puppies

Eating

By Olly

A happy dog

Run and play

Cute dog

He is the best

I love him

Eats corn

By Anhad

Maths has been fun! We learned about 2D and 3D shapes as well as location and using mathematical language to describe where things are located. Then we moved onto units of measurement. We measured length and width, measured weight and capacity using scales and measuring jugs.

We compared measurements and described more and less.Then we learned about money and financial matters. We studied Australian coins and notes, then we went shopping in our virtual mini supermarket and added coins to make the correct amount to buy the items.

Some of the amazing special events we participated in included: Multicultural Day, we dressed in cultural clothing and sang a song about differences during the assembly. Then we celebrated 100 days of Prep with a party based around everything 100. 100 balloons, 100 counters, 100 lollies and 100 laughs at least.

We all shared party food and played games with Preps and the Parents and Grandparents that joined us. Science Week taught us how to investigate and make predictions about what might happen. We investigated our individual finger prints using magnifying glasses, we made and flew paper airplanes, used static electricity to pick up small pieces of paper with a balloon and made white flowers turn pink and blue using food colouring. Everyone enjoyed the investigations!

In Integrated Studies we have been studying History. The history of me topic involved students sharing baby photos, clothing and toys. Then we discussed the changes we have seen and how our needs change as we grow and go through the stages of life. We have continued to investigate changes over time including what we need as we grow, how communication changes and the music that we listen to changes too.

Everyone has worked hard and enjoyed learning new things this term!

Mrs McPhie

We’ve had many fun and exciting learning experiences in our classroom in Term 2 and Term 3. We braved the cold weather and had swimming lessons at the Jump Swimming Pool. We worked hard to develop our swimming skills.

Making pizzas and chocolate balls for procedural writing was so much fun. They were scrumptious! We loved dressing up in our cultural costume for Multicultural Day, and participated in a variety of cultural games and activities. Interviewing our parents and preparing our History boxes was exciting. We learnt so much about ourselves when we were babies and toddlers.

We enjoyed dressing up as our favourite book characters during Book Week, and loved having parents in our classroom to read with us.

We love poetry writing, and thought our Cinquain poems about animals were amazing.

We’re really looking forward to many exciting activities and learning next term. Coming up in Term 4 is our next lot of swimming lessons!

Thank you parents and carers for your continual support in our learning programs and activities. Enjoy the term break!

Mrs Abraham

2H have had a fantastic fun filled and exciting term 2 and 3. We have done loads of learning and produced some amazing work.

Over the last two terms we have achieved a great number of things together. We made pizzas with the year 9s and chocolate balls for our procedural writing. We put together and shared our history boxes and interviewed our parents about our personal history for Integrated Studies. We even wrote some fantastic cinquain poetry about animals.

In term 2 and 3, we had our fun run, swimming lessons and even celebrated some special events. We had such an amazing time participating in Science week, Numeracy and Literacy week. We loved dressing up for Multicultural day and our book character parade.

What an eventful term 2 and 3 we have had! We are looking forward to the many exceptional things we will do next term!

Miss Hrissinis 

Grade 3/4E have had a fun-filled and busy term 2 and 3.

Students have participated in Multicultural Day, Literacy and Numeracy week and Book week. Students were involved in the school athletics day and some even made it to district athletics. During district athletics, students from Carwatha competed in different events against other schools in the area. All students who attended this day did their best and showed great sportsmanship.

In Reading this term, students have been learning about different strategies they can use to gain a more developed understanding of the book. Some of these strategies include synthesising, summarising and analysing. 

In Writing, we have been learning about poetry and students have written a variety of poems including; acrostic, haiku, cinquain, I am and rhyming poems. Below is one of the poems that was written by Hanuj Balijepally.

Family

Fabulous fun is always happening together

As celebrations commence.

Many people rejoice as a new

Infant is learning vital skills.

Little to old people have huge relationships.

You should appreciate the people you love.

In Numeracy this term, students have been working closely with understanding money, units of measurement and interpreting fractions. Students have been learning how to add costs together, create simple budgets and find out the change required. In measurement, students had the chance to measure the lengths of different equipment on the playground. When learning about volume and capacity students estimated how much liquid the containers could hold and measured it with measuring jugs and water. Students were encouraged to use their problem solving and critical thinking skills.  

It has been an awesome term for us!

Miss Edwards.

We have had a very exciting term 2 and 3 so far in grade 3/4F.

In week 4 of term 3, students had the opportunity to celebrate Multicultural Day. This was a fun-filled day for our students as they had the opportunity to dress in clothing that represented their cultural identity and participate in various workshops throughout the day.

Our students had a pyjama and movie day recently which was a reward for their hard work throughout terms 2 and 3. Week 8 of term 3 was Literacy and Numeracy Week for our primary school students. Students were given plenty of opportunity to take part in various literacy and numeracy related activities and games during this week and on Friday, both students and staff dressed up as their favourite book character to conclude the celebrations. 

Some students in Grade 3/4F also had the opportunity to attend gymnastics lessons through term 3, whereas some others attended the District Athletics Carnival.

In Numeracy, students have been focusing on units of measurement, understanding money, interpreting fractions as well as chance and probability. Students were also encouraged to practice the four operations of mathematics and their times tables at home.

In Reading, students have been learning about different strategies they can use to deepen their understanding of the books they read. Some of these strategies include synthesising, summarising, analysing, critiquing, and close reading. Also, in Writing this term students focused on personal writing (letters, emails and dairy entries) and various forms of poetry.

Our grade 4, 5 and 6 studentsare currently in the city on camp. During this camp students will get the opportunity to visit a number of sights, participate in pre-planned workshops and dine at several restaurants. I’m certain the last 3 days of term will be both exciting and memorable for these students.

All in all, it’s been a great term for 3/4F!

Ms Fernando

Poetry

This term we have been exploring many different forms of poetry. We have read, analysed and written a variety of poems. The students have chosen some of their favourites for you to read.

Multicultural Day

What a fantastic day! African drumming, Chinese dragon, African Jewellery Making and Cultural games were some of our favourites.

Camp

We are so excited to finish this term off with 4-6 camp. We are heading into the city and can’t wait to explore the Melbourne Sports Museum, MCG, ACMI, Federation Square, Arts Centre, Queen Victoria Market, Eureka Skydeck and MSAC. Look out for our reflections and photos next term!!

Gala Day

At the start of the term we competed in our Gala Day. Our sports were Volleyball and AFL. We even got the chance to play beach volleyball!! Our students demonstrated all the College values. Well done!

Miss Bishop & Mrs Clarke

Another term has passed and we are proud of Mabo for all that they have achieved. During the term, Mabo have consistently achieved learning house points in all four school values, been commended for their excellence in academics and attendance, and have contributed to the success of College events such as athletics and cross country.

Students in Mabo continue to demonstrate the four school values. These students have been making a huge contribution to our total score. Mabo currently sits in third place in the total learning house points.

We want to thank our Mabo ambassadors and leadership team for making the whoopie pies for all Mabo students across primary and secondary. Students took their time out of their lunch to make sure that they were distributed to all our Mabo students. We will be looking to organise more of these events in the future.

During our assemblies we have acknowledged our GPA stars as well as student of the month - well done to those who have made a positive impact on their own learning, demonstrating the college values. We are proud of you!

Now that we have established a name for our learning house, we are in the process of choosing a mascot that would best represent the Mabo learning house, so stay tuned for the reveal.

Well done to everyone in Mabo who have made a great contribution to house culture and supporting one another during the making of the new Mabo learning house.

We look forward to new events, celebrating Mabo student success and continuing on building our learning house spirit.

It has yet again been an amazing start to the Semester for our Cowan (Purple) Learning House students!

Late last Semester, our Learning House was officially named Cowan. Our name was chosen by our Cowan community with staff, students and families involved in nominating and voting for an outstanding Australian who embodies the College values of excellence, respect, teamwork and commitment. Edith Cowan was an Australian social worker and politician, was born in 1861 and died in1932.

She is remembered as the first female member of any Australian parliament, a remarkable champion for women's and children’s rights and as such is commemorated on the Australian 50 dollar note. Cowan was known for her inspiring abilities, intellect, energy and courage – and these are the same qualities our Cowan students continue to demonstrate daily as they strive to do their best in their classrooms, in the yard and out in the community.

We have started to build more awareness in our Learning House about the significance of the work of Edith Cowan. Primary and Secondary Learning House Ambassadors organised and ran a ‘Cowan Lunchtime Activities’ in the primary area, with games and competitions, but also videos and poster presentations about Edith Cowan.

In the Secondary area, the Ambassadors have organised and facilitated quizzes about Edith Cowan, with prizes available. Thank you to all our Cowan Ambassadors for their continued work as role models, leaders and advocates for all Cowan students.

The students of Cowan have continued to show incredible team work, pride and peer support in all House events and activities. It is this culture amongst our students that has led to more hugely successful College events for us, including being announced 2022 Cross Country Carnival champions, second in the 2022 Athletics carnival, and currently placed second in the overall Learning House Points Competition.  Well done to everyone who has enthusiastically participated in these events.

A focus for the year has been on recognising and celebrating students demonstrating positive learning and social behaviours. The new Learning House Points has had students awarded points by staff when they model the School Values - Respect, Commitment, Team Work and Excellence – inside and outside of the classroom.

Congratulations to the following Cowan students who have been recently identified by staff as going above and beyond in this area:

Cowan Students of the Month:

Cyrus Metuataopu (Prep) – For always encouraging his peers to achieve their personal best

Nikia Manion-Knight (Year 9) – For great improvement in her organisation and commitment to studies

Heather Ferguson (Year 10) - For displaying excellent teamwork during the Building Bridges Excursion and working collaboratively with students from another school.

Highest individual Points:

Primary – Tami Nguyen (Grade 6); Sabra Tavinor (Grade 6)

Secondary - William Nguyen (Year 7); Samuel Reid (Year 7)

An important undertaking in the past term has been the establishment of the Learning House Mascots and all Cowan students have been actively involved in brainstorming, nominating and shortlisting potential mascots. We look forward to being able to announce the final design soon.  This has certainly been another example of how Carwatha Students are invested in providing their voice to decisions and being a part of whole school improvement.

The term has been packed with incursions, excursions, camps and events, and we know like us, Cowan Learning House students will be looking forward to what Term 4 has to offer.

Ms Andrew, Ms Witt and Mrs McPhie

As the year has gone on, Chang House (Blue) continues to build on its successes with great outcomes in and out of the classroom.

The Semester One Achievement Assembly at beginning of the term celebrated many students for academic, sporting and overall success. We are proud of our Chang Stuents who were acknowledged for the following awards:

Secondary Honours Awards for Semester 1:

Lachlan Ng, Christopher Nguyen, Jasleen Cheema, Nheisen Huliganga, Milica Gagic, Caitlin Hamilton, Sofia Kaur, Glenn Ng, Mohlomi Raswoko, Nilu Perera, Thu Doan, Christian Tran, Jessica Ho, Justin Tran, Daniel Kwenda, Farrell Raharjo, Atefeh Hosseini, Genesis Alcaya-Munoz, Nolwen Albert, John Kalomiris

Primary Literacy and Numeracy High Achievement:

Areba Ali, Vince Mayer, Justin Tran, Callum Hamilton, Victor Hong-Aung, Stella Kalomiri, Gabi Raswoko

Most Positive Behaviour Points for Chang House:

Caitlin Hamilton, Nilu Perera, Callum Hamilton

Age Group Champions for Athletics:

Vince Mayer, Callum Hamilton, Maggie Zhu, Leonid Nikolovski, Skye Garrard, Christian Tran, Annabelle Kirizakis, Tamia Ngo.

Collectively we had success as a Learning House being announced winners of the Athletics Carnival, second in Cross Country and the leading house overall for the year!

This term our Houses have focused on choosing a mascot or emblem to represent our team. Change students contributed ideas and our ambassadors narrowed it down to a shortlist of a dragon, a lion, a surgeon or a phoenix. Our students across all ages have voted and we can’t wait to announce our mascot soon!

We want all of our students to finish the year strong with only one term left! Remember to make sure you attend all school days unless you are unwell, display the school values in and out of the classroom everyday, and work hard to achieve your academic goals in all of your classes.

Mr Roberts and Mr Brown

Hi all thanks for a great term, I feel as though we have made some big strides in creating a team that has some strong connections and some strong values linked to both the school and Elizabeth Blackburn.

This term we have run multiple student leadership meetings and also house assemblies. We have been able to reward excellent effort, excellent attendance as well as Students of the Month and outstanding sport results. In Blackburn we also like to look at and talk about respect, teamwork and other values like resilience and honesty. I expect the Blackburn students to try and show these values at all time to myself and also to each other.

We have been trying to increase the students' connection to the Blackburn house as well as their knowledge about Elizabeth Blackburn, we ran a few challenges, asked the students to find out some information about her and we ran a short presentation on her. Briefly, though I am sure your child could tell you Elizabeth Blackburn is a genius, she is Australian born, studied in Melbourne for High school and University and has gone on to be a leader in her field in the study of DNA and telomeres. Telomeres are like little binding pieces on the end of a chromosome, they are self-replicating and made of DNA, but they behave slightly different from other strands of DNA.

In short, they control the aging of cells, they control cell multiplication in Cancer cells and the research that Elizabeth Blackburn is doing into these is ground-breaking and may one day help people suffering from Cancer or early aging disorders. For this research she has won the Nobel Prize in Science. She is 1 of 12 Women to have won this award and 1 of 15 Australians.

This term we had a number of awards to present for excellent attendance and effort, below is a list of these award winners.

Students of the month – Feba Davidson and Jasmyne Meegoda Gamage.

We also acknowledged the following students for Prep to year 12, and we invited them a Red House Lunch, which was put on by our excellent student leaders Rudraini, Isabella, Joshua, Brayden and Seneja. I would like to congratulate the following students:

We also got to acknowledge Adam Chamberlain on qualifying for State Cross country, this event was held at the end of term 2.

In the house points this year, we may be coming a gallant 4^th, but we should be proud of what the house is becoming, the friendships we are creating and how the students have come together in term 3 to build an amazing culture.

Go BLACKBURN in Term 4 and into 2023.

Mr Antony & Mrs Rentzis

Wow, what a year! I cannot believe our final year is almost over. With just a few more weeks of our final term remaining, it is great to reflect on the beautiful memories we have made this year.

We have had our final Formal and it was a blast. We were joined by Year 11 students as well as such a huge number of staff. Everyone danced and had a great time letting loose, even Mr Mulchay! The night really brought us all together, especially the Year 12 cohort and our really supportive and fun-loving teachers.





We are now counting our final days. We are all really looking forward to our Valedictory Dinner and celebrating how far we have all come since primary school.

Recently, a few of us went on the Girls Program trip to the La La Falls. Though the day did not go as planned due to inclement weather conditions, Caitlin was really creative in coming up with a contingency plan, taking us to Cardinia Reservoir, where we got to connect with nature. We also went to the Emerald Bakery, which was a treat to our eyes as well as our appetite. All English classes went to ACMI to watch the movie, The Queen.

It was a great cinematic experience, watching the set text, followed by getting an insight into our comparative task. Our Legal class took a trip down to Victorian Parliament, where we had the opportunity to understand our political system, and use the knowledge gained in our assessments.

Lastly, the Outdoor Education class was taken to Mt Buller for three days. Again, it was an amazing experience to be able to engage in snowboarding and tobogganing. It was freezing, but the overall experience and our connectedness made it immensely memorable and fun.

We have made so many memories that will last us a lifetime! I hope we continue to celebrate our final year, while studying hard to achieve our best in our upcoming VCE exams.

Ro Mon Lay - Cowan House Ambassador

To complement our Year 9 History studies, our students went on a tour of the Shrine of Remembrance. Two of our students, Glenn Ng and Caitlin Hamilton have shared their reflection on the day below.

“The experience of the Shrine of Remembrance was unforgettable. The artefacts that remain of the world wars are reminders of the sacrifices the people of the world gave. Whether man, woman or child, all have suffered lost. Visiting the shrine put into perspective the great impacts the war had past, present and future.

Forget them not, for they live within us and allow us to live the way we do now.”

Year 9 - Southeast Careers Expo and Try a Trade

The South East Careers and Try a Trade Expo was the largest careers expo outside of the CBD, with 120 exhibitors and over 3000 students attending.

We were thankful for the shining sun, even though it didn’t warm up inside, KCC certainly proved to be a marvellous venue.

A big display on the forecourt by Jayco, Victoria Police, Kennards Hire, Casey Youth Bus, Chisholm Brick Laying demonstrations and the Defense Force. 

There were opportunities to meet Universities, TAFEs, RTOs, Community Service Organisations and Industry about post school education and employment opportunities.  There were creative and interactive demonstrations which was fabulous for students.

Having such an extensive range of exhibitors in attendance gave the students the opportunity to learn about occupations they may never have considered

Morning tea was also a hit with a variety of food trucks

Year 10 Excursion to Federation University – Thursday, 21 July

Students had a great day visiting Federation University.

We were ushered into a theatre and were warmly welcomed by Aroha Taunoa and 2 student ambassadors.

Our morning session was filled with a Tutorial Session in Psychology with Psychology lecturer Justin Timora.  He spoke and showed visuals to students about behaviour and cognitive psychology

Students participated in the ‘Amazing Race’ which allowed students to whiz around the campus with questions on the look out to finding answers whilst become familiar with the layout of the university.

Mock interviews

Carwatha College P-12’s mock interview program provides students with the opportunity to experience a real life job interview with a community business leader, dressed in formal attire and having prepared an employment portfolio. This year’s event involved partnership with 13 community & business representatives.

In the weeks leading up to the event students develop letter writing skills, create a resume and rehearse interviewing techniques.

At the conclusion of the 20-minute interview students are provided with written and verbal feedback in the following areas- communication skills, attitude, personality & maturity, knowledge & interest in their selected job, and on their personal appearance.

Students experience pride, a sense of achievement and recognition as they explore their strengths, abilities and aptitudes.

Year 11 Deakin University

Year 11 students visited Deakin University – Burwood Campus.

We walked and admired the gardens and sculptures of Deakin. We were ushered into a large auditorium. Luke, our host, introduced students to the world of Deakin University - the many courses and pathways into tertiary education. Luke encouraged students to participate in the variety of clubs that can be joined so connections between students can be made.

Two student ambassadors assisted on the day they were from different courses, and they spoke to students about their different pathways into further education. They regaled students with their stories of clubs and the travel they incorporated into their studies.

Students broke into two groups and were taken on a tour of the campus.  It was a highlight to see the campus buzzing with students and have lunch and one of the many cafes.

Lunch with the Winners 2022

6 students attended the annual event Lunch with the Winners – 2022.  This year’s theme was ‘Promoting Opportunities on your Doorstep’

This luncheon was possible due to the partnership of South East Business Networks and SELLEN (South East Local Learning & Employment Network).  Its purpose is to demonstrate to students the career pathway opportunities within the many different industries in the South East.  Old and young people from diverse backgrounds shared their own career pathways.  Local schools like us attended. 😊  Its always a highlight when there is a meal provided – one of our students said – he will remain nameless-Jaydine.  To help enjoy our lunch we had a representative from a local company tell us about his engineering company.

CEO -Sonny Tilders – Creature Technology Co was our main speaker.  (Due to happenstance Sonny was in deep conversation with a friend in a local café, within earshot of owner Jayco Caravans manufacturer Jerry Ryan located in Dandenong South who on the spot offered his assistance-money). The rest is history Creature Technology Co was born and breathed life into animatronic characters eg. Walking with Dinosaurs.

Journalist and a Hip Hop magazine editor Rachel Evans spoke of her long journey and the choices that she had made.  Rachel is the former winner of the prestigious 2019 Dandenong Young Leaders Programme.  Rachel spoke of her struggles with mental health and suggested that ‘it is ok – to move slowly’ and ask for help because of this, she finds herself a reliable and nicer person.

Annie Romei – Electrician working at Wastech Engineering.  19 years on the tools, always, is on the look for positive experiences and good relationships.  She is going to be the voice of change in our environmental world.

Ryan Pola – Artist and Teacher was a live wire.  His artwork focuses predominately on portraiture and finds enjoyment and intrigue in trying to understand the human. (??google)   His art is important, but he now knows why he is a teacher-imparting his knowledge and skill to his students.

Sanduni Jasin – Physiotherapist-local girl-was going to be a doctor just what her parents requested.   😊 Sanduni was fun, talkative and a lil dog lover.  Her suggestion ‘follow your own rhythm’.  After a terrible tumble at basketball, numerous visits to the doctors and physiotherapists she had discovered what she wanted to be.

The common denominator with all these varied speakers – they did not shy away from the opportunities that presented themselves, in whatever mind set they were in.  Yes, they thought about it, but yes, took them.

Mrs Borchers and Mrs Naylor

The Children’s Book Council of Australia have announced this year’s winners

The annual CBCA Book of the Year Awards celebrate books and Australian children's authors and illustrators. You will often see parades with students dressed as their favourite book character. Along with book displays to highlight the importance of reading. 

There are six categories in the CBCA Book of the Year Awards. 

Book of the year Older Readers category ages 13-18 years

The Winner is……       Tiger Daughter: Rebecca Lim                        

Honours Award     Girls in boy’s Cars:  Felicity Castagna     

Honours Award     How to repaint a life: Steven Herrick     

Book of the year Younger Readers category ages 9-12 years

The Winner is ……   A Glasshouse of Stars: Shirley Marr    

Honours Award   Dragon Skin: Karen Foxlee                     

Honours Award   Rabbit, Soldier ,Angel, Thief:  Katrina Nannestad  

Book of the year Early Childhood category ages 0-6 years

The Winner is…..   Jetty Jumping:  Andrea Rowe                   

Honours Award   Walk of the Whales: Nick Bland            

Honours Award   Amira’s suitcase: Vikki Conley            

Picture Book of the Year ages 0-18 years

The Winner is…… Iceberg: Jess Racklyeft                       

Honours Award  Stellarphant: James Foley                    

Honours Award  Just one Bee: Christopher Nielsen           

Eve Pownall Award is for books with factual material with consideration given to imaginative presentation, interpretation, and variation of style

The winner is……   Still Alive: Safdar Ahmed                   

Honours Award   illustrated Encyclopaedia of Peculiar Pairs in nature          

Honours Award  Heroes, Rebels and innovators: Karen Wyld 

CBCA Award for New Illustrator

The winner is……  The Boy who tried to shrink his name: Michelle Pereira   

I would recommend all the 2022 shortlisted books; they are on display in the library and ready for borrowing

Happy Reading 

Mrs Hadfield         

We are delighted to announce that Mr Patrick Mulcahy has been shortlisted for the 2024 Victorian Education Excellence Awards in the Colin Simpson Outstanding Secondary Principal category. Only 3 Principals from Secondary, P-12 or Specialist settings are shortlisted for this award in any given year. 

Mr Mulcahy was selected on the shortlist after an exhaustive process, including endorsements from a community representative, our school council and our SEIL (Senior Education Improvement Leader) and an interview process.

The honour is a recognition of the demonstrable improvement in student learning outcomes throughout his time at the school so far. The honour also recognises the safe and inclusive environment created at Carwatha College P-12. 

Winners for each award will be announced later in the year:

https://www.vic.gov.au/2024-victorian-education-excellence-awards-finalists