Principal's Report

It is hard to believe that the first half of the school year is nearly over. It only seems like yesterday that the first day of school was here and students were settling in to a new school year.  Six months later it is time to look back and see the progress that has happened, as well as looking forward to setting new goals for the second half of the year.

Teachers have been busy writing reports and these reports can be accessed online via Compass on the last day of the term. Please contact the office if you require assistance. It is extremely important that you sit down with your child and read the reports closely it will assist them to identify what they have done well this semester and areas for improvement for semester 2.

Our year 10 and 11 students have completed their exams and all students completing a unit 3 subject have sat the GAT. Thank you to Mr Hammond for all the work he has done to ensure that these events run smoothly.

Student Attitudes to School Survey

All students from grade 4 to year 12 have recently completed the attitude to school survey. We value student voice as a means of improving student engagement, wellbeing and quality instruction at Carwatha College P 12 and are conducting a survey to find out what your child thinks of our school. The Attitudes to School survey is an annual student survey offered by the Department of Education and Training to assist schools in gaining an understanding of students' perceptions and experience of school.

Our school will use the survey results to plan programs and activities to improve your child's schooling experience. This will be the fourteenth year that the survey has been offered, although this year for the first time it will be an online survey and the Department has updated the survey to include important new measures that are known to influence student engagement and performance.

Students from Year 4 to 12 at our school will participate in the survey over the next few weeks. The survey takes approximately 30 minutes to compete and all responses to the survey are anonymous. The survey results will be reported back to the school in July and will be communicated to parents through the Annual Report. 

Camps

Our year 8 and 9 students have recently completed their camps. It has been great to offer these experiences free once again of charge due to funding from the education department. The students had a great time and were extremely well behaved. Thank you to Mr. Roberts for all the organisation that goes into the camps and to all the staff who attended.

Carwatha College P 12 Facebook

There is a lot of activity happening on our Facebook page with numerous posts which demonstrate the wonderful work that is being done here at our school by staff and students. I would encourage you to look for that and keep abreast of events and achievements at the school.

Traffic Management

The recent arrival of cold weather has seen an increase in the number of students being driven to school. This has resulted in significant congestion and safety concerns during drop off and pick up time. Members of our school community are encouraged to:

- Use designated car spaces only

- Do not pick up/drop off students in no standing zones

- Do not enter the College Car Park to pick up or drop off

- When riding a bike, students are to wear a helmet and walk the bike across the crossing

Students will be dismissed at 2.30 on Friday June 23^rd.  Term 3 commences on Monday July 10^th.  I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our families a safe, relaxing and enjoyable break.

Pat Mulcahy

Assistant Principal's Report 

Term 2 has been a short, busy and exciting time for our students. We have had the pleasure of providing our students with a plethora of camps, excursions and sporting events. These experiential learning experiences are essential components of student learning and are often some of the most memorable moments students will have through their schooling journey.

These events only run thanks to the hard work and dedication of staff. There is a significant amount of administration, risk assessment and additional work in preparing an event off school property. Our dedicated staff have happily committed to this in order to give our students the opportunity to explore their passions and interests. 

Despite the state-wide relief teacher shortage, we have been able to run every event we wanted to, thanks mainly to our stable and committed staff and the work of our Daily Organiser, Mr Damien Luci, who always seems to find a way to make things work.

Parents and Carers are reminded that the two staff car parks on Browns Road are not to be used for student pick up or drop off. The car parks are not designed for this, and we have received many complaints about near misses and unsafe behaviour during the busy school start and end times.

There is low visibility in both car parks, but particularly the car park near the MPC. Parents/Carers who drive their child to or from school are asked to use Browns Rd, Jacksons Rd or the associated side streets for this purpose. We have crossing supervisors on both major thoroughfares to ensure our students can cross the road safely and enter the school grounds through the assigned gates. We thank you for your support in this matter, as student safety is paramount.

Planning is well underway for our P-12 Multicultural Day to be held on Monday, August 7^th. The school day will start with our Multicultural Day Assembly, the cornerstone event of the day. We encourage families to attend to witness the performances and the celebration of the different cultures represented in our school community. We also encourage students to wear clothing which represents their cultural background.

The respect and celebration of different cultures is a huge strength of our school. It is amazing to think that we have around 65 different cultural backgrounds represented in our school community. Multicultural Day epitomises the respect for diversity and is a celebration of all our cultures.

It is also hard to believe that our Year 12s are about to begin their last final term. Time moves quickly, and we wish these students all the best as they work towards completing their studies.

Mr Matthew Oke

Prep M

We have had another busy term.

We have been learning many things and have been excited to participate in all activities.

Here are a few comments about the term from the students…

Ethan – I love learning my Magic Words.

Peyton – I love seeing my friends.

Oliver – I love making things with clay in Art.

Roman – I love making a dragon with clay in Art.

Masha – I like playing with Ethan in the playground, he helps me.

Halley – I like to play with my friends at school.

Jigme – I love Mrs.McPhie and playing in the classroom.

We have been busy learning to read and improve our reading levels. We are enjoying reading books together and finding the main idea in the text. We have been learning many new words to improve our vocabulary and understand what we are reading.

I love learning new reading strategies…

Answaar- I love reading every book in our classroom.

Jasmine – I love looking at the pictures to help me read.

Harlow – I love all the animal books in our classroom and in the library.

Dominique – I love learning my Magic Words and moving to the next reading level.

Every student has tried their best to write about our weekend and holidays. We have been writing stories about our pet rocks and teddy bears.  We have been learning about different types of punctuation. Everyone has tried to use descriptive words in their writing and trying to write more than one sentence.

These students love writing about…

Candice – I love sounding out my words and writing about my pet rock.

Ryan – I love writing about the weekend and drawing a picture to match.

Macie – I like writing about the holidays and what I do with my friends.

In Maths we have been working on multiplication and sharing. We have made patterns with pictures, colours and numbers. We have been skip counting by 2’s,5’s and 10’s and recognising the odd and even numbers when we count. We have focussed on recognising and drawing 2D and 3D shapes, we all enjoyed making a cube and counting the faces and corners. Everyone has enjoyed using location words to describe where things are and use mapping skills to show the position of various items.

What we love about Maths…

Eric – Making black and red colour patterns.

Ruby – I love making number and colour patterns.

Chelsea – I love making 3D shapes out of paper and playing with Oliver.

Everyone has enjoyed the specialist classes. Art has been a particular favourite, drawing and painting and making things using clay. Students have enjoyed learning about what different things are made of in our environment. In P.E, everyone has had fun doing gymnastics and refining their fine motor skills.

Elise –  I love my art class with my best friends Macie and Ruby.

Alanna –  I like drawing and making clay sculptures.

Carlos – I like getting special awards for good sportsmanship in P.E.

Brooklyn – I love painting and clay and drawing pictures for my mum.

 We have enjoyed many special events, including the simultaneous reading session about a cheeky Sloth, Naidoc Week, where we wore yellow and reading sessions with our Grade 6 Buddies. Our history excursion to Heritage Hill Historic Homestead was a highlight. We learned about the olden days, attended a 1900’s school room, what people wore and how they lived. We saw firsthand what we have been learning about all term.

Happy holidays everyone!

Thanks for your support,

Sonia McPhie and Prep M

Prep/1H
Prep/1H have had a fantastic fun filled and exciting term 2.  We have done loads of learning and produced some outstanding work.

Over the last term we have achieved a great number of things together. We wrote Narrative stories about our pet rocks and teddy friends and their exciting adventures. We also did lots of research on our favourite animals to write information reports. We even got a chance to do some cooking so we could write a step-by-step procedural text.

In maths we practised making 2D shapes with sticks and 3D shapes by making a cube with paper. In History we explored the past and the present and went to Heritage Hill to explore how we used to live in the past. We looked at some old houses and even got a chance to experience going to school in the past.

In term 2 we celebrated NAIDOC Week and wore well yellow for National Reconciliation Week. We were also very excited to participated in Simultaneous Storytime and read The Speedy Sloth at assembly.

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

      

From Prep/1H and Mrs H

Term 2 has been a busy but exciting term for us in Grade 1/ 2A. We have done lots of learning and have had some amazing work done.

We did lots and lots of reading and worked hard on our reading comprehension skills. We developed strategies to predict, make connections and infer.

We followed the Writing process and planned, composed, revised, edited, and published information reports. We are so proud of our efforts. Writing letters was also so much fun!

In Math we developed skills to help us solve multiplication and division problems. We worked on interesting number patterns and learnt about 2-D shapes and 3-D objects.

In History we explored the past and the present and identified similarities and differences. We visited Heritage Hill Historical Homestead to explore how people used to live in the past. We looked at some old houses and even got a chance to experience going to school in the past.

We enjoyed participating in Simultaneous Storytime and Mr Mulcahy read ‘The Speedy Sloth’ at assembly. Parents joined us in our classroom and helped us with some craft activities. We had a good time selecting gifts for our mothers at the Mother’s Day Stall.

I’m sure you’re looking forward to reading your child’s Semester 1 report. You will find this in the COMPASS portal on the last day of term.

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

Mrs Elaine Abraham

Grade 2F
We have had a very exciting term 2 so far in Grade 2F.

Our students have done lots of learning and produced some outstanding work!

In Numeracy this term, students have been focusing on multiplicative strategies, understanding geometric properties, number patterns and algebraic thinking as well as positioning and locating. Students were also encouraged to practice the four operations of mathematics and their times tables at home.

In Reading this term, students have been learning about different strategies they can use to deepen their understanding of the books they read. Some of these strategies include predicting, making connections, inferring and close reading. Also, in Writing this term students focused on personal writing (letters, emails and dairy entries) and report writing.

In Integrated Studies, this term, students focused on personal, family, and local history. During the term they were able to learn about their own history and that of their family and school, including stories from different cultures and other parts of the world.

 

In Digital Technologies, this term, students practised typing and learnt new Microsoft Word skills. These skills included opening and saving documents, selecting font styles, sizes, colours and inserting pictures.

Early in term 2, Grade 2F had the opportunity to celebrate Mother’s Day by taking part in various craft activities during the week and attend the Mother’s Day stall organized by the school. Students were able to purchase gifts to take home to their mums.

This term, Grade 2F had the opportunity to celebrate NAIDOC Week and wear yellow to commemorate National Reconciliation Week. Our students were also excited to participate in Simultaneous Storytime and listen to our principal Mr. Mulcahy read “The Speedy Sloth” at assembly. Parents were invited back to the classroom to participate in fun arts and crafts activities afterwards.

All in all, it’s been a great term for Grade 2F!

Grade 3/4P

3/4P has had a super busy Term 2, with lots of learning and fun activities!

This term in mathematics, we have focused on multiplication, division and shape. Students have become more confident in their timetables and are very excited to compete in the timetable ladder whenever we get the chance. We have also looked at the properties of 2D and 3D shapes, types of angles we can see all around us and how to measure angles using a protractor.

Throughout the whole term students have been consistently working to develop their reading and writing skills. In writing, students have learnt how to write reports and the type of information to include.

They researched an animal of their choice on the Internet and amazed us with all the information they discovered. They published this information and they are now on display around the room for other students to learn all the wonderful facts off.  During reading, they have developed skills to make predictions, infer and make connections.

Early in the term we had our whole school athletics carnival. Students had the opportunity to participate in track and field events, it was fantastic to see all the students putting in their best effort in all the events.

We have also been lucky enough to have two incursions this term; Seaweed Sally and Schools Sports Victoria. During Seaweed Sally, students developed awareness and understanding of our local marine. They had the opportunity to hold live sea creatures and ask questions to help deepen their understanding.

Schools Sport Victoria came out and ran a ‘Spike Ball’ session for our students. They taught our students all the skills required to play the game. They started with the basic skills and by the end of the session developed those skills deeper in order to play a full game. The students loved getting involved and were truly exhausted after the session due to their high level of participation and enthusiasm.

It has been a successful term with students developing more confidence and taking more responsibility for their learning each day!

Ms Pritchett

Grade 3/4B

Term two is over already and what a fabulous term it has been! We’ve had lots of fun learning about 2 Dimensional and 3 Dimensional shapes. Students have learnt about different types of angles and how to measure them with a protractor. Students have been working hard learning all about multiplication and division concepts. Ask them what they have been learning and test their skills.

In 3/4 Sport, students have a been enjoying learning soccer and tennis skills and working on their hand-eye coordination. The College Athletics Carnival was a great success. It was fabulous to see our students getting involved in as many events as possible.

We were really proud of their participation and effort. During the School Sports Victoria incursions, students were highly engaged and had heaps of fun participating in the organised activities.

The Seaweed Sally incursion was a fabulous opportunity for students to learn about marine life. As you can see in the pictures, they thoroughly enjoyed being able to look at the different artifacts that have come from the sea. The live starfish were definitely a highlight for students.

Ms Bishop

Grade 5/6E 

Grade 5/6E have had a busy start to the year. The students have participated in a number of special activities. We began the first week of term by attending the Gala Day. Students played netball and soccer against other schools in our area and displayed excellent sportsmanship. In the middle of the term we discussed the importance of Sorry Day and recognised reconciliation week. Throughout the term grade 5/6E have started to work with their buddies in Prep/1 H.

During Reading this term, students have continued to learn about a range of strategies that can be used to develop a deeper understanding of the texts they read. Some of these strategies include predicting, making connections, inferring and close reading.

In Writing, we have been learning about information reports, biographies, autobiographies and letter writing. Students have had the opportunity to write informal letters to other students in their class.

In Numeracy this term, students have been working closely with multiplication, division, shape and problem solving. Students also focused on learning 2D and 3D shapes.

In Integrated Studies there has been a focus on the history of Australia. Students have been learning about the impact of the colonisation of Australia.

It has been a fantastic term 2!

From 5/6E and Miss Edwards.

Grade 5/6K

What a busy 9 weeks we’ve had in 5/6K this Term! We have spent time in Literacy looking at inferring how characters are feeling and have been creating letters that we have drafted, written and sent out to our classmates.

In Maths, we have been working on our Multiplication, Division and Shape knowledge - ask us to construct a 3D shape from scratch! During Integrated Studies, we have been learning about the Colonisation of Australia and deep diving into the lives of individuals who lived during that time. We had a great time creating diary entries to share with the class.

  

We have been to so many different fun excursions such as taking part in Gala and Athletics day as well as attending a RoundNet incursion which was a big hit! We are super excited to be back next Term for more exciting learning!

Mrs Elias & Ms Kavanagh

It’s been a busy term in the Primary Language Centre. We welcomed 6 new students to Carwatha! We now have students from China, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand in grades 1 – 6.

In our learning, we have been focusing on sequencing events in a text, which helps build our skills to recount what we’ve read, watched or listened to. We have also been learning to locate information in a text, helping us to gather information to write Information Reports about some of the animals we have been learning about. Speaking English in front of other students can be quite challenging, so we practise by sharing facts we have found or retelling parts of a story through class discussions and by standing in front of the class. We have also been working in guided reading groups to complete small group activities. All these routines help us prepare for learning in a mainstream classroom.

We participated in a Seaweed Sally incursion, where we got to look at, touch and hold various sea creatures. Another fantastic way to learn about animals and express ourselves in English!

We joined the all the primary students in the theatre for National Simultaneous Storytime. We listened to Mr Mulcahy read “The Speedy Sloth” before completing lots of fun activities about sloths in our classroom. Did you know that Sloths are excellent swimmers?

Mrs Clarke 



Primary Art 

This term Prep – 6 students have enjoyed experimenting and modelling using clay.  They have learnt how to shape, join and manipulate the clay into bowls, cups, dragons or designs of their own. Their creations are now drying in preparation for their first firing in the kiln. Students are waiting in anticipation for next term, when they will bring their work to life by adding coloured glaze.

Prep and Grade 1 students have created a mosaic Rainbow fish. They learned how to cut, paste and draw a detailed background.

Grade 2 students drew and then painted friendly monsters. Focusing on the use of colour, lines, shapes and textures to create an eye-catching monster.

Mrs McAleer

We are excited to have finished semester one so positively, and are excited for what term three has to offer!

Congratulations to all Mabo students who have contributed to our Learning House points, participated in college events and demonstrated our college values of respect, commitment, excellence and teamwork throughout term two.

House spirit was beaming at our Athletics Carnival, with many students from Primary and Secondary participating in each of the events. Thank you to all Mabo students who came dressed up in green, participated in the events on the day and cheered on other Mabo students.

Congratulations to the following students who were nominated their age group champion for athletics:

• Anastasia Katalina
• Jaydine Alapati
• Atilla Coskun
• Abdullah Dervisbegovic

Over the term we have seen Mabo students developed and strengthen their relationships with other Mabo students from different year level. We would like to thank our home group teachers who worked tirelessly to work with their students to develop these relationships, as well as supporting our students in all areas of their learning.

Our Learning House Ambassadors have been and are continuing to work hard on college events. We have something exciting planned for term three, so stay tuned for Mabo Week!

Have a wonderful break filled with joy and happiness!

Mitchell Hammond, Bree Bishop & Siena Go - Mabo House leaders

Another term is over and it was full of events, excitement and achievement! We had a lot of fun in house events and Chang are climbing up the leaderboard. Individual House Points are skyrocketing as our students show the school values in different ways in and outside the classroom.

Special mention to Nikolina Gagic and Nheisen Huliganga (Secondary) and Andy Almajan and Luis Papa (Primary) for having the highest individual house point totals in Chang House.

Across the term our Secondary Home Groups have considered how they look after themselves and find balance, as well as put their muscle into our Push Up Challenge. We’ve kept working together towards achieving in school events as well as plan and ran Chang Week.

Chang for the second year running demonstrated amazing commitment and success in our House Athletics Carnival at Knox. Throughout the day there was a buzz of excitement to many of our students participating and having fun. This year’s carnival saw a high  participation rate across the board.

This year we also had the pleasure of having our primary Chang students which was great to see them all giving it a go and having a lot of fun being with the senior students. Overall our students represented our college values to an excellent standard. So for the second year we are the official winners of the day!!! Congratulations to all those who participated.

We wish our families are safe and enjoyable mid-year break and we look forward to seeing everyone in Term 3!

Paul Roberts, Zannen Brown and Olivia Edwards - Chang House Leaders

CHANG WEEK 2023

By Caitlin Hamilton

Chang Week took place at the beginning of May. It was a week to enjoy activities, get familiar with our Learning House’s namesake, and raise funds for a charity chosen by the students of Chang house.

The first activity was a school-wide amazing race. Both primary and secondary students spent the lunchtime completing exciting challenges and racing through their clues to reach their final destination. Our primary winners were Belma, Ava, Evelyn, Sophie, Sam and Kristen. In secondary, Louisa, Anny, Wendy and Aria.

The second activity took place the next day during our home group session. The Chang House Leaders and Ambassadors put together a quiz on Victor Chang and some questions about general health, keeping in the theme of Chang’s profession.

While this was happening, each class sent a team member each to participate in a star jump or wall sit challenge. Logan and Abdullah beat the star jumps and Adam and Tom won the wall sit. Primary Mabo and Secondary Chang 1 were our overall conquerors.

In our following home group period, we had each Secondary class answer quiz sheets on various blue themed items. Blackburn 3, Blackburn 4, Chang 2, Chang 3, Mabo 1, and Mabo 4 all got everything correct!

Finally, we had our barbeque and free dress day. Points were handed out to students wearing blue and the barbeque had people lining up for the entire lunchtime. Blackburn had the most students in Chang colours. Points were tallied and donations were counted. Our Chang Week Champion was Blackburn House!

At the end of the week, $750 was donated to the Heart Foundation, our chosen charity. This was the result of all our donations. It really goes to show how much we can do by simply getting involved and having some fun! We thank all who participated and congratulate everyone for their effort.

Another term is coming to a close, but not without amazing achievements along the way both in and out of the classroom. Cowan students have continued to grow and strive for success, which is evident in the positive behaviour learning house points, where students have consistently upheld the 4 school vales of respect, teamwork, excellence and commitment.

Cowan once again have demonstrated outstanding house spirit and unity at the annual House Athletics Carnival at Knox. An influx of purple clothing and props were evident around the venue. This year’s carnival saw our highest participation rate to date across the board, which helped us obtain second place for the overall carnival. Congratulations to all those who participated.

In Cowan, we take great pride in attendance and ensuring our students are here every day to receive the best possible education, allowing them to get a step closer to achieving their goals. Over the course of term 2 we had 12 students who have achieved an attendance of 100%. These students should be commended on their outstanding attendance:

• Madison Anthony-Mclean
• Anastasia Cabo
• Jackson Crawford
• Chaiyapa Inthawong
• Eleni Kustura
• Brenden Luc
• Melissa Ludwick
• Tami Nguyen
• Gbemi Omotesho
• Chloe Tan
• Kyeshea Tennent
• Jahzara Tennent

Term 2 saw the strengthening of the Cowan community through our homegroup sessions. Students undertook many challenges and activities to which they had to work as one unit to achieve success.

One of the current challenges that Cowan as a whole is completing is the “Push Up Challenge” to raise money for mental health. Collectively as a house at day 13 we have achieved 2500 push ups and are still aspiring for more over the final 10 days.

The success that has been achieved over the first semester in homegroup could not been possible without the support and dedication from our outstanding homegroup teachers who have dedicated their time to ensure each session is enjoyable and most importantly each student feels safe and supported.

We would also like to acknowledge the students and our community members as without your support and engagement this system would not be where it is today. Thank you and enjoy your break, we can’t wait to see you back in term 3!

Blackburn has once again had an extremely positive Term 2. Including a great day at Athletics and some fantastic results throughout the Homegroup Program.

Although we were unable to take out the third carnival for the year, after winning both Swimming and Cross Country in Term 1, Blackburn students who were involved in the Athletics day did our house proud. On a sunny day filled with adrenaline and fierce competition, students from Blackburn House showcased their athletic prowess, securing multiple victories.

From sprinting to long jump and everything in between, the athletes representing Blackburn demonstrated remarkable skill, determination, and teamwork. It was extremely exciting to see such huge participation from our Primary School students, proving that the future is bright for Blackburn. 

Blackburn’s accomplishments extend far beyond the sports field. The Homegroup sessions conducted throughout Term 2 proved to be another area of strength for Blackburn fostering a supportive and inclusive environment that facilitated great achievements.

One notable highlight was the house’s triumph in Chang week. During this week, students worked collaboratively, utilising their diverse skill sets to excel in various tasks. Their dedication and commitment were evident in the win.

Our current Homegroup challenge requires Blackburn students to work together in the House Push Up Challenge.  After a slow start, Blackburn have made a late resurgence and are currently in the lead. Let’s hope Blackburn can keep up the good work over the next week to achieve not only positive outcomes for our house, but for the wider community through mental health awareness.

Our House Ambassadors have continued their good work from Term 1, with a lot of involvement in The Athletics Carnival and with our Homegroup program. We look forward to this continuing into Term 3, particularly during Blackburn week in week 8.  

As it stands, Blackburn has propelled themselves to the top of the house standings. With a great team performance at Athletics Day and a series of exceptional achievements during Homegroup sessions, Blackburn has solidified its position as the leading house this year.

Congratulations Blackburn on another triumphant term! Let’s continue our successes into Term 3 and beyond.  

Miss Farrington-Williams – Head of Blackburn House 

Mrs Rentzis – Assistant Head of Blackburn House

Mrs Coleman Hrissinis – Primary Blackburn Leader

Year 8 Camp

By Kareem Dib

Year 8 Camp was an incredible adventure for all students. We participated in a range of activities such as bowling, night swimming, Eureka Skydeck, River Cruise, ACMI and so much more.

We used a range of transportation such as trains, trams and buses. After ACMI we ended up at these spinning charis which was so much fun. For dinner we had pizza and burgers which were so good and the cabins were so fun.
We had our friends and it was a blast and the Queen Victoria Market had some amazing cosmetics and food.

Everyone really enjoyed camp and thought it was super fun!

Our Year 9s along with some senior mentors went to Golden Valleys Adventure Camp from June 7^th – 9^th. We had to brave a wet and cold first day to enjoy tube sliding and mazes at Arthurs Seat and various activities at camp but the weather improved across the three days.

The activities included Giant Swing, Leap of Faith, Crate Stacking, Vertical Challenge and Archery. Everyone joined in some big outdoor games as well as a trivia night and there was lots of time for volleyball, dodgeball and gaga-ball.

Across the camp we spent moments recognising each other for being brave, being kind, and showing teamwork and there were many, many examples of people stepping up in leadership, doing something outside of their comfort zone, and cheering each other on.

Overall, it was a fantastic three days and we hope to see more of those qualities on display from our students back at school.

Here are some quotes from our Year 9s about camp:

“I wish I could have stayed there longer” Lil

“The weather was really nice” Nheisen

“Probably the best staff I’ve ever had. Life-changing experiences!” Alex

“It was the best one so far” Taeno

“Year 9 camp was the best experience. It was fun and taught us a lot about life” Rochelle

Paul Roberts - Junior School Leader

International students Camp

On Tuesday, I went to camp with my friends. We took the bus for a long time, and I slept on the bus for a long time too. First, we went to Sovereign Hill. Wendy and I went to the candy shop, and we bought some candy called “Raspberry Drops’, which were very delicious.

Next, we tried to find some gold. We used a big shovel to shovel the sand into a basin and shook the basin to find gold. I only found a tiny bit of gold, and I put it in a small bottle. After that we went to Red Hill Mine, that was really exciting and fun. I have learnt how workers find gold, it is really hard and tricky to find gold.

After that, I went to the gold pouring. I watched the show that was very interesting. At 4pm, we left Sovereign Hill and went to our campsite, Log Cabin Camp.    
By Louisa CUI ELC

On Tuesday I travelled on the bus to Sovereign Hill in Ballarat. I looked at horses and panned for gold. On Wednesday, I did the Leap of Faith at Log Cabin Camp and I did the Zipline. I finally went home. What an exciting day.  By Bokai ZHANG ELC

On Tuesday we went to Sovereign Hill. We ate some food, played some games. It was very fun. Later, we went to Log Cabin Camp. It was fun too. We ate dinner and it was yummy. After dinner we played some games, it was interesting. Soon after, I took a shower and went to bed but I didn’t sleep. My friends and I played games, ate food and it was fun.

Wednesday morning, I got up and ate breakfast. After breakfast, we played games. It’s scary. After the games we ate lunch. After lunch we needed to go back to school. We went back to school, when we arrived at school we said “bye bye” and went home. I would go again. I like camp.     
By Shuhan LIU ELC

The Wellbeing and Inclusion Team are available to provide access to information and services that meet the needs of students and promote their learning and wellbeing. For assistance, contact Miss Hallett – caitlin.hallett@eduation.vic.gov.au

Term 2 Programs

Greater Dandenong Youth Services - Reconciliation Week Event

National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. The theme for NRW 2023 was Be a Voice for Generations, and it encouraged all Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways in our everyday lives – where we live, learn, and socialise. This event involved students participating in yarning circles/workshops activities for secondary school students.

Koorie Event – Campfire Conversations with Lyndale Secondary College

Koorie students and their families were invited to attend Lyndale Secondary College on 16/03/23. This was a fantastic opportunity for our students to share their experiences of education and share strategies to promote their stories.  

Rite Man Program – Selected Year 9 & 10 Boys

The Rite Man Program aims to provide positive role models to students needing extra support through a transitional stage of their life. It aims to create a supportive peer group mentoring program that identifies and supports the challenges students may be facing. It provides an outdoor camp experience as a rite of passage helping students to take healthy steps to becoming mature adults. Year 9 and 10 boys attended the camp this term and participated in teamwork and mental health activities.  

Changes to the Wellbeing/Inclusion Team

We welcome the following staff to the Carwatha community and team:

• Han Koslay (Youth Worker, 3 days per week).

 News Feed Items

Check out the News Feed Items on Compass for further information about:

• Share Shelf: a resource families can access to support them with food security.
• Greater Dandenong Youth Services Programs for School Holidays
• State School Relief – Assistance with Uniform.
• NAIDOC Week Events – Cranbourne Botanical Gardens.

Headspace In Schools Program

Brief intervention counselling is available to students 12 years and above through Headspace on-site at Carwatha College P-12. Students are referred by Miss Hallett and can then complete an intake/assessment to determine if sessions would be best on-site or at the Headspace centre. Shalia visits fortnightly and information is treated in a private and confidential manner. Services are free of charge.

For more information see Miss Hallett.

“Libraries store the energy that fuels the imagination. They open up windows to the world and inspire us to explore and achieve and contribute to improving our quality of life. Libraries change lives for the better” – Sidney Sheldon.

In the Carwatha Library there is time to read, time to play a game of UNO with friends, time to draw and time to have a Talent Quest 😊

Our library monitors decided they would like to organise a Quest for those of us who are brave and confident or just wanting to become more confident for our Prep and Grade One students.

The students who put on their performances were from grade 2, 3 and 4.

We had a cast of students wanting to show case their talents.

They delighted their audience with their fabulous things they could do

Rizwan, Moscho and Stephanie expressed their dancing prowess to hip hop music

Aliyssa and Ava showcased their dedication, timing and physical strength  – performing calisthenics

Trinette read an uplifting story

Tamia and Marel shared their jokes and made us giggle

Thomas and Hendrix did a vaudeville routine that made us laugh

Best of all the library created a safe place where students could have a lot of fun.

A ‘star of participation’ was given to each contestant.

The lunchtime event was made even more successful by the senior ensemble of Alex, Josh and Sierra providing light music in between each act. A big thank you to Nick our music teacher.

Pam Naylor - Library Manager

The Main Office

Office Hours:         8.15am - 4.00pm

Parents should always make contact with the Main office when visiting the college. 

Office Staff:

Buisness Manager:     Theresa Jarvis

Accounts:                  Roseann Bivens                        

                                Pauline Horbaczow

Reception:                 Eftalya Coskun

First Aid:                   Donna Azzopardi

Term Dates 2023


Secondary Contacts 2023

MABO           - Mr Hammond/Ms Go
COWAN         - Ms Witt/Mr Antony
CHANG         - Mr Roberts/Mr Brown
BLACKBURN  - Mrs Rentzis/Ms Farrington-Williams

Secondary Junior Leader (Year 7-9)    Mr Roberts

Secondary Senior Leader (Year 10-12)  Mr Hammond

Assistant Principal (Year 7-12)   Mr Oke

To Speak to or book an appointment with a coordinator, College Leader  or Assistant Principal please contact the main office.

Primary Contacts 2023

MABO           - Ms Bishop
COWAN        - Mrs McPhie
CHANG         - Ms Edwards
BLACKBURN  - Ms Hrissinis

Assistant Principal: Mrs Beauchamp-Wylie

Primary Leading Teacher: Mrs Elias

To speak to or book an appointment with a class teacher, leading teacher  or  Assistant Principal please contact the main office.

Prep M            Mrs McPhie

Prep/1H          Ms Hrissinis

1/2A               Mrs Abraham

2F                  Ms Fernando

3/4P               Ms Pritchett

3/4B               Ms Bishop

5/6E               Ms Edwards

5/6K               Mrs Elias & Ms Kavanagh 

PLC                 Mrs Clarke

Bell Times




Attendance 

All students are expected to be punctual and regular in attendance. After each absence, a note of explanation, dated and signed by the parent/guardian must be brought to the school or absences can be monitored and/or approved online via compass. 

College Map

Lost Property

Lost Property is located in Sickbay. If your child has lost an item please call or see Nurse Donna in Sickbay.

Uniform purchase information during lockdown


Sustainable School Shop: 
Second Hand Uniforms & Second Hand Books

The College is conscious of the need to provide an efficient process for families to be able to buy and sell second hand uniform.

We are happy to announce the sustainable school shop website that Carwatha College P-12 has previously directed parents to use for second hand books now offers buying and selling of second hand uniforms.

Please go to

 www.sustainableschoolshop.com.au

For the best results:

• Register on the Sustainable School Shop website
• List your second-hand uniform items for sale
• List wanted ads for those items you are looking to buy
• The College’s uniform lists are loaded into the system to make listing ads easy
• The system matches the ads of buyers with sellers and notifies the buyer via email
• Buyers contact sellers and arrange where and when to trade.
• The school is not involved in the transaction
• Parents are well supported via Sustainable School Shop’s telephone (0438 743 444) and email help lines
• The system is simple and easy to use - If you don’t have a computer, internet access or an email address, please call the Sustainable School Shop for assistance.