APC Newsletter Edition 9 2022

IMPORTANT DATES

FRIDAY 16 DECEMBER Sailing Day

MONDAY 19 DECEMBER

Whole Staff Professional Day (No formal classes)

TUESDAY 23 DECEMBER

End of Term 4

2023

MONDAY 30 JANUARY

First day for Year 7 and Year 12 students

TUESDAY 31 JANUARY

First day for Year 8, 9, 10 and 11 students

THURSDAY 2 FEBRUARY

Photo Day Individual photos for all students

WEDNESDAY 15 FEBRUARY

Year 12 group photo day

Catch up photo day (for individuals who missed 2 February and sibling photos)

FRIDAY 24 FEBRUARY

Year 7 Immunisations (and for Year 8 students as required)

BUDDING TV WRITER WINS PRIZE

Year 8 student Zamina Parker has won first prize in a national writing competition run by the Australian Children’s Television Foundation.

The competition, for Year 7 and 8 students, was called “My Place” and the task was to write 1000 words that reflected on change and continuity in their local community.

Students were able to use any form of creative writing, such as narratives, historical recounts, diary entries, news reports or poetry, to bring their entry to life.

The competition was based on the children’s TV series “My Place”, which takes audiences back in time to explore the history of different Australian communities through the eyes of the children who lived there.

Zamia, who was supported in her writing by her English teacher Heather Glennie, won a $100 ACTF voucher.

Nice one, Zamina!

COVER: Madeleine Appleby is greeted by her sister Olivia and mum Andrea after completing her VCE English exam.

Zamina (right) and a scene from the ABC series "My Place"(above).

STUNNING VCE RESULTS FOR CLASS OF 2022

Steven Cook Foundation Principal

Another academic year nears its end and we have many reasons to celebrate, topped off by our excellent VCE results. The headline results are stunning:

• We managed to move our Median Study Score from 30 to 32, putting us somewhere between the top 5 and 7 per cent of public secondary schools.

• Our SEAL program students achieved a Median Study Score of 35 – equal with the top selective schools.

• 21.7 per cent achieved an ATAR above 90.

• Ten students scored above 95.

• Our joint duxes Alyssa Seckinger Crow and Johanna Tam achieved an ATAR of 98.8, with Georgia Stacey close behind on 98.7.

• 47.4 per cent of students scored an ATAR above 80 – up by 7 per cent on last year.

Remember that our International Baccalaureate class gets its results in early January, which should push our average score up even higher.

One of the most satisfying aspects of this was the students who moved from scores in the 70s to the 80s. This means that our improvement came from lifting up the whole school.

Large numbers of our students moved up from the middle bands to the higher bands of achievement between year 9 and VCE. It proves that our college significantly value-adds to student performance.

This result is a great triumph for our community, which has come together to create and support a truly amazing local public school. Thank you for putting your faith in us.

THE APC MATHEMATICS ACADEMY

Our VCE success stems ultimately from our high-demand, high-challenge school culture. And next year we are taking that to new heights with an exciting new initiative.

We are creating a Mathematics Academy alongside our established sports academies.

Congratulations to our amazing Class of 2022.

This is not a tutoring program but one that challenges all students who love maths to think like mathematicians – by playing the sport of maths and developing their mathematical fitness and competitiveness.

It of course means they will be match fit when those year-12 assessments are in play. We are offering scholarships for those who need financial assistance.

The academy will be led by our senior maths wizard Andy Robinson, who regards coaching the academy as his dream job! See details in the following pages.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

After a year of success, what else is there to say to students, staff and parents alike, but have a relaxing break (and maybe also read some of those English novels and interesting set texts!) and see you back here refreshed for the academic year of 2023.

STUDENT LEADERS SET THEIR GOALS FOR 2023

The year might be coming to an end, but next year is coming fast. That’s why students in the APC leadership team met to review the year, and to set their goals for 2023.

Student Voice runs a leadership seminar every term to support and build student professional development. The Term 4 session was aimed at assessing how the year went and to brainstorm new ideas for next year.

Newcomers to the leadership team were also given information about their roles and expectations.

The team discussed what went well, what didn’t and what areas they wanted to improve next year.

They also focused on their three key areas for 2023 - sustainability, First Nations people, and student wellbeing.

Ideas came thick and fast, so expect some great things from our student leaders next year.

THREE NEW ACADEMIES COMING TO APC

We’re constantly updating our academies to provide quality extracurricular activities for students. So we’re excited to announce three new academies for 2023.

Detailed information, including application links will be provided over the next few days.

MATHS ACADEMY

The Mathematics Academy will support students seeking extension and enrichment in Mathematics across all years.

Students will undertake specialised training sessions and compete against students from schools across Australia in a series of mathematics challenges.

Sessions will be run by highly specialised mathematics teachers who will provide specific coaching in advanced problem solving, reasoning and modelling to support students to perform their personal best in all competitions and activities.

Students will participate in two sessions a week, one after school and one before school.

Sessions will be held at the Danks St campus and run for one hour each, commencing at 8am and 3.30pm.

Cost: $600. Two scholarships are available.

TRIATHLON ACADEMY

The Triathlon Academy will give students the opportunity to build fitness, gain specific skills and undertake high-level competition.

Whilst the Academy will focus on developing skills and fitness for local racing, it will support junior athletes who are looking to take their racing to state and national level.

All coaches are highly experienced and accredited professionals with Triathlon Australia.

Athletes are expected to commit to two training sessions a week as a minimum requirement.

Swimming training is Monday mornings at 6am at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre. Running and bike training is on Thursday afternoons at 4pm at Albert Park Lake.

Cost: $1600 a year. Fees cover two coached training sessions a week, pool entry, coaching and support for race days, and individual athlete planning and goal setting.

ATHLETICS ACADEMY

The Athletics Academy is aimed at students who want to improve their running. It covers all running distances and age groups within the college.

It includes professional athletics coaching, attendance at highly

competitive race meets, strength work and injury prevention, and more.

It will run all year round and include opportunities to train and compete on holidays and weekends.

Training will take place on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 7.30am-8.30am at Lagoon Reserve, Port Melbourne.

Cost: $1095 for one session a week or $1938 for two sessions a week. Options are available to pay yearly, per semester or per term.

The Athletics Academy is for students eager to improve their running skills.

OUR LOVE AFFAIR WITH ROTARY IS A BEST SELLER

Our library is the beating heart of the school and APC’s bookshelves are constantly being refreshed with the latest best sellers as well as an extraordinary range of educational titles – all at no cost.

It’s all thanks to our close collaboration with Albert Park Rotary Club and its book program, which has proved a literary success that other schools can only dream about.

The process is a simple one. Rotary uses the APC library to store and sort the books that it collects at venues around the area. Once sorted, the best books –

both fiction and non-fiction - are offered to the library team who determine what should go onto the shelves.

The rest are sold by Rotary throughout the year to fund a range of educational programs, such as scholarships for local primary school children to support their move to secondary school.

Since the college collaboration with Rotary began in 2011, our hardworking library team has added thousands of new titles for free to the library shelves.

Each year, the highlight of this collaboration is the Rotary and APC

Book Fair. This year it takes place on Saturday, December 17 from 8am-5pm at the Danks St campus.

Thousands of good quality, pre-loved books covering every imaginable subject will be for sale. Art, history, biographies, children’s books, cooking, crime, sports of all sorts and self-help are some of the genres available this year.

And, of course, there’s always a chance you might find an out-of-print classic. “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”, anyone?

For further details see Page 11.

IB STUDENTS DISPLAY THEIR TALENT

Year 11 students undertaking their first year of the IB program came together recently to display their work to parents and other students at a special event in the Danks St library.

Each student presented their work on three core subjects: CAS (Creativity and Service), TOK (Theory of Knowledge) and the EE (Extended Essay of 4000 words).

Each student presented their CAS work using slides on their laptops, their TOK exhibitions using poster boards, and

an EE snapshot of three minutes which discussed their thesis topic and ideas.

These are all part of the work that IB students undertake in addition to their regular classroom subjects.

In attendance were the pre-IB Year 10s who were able to see what the first year of IB entailed prior to their own year 11 orientation.

NO PLACE FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED

The Danks St gym turned into a friendly battle zone recently when year 11 students and staff faced off in their annual dodge ball grudge match.

Although seriously outnumbered, the teachers managed to strike more than a few well-aimed blows at their … ahem, dare we say it … younger, fitter, stronger, nimble, more athletic opponents.

Congratulations to all those brave enough to take the field….

AN EXHIBITION WITH MORE THAN A DASH OF COURAGE

Creativity takes courage, and being brave, innovative and imaginative is exactly what year 9 students have been called upon to do through their Da Vinci projects this semester.

They have risen to the challenges with positivity and leadership, and have created incredible artwork they should be truly proud of. These were on display for the Da Vinci Exhibition at Studio 120 recently.

The Da Vinci project is an interdisciplinary, inquiry-learning journey students go on as they learn about, and experiment with, the environmental sciences, humanities and the arts.

This semester the focus was on the theme “Active Hope”. The premise is that we can all - individually, collectively and as a community - make a difference in the world.

Students were asked to take what they had learned throughout the semester

and create a piece of art that invoked thought and emotion and hopefully, inspired change.

Congratulations to the students for the work they have done this year. Thanks to the dedicated, innovative Creative Endeavour teachers, as well as the Environmental Inquiry teachers and support staff who made the exhibition a reality.

A special thank you to Michelle Luckman, Paige Lammin, Hannah McKinlay, Suzanne Playfoot, Deane Sobey, Jess Grilli, Steph Dimovski, Josh Howard, Kate Fitzpatrick, Laura Clark, Lucy Kennedy, Mat Sullivan and Marcus Crusafi and our maintenance team for their work to make the exhibition a success.

To take a virtual tour of the exhibition, follow this link

Laura Stiles Leading Teacher Curriculum 7-9

A RUBBER CHICKEN STEALS THE LIMELIGHT

A rubber chicken was a key talking point when about 80 members of the Class of 2017 gathered for a cocktail party at the Prahran Hotel in November to celebrate their five-year anniversary.

The group gathered under the banner of the newly formed APC Alumni.

A number of past and present teachers attended the event, which was organised by Alexander Scott and Ellen Waite.

Principal Steve Cook reminded the group that their final day of classes in 2017 had not been forgotten.

On that day, four chickens were released into the Danks St courtyard and took a great deal of wrangling to round them up.

To emphasise his point, he produced a rubber chicken from his pocket. Could it

become the official emblem of the Class of 2017….??

More than 3000 students have worn the APC uniform since the college opened in 2011 and the school is keen to encourage former students to join the Alumni.

Joining is easy. Former students simply have to register their details here on the APC website.

Principal Steven Cook was among the guests at the reunion.