APC Newsletter May 2024

STUDENT LEADERSHIP VISIT FROM AUSTRALIAN UN YOUTH REPRESENTATIVE

Our student leadership program is going from strength to strength and contributing to young peoples’ voice across the world.

Recently the leadership team members were part of the ‘Listening Tour’ run by the 2024 Australian Youth representative, Gavin Choong.

Gavin spoke to the students about the UN sustainable development

• IMPORTANT DATES

WEDNESDAY 22 MAY

Inspire Tour Information evening

5.30pm - 6.30pm Drama Room - Danks St

FRIDAY 24 MAY

Athletics Carnival

MAY 27 - MAY 29TH

Horse Riding Camp

30 MAY - 7 JUNE

Year 10 and Year 11 Exams

FRIDAY 31 MAY

Year 12 Formal

goals and asked students to reflect on which goal appeared most significant and important to them and why. Students then put this into action by coming up with tangible ways they could make progress towards that goal.

For example, one of the UN goals is to reduce inequalities. Students suggested that they could call out discriminatory language and they could also volunteer their time at

shelters or food drives which aim to reduce inequalities.

Gavin will take the opinions and ideas from APC and other schools he will visit in this listening tour and collate them into a report to give to the UN in New York City later in 2024.

Thank you to Ms Hollingdale, our Student Leadership Coordinator

MONDAY 10 JUNE

Public Holiday - King’s Birthday

THURSDAY 13 & FRIDAY 14 JUNE

Music Concert

MONDAY 17 JUNE

Year 10 to 11 Information Evening

5.30pm - 6.30pm

TUESDAY 18 JUNE

GAT exam

WEDNESDAY 19 JUNE

APC Bookclub - Library 6pm

Body Friend by Katherine Brabon

WEDNESDAY 26 JUNE

Semester 1 reports available

THURSDAY 27 JUNE

Year 9 Da Vinci Exhibition

FRIDAY 28 JUNE

Last day of Term 2

TUESDAY 16 JULY

First day of Term 3

COVER: LEILA WINSBURY, ALLY O'HAGAN, YASMIN DAKIS AND HAYA ATTEYA ARE READY TO CHEER ON THEIR HOUSES AT THE SWIMMING CARNIVAL. STORY PAGE 5. PICTURE: RYAN BASILE

STAFF CONFERENCE 2024

There has been so much amazing stuff happening at APC in recent weeks that I barely know where to start.

Perhaps the biggest thing was Open Day. As you can read in the following pages, it attracted record crowds. Interest in APC from families keeps growing year on year.

Undoubtedly, one of the ways we have maintained the energy to attract such support is that we have fantastic teachers. Around Australia, teachers are in high demand and must be valued. Competition for them can be fierce. APC has avoided the teacher shortages afflicting many other schools, and this hasn’t happened by accident.

We invest heavily in developing their professional skills and classroom practice, which means they in turn value the school and tend to stay with us. As anyone who has worked in a large

organisation will know, developing loyalty is supremely important to achieving success.

Ongoing professional development and mentoring are a big feature of our school. As part of this, our staff attend an annual 2-day conference where they hear from experts in education and teaching practice and gain new skills and confidence.

The big theme of this year’s conference, held on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 April, was how teachers can create a “challenge state” in the classroom – in other words, how to challenge students to stretch themselves intellectually, stay inspired, remain motivated, take on exciting new learning technologies, and succeed beyond the standard norms.

The message was that high performing organisations are clear about what matters – and at APC what matters is engaging students, helping them develop as

happy young people, and getting the best academic results they can.

As principal, I want to thank all the staff members who took part in the conference. It contributed to our goal of establishing a tremendous esprit de corps here at APC.

Steven Cook Foundation Principal

OPEN DAY 2024

On Thursday 2 May hundreds of people descended upon APC to check us out and maybe think of applying for a place for their children.

In all my years as an educator I have never seen such overwhelming interest.

The tours were packed, the classroom displays were full of interested onlookers, our great bands were cheered, and the hall was standing room only.

Our teachers and support staff were kept extremely busy fielding inquiries about future enrolments.

It seems word has got around that something special is going on here at APC and people want to be part of it. We’re so proud to be the school of choice for our community.

Steven Cook Foundation Principal

APC COMMUNITY

EXCITING CAMPS NEWS

APC has one of the most extensive camps programs of any state school in Victoria. Below is a list of our camps for 2024. See our report on the recent Music camp.

Please note that information about the year level camps for year-7, year-8 and year-10 will be shared in the coming weeks and we hope that all students from the relevant year levels can join those camps.

They are all an extension of our Positive Education program, where students will enjoy beautiful natural environments, take on personal challenges, and learn lots of great life skills alongside their peers.

Expressions of interest will be called for Term 4 camps in the coming weeks. Most of the remaining camps have already been fully allocated to students.

For our year-9 students, there are still places available on the Gariwerd (Grampians) Expedition.

If your child has not chosen an Expedition yet, we strongly encourage them to join the Gariwerd Expedition ($350 for 2 days) so they can extend their learning in the Da Vinci program. Express interest here.

We would love to see all students spend some time immersed in

nature during the Expedition period (last 2 weeks of Term 3). For full information and updates on all camps, keep an eye on the general camps portal page and the Expeditions portal page.

FRENCH EXCHANGE

Students studying French at the year-10 and year-11 level are encouraged to consider one (or both) of the following exchanges.

29 September – 17 October 2025: a 3 week exchange to our sister school (with hosting in March)

4 December 2026 – 24 Jan 2027: a 6 week exchange to our sister school (with hosting July-August)

EUROPE INSPIRE TOUR

And finally, our ever-popular Europe Inspire Tour is back for 2025, and planning and preparation is starting now! We run this tour biennially, visiting European cities across multiple countries for learning in the arts, history, and language. In 2025 the group will be visiting Italy, Germany, France, and Belgium.

An information night will be held on Wednesday 22 May for students in Years 9 and 10 in the Drama Space at the Danks Street campus. For more information, families can refer to their emails for the invite.

MOUNTAIN BIKING CAMP 20-22 May

HORSE RIDING CAMP 27-29 May

JUNIOR SNOW CAMP 26-29 August

SENIOR SNOW CAMP 5-9 August

YR 8 FRENCH IMMERSION TO NEW CALEDONIA 9-16 September

YR 9 EXPEDITION TO SOUTH AUSTRALIA 10-18 September

YR 9 EXPEDITION TO VIETNAM 9-18 September

YR 9 EXPEDITION TO QUEENSLAND REEF AND RAINFOREST 10-20 September

YR 9 EXPEDITION TO BORNEO 9/10 September to 23/24 September

YR 9 EXPEDITION TO NEW ZEALAND 10-17 September

YR 9 EXPEDITION TO NEW CALEDONIA 9-16 September

YR 9 EXPEDITION TO GRAMPIANS 10-11 September

YR10 CAMP 14-17 October

STEM CAMP Date TBC

JUNIOR PHILOSOPHY CAMP 18-22 November

GREAT VICTORIAN BIKE RIDE 28-30 November

FRANCE EXCHANGE 6 December 2023 to 24 January 2024

YEAR 7 CAMP 9-12 December

YEAR 8 CAMP 9-12 December

PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE UPDATE

Progress continues on the building of our Performing Arts Centre – the “Victorian Youth Arts Precinct”.

You may have noticed that the Victorian Budget has set the timeline of the project back slightly, due in part to complications with the tender process.

We can assure you, though, that the project is proceeding and you can still contribute to ensure the quality of the build is absolutely first rate.

As the end of the financial year approaches, you may wish to assist the development with a donation in the ways listed below. All donations through these channels go to our school building

fund and are therefore fully tax deductible.

• Donate: Every little bit helps. All donations over $2 are tax deductible.

• Join The 1000 Club: We are hoping to inspire 1000 donations of $1000. By donating, you will be recognised as a member of the Victorian Youth Arts Precinct 1000 Club.

• Buy a seat: You can purchase a named seat for $2000. If you would like to purchase a row of named seats, please contact the college.

• More: Can you give $5000, $10,000 or more? Your generosity will help nurture and develop the next generation of performers, dancers and musicians. We also have a range of significant partnership opportunities available should

• you wish to support major elements of the new project. Please contact the college for further details.

• Share: Share this information with your friends and broader network.

We hope you will consider supporting this amazing precinct. You will be leaving a lasting community legacy while helping Albert Park College discover and nurture the next generation of performers, dancers and musicians.

Please make your donation here: or speak to our business manager by calling reception on: 8695 9000

DONATE HERE

CYBER_CHALLENGE.TXT >RUN

A group of IT-savvy APC students have participated in the cyber challenge, which is a national cyber security competition for school students to develop and test their digital skills.

It is being run by our Assistant principal Hayley Schirmer and Jack Sperling, our IT leader.

Our students honed their skills with encryption and decryption, brute force password attempts, and internet investigation tools.

The program is part of a broader push from the Victorian Government to develop more IT skills and part of a long term program by Australian Signals Directorate to develop Australia’s cyber security capability. It’s a major source of well-paid jobs for our graduates.

STAFF AND STUDENTS

LEARN TO SAIL AT OUR LAKESIDE CAMPUS

For many years now APC has had a great partnership with the Albert Park Yacht Club, which has so generously supported our sailing programs.

The club wants APC families to get involved and has created a new Learn to Sail program to introduce local students and parents to the sport of sailing.

It will be run from the club’s clubrooms, which double as our Lakeside positive education facility.

The new program has been built on the club’s recent Mothers and Daughters Sailing Program which

APC families helped make into a success.

You can find more information in the flyer at the end of this newsletter. To register, go to: apyc.org.au

A TRIP TO LEMNOS

Last week, APC student Helena Nikiforou, luckily holidaying in Lemnos in Greece, visited our

sister school, Lyceum of Moudros, where the Greek students made her very welcome.

Helena's visit marks the reestablishment of our wonderful sister school relationship which was sadly interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic school closures. Our students have been

SUPPORT OUR TEACHER’S MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY FUNDRAISER

conducting online meetings with their Greek counterparts during terms 1 and 2.

It's a great way for our students to learn about Greek culture and make new friends on the other side of the World. That's Helena with the ponytail and big smile.

At APC we love to support great community causes. One of our staff members, Rob Merrett, is participating in a marathon on 19 May to raise funds for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research. His motivation is to support a great friend living with the disease.

If you would like to support Rob and his friends, you can do so at their GoFundMe page, the money from which will go to the research organisation ‘Save our Sons Incorporated’

Even if it is after the run, Rob will be happy to receive donations.

A DAY FOR RAINBOWS

To mark IDAHOBIT Day this year, the library team celebrated LGBT rights with some face-painting frivolity. The students got creative with love hearts and rainbows abounding, as well as some more abstract splashes of colour.

International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) enlists allies of the LGBT community to raise awareness of LGBT rights violations and generate interest in LGBT community across the world.

APC SWIMMERS MAKE WAVES AT NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Three APC swimmers – Arika Erdenko, Adonis Giotopoulos and Jack Gonzalez – competed at the 2024 Australian Championships held on the Gold Coast in April.

The week-long age-based championships are the biggest

competition of the year and fast qualifying times are needed for entry.

These three swimmers have been training extremely hard for several years, with 8 to 9 training sessions per week plus more in the gym.

It involves dedication, discipline, commitment, and waking up at 4.30 am (something, as you will know, most students find difficult). So they’re pretty tough!

Jack and Adonis both did extremely well in their heats, and

Arika managed no fewer than four gold medals – the most of any competitor in Australia.

Well done APC swimmers!

STAFF AND STUDENTS

This term we held the 2024 Staff Art Show. A number of our talented staff from all around our school entered creative works.

These included drawing, painting, photography, digital art and textiles.

It was a great opportunity to celebrate the creativity of our vibrant staff here at APC. Thanks to Lucy Kennedy, our amazing Art Technician, and the Studio 120 team for putting on this show.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

Every Victorian child should have access to the world of learning opportunities that exist beyond the classroom. The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund helps ensure that no student will miss out on the opportunity to join their classmates for important, educational and fun activities. It is part of making Victoria the Education State and the Government ’s commitment to breaking the link between a student ’s background and their outcomes.

CAMPS, SPORTS & EXCURSIONS FUND (CSEF)

School camps provide children with inspiring experiences in the great outdoors. Excursions encourage a deeper understanding of how the world works while sports teach teamwork, discipline and leadership. All are a part of a healthy curriculum.

CSEF is provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.

If you hold a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF A special consideration category also exists for asylum seeker and refugee families. The allowance is paid to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions or sporting activities for the benefit of your child.

The annual CSEF amount per student is:

• $150 for primary school students

• $250 for secondary school students

HOW TO APPLY

New applicants should contact the school office to obtain a CSEF application form or download from the website below

If you applied for CSEF at your child's school last year, you do not need to complete an application form this year unless there has been a change in your family circumstances. You only need to complete an application form if any of the following changes have occurred:

● new student enrolments; your child has started or changed schools this year

● changed family circumstances; such as a change of custody, change of name, concession card number, or new siblings commencing this year

Check with the school office if you are unsure.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about CSEF visit: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/Pages/csef.aspx

APC Book Club Term 2 2024

Albert Park College is excited to invite students, their families and our broader community to take part in APC’s Book Club The APC Book Club will run once a term in the College’s Library at the Danks Street campus Light refreshments will be provided

OUR BOOK WILL BE

Body Friend

by Katherine Brabon

A woman leaves the hospital after an operation and starts swimming in a pool in Melbourne’s inner suburbs There she meets Frida, who is uncannily like her in her experience of illness. Soon after, she meets another woman in a local park, Sylvia, who sees her pain and encourages her to rest.

The two new friends seem to be polar opposites: Frida adores the pool and the natural world, Sylvia clings to the protection of interior worlds What begins as two seemingly simple friendships is challenged by what each woman asks of her, of themselves, and their bodies.

19 June

The Avenue Book Store on Dundas Place stocks the novel

Please consider purchasing your copy of the novel at The Avenue Albert Park College now has an Avenue Bookstore Frequent Buyer account When purchasing books, cards and/or gift vouchers simply mention you’re part of the Albert Park College community and 10% of your purchase will turn into credit the library can spend. Every purchase can accumulate ‘points’ and every $250 spent, the library will receive a $25 voucher

6pm to 7pm

RESERVE A SEAT