APC Newsletter Edition 8 2021 by albertparkcollege

EDITION 8 - NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

BIG WINS LEADING INTO THE HOLIDAY

IMPORTANT DATES

FRIDAY 17 DECEMBER 2021 Last day of Term 4 MONDAY 31 JANUARY First day of Term 1 - 2022 TUESDAY 1 FEBRUARY Whole School return 31 JANUARY - 1 FEBRUARY Year 12 Study Camp WEDNESDAY 2 FEBRUARY School Photographs THURSDAY 10 FEBRUARY Welcome Picnic TUESDAY 15 FEBRUARY Year 12 Parent Information Evening FRIDAY 18 FEBRUARY Year 7 Immunisations TUESDAY 22 FEBRUARY Swimming Carnival

PRINCIPAL'S SAY

APC IS AUSTRALIAN SCHOOL OF THE YEAR Steve Cook Foundation Principal

Another school year comes to an end – our eleventh year since our establishment in 2011 and the second in a row where we were affected by lockdowns. Despite this, we have achieved something amazing: being named Australian School of the Year at the Australian Education Awards, in competition with some of the best-known government and nongovernment schools in the country. It’s not the only award we have won this year. At the same awards ceremony we won Government School of the Year. A few days before VicSRC and the Department of Education awarded us Student Voice School of the Year. And, as reported in our last newsletter, just a few weeks before our STEM teacher Rachel Gore won the Victorian Government’s Teacher of the Year award. WHY THIS SUCCESS? I put it down to the fact that from our beginning we have understood the values of our community and provided its children with an education that stressed creativity, innovation, positivity and the pursuit of high academic results. This served us particularly well in lockdown, as it meant we were prepared with the online curriculum and teacher and student skills needed to make the most of remote and flexible learning. It’s also a vindication of the instructional model we have in place – where our staff cooperate to share their knowledge and skills to create consistently high quality curriculum and instruction right across the school. Our school is in very good hands and has a bright future.

We now look forward to our year-12 results after the big effort put in by our senior students this year. We will let you know how we fared. So much has been achieved this year, despite the obvious difficult circumstances, including the opening of our new visual arts campus called Studio 120, the holding of our musical online,

our successful campaign to retain use of Gasworks Arts Park and some stellar maths results. I can tell you we have even bigger and better things planned for next year, including the start of the new Community Arts Hub that is being constructed next to the school on the border of the Gasworks Arts Park and a very talented cohort of students beginning Year 12.

AWARDS & HONOURS

APC TAKES VICSRC STUDENT VOICE SCHOOL OF THE YEAR AWARD 2021

Albert Park College was honoured to receive the VicSRC Student Voice School of the Year Award at a statewide online presentation on Thursday 2 December. The award, presented by the Minister of Education, James Merlino, indicated the depth and passion of student voice at the college. The award indicates that our students are being listened to and have the power to initiate change that affects them. In accepting the award next year’s co-captain Ella Tobin said: ‘We are so grateful to receive this award. More than anything it’s a great opportunity to recognise and celebrate all of the hard work our student voice team has put in especially over the last two years.’ Her co-captain Alyssa Seckinger-Crow added: ‘The Student Voice award is a reminder of how powerful the connection between students and staff continues to be. Thank you to all of our amazing

teachers, who not only listen to our ideas, but are always enthusiastic to help us make them a reality.’ A big shout out to our Student Leadership Coordinators, Eliza Lambert and Zoe Alexiades, our 2021 College Captains, our SRC and student leaders who all ensure students have a strong voice at APC. A special mention to Alyssa SeckingerCrow, Ella Tobin and Nina Buchler for their outstanding presentations before the VicSRC Finalist Selection Panel.

THE STUDENT VOICE AWARD IS A REMINDER OF HOW POWERFUL THE CONNECTION BETWEEN STUDENTS AND STAFF CONTINUES TO BE

An amazing year of voice, passion and creativity. Congratulations to all involved. See our presentation video

THE FRENCH CONNECTION

JOYEUX NOËL FROM THE FRENCH DEPARTMENT!

FRENCH POETRY COMPETITION While language studies in some schools floundered during remote learning, students at Albert Park College achieved the best results ever in the Berthe Mouchette French poetry competition. The following students were finalists in the prestigious statewide competition of approximately 10,000 students. Their certificates note that each of them is ‘brilliant’ and that their presentations were flawless. OUR FINALISTS • Soukie Bernhard • Stefan Marques (HC) • Sebastian Ng • Mathys Pink (HC) • Jeremy Vaz • Jane Zorbas

SUMMER IS THE TIME TO BINGE ON FRENCH FILM FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME ON SBS OR IN CINEMAS. AMUSEZ-VOUS BIEN!

• Saskia Chatfield (HC) • Alyssa Douglas-Dewhirst • Alice Uhm • Ruya Akbas • Hannah Lawrence • Olivia Lewis • Miranda Vaz • Phoebe East

POETRY COMPETITION WINNER: CHARLOTTE KERWIN You will note that a number of the students are in a special category ‘hors concours’ (HC), which means that they are competing against native French speakers across the state. The French department is exceptionally proud of Charlotte Kerwin, who has worked hard for many years to lift her French to native speaker level, to compete against French nationals and to WIN the ‘hors concours’ category of the competition. A truly stunning achievement. Charlotte is one of the dozen or so bilingual students studying in APC’s French Immersion Program, taught by Catherine Jackson-Groseand assisted this year by Lucy Render. I would like to commend all those students and teachers on their commitment to bilingualism. BILINGUALISM IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH During Science Week, a select group of French students took part in an online forum on the benefits of bilingualism in scientific research run by the Alliance Française de Melbourne. The students had the opportunity to hear from French nationals who are currently undertaking doctoral and postdoctoral studies in Australia thanks to their bilingualism. The students from year-7 to year-11 were inspired by the French scientists who were working on Antarctic preservation, cancer research and sustainable food production. Quelle inspiration!

• Ash Hill • Rosa Sherman • Boris Stanish

2022 CAPTAINS

INTRODUCING OUR 2022 COLLEGE CAPTAINS

ALYSSA SECKINGER-CROW SCHOOL CAPTAIN

MADDY BURNS SCHOOL VICE CAPTAIN

To me leadership is about inspiring others and working together to turn visions into reality to create long-lasting change. I want APC to be a place of inspiration, where we learn from each other, build a team, and leave our six-year high school journey ready for the world. I’m passionate about making the dream of APC becoming a carbon neutral school a reality. We all have an effect on the world, so let’s make it a good one. It is my honour to be a college captain in 2022 and I’m excited for what lies ahead.

I am so excited to be one of APC’s college vice captains for 2022. Leaders dare to be brave and put themselves out there. But no job can be done alone and that's why leaders must engage groups of people to pursue common goals. One of my main goals in 2022 will be to increase student engagement levels. After 2 years of online schooling it can feel like we hardly know our peers, but I hope we can get back to the small things that make school fun, creating events and clubs that are enjoyable and interesting. I also hope to work on APC’s continual goal of sustainability by working towards net zero emissions, getting Australia over the line of its net zero goal.

ELLA TOBIN SCHOOL CAPTAIN I believe leadership is about inspiring others to get involved, create change and be the best versions of ourselves. I think a leader needs to be brave, passionate, determined, adaptive and always willing to listen and learn. 2022 looms as exciting as, finally, we’re going to be back at school. I therefore look forward to working with the whole leadership team to bring back college events and get more students involved in school activities and the broader community. I’m looking to continue to build on the positive culture of APC, reestablish our traditions, create new ones and continue to foster an environment where everyone belongs. Equally, I look forward to continuing to work on APC’s Reconciliation Action Plan to incorporate more First Nations culture and understanding into APC’s ethos.

JITSE DE JONG COLLEGE VICE CAPTAIN Leadership means inspiring other people to achieve great things – not just leading them but helping them share their ideas and succeed. I will consider it my role to amplify students’ voices and help put their ideas into action, in ways that allow all students to thrive academically and be their best selves. SOFIA COFANO COLLEGE VICE CAPTAIN It is a privilege to be chosen as one of the college vice captains for 2022. To me, leadership is about motivating, inspiring, empathising, and being a positive influence for my peers. I aim to inspire my peers to embrace their individuality and will use my platform to listen to them wholeheartedly. I’m passionate about our school community and will try to improve it for the future.

GRADUATION

FAREWELL CLASS OF 2021

Congratulations to our year-12 students who completed their final VCE and IB exams in November. Thanks to the ending of lockdown the day before, we were able to farewell them in style with a proper valedictory evening followed by an after party organised by parents. Thanks to all those parents who helped organise the big event.

LIBRARY NEWS

2021 APC LIBRARY HIGHLIGHTS Veronica, Jess, Haydyn and Clive The Library Team

Despite all the lockdowns, the library team will look back on 2021 fondly. In January we welcomed Haydyn to the team, who brought with him a cache of graphic design skills, humour and literary knowledge. We also began working with the very talented Kat Riosa as part of the school’s Reading Culture initiative. This gave rise to the APC-wide Book Club, where students, staff, parents and friends come together to share thoughts on a contemporary work of fiction. So far we’ve had lively and interesting discussions about The Survivors by Jane Harper, One Hundred Days by Alice Pung, and Dark as Night by Tony Birch. The library also launched another new initiative: Walking Book Club. Every second Monday, students were encouraged to join us on a walk around the park or beach while listening to audiobooks on ePlatform. An introverts’ dream! We also held our inaugural Library Internship program. For five days across August and November we had the pleasure of working with Jane Zorbas, Sterling Baird, Ellen Young, Nerissa Burns and Ruya Akbas in the library. The interns had some impressive reading recommendations and ideas for the collection, so we thought we would create a publication so that we could share their work and selections with the school community. Please read the publication by clicking here. Other library highlights included Reading Hour, Show Us Your Stacks, Library Unboxing Videos, Short Story Club and Book Week, which was conducted virtually this year and included Book Balderdash, Flash Fiction competition and a Poetry Slam. Our students also had

a chance to flaunt their artistic skills with the bookmark and library bag design competitions. The Senior Library in room 12/13 at Danks Street was another newcomer in 2021. This collection contains a dedicated collection of books and periodicals for older audiences. Meanwhile, at the beginning of the year we released our new Library Guide Google Site which is filled with resources to enhance students’ research, referencing and information literacy skills, including links to academic databases. In 2021 our students broke a school record and recorded the most amount of books in the Premiers’ Reading Challenge. With the $1 per book fundraising incentive, this meant that

$988 was raised for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. Thanks to the Rotary Club of Albert Park for giving generously to this campaign. The positive education class that collectively read the most books also won a session with acclaimed YA author, Anna Morgan. Congratulations 8E! The library team would like to wish everyone in the school community a restful school holiday period. Hopefully Father Christmas brings you many new books, but if not, we will have lots of new ones waiting for you to borrow in 2022! Access our APC Library linktree for all digital resources: https://linktr.ee/ apclibrary

WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE

NEW WORLD’S WRITING WORKSHOP

This term the college’s Writer in Residence Gareth Morgan led a New Worlds writing workshop for Year-8 students. Some of the college’s most talented aspiring writers were selected to participate in the creative writing workshop which was dedicated to the construction of fantastic fictionalised worlds. The workshop took inspiration from Annie Baker’s The Antipodes with students asked to think creatively about the inhabitants which occupied their worlds and its occupants. Students created all new environments in which to place characters and stories. The workshop was the last by Gareth, who concludes his residency at the close of the academic year. APC thanks Gareth for the wisdom about writing he has shared during his residency. The students benefited enormously. We will all be watching out as Gareth’s writing career develops in the years to come. Gareth’s most recent publication Dear Eileen is available for purchase from Puncher & Wattman. Here are a couple of samples of student writing from the workshop:

K ATE SPITERI A secret held between the two that no one can discover. In a world where people were split in two, connected at the waist for every second and day and month and year and meal and shower, it was easy to yell things out of anger at each other – especially each other's secrets. But if the secret Delilah and Julie held was leaked, the earth would go into

flames, splitting down to its core and growing red inside-out, literally. And they would be in red, hot, trouble.

WILL HENDERSON The muffled sounds of grunts echoed around the bedraggled pub. Mould was forming on the roof with spiders lurking in their jewelled silk. A goblin approached him, hobbling on his one leg, his tooth golden and riddled with plaque. The goblin sighed under his breath as he slammed the goblet of the golden liquid onto the rotting mahogany table. The liquid drizzled down the side of the goblet, slowly inching towards the mahogany wood. He grasped the goblet with his left hand, his golden ring shining in the dull light. He raised the goblet towards his grimy lips, and slurped down the golden liquid. He moistened his lips with the tip of his tongue, as he plopped the goblet onto the rotting table.

He pushed himself off the barstool, as he hopped to the crumbling door on his one leg. He yanked the door open. The pink grass glistened in the moonlight. Fireflies zigzagging through the blades of grass. Lanterns lit up the street, whilst he hobbled onto the main road.

READING & WRITING

ENCOURAGING SUMMER READING

SHOW US YOUR STACKS As we ready ourselves for the summer break APC’s Library team have put out the call to APC students, their families and our staff to get involved in the Show Us Your Stacks initiative. The initiative calls on our community to share their summer reading lists to promote and celebrate reading.

The library team have been spending the final weeks of term helping students and staff curate their reading stacks for the break and sharing these on a padlet. Everyone knows that reading superboosts academic proficiency, but it also increases empathy and social connectedness. Get involved. Its not too late. Check out our padlet and upload your own stack.

ART AND DESIGN

THE 2021 ART SHOW Melinda Rochford and Carolyn Menzies Art Show Curator and Co-ordinator

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Ying Huang, "Kiddy No.6 - My Little Friend" - Gouache on wood.

How wonderful not only to be back to an in-the-flesh exhibition once again but to host the Art Show at its new venue at Studio 120. It was also a fantastic opportunity to pair the show with the APC VCE and IB student art show. We are grateful for the support and enthusiasm of all our Albert Park College Art Show artists and art lovers who made this event such a success. Due to a record number of over 800 entries in 2020, for the first time in its 11-year history, the APC Art Show capped individual entries to three. We received almost 400 entries and from those selected 210 artworks for exhibition. Selection was hard due the high quality of work submitted (especially with our student entries) and we congratulate all the artists whose work was included in the 2021 show. Art sales over the weekend totalled more than $20,000 (APC's 25 per cent commission goes towards building our new Arts Hub in Gasworks Art Park). A huge thank you to our selection panel, judges, teachers and staff, and our APC parent volunteers for all their hard work and dedication to making this event a success.

DUE TO A RECORD NUMBER OF OVER 800 ENTRIES IN 2020, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ITS 11YEAR HISTORY, THE APC ART SHOW CAPPED INDIVIDUAL ENTRIES TO THREE

PROFESSIONAL/EMERGING ART AWARDS Best in Show: Liza Clements, “House of Sticks, Inverloch” – Photograph ($2000 City of Port Phillip) Judges Choice: Ying Huang, Kiddy No.6 - My Little Friend – Gouache on wood ($500 Josh Burns, MP) Curators Choice: Jo Ryan, “The Tale of a Street Corner - A Thief, a Melodrama and an Overdose” – Mixed Media ($500 Brett McLean and Elke Link).

STUDENT ART AWARDS Best Student Artwork Show: Fiona Carson, “Copy Paste” – Digital print ($500 Marshall White) Judges Student Choice: Jodhi Ramsdenmavric, “Night Market” - Photograph ($250 Nina Taylor, MP) Curators Choice: Roxy Diamond, “Cardboard” – Digital print ($250.00 Nina Taylor, MP) APC Peer Award: Alyssa Seckinger-crow, “Sea Salt” - Painting ($250.00 McCallum Family)

PEOPLE’S CHOICE People's Choice: Julie Ramsden, “The Plant Sitter” – Sculpture ($500.00 Martin Foley, MP)

ART AND DESIGN

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Liza Clements, “House of Sticks, Inverloch” - Photograph.

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Roxy Diamond, “Cardboard” – Digital print.

Jodhi Ramsden-Mavric, “Night Market” - Photograph.

Jo Ryan, “The Tale of a Street Corner - A Thief, a Melodrama and an Overdose” – Mixed Media.

ART AND DESIGN

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Julie Ramsden, “The Plant Sitter” – Sculpture.

Fiona Carson, “Copy Paste” – Digital Print.

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Alyssa Seckinger-crow, “Sea Salt” - Painting.

Thank you to all those who donated raffle prizes: Body Relief, Craven’s Pharmacy, Cooke/Sculley Family, Decanters on the Bay, Messino Fitness, Hunters & Disciples, Jock’s Ice Cream, Mindfulness Meditation, Studio 309, Trudy Rice, Rubber Chicken, Village Wine Bar, Yellow Camel. LOOKING AHEAD TO 2022 We cherished the opportunity to come together as a school community at the Art Show after such a long time apart.

We look forward to next year’s exhibition – quietly confident of returning to a Gala Opening but knowing that whatever the conditions, the power of art to surprise and delight us remains.

ART AND DESIGN

DA VINCI PROJECT GOES ONLINE

Our year-9 students spent the year studying in the Da Vinci Project, an interdisciplinary program that explores environmental issues through the humanities, sciences and the arts. To complete the project students were asked to undertake research into an environmental topic, then produce an artwork designed to raise awareness about the issue. Please explore the online exhibition showcasing their work.

ART AND DESIGN

MODERN SKILLS FOR YEAR 10 Eliza Lambert Visual Arts and Communication Design Teacher

As part of a pilot program in 2021 APC student designers were teamed up with not-for-profit organisations through Empowered Design, which provides not-for-profits, social enterprises and activist organisations with high-quality free communication design services. Our impressive year-10 Visual Communication cohort tackled challenging, thoughtprovoking design briefs from a range of organisations. These included: RSKS India – a grassroots non profit organisation that supports marginalised women and girls across India. The brief – to develop social media graphics to support RSKS’s campaign against gender-based violence. Baansuli – a social enterprise that economically and socially empowers the tribal artisans of the Dang Tribe in one of the poorest pockets of Gujarat, India. The brief – to design a new Logo to identify their organisation on social media platforms.

Jezuba – (which means ‘thank you’ in Burmese) a Silicon Valley based organisation that empowers the next generation to tackle hard-to-solve social and environmental problems. The brief – to create type and graphics for a social media campaign to de-stigmatize menstruation and end period poverty globally. The students handled the complex and challenging subject matter of these briefs with maturity and professionalism. Completing much of their work during the Remote and Flexible learning period meant students were really extended in their digital capabilities and the subsequent final presentations were highly sophisticated. They far exceeded the expectations of their very proud teacher, Eliza Lambert!

THE STUDENTS HANDLED THE COMPLEX AND CHALLENGING SUBJECT MATTER OF THESE BRIEFS WITH MATURITY AND PROFESSIONALISM

ART AND DESIGN

OF THIS PROJECT STUDENTS SAID: "It felt different working for an actual client opposed to making up a client. It was more enjoyable to actually be making a design that may be used by an actual business. I chose to use really vibrant and bright colours to make the logo stand out. All the colours work well together to make a bright and happy design. I chose the font because I thought that it fits really well with Baansuli and what it was all about." Yianni Tsilikis "I found this project fun as it was out of my comfort zone. One of the strengths in my work was that I have experience with social media and … know what would be attractive when scrolling down a feed." Jamie Tall

"It felt good to work for a company in a developing nation as they have different design needs and it makes for a refreshing challenge. My design is vertically symmetrical, and the logo itself is the focal point, with the text underneath being secondary. The strength of my work is that it reflects the aesthetic of the Dang tribe." Harry Schneeberger "It felt nice knowing that my work might be used for a good cause. I liked how the design brief wasn’t made by our teachers and knowing that this is a real client with specific requirements. This design is something I would never do and improved my illustration skills on adobe illustrator." Stella Rei-Scarlata

SUSTAINABILITY NEWS

APC NOW 100 PER CENT GREEN POWERED! Sophia Amin Year 8

APC’s Environmental Action Plan continues to make progress towards its goal of creating a regenerative, carbon negative, resource smart, zero waste school. We’re leading a movement of schools to create a sustainable future for all. And in Term 4 we passed another milestone. Our Green Electricity Target has now been achieved: ensuring that all of Albert Park College’s electricity usage is derived from renewable energy. APC is now powered 100 per cent by green energy, making coal emissions for electricity a thing of the past. SEVERAL OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS WERE ALSO MADE THIS TERM: • All School Camps are carbon offset. Transport can be a large contributor to emissions, therefore, all school trips will be carbon offset as of 2022.

• Installation of CarbonTrack at the Danks St campus – this allows us to monitor our energy consumption and subsequent carbon emissions. We have achieved a 20 per cent reduction in energy use in 2021. • Implementation of a highly effective Resource Recovery system. Albert Park College’s new waste system includes composting, soft plastics, paper and cardboard and commingled recycling to ensure waste production is kept to its bare minimum. • A founding member of a 3 way Wurra Wurra Sustainable Schools Alliance with Albert Park Kindergarten and Albert Park Primary School. Our focus is being the first group of carbon neutral certified education centres in the country. A starting point will be sharing our solar capacity across the 3 educational sites.

• Ongoing certification of Carbon Neutrality through Climate Action. Interested in learning more? Whatever your skill set, applications for teachers, students, parents and community members to become involved in the Sustainability Subcommittee are now open. Attend an information session by getting in touch to find out more about how to get involved. To express your interest in the Sustainability Subcommittee please email: sustainability@albertparkcollege.vic. edu.au alyssaseckingercrow@albertparkcollege. vic.edu.au

SUSTAINABILITY NEWS

YOUTH IN CHAMBER - CITY OF PORT PHILLIP LEADERSHIP PROJECT Sophia Amin Year 8

During the course of the year our grade 7 and 8 Ambassadors participated in workshops, online seminars and weekly meetings as part of a City of Port Phillip initiative called Youth in Chamber. Over several weeks student leaders from different schools worked together within their school communities to initiate projects to promote mental wellbeing and sustainability for their respective schools and the wider community.

THE GROUP WAS ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY DEVELOP A STRONG CASE ON THE IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABILITY AND MENTAL WELLBEING FOR APC AND OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY.

The program culminated on 26 October when all participants presented to an online seminar that featured the mayor Louise Crawford.APC’s ambassadors led an excellent slideshow presentation alongside a confident and promising speech to the council. Their initiative was to refresh our APC school garden, located next to the Food Tech classroom. The group was able to successfully develop a strong case on the importance of sustainability and mental wellbeing for APC and our local community. Keep an eye on the garden progress over the next few months!

SUSTAINABILITY NEWS

YOUNG CHANGE AGENTS AND CELEBRATING SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL

RIDE 2 SCHOOL DAY For one of the first times ever, APC has hosted two Ride 2 School day events in the same year. It’s part of our plan to encourage healthy and sustainable habits when traveling to and from school. On 3 November, students and teachers came to school by biking, walking, skateboarding or public transport. The high number of participants was a clear demonstration of how our school has become increasingly sustainable in their travelling habits. Walking was the most popular way to come to school followed by riding. A big thank you to the students in the Enviro Team. Its commitment to sustainability at APC is remarkable and the members’ teamwork allows these events to occur!

MODERN WORK-LIFE SKILLS FOR YEAR 9 Year-9 students participated in an environmental challenge run by a social enterprise program called the ‘Young Change Agents'. Students learned the difference between a social enterprise, charity, and a business, and worked in teams to measure the success of their social action projects. They conducted market validation and prototyping, before presenting their work. It’s a great example of students in the Da Vinci program finding creative solutions to complex problems.

STUDENTS LEARNED THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE, CHARITY, AND A BUSINESS, AND WORKED IN TEAMS TO MEASURE THE SUCCESS OF THEIR SOCIAL ACTION PROJECTS.

The program helped them develop important contemporary work-life skills including: critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, collaboration, pitching, time management, problem solving, storytelling and decision making.

ARTS NEWS

OUR VCE STUDENTS HAD SOME STELLAR WORK ON DISPLAY

IB AND VCE ART AND DESIGN SHOW

10 NOVEMBER – 31 DECEMBER

RT Edgar Albert Park | 9699 7222 | rtedgar.com Contact ken.hall1942@gmail.com if you would like to volunteer to hand out flyers for the Annual Book Fair.