Issuu

Well Wishers Swim with Tammy Van Wisse

In the pool...

2014

t wo thousand & fourteen

From the Principal From the Vice Principal From the Chair of the School Board From the Head of Junior Campus From the Heads of Students From the Head of Teaching & Learning

2 4 4 5 6 6

Junior Campus Minimbah 3yo ECC 7 4yo ECC 8 Foundation 10 Year 1s 12 Year 2c 14 Year 2m 16 Year 3 18 Year 4 20 Year 5h 22 Year 5s 24 Year 6b 26 Year 6r 28 Minimbah Library 30 Minimbah Student Literature 31 Minimbah Music 34 Minimbah Drama 36 Minimbah Dance 36 Year 3/4 Camp 37 Year 5/6 Camp 37 Minimbah Sport Highlights 38 Tournament of Minds 42 Chess at Minimbah 42 Maths Talent Quest 42 Minimbah Magic 43 Minimbah Visual Art 44

Senior Campus Senior Campus Art 46 Wonderful Woodleigh 49 Homestead 51 Homestead 1 52 Homestead 2 54 Homestead 3 56 Homestead 4 58 Homestead 6 60 Homestead 7 62 Senior Homestead – Year 12 2014 64 Year 11 2014 72 Woodleigh in Words 73 Activities Week 80 Activities 86 Round Square 88 Broadening Horizons 88 Barnum 90 Drama 90 Media 92 Music 92 Arts Festival – Resonance 93 Visual Art 94 LOTE 95 Indigenous Education 96 Debating 96 English 97 Humanities 99 Norman Library 102 Maths 102 Personal Development – PE 104 Food Technology 104 Outdoor & Environmental Studies 105 Science 106 Challenge Program 107 Field Gnats and Brian Henderson Wildlife Reserve 108 Sheep Showing 109 Careers 110 City Bound 110 Community Partnerships 111 Senior Campus Sport 112

Staff 120 Acknowledgements 122

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

oodleigh’s 39th year has been filled with a series of extraordinary student achievements. Grand finalists in A Grade Debating Association of Victoria competition, more success for our HPV teams, Georgia Carter awarded the medal for top score in the University of NSW English Competition, Felix Friedlander and Sean Parker in the top 1% in the Australian Mathematics Olympiad, Barnum was amazing, our Interschool Snow Sports Team made the Nationals, Ruby Crofts, Alycia Phillips and Siena Garde, 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively in the Sheep Showing Competition at Sheepvention in Hamilton to recall but a few. 2014 also marks the end of Mr Nigel Lawler’s, time as Vice Principal and Head of Senior Campus. Nigel steps down from this position of leadership at our School, to return next year (after some well-deserved long-service leave) to his first love... the teaching of English. After 24 years of distinguished service in his current position and the positions of Acting Principal, Deputy Head of Senior Campus (Programs), Director of Senior Homestead, Senior Home-

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

stead Tutor, Director of Overseas Students, Senior English Tutor, Advisor to Overseas Students and English and ESL Co-ordinator, Nigel has decided to scale things back a notch. A long-time keeper of the Woodleigh flame, Nigel forever holds strong to the core values of respect, which

their mistakes and errors in judgement – whilst being able to see the good which lies in every individual. Staff too have known this, and as Chief of Staff, he has always shown enormous compassion and support for his colleagues in times of crisis. As a School, Nigel, we thank you

and strengthen our unique brand of holistic, creative education on the Peninsula. One of the great advantages of our merger with Penbank School will be the opportunity for professional learning for our staff. We know that teacher collaboration is a key con-

“Nigel’s greatest gift to the students of Woodleigh School is his ability to understand, and accept adolescents – to acknowledge their mistakes and errors in judgement – whilst being able to see the good which lies in every individual.”

underpin the culture of Woodleigh School. He has steadfastly kept our focus on the students, ensuring all are given every opportunity to make the most of their lives through the experiences on offer at Woodleigh. It would be hard to name a Woodleigh program or experience that Nigel has not had some hand in over the years. However, I believe Nigel’s greatest gift to the students of Woodleigh School is his ability to understand, and accept adolescents – to acknowledge

for your time, care and continued efforts. Enjoy what will be a well-earned rest. Our 40th year will open a new chapter for our School following the merger with Penbank. The two schools will combine to form one school with three campuses. From January 1, Woodleigh School will comprise of Penbank Campus, Minimbah Campus and Senior Campus. This will be a wonderful opportunity to share best practice teaching and learning methods across our School,

tributor to improving teacher quality. We will look to take advantage of this under our new structure as a multicampus school in the years ahead. As a School we continuously strive to develop education programs which offer increasingly personalised learning pathways for all. The world we now inhabit doesn’t care about how much we know; as knowledge is easily accessible to all. What the world cares about is what we are able to do with what we know. Content knowledge, whilst necessary, is no

Main Image: Handing over one of Joint Woodleigh Prize Winner, Callum Simpson’s many accolades during the year. Clockwise from top left: Taste testing at the Year 5 ‘Masterchef Assembly.’ Holding court at the Year 12 Dinner Dance ...before getting down on the dancefloor. Champion untanglers and cooperative workers – Felix Friedlander Y9 & Jonathan Walter, Principal. Sucking in the deep breaths on the bench of the Staff v Students Basketball Match. The undisputed (now 4 times) Woodleigh School ‘Frog in a Pond’ champ , lines up for another win. Hiking Kosciuszko National Park with Senior students in Homestead Camp Week.

longer sufficient. As we embark upon a threecampus Woodleigh School model we are drawing strongly on research to inform our development of teaching practice. This year we have begun two major research collaborations involving staff working in with other leading

schools across the country through the AITSL innovation hub. Meanwhile, PhD students from The University of Melbourne are working with us to measure, and validate the impact of the new Homestead developments on the teaching and learning programs within our school. As we develop our programs for the future we are continuing to cultivate creativity within our educational offerings. This capacity to innovate, and deal with change creatively, is a key skill which will serve our students

best in the rapidly changing life and employment landscape which lays ahead. There will always be a balance to strike between content, process, knowledge and skills. However, by working with our community to support students as they find their passions, we will ultimately develop in them the independence and courage needed if they are to follow their passion, open up new pathways and invent new careers. We look forward to a hugely exciting year ahead as we celebrate 40 years of schooling here at Senior Campus. On the development front, we could scarcely fit more in with the opening of the new Homesteads 1, 2 and 3 and a new Food Technology facility at Senior Campus, whilt at Penbank, construction of a new 5/6 Homestead will commence. I thank you all for your belief in our School, and I look forward to working closely with you all in the year ahead to deliver the best possible education to your children.

Jonathan Walter – Principal

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

A FINAL REFLECTION.

2014 has been a difficult, uncertain and challenging year as all at Woodleigh School know only too well. Another years ends and the wheel turns for all of us at school: the Year 7s are soon to be no longer the smallest fish in the pond, and the Year 12s are off into the wild blue. One thing that is constant is that learning remains a hard thing. It’s hard because it means having to change: to adopt new habits (such as spending

What helps us with this is naturally having support: that our teachers are open minded about us and willing to see new things in us. At Woodleigh we also benefit greatly from the range of settings in which we have the opportunity to show initiative. The growth evident in such activities as the Sheep Team, in HPV, or as part of Round Square, are often the vital step up needed to then take on speaking in front of the whole

ther out into the world. The changes that learning brings are hard, but they renew us. As my role as Head of Campus ends, we welcome David Burton who will bring a new vision. That change will enable the School to learn and grow. It is now time for a narrower focus in my working life, a focus on my original love of teaching English – which is where my journey began. I will

As learners we should all know the feeling of having our mind at the end of its tether – not in a mad as hell sense – but when we feel we are at the limits of our understanding and yet more is required.

more time on school work), as we address our shortcomings (such as finally working on errant spelling or disintegrating handwriting), or committing to new risks such as asking questions in class and taking that leap into joining class discussion. As learners we should all know the feeling of having our mind at the end of its tether – not in a mad as hell sense – but when we feel we are at the limits of our understanding and yet more is required.

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

school at Assembly, or tackling that test coming up with confidence (based on hard work). We may then accept the risk of an assignment that offers us the chance to do something unpredictable. In all these things it is important that the expectations be high: we must know that what we do matters and that it will require focus and effort and possibly help from others. This means learning can be exciting and revelatory: as worlds and self open up. We become new, and see a little fur-

miss the wider contact with parents and their engagement with their children’s lives, and the planning of school directions, and certainly the involvement with the wider student group, but all this is in safe hands. It is time for my learning to go in new directions. Nigel Lawler Vice Principal – Head of Senior Campus

We have experienced a number of very sad events yet at the same time have been uplifted by the demonstrations of Woodleigh spirit and resilience. Against this background we have been privileged to have such sound management and staff to direct our school and care for and support our children. As always I would therefore like to express on behalf of the Board our thanks for the efforts of Jonathan Walter as Principal, Nigel Lawler as Vice Principal and Head of Senior Campus, Rod Davies as Head of Junior Campus, Tony Southwell as Business Manager and all of the Staff (teaching and non-teaching) who have made a difficult year such a successful year. The Board has spent much time and effort considering and working to implement two very significant projects to secure the future of Woodleigh School. One is the proposed merger with Penbank – a school with which we share many core philosophies, beliefs and indeed families! The two schools have discussed a merger before and both Boards and the senior management teams are unanimous that now is the right time for this to happen. We are working towards a January 1 start for Woodleigh as a 3 campus school and we are confident it will bring advantages to the whole school including to the Penbank campus. The other major project was evident during November with the

start of the first phase of construction of what will eventually be a full suite of new Homesteads. The first two are now underway and the third will closely follow. I encourage you all to keep abreast of the progress and whenever possible view the design sketches and layouts as these will be wonderful, modern teaching spaces which we are sure will usher in a whole new era of education in the Woodleigh Way. The complexity and importance of these projects, plus the numerous other tasks and issues that constantly arise lead me to thank the members of the Board for their tireless contribution and work. The Board has a rolling Master Plan and has spent considerable time ensuring that these projects will not impact the very sound financial position the School is in and can be comfortably funded and managed within its budgeted capital expenditure program and resources. Whilst the Board does not involve itself in the day to day operation of the School, it does maintain an overview of School activities in terms of how they reflect and deliver against the direction, philosophy and culture of Woodleigh School. As always we can be proud of the achievements of our students and what fine young adults they turn into and it is a great comfort to the Board to know that the hard work and commitment of the Woodleigh staff ensures that this happens, year after year. It has been my pleasure and privilege to be Chair of the Woodleigh School Board over the past 12 months and I thank everyone for their support of me in that role. Malcolm Taylor – Board Chair

s I reflect on 2014 it is with gratitude for the moments when we have succeeded in providing experiences far richer and more rewarding than what can be measured in tests or assessed against standards and outcomes. A Woodleigh education reaches beyond these and whilst we can be justly proud of the academic program and the progress made by our students, the holistic approach and innovative ways we work to engage the children is what provides the greatest satisfaction. From experiences in the great outdoors, connecting with nature, to success on the sports field, all add to the bigger picture of the year that was! In 2014 we happily welcomed Mrs Kate Marino to the teaching team where she took on the role of teaching Foundation. We welcomed Sarah Watson to the role of Drama teacher and we also welcomed Bronwyn Burrows as an Integration Aide. In Term 4 Alison Cummins took over from Phil Thomas as he took some well-deserved Long Service Leave. In the Canteen, Alisa Melhusih coordinated catering along with Sinaed Parker and Jackie Frith who were new additions to her team. A massive highlight for 2014 was the fundraising efforts of the students and our community in supporting the Well Wishers Foundation. Our aim was to raise $6000, which was the amount,

required to support the work of Well Wishers in building a fresh water well in a village in Ethiopia. We surpassed the goal, raising over $8000. The money was presented to Graham Romanes of the Well Wishers Foundation at our

and now an integral part of our Year 1 and 2 program. Discovery Days saw the children venture out and about to Frankston Beach and Sweetwater Creek learning in the great outdoors.

“One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.” Carl Jung

Final Assembly. We were thrilled to have champion marathon swimmer, Ms Tammy Van Wisse visit a couple of times during the year to support the efforts of the children in raising funds for Well Wishers. She challenged the children to a swim off at the Mornington Secondary Pool and students in Years 3 to 6 formed teams to swim against her, matching her lap for lap in a thrilling example of persistence and endurance. Another exciting development in 2014 was the extension of the Early Years Nature Program, already established in our ECC and Foundation classes

As always I am grateful for all the successes that happen throughout the school year. I am inspired by the enthusiasm, confidence and sense of sheer joy with which the children approach everything they do. To my team of professional teaching staff, I extend my heartfelt thanks for another wonderful year. Finally to you – our parents and especially to the PFA, I thank you again for your continued support and I look forward to our learning journey ahead as a school community in 2015. ROD DAVIES – Deputy Principal Head Of Minimbah Campus

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Passions Unearthed There are very good reasons why Woodleigh doesn’t focus solely on the academic and there are very good reasons why people make Woodleigh their school of choice: we grow the individual and support their passions. Every year we see students finding direction through School programs that support them in the pursuit of their individual interests and passions. Whether Academic, Artistic, Sporting, or Environmental, each and every year we continue to see students finding a niche, and striving to achieve their goals. Our huge range of Activities and our unique Camps Program give all

“There are very good reasons why people make Woodleigh their school of choice: we grow the individual and support their passions.” Woodleigh students a taste of many different pursuits. It is a system which sees many passions unearthed, and subsequently nurtured in our students. A perfect example would be James Kassay (2003), a worldclass Rock Climber who, together with his family, now owns and operates Bayside Rock in Seaford. James’ passion for this sport started at Woodleigh and is still a major part of his life. Sam Moloney (2006) started flying planes in the Woodleigh Aviation Program during Activities sessions.

ONE JOURNEY COMPLETE I can’t believe that I have done it again. I promised myself that this year I would improve and not leave my magazine article to the last minute. However, I feel that I have something of an excuse, as this year my daughter’s learning journey at Woodleigh comes to an end. It has been insightful, challenging and joyful to watch at close quarters her struggles, celebrations and rewards of completing her schooling. I have seen her grow, develop and flourish with the guidance of supportive, caring teachers who have always wanted the best for her. After all it’s very natural for a parent to want the best for their children and its equally natural to worry about the decisions they and we make to guide them into the unknown.

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Looking forward, looking back. Sam now works as a commercial pilot, and has done for six years. It is not just Activities and Camps that see the discovery of interests which grow into amazing vocations. The Performing and Visual Arts and the sporting arena have all seen some tremendous successes that we at Woodleigh got an early peek at. Kate Green (1998) now lives in Germany, her passion for the Cello taking her there where she plays with several ensembles including the Hamburg Symphony. Jarrad Kohlar (2000) used his kayaking skills (developed at Woodleigh) and his athletic skills to become one of the world’s elite Adventure Racers. His athletic ability in all disciplines as well as his tenacity has seen him reach the top of the world rankings in his pursuits. Amelia Travers (2006) credits the nurturing of her passion for science at Woodleigh with her becoming the first Australian student to be accepted into the European Space Camp. Amelia is currently working (and still studying) as a Marine Scientist. And Sophie Ciszek (2003) who was always happiest in the water is now on-board the all-women crewed Team SCA yacht competing in the Volvo Ocean Race. Sophie played a big part in the development of sailing and surfing teams at Woodleigh and has worked tirelessly to make these things her life The list of students finding, and being supported to develop their passions is exhaustive. It doesn’t matter where you come from or where you want to go; you just need a dream to follow. So, what’s yours? Glenn Ogier – Co-Head of Students

I recall with some clarity her first few days, arriving knowing only one other person prior to starting, her excitement taking part in of her first activity, Nigel Lawler’s version of Woodleigh Survivor. On our early drives home she would recall how nice the older students were to her as she took part in Netball, Homestead and Activities. Although she missed out on Homestead Camp due to the Bush Fires, she was challenged and filled with wonderment and awe as Al McRae showed her ‘The Wonders of Gariwerd’, and was desperate to show me how to throw a boomerang. Although I was left feeling a little nauseous, as I was not prepared for how dramatic a flight path a boomerang can take with a minimal amount of initial force as we nearly wiped out a jogger on our local oval. She later experienced

As we move towards the end of 2014, each of us will have our own special memories stored away as snapshots of a busy and involved year. What will this album of memories contain? For some, it will capture a series of ‘firsts’: first days of secondary school; first interactions with people previously unknown; first forays onto an unfamiliar stage or arena. For others, the snapshots will be of events that will happen for the last time at secondary school: the Year 12 Formal; the stress of SACs and exams; the bittersweet celebrations of the final school day. For staff and parents, there will be memories that elicit feelings of hope, pride, excitement and relief. The Commencement Service at the start of the year explored the theme of ‘Dreams’, asking us to imagine the wonderful things that we hope to encounter in the future, and contemplate the type of people that we’d like to become. Emanating from each speakers’ presentation was the importance of having a clear sense of who you are, having passion, kindness and empathy, having the courage to take risks, and being curious. It is this focus on personal growth that sets the Woodleigh experience apart from the rest, and it is this set of attributes that have been seen in abundance throughout 2014 as students have pursued their various passions and dreams. Amongst my store of memories from 2014 will be the following: listening in awe to the exceptional talents of our musicians at the Autumn and Spring Musicales; camping so close to the sea on Homestead Camp at

Cape Patterson that the waves lulled us to sleep; applauding the performers and crew who entertained us with ‘Barnum’; hearing of our wonderful achievements in public-speaking, debating, sporting and various other arenas; being blown away by the selfless involvement of our students in such activities as Homework Club with our Sudanese friends, the Miwatj visit and the visit by Kinglake Primary School students. In addition to this, I will hold on to memories of key moments in my role: welcoming new students, while being a ‘new girl’ myself; working with a group of Homestead Coordinators, Tutors and teaching staff who care so very deeply for their students; negotiating challenges and celebrating achievements with our students and their families. Nothing is done in half-measures at Woodleigh, with active, energetic and full days being the norm for both staff and students. My first year at Woodleigh has passed by as if in a whirlwind, and I would like to thank my new colleagues for keeping me upright and moving forward! The commitment and energy shown by the students of Woodleigh School has been truly impressive. What has been even more noteworthy, however, is their willingness to support and encourage others along the way. This is one of the School’s special features, and I hope that it underpins the collective memorable moments that we take with us as we leave 2014 and continue the pursuit of our dreams in 2015.

Foodies Camp, was changed by Outward Bound, revelled in Hattah and made life long friends along the way.

hand at music, but knows she prefers to listen and she was given the opportunity to complete a VETiS course in Sport and Recreation, which has allowed her to refocus and refine her future pathway.

She has been allowed to explore and develop her creative side in Manual Arts with the support of “Rogers”, a Woodleigh legend who always manages to encourage his students to produce their personal best work. The progression from small box, to small table, to large bed through to a 14 foot paddleboard would have not occurred without his support, guidance and commitment. Although we can often focus on the successes, any good journey has to have its challenges and struggles; so she has had the opportunity to fail with support. While we strive to prepare for the future beyond Woodleigh, it becomes equally important to find out where she doesn’t want to do go. She tried her

Tracey Glen – Co-Head of Students

I am not sure what the future holds for her, although she and I are both confident that she is as prepared as she could be to take on whatever challenges and opportunities are put before her. Yes, I am grateful that she has had this chance and I am proud of the fact that her experience is one shared by the rest of her cohort. I wish them well and will continue to follow with interest the twist and turns of the road beyond Woodleigh. Ian Mills – Director of Teaching and Learning

Michael William Millie Jampa

Charlie Quade Nate Zol

Ashton Milla Luke Annabel

Bailey Felix Flynn Paige

Heidi Tilly the hive â€˘ three year old early childhood with bobby bee!

Congratulations Abby! Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

4 the COCOON

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

FOUR YEAR OLD EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTRE

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

piece by piece we come together

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

fou n dation Arlo

Henri

I like doing everything Zara

Angus

Morgen

I like to learn in art

Hayden

Morgen

Zara Ellie

I like reading and writing Ellie

I like doing things in groups Will

I am good at adding up things

I like playing Abby

Arlo Harry

I like playing on my iPad James

Hayden

I like everything at school

I like doing library Ava

Jackson

Julia

I like to do writing and drawing Chiara

I like doing sport

I like borrowing books about dinosaurs

Joey

I like going to PMP and library Ben

Joey

I like doing craft, PMP and library Kiara

Humphrey Kiara

I like Mrs Marino Julia Chiara

I like reading Hairy Maclary Books

I like learning about money in maths

I like learning sport Angus

I like learning about writing Harry

James

I actually like everything at school Miguel

I love drawing Ellaya

Ellaya

I like learning about elephants Coby

Henri

Ava

Miguel

Jackson

Will

Abby

Ben

Humphrey

Coby Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

I discovered that it is important to keep the environment clean. Thomas M

I discovered that if you work as a team you can make things better. Baylen

I discovered that you have to pick up rubbish so the animals don’t die for the future. Olivia

I discovered that the Northern Pacific Sea Star has no predators and it eats other sea stars. Noah C

I discovered at the Grange one of the pine trees is 100 years old. It drops the most pinecones. Faith

I discovered lots of types of rocks in the sand at the beach. Some shapes were funny, some were squares, rectangles and circles. I even took some home. Bridget

I discovered that if you went to the beach you might find clay that will be silver and it feels squishy. Noah B

I discovered that the rocks at the Granites are not real. They are made out of concrete. They are there to stop erosion and they don’t even look fake. Jade

our discover ies

I discovered that it is very dangerous to let balloons go because sea life can get entangled in it. Lily Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

I discovered that I can make a boat out of leaves and sticks and sail it down the creek water. Venetta

I discovered that people have been over I discovered that little, tiny anifishing for 55 years. It’s a problem because mals are swimming in the water. Rebecca other sea animals don’t have food. Kai

I discovered clay at the beach. It was white and felt â€˜moosheeâ€™. Finn

I discovered that some of the rocks are made out of concrete at the Granites to stop erosion. Nyah

I discovered that overfishing is bad because you take most of the fish out of the sea and it can wreck the food chain. Ollie

I discovered that I can jump over big humps. Henri

I discovered that the Northern Pacific Sea Star can lay 10-25million eggs a year. Jessie

I discovered that I can now run up hills and walk a long way. Tom S

I discovered the Grange can be really fun because you can climb trees and make teepees. Benji

I discovered that the Granites were really fun because you can make huts and you can climb trees and make rafts. Yonten

in nature

I discovered bird feeders can be made from nature. Lucy

I discovered you can find good places to play in nature. Sienna

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

When I think of nature I hear the trees rustling. I also think of a Wonderland. I think of nice fresh air. Lenny

When I think of nature I think of land covered in with trees and plants. Sometimes I think of me walking in a forest and birds calling which makes me happy. I like the flowing water it sounds really relaxing. It is important to all of us because it provides us with oxygen to breathe. Freddie

When I think of nature I think of trees, rocks, dirt, mud, plants, mushrooms, toadstools, frogs and plants. It feels fun to be outside. You can build lots of things out of nature. It feels like you are one of the first people on earth. I like building huts. Nature is important because it provides us with clean air, it makes nice places to look at and discover. It provides food for animals and people. It is fun to explore in. Tom

When I think of nature I think of trees and mountains, rock pools, lakes, plants, animals, water, grass, dirt, sand rocks and sticks. When I am in nature I feel happy because I can see animals, I can climb trees and I can see erosion. I like nature because you can climb trees and you can build cubbies. Nature gives us oxygen and is a home for animals. Leonardo

When I think of nature I think of Wonderland. I think of puddles, rainbows, gardens, flowers, fungi, rocks, rain and sun. When I am out in nature I feel happy, excited and amazed. Sometimes I feel a bit angry, sad and scared. But nature is so amazing. Nature is important to me because you get to look at how beautiful being outside can be. I enjoy looking at different animals and splashing in puddles. Makenzie

When I think of nature it makes me think of a wonderland. It makes me feel happy and safe when I’m with my friends. I love it when the sun comes out and there’s a little bit of rain and a rainbow comes out. I like it when the sun shines on my face. It is important to me because you can explore in it and it is an opportunity to learn in a different way. Nature is the best! Bethany

When I think of nature I think of birds humming and trees swooshing and mushrooms and the air blowing on my face and plants. It’s fun, it’s freedom and it’s our future. When I am out in nature I feel great and alive. Nature is important because it gives us fresh air and it keeps me entertained. It shows me things that I have never seen before.

When I think of nature I think of flowers, animals, plants, mushrooms, toadstools, whooshing trees and building huts. You get to have fresh air. I love being out in nature. Nature is important because you can be free and you can do anything you want in it, as long as you respect it! There are always new things to discover. I love nature! Levi

Ziggy

When I think of nature... Nature is important...

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

When I think of nature I think of water, trees, breezes, calmness and plants. I feel calm when I sit in nature and hear sounds from animals, people and nature. When I am in nature with my friends I like to discover new things. I like building huts. I love nature. Nature is important to me because I can be free and have fresh air. It is beautiful and there are nice sounds. Animals live in it. Ryan

When I think of nature I think of water, mud, trees, rocks, grass, dirt, plants, sand, green jungles, animals, wood, birds and people. I feel awesome, happy, excited, fun and relaxed when I am in nature. I play with all of the natural things and like to splash and play. Nature is important because if we had no nature in the world there would be no animals, or plants. Nature is important to me because I like animals and plants. Zack

When I think of nature I feel happy in different ways. Sometimes I feel sad, happy and excited. I love nature because I can run free and discover new things. Nature is important because it provides us with fresh air and it provides habitats for animals. I wish I could go outdoors more often. Phoebe

When I think of nature I think of trees, fresh air, animals and flowers. I feel very lucky and thankful that we can explore natureâ€™s beauty. I like nature because I can be free and it is fun and I love it. It also provides shade and helps us breathe. Mackenzie

When I think of nature I think of trees and animals. I feel happy. I like to play with all of the natural things. Nature is important to me because I have stuff to look at. It is fun to learn and explore in it. It is good to build stuff in. Jaxon

When I think of nature I think of fun and cool things. I like it. You get to explore and find new things. You can be free in nature. Bailey

When I think of nature I feel happy and excited. I think of trees, water, mud, mushrooms, plants and snails. I feel free and excited in nature. Nature is important because you can run free and touch animals. I love exploring in nature and getting dirty. Marley

When I think of nature I think of big opportunities to be free and happy. I feel safe in nature. Nature is important to me because it makes me happy. I like exploring and finding out things in nature. Ronan

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Walk to school if you can because the smoke that comes out of the exhaust will pollute the air. Also pick up your rubbish. Don’t put chemicals in the water because they will pollute the water and we will have yucky water to drink and for the animals to live in. Lachie A

Kill weeds and do lots of growing of plants so we can be sustainable. Put rubbish in the bin, otherwise it can go down drains and pollute the water and sometimes kills the fish. Stop digging the ground for metals. Join the Sweetwater Creek Action Group. Ride bikes to school because gas from the cars pollutes the air. Use less oil in your car. Ryland

Don’t put stuff down the drain because it ends up in the sea. Use recycled toilet paper because the normal toilet paper is made up from trees. Try walking on the path because this will cause less erosion. We also need to be protecting the animals that are endangered by helping and breeding what is left. This will help us to be sustainable for the future. Lolita

We should make more schools learn about sustainability. We can get people to ask the government to not wreck nature, unless they need to. We should make more environment parks where people can’t do bad stuff to nature. Patrick

We can use time to bring out rubbish instead of being lazy and burying it. The smoke is bad for the environment and if you put in petrol it is bad. You can use natural cleaning products. Juno

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

We should not kill fish for no reason. Don’t waste water. Sebastian

We can grow more trees. We can buy less petrol. We can stop cutting down the trees because they give us clean air and we are destroying animals habitats. Hudson

Do not use too much oil because they mine it in the sea. Stop using gas in your BBQ because gas and oil are mining in the ocean. Darcy

H OW CAN WE P RO TECT N AT U R E FOR THE FUTURE?

We should not overfish the bay because then we wouldn’t have anymore fish left. We could do sustainability at school and teach other people. Charlee

Don’t put poison bug sprays on your plants. Respect flowers and trees. Stop cutting trees down for furniture and then wrecking animal habitats. Stop skiing at the snow for the Snow Leopards. Lach D

We can stop cutting down trees to build houses. We could start planting trees. Using recycled toilet paper means we will cut down less gum trees. Try to walk to school instead of driving because it pollutes the air. Ethan

By not pulling out random plants and only pulling out weeds. Try to walk on the path and use recycled toilet paper. This will be sustainable. Don’t cut down trees, birds live there. Don’t kill animals for skins. Tabitha

Stop cutting trees down. We should bring nature around us by having more native plants. Pick up your rubbish. Andre

Use sustainable palm oil in products you buy from the shop. If you use non sustainable palm oil you are killing lots of animals and palm tree habitats. Try not to make erosion on the cliffs as it hurts the environment. Sienna

Year 2m

Stop cutting down the trees and do not take too many fish from the sea. Lilly

Pull out weeds, plant trees, don’t buy products with too much palm oil, walk to school, do not put chemicals in the water, don’t cut down trees (for paper), don’t throw plastic in the sea because fish can eat it, plant indigenous plants. Matt

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

When I am disappointed, I walk away like a dingo. Kailan

When I am happy, I run like a cheetah. Fin

When I am happy, I bounce like a deer. Lelani

this year through our work in literature, we investigated anthony browne, the author & illustrator . He is a big fan of using similies and metaphors, as well as showing how people can be like animals through his illustrations.

When I am cheeky, I am as crazy as a monkey. Lhamo

When I am angry, I am strong as a gorilla. Zac Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

When I am tired, I am as slow as a panda. Jack

When I am happy, I leap like a reindeer. Tsomo

When I am happy, I feel as free as a fox. Summer

When I am scared, I try to be as brave as a monster. Ewan

When I am happy, I am as playful as a snow leopard. Tia

When I have lots of energy, I run as fast as a cheetah. Will

I get as vicious as a honey badger when I am angry. Oscar

When I am annoyed, I growl like a dog. Ruby

When I am feeling energetic, I run around like a dog. Amelia

When I am angry, I charge like a bull. Luke

year

So we decided to have a go ourselves â€“ here we are!

When I am excited and happy, I run like a cheetah. Adam

When I am bored, I wander around like a cow. Nathan

When I am happy, I run around like a dog. Emile

When I am funny, I act like a monkey. Bella

When I am hurt, I snort like a bull. Blake Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

I think that Zac would make a good author because he is great at imagining things and loves books by authors like Dr. Seuss. He is great at storylines and making something that he has read in the past and changing it to fit the situation in their book. He loves reading what they have written and then changing that to make room for another part in the story. I think that in twenty years time, Zac will be married and living in Turkey. I think that Zac will have two children and be a very successful and happy author.

I think Alisha should be a schoolteacher because she cares for others and if someone got hurt in the class, she would make that person feel so much better with kindness. On the weekends she will sing at a cafe, because I think she is a great singer. I also think that she will go to Mauritius maybe to see her family every month. I think being a schoolteacher would be a great job for her. Charli

In about twenty years or so, I can see Harry as a carpenter with a small family and a wife living in a nice house in Melbourne. He will have a big garden with nice flowers and plants. On the weekend he will umpire football for kids in training or be the coach for the team. He will be a carpenter because he is strong, organised and tall. He could be a football coach because he is friendly, confident, strong, and good at sports, so he would be good at either. Matt

Although Rupert would be a very good author, he will be a very good teacher. He is very friendly, good with kids, smart, sporty and loves animals and he could use all those skills at once. In 40 years time he might stop teaching and become an author, writing about adventures, dragons, elves and myths. I think he will have 2 kids and live in Melbourne for their first kid. They will then move back to Red Hill or Flinders for the second kid, then live there for the rest of his life. Hugo

Rupert

what does the future hold for us?

I think Kai will be a teacher because he is funny and smart. He will own a pet because he is friendly nice and playful. On weekends he will be a zookeeper. He will get married and have 2 kids and they will all live on a farm.

I think Ben will be an Apple worker because he is smart, unique and positive. When he grows up he will get married, have three children and he will live in a mansion with his wife. Nathan

I think Ryan will be a P.E teacher for his job because he is friendly, sporty and committed. He will also have a weekend job at a pub being a comedian. He will have 1 dog, 2 children and will live in Melbourne. Harry

I think that she will have a big house and live in Australia, and I think that they will live in Frankston. Her family will live with a lot of pets. Sage

Osel

Jett is funny, friendly, imaginative and he is good with words. He could be a soccer player, an IT worker or a meteorologist . I think he will be an architect because his Mum is really good at drawing and I think she will pass that on to Jett. Jackson

I think Sage will be an aerobics teacher because she loves aerobics so much and she is great at sport. On the weekends she will teach ballet to kids. She will have a little family and have 1-3 kids. Clara

I think Lachie will be a TV host because he is nice, funny, always on time and persistent. He could be an actor, 100 metre sprinter and footballer but I think he would be a TV host. He will have 2 kids, get a wife and live well in Hollywood, becoming very rich. Ben

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

I think that Summer will work in a zoo because she is good with animals, and she is patient.

I think Cara is going to be a horse riding teacher when she is older because she is kind, she is good with horses and she puts a lot of effort into all the things she does and is very understanding. Summer

I think Clara will be a manager of an accounting business because she is very organised. I think she will get married and have two children and she will stay close to her Mumâ€™s house. I think Clara will live in a medium size house. She will have children going to state school and have average sized children. I think she will meet up with her relatives on the weekend. Magnus

I think Mathew will get married and have four kids, two boys and two girls. I think he will be a motivational speaker and on weekends he will be a stand up comedian.

Hugo is really smart and loves sports. I think he will become an architect because he has lots of ideas and he's good at drawing. He could also be a vet because he's really kind with animals and also knows how to handle them. Lastly, he could be astronomer because he's really smart and so adventurous. Kai

When Amber grows up, I think she will be a policewoman in the dog squad because she is a good friend who cares about people. Ollie

Alisha

I think Ollie will be a great zoo keeper and travel around the world to see and take care of different types of animals. I think he will live in a big house with a giant farm and have a lot of animals. I think Ollie will get happily married and have two kids and go to New Zealand and live there for about 15 years and then return to his home in Melbourne.

I think Nathan would be a kindergarten teacher because he is friendly and patient. For hobbies he will be a footy player and soccer goalie. He will be rich. He will have a small family, with two kids and he will live in a posh house, 8 stories high. He will work 8 hours a day. Amber

Ryan D

I think Magnus will be a History teacher because he seems to have a lot of knowledge with History and is really smart. He will get married and have kids. On the weekends he will be an author and an illustrator.

Jackson is kind and very good at sport so I think he will grow up and be a famous soccer player. He will have two kids and live in Mount Eliza. Jett

Cara

Eva could be an artist, a very good piano player or a sheep judge. She could also be teacher, a lolly maker, a gardener or a scientist, but I think she is going to be a vet. She loves animals and I think she would like to take care of them. I think she will have 2 kids, live in a big house and have a killer pup and a husband, I think she will live in London.

I think when Ryan grows up, he will be a cool soccer player and be really, really good at it. He will also be a part time illustrator because he is really good at drawing too. He will have a dog named Bella and live with a best friend. He wonâ€™t get married and will live in Mount Eliza. Eva

I think Osel could be a teacher, accountant or cleaner but I think that she will be an accountant. She will live in Melbourne in the city with a large family. She will be married and on the weekends she will be in the gym. Ryan S

I think Charli will be a singer and a netballer. She will be a singer during the week and a netballer on the weekend. She is very good at both activities and she will get married and have two kids. She will live in the city so she is close to the netball games and concerts. Lachie

Zac Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

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Tea Williams @Arty_girl8 Great job with teamwork yesterday at Masterchef. It was really interesting and fun. Hope you guys enjoyed the activity. #respectmasterchef

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Chloe Cester @Ces-STAR41 MasterChef was great fun and enjoyable. Also, the food tasted delicious. I liked the food choices and culture. #masterchefrules Harrison Carter @5quidmin3r I like the fact that the school respects the 3 Rs and they are respecting the equipment provided. Keep it up. #keeprespectingtheequipment

Trends #respect #masterchef Tammy Van Wisse Cross Country #rrr #environment Minimbah #theworldsgreatestshave Mini Olympics #respecteachother Monday Morning Meeting Sovereign Hill #teamwork Interschool Sport

Jack Meads @Dah_Bulldozer I agree but remember to respect the environment too. #respectschoolenvironment Tara Garry @TAG_Swagalish 5 things that I respect: friends, family, animals, culture, nature. I’m sure all my friends respect at least 1 thing from MY list. #respect Nicholas Ireland @Mcduck_Mcschwarzenegger It’s very touching and kind to know what you think about respect. #respectfullythinkingaboutothers Ned Murdoch @Sport_Lover_Man54 It was great to see all the Minimbah students looking after the sports equipment on the Mini Olympics Day. #miniolympics Liam Wilkins-Kaighin @lemon_man_is_fab Very true about that. I was looking at the photos and the juniors were definitely respecting the equipment. #miniolympicsrespect Josh Macdonald @year5_bob_mcspleezly Good work with my team members in MasterChef (Lily, Aidan, Amber, Chris, Mitchell, Emily, Robby and me). #rrr Lui Oberman-Watkins @Lui_Andre Yeah, me too. There was the same good work in my group. :) #rrr Chloe Cester @Ces-STAR41 Everyone was so supportive and was cheering all the runners on their way. It was awesome! We all had a great time! #crosscountryrocks Lily Clancy-Dillon @colours_of_India I agree that everybody supported each other in Cross Country. The start was scary but felt amazing at the end. #respectothersandenjoy Jack Meads @Dah_Bulldozer Well done to everyone who was in the mini Olympics and for not breaking anything. #respectenvironment Ned Murdoch @Sport_Lover_Man54 That’s very true and good work! It’s also about other people and things. #respectsportequipment Nicholas Ireland @Mcduck_Mcschwarzenegger People should talk to each other on the street, it doesn’t matter who, because you should respect them and they should respect you. #3rsrespectforothers Tara Garry @TAG_Swagalish That is so true. I think that those very words are inspiring and should be worldwide. Everyone should respect each other! #inspiring

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

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Lui Oberman-Watkins @Lui_Andre Everybody should respect The Pineapple Show because it’s amazing! Fabulous! Awesome!! Listen,enjoy and laugh! #pineappleshow #mrockradio

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Harper Tutton @Run_wild Haaaaaaa! That’s so funny. Best name ever. People, respect The Pineapple Show. Best thing ever. I love this show. #bestshowevergomrock Nathan Lynders @heelclicker_parkour_genius Good job to everyone who went to chess and for being good winners and good losers. Hope you respected everyone. #isayrespecteveryoneatchess

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Jack Shalekoff @Yr5ChocolateAdmin Great to be supporting everyone at chess tournaments no matter whether they win or lose. #dontbebraggingormeanwinnersatchesstournaments Talia Palmer @TNAomglol My group was respectful of our environment. We made sure we cleaned the knives well as we were cooking chicken. #cookedtoperfection #masterchef Tea Williams @Arty_girl8 Yes I saw the kitchen. It looked so clean - way cleaner then ours and you put everything away. Your kitchen smelt amazing. #awesome Jack Shalekoff @Yr5ChocolateAdmin Great to see everyone respecting chess boards and chess pieces at chess tournament. :) #KingsleyParkPeninsulaDivisionChessTournament Frank Taplin @SK8-4-FUN Good job on the tweet support for the correct use of the chess equipment at Kingsley Park on Wednesday, but why the text face at end? #correctuse Harper Tutton @Run_wild Neil Young: “Better to Burn Out Than Fade Away”. Respect others being the best they can be! Be the best for the world. #neilyoung Tara Garry @TAG_Swagalish That is a great quote and I agree it is good to respect others especially at their best! #greatquote Liam Wilkins-Kaighin @lemon_man_is_fab We needed to show respect when we were at Sovereign Hill in the street when the other people were enjoying their holiday. #respectforothers Harrison Carter @5quidmin3r Yes, you’re correct. A good tweet about respect. We need to get this message to other people to respect. #respectforothers Frank Taplin @SK8-4-FUN Even if you don’t like The Pineapple Show, you should support our show. Just respect us and listen to the best show ever. [~_~] #respectus Nathan Lynders @heelclicker_parkour_genius I totally and sincerely agree that The Pineapple Show should be respected. It totally rocks. #pineappleshowtotallyrocksandrespectthem Lily Clancy-Dillon @colours_of_India Well done to all the Year 5 students for being respectful of others, the environment and yourselves when we went to Sovereign Hill. #thethreeRs Chloe Cester @Ces-STAR41 Totally right! Everyone was respecting the three R’s rule. #respect Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

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Robbie Galvin-Rowley @robbie_calls_to_u It was fantastic to see everyone respecting each other and working together in my MasterChef group. Yay! #masterchefproject

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Mitchell Bladon @rainbow_guy34 I totally agree. We always respected each other. Great teamwork and I think we all respected the environment too. #masterchefproject

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Michael Hobbs @4_rock We’d love to play. #michaeltweets

#respect #masterchef Tammy Van Wisse Cross Country #rrr #environment Minimbah #theworldsgreatestshave Mini Olympics #respecteachother Monday Morning Meeting Sovereign Hill #teamwork Interschool Sport

Chris Davis @Davictator Really awesome to see how everyone in MasterChef was working together as a team and respecting each other this year. #teamofworkers Chris Davis @Davictator Also, it was wonderful to see how on the long trip to Sovereign Hill people weren’t too noisy and respected the bus driver. #teamofworkers Mitchell Bladon @rainbow_guy34 I agree. From what I saw everybody did have great teamwork and all the dishes were amazing. #teamwork Blake Cooper @Timtam Great to see heaps of people performing in M-factor and the people in the audience respecting other people in the competition. #mfactorrocks Robbie Galvin-Rowley @robbie_calls_to_u M-factor does rock and great to see respect. #robbiewashere Amber Cooper @surfer_girl Great to see everyone on Thursday getting along in MasterChef by respecting and helping each other and having fun. #respect Emma Sherrington @Pkmn_master127 I agree! MasterChef was 110% more fun when we all respected each other and worked together. Plus, we got a lot more done. #respect Bethany Clements @AnimalLover23 Great to see no one calling out in Monday morning meeting and respecting others who are talking to the group. #respectatMondayMorningMeeting Noah Sahely @Thebasketballer I totally agree with you Beth. It’s been a while since that has happened so it was great to see. Hope that can happen next week as well. #MMMrespect Aidan Bolch @Swegga_Juniorsport Great to see all the students in Woodleigh school being respectful in the Mini Olympics. All the teams did really well. #respecteachother Blake Cooper @Timtam Great! Also, I love seeing people cutting or shaving their hair. I’m probably going to do it next year. Great work shavers. #theworldsgreatestshave

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Xan Eckstein @xan_man We play ball tiggy in the playground and on the oval. Everyone can play. #playgroundtiggy #xantweets

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Tabitha Williams @buster5s Great to see everyone trying to swim. There were a couple of girls who got to zone, which is when you get to go to the city. #respectswimming

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Yuki Savage @MOUSTACHE-YUKI-LOL-TWEETS I got through to zone and then we went to MSAC. It was so much fun! #msac Emma Sherrington @Pkmn_master127 Great to see all Portfolios participating in our cultural fair. Will be awesome to see younger kids respecting our cultures! :) #culturalfair2014

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Amber Cooper @surfer_girl Great! I think the same and that they will do it every year to respect the cultures. I hope it goes well next year. :) #respectcultures Yuki Savage @MOUSTACHE-YUKI-LOL-TWEETS Yesterday we needed to respect people because some got stressed and upset when we didn’t have the right ingredients for MasterChef. #respectpeople Lana Kavanagh @Smiley_face Totally, I agree even though my group didn’t fight. Well done anyway. #thatsgood Noah Sahely @Thebasketballer Great to see everyone at the Mini Olympics respecting each other by congratulating each other and being good sports all day. #respecteachother Bethany Clements @AnimalLover23 Noah, I agree with your amazing tweet because it is true. Everyone was encouraging their team and helping. #noahalwaysright Emily Potts @Sunnydog Everybody was so quiet and respectful in Tully’s. You wouldn’t have even guessed there were 32 kids buying food for MasterChef. #quietasamouse Emma Sherrington @Pkmn_master127 I agree. Nobody was being silly and respecting that if we were being silly we would look like a really bad school. #respectattullys Lana Kavanagh @Smiley_face Great effort people who were in the swimming earlier in the year. Everyone was wonderful for supporting each other. #swimmingrespect Yuki Savage @MOUSTACHE-YUKI-LOL-TWEETS I totally agree with you Lana. #respecttheswimmers Michael Hobbs @4_rock Did you hear our radio station Quadrock? It was cool. We respect each other because it would not be a team if we do not respect. #coolinthemoney Tabitha Williams @buster5s I do agree. It would not be good if we didn’t respect. #3Rs Huddy Haworth @Or4ng3_Cr33per_YT Great to see everyone respecting the environment for national tree planting day. #respectenviroment #nationaltreeplantingday Aidan Bolch @Swegga_Juniorsport Yeah, great to see the whole school planting a plant for an experience they’ll never forget. #respectenviroment #nationaltreeplantingday Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Joshua

As I was putting my hand up to say: Yes, I’m interested in playing basketball representing Minimbah at the annual Lightning Premiership, I wasn’t really sure what was going to happen. Little did I know that there would be about three weeks of rigorous training and drills, and that I wasn’t even sure if I would make it into the team. After that time, the team was announced. I think I displayed personal leadership as I gave it a go and I persisted and didn’t give up. The day was a great success overall with the boys team coming 3rd.

presents...

Otto

Elle

Max b

Mackenzie

On the 29th of August the whole school participated in this year’s Mini Olympics. At the start of the day, Foundation up to Year 3 did their events and the Year 6s got to help out. I am in 6B so we got to help out in the races (as 6R got to help out in the games). There was only three of us from Red Team in 6B so we had more responsibilities. I thought It was really fun getting all the little kids excited and congratulating them on doing so well in their races.

On Friday 13th of June there was a spooky disco for the whole school. I was feeling really nervous before and I actually was feeling like not going. But I still went. When I got there, I was feeling so much better. I signed my name up for singing and while I was singing I hoped that people shouldn’t feel scared to sing in front of people or perform in front of people. I also wanted to show personal leadership.

On the day of the Mini-Olympics, Year 6 were told we had to help the younger kids in our house teams. We had to lead them through their team challenges and I showed personal leadership by helping them strive for accuracy and push through to help the blue team succeed.

This was one of the first sessions that we had with the buddies. It was a real ‘leadership’ moment for me, as Genevieve was asking me how to draw on the iPad and was quite interested in what she could draw. I have had a lot of fun in the buddies sessions that we have had and Genevieve is a fantastic buddy!

Levon

Matthew

Scarlet

Pip

I know that I have shown leadership in buddies by teaching my buddy how to use the iPad. iPads are very important in life because we use them for homework, taking good photos, timelines and much more. So now he knows how to use an iPad which is very important.

I think I have been a real role model in buddies. I think this because we as Year 6 leaders have to show them what is right and wrong, to make young kids in the future be a role model to younger people. I think that it is a good idea to keep having buddies. You have fun as well as being a role model to the young kids.

In Term 2 I shaved all my hair off for the ‘Worlds Greatest Shave’. I ended up raising over $4,600 which was pretty amazing. I was really proud of how much money I raised and how much it will help the Leukaemia Foundation. I then donated my hair to a company who made it in to a wig for a child my age.

For me this was a real moment of leadership because Amelie really looked up to me and asked how to use an iPad and I knew (surprisingly) because technology isn’t my thing. She drew a picture on the iPad and enjoyed the session. I also learnt from her that an iPad can be more fun when your working with some one on it and I love working with Amelie, she is such a lovely buddy.

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Personal Leadership Moments Reflections from our year at the top of the School

Jasmine

Christian

Lachlan

Linden

Buddies has definitely been one of my favourite parts of being a leader of the school. It has taken me back to when I was a kid like that, looking up at my Year 6 buddy as my role model.

This was when I was doing a solo at the Musicale. I showed a lot of leadership getting up and performing in front of everyone. This is something I am really proud.

In the science we did in Term 1 I felt personal leadership. I feel like I lead people in a way because I showed the people in my group how to do the activities if they didnâ€™t know how to do things. I really enjoyed the feeling of personal leadership and I try to feel it again.

During the chess tournament in June, I used many leadership qualities helping out the younger kids and marking their score. At the end of the day my work paid off as we all did well and I came third overall.

Lily

Archer

Justine

Tom

On Friday 13th of June, we had a spooky disco in the hall. While I was dancing with my friends, I made choices about who I wanted to dance with and how I wanted to dance. And the people were shouting the words of the songs and dancing and buying mango sticks and glowing water. It was a really fun night!

During the cross country I showed leadership by helping the younger kids by trying to fire them up. Some of the younger kids have never run a cross country like Ziggy, Freddie and Matty. They had a little idea of how to run a cross country but not about saving their energy. Ziggy and Freddie did well but Matty did exceptionally well winning his age group.

Cinderella Rockerfella was an amazing experience and I adored it! When Mackenzie could unfortunately not perform, I took on her role as well. I think I showed personal leadership by taking on the role and acting her parts and mine as best I could with ease. Luckily, I already knew her lines so it was a little easier.

My best leadership moment of all year would be when I was the captain for the Woodleigh Basketball Lightning Premiership. In every game I was directing people to let them play to their best of their ability, without yelling or being bossy. I believe that helped us achieve a great result.

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

telling everyone to take deep breaths and to fix whatever they could, and then I got us to rehearse again. We rehearsed really well and everything started to fall into place again and we were all very happy.

Krissie

by 6R

Max

I felt like I was a leader and personally grew when we were about to present our Tournament of the Minds presentation because we were arguing and nothing was going right. I calmed the team down as best as I could by

I also felt like I was a leader and I personally grew when we were writing the script because we were all working together and I felt like Jasmine and I were moving the team along really well. I felt really good that I was able to help the team by shedding a positive light on some of the situations. I also felt very stressed because things were falling apart at times and we were all going a bit crazy. In the end, we presented amazingly, but, we unfortunately didn’t place.

Samantha

Billy

Cass

Isy

The time when I felt most like a leader this year was swimming with our buddies in Term One. We barely knew our buddies back then, we didn’t know their personalities, strengths and weaknesses well. The fact that these children were relying on us to help them float across water deeper than their heights was scary, actually sort of terrifying. After a few sessions, I started to feel comfortable around the buddies, and that was my moment. I always try to be a good role model to the preps and hope I am!

This year we have been able to have buddies. I have two, Humphrey and Jackson. It is really hard because if you do something you’re not meant to, your buddy is likely to do the same thing. I think this has given me a lot of leadership because I have to be a role model to them. As we are leaders this has also taught me, even if it is not your buddy, they will still copy you and your actions. With this we also had to teach them to swim which would have helped also in building my leadership.

I really felt a mental growth at the Minimbah Musicale, I felt so excited when I arrived and throughout the whole show my confidence just grew and grew. I think the most exciting bit would definitely be my solo, as soon as I walked on stage all of my nerves just disappeared and I felt like I was just playing it in my room again. When it ended I felt like my opinion of myself had changed entirely. That night will remain with me for a very long time and I hope I have more experiences like it.

This year I competed in Tournament of the Minds. My group was: Gretel, Scarlett, Jussy, Emma, Emily, Harper and myself. My moment was when I was singing a solo as a part of our performance, I was super nervous but I think I displayed leadership because I stepped up and did the best that I could do. I really enjoyed it and I was very happy afterwards. I feel that I grew in that moment because I had never sung solo with an audience before. I hope the judges and audience enjoyed it because I certainly did!

James

Sarah

Jade

Riley

The Musicale is a concert where the school’s musical instrument groups play songs. In the musicale I was in the strings group but I also did a piano solo. The musicale was fun but the strings song took a huge amount of practice till we got it right and it turned out really good. This experience in striving for accuracy helped me with my leadership skills and personal growth. In my piano solo I played Puff The Magic Dragon. It took a ton of practice and hard work but I got there. I played my piano solo on the Thursday (second day). I was a bit nervous when I started but it turned out really well and all together the show was fun.

This is my first year at Minimbah and I have made some great friends and had great times, although I felt like I grew the most on the first day. It’s a big thing going to a new school, although it wasn’t my first day of Year Six because I did six months in America, I was still really worried, especially since it was a new country since I was living in America for the last five years. As the day went on I got happier and more comfortable, then by lunchtime I had already made lots of friends. It was a good day and I was really looking forward to great times still to come in the rest of the year.

In Term 1 this year in Year 6 we started the production which was called ‘Cinderella Rockerfella’. We were told our roles, we started after school rehearsal and I was ecstatic to start this amazing experience. I was really excited but nervous to start this process and very confused as to what the future would hold. We rehearsed for 2 terms and performed in Term 3 . I was Fairy Cake from the Fairy Brigade. It was really great to see how everyone could work together and get anything done. I’ve grown during this experience mainly because of the team work, hard work and time that everyone put in.

This year, one of my favourite experiences was definitely narrative writing, the pure thrill of writing an adventure full of horror mystery and suspense was absolutely fantastic. My narrative was titled ‘The Cell’ and I put a lot of effort into it, not just in writing but also in production. I put a poster outside the door of the 5/6 Homestead to advertise my book, and as the cherry on top, I recorded myself narrating it and made it into an audiobook. I think using habits of mind such as Creating, Imagining, and Innovating, and Thinking Flexibly has helped me show leadership through innovation and popularity, and I definitely am going to continue writing.

On the 23rd of August 2014, we presented our Tournament of the Minds presentation.

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Cinderella and Rockafella was an interesting and exciting experience for me, as I was a very main actor in the performance. Or should I say actress? My part in the performance was the part that put the panto in pantomime, as I was acting as one of Cinderella’s ugly sisters, with my friend Josh. We had full on makeup on and everything-

it was a truly hysterical play, and us being the stars of it all, made me feel even better! I mean sure, on the second night I messed up many of my lines in our song, titled ‘I’m So In Love With Me’ All in all, it was an amazing, fun, exciting, tiring, and educational experience that I would never want to take back.

Leading in year 6! Reflections from our year at the top of the School

Josh

Kyal

Dhishni

Gretel

Cinderella and Rockerfeller was a play put on by the Year 6 students. The idea to do Cinderella was picked by Miss Watson, the drama teacher who also choreographed the whole play. There were a few auditions that the kids who wanted to be in the show could go to and show off what they got. I auditioned for an ugly sister and after an agonising wait, I got what I wanted. In the play my character was called Anastasia and I looked FLAWLESS. I thought I was completely ready for the play, but on the night I got a little anxious that we might mess up completely. But I did my best and I think my best was pretty amazing and even got a massive applause. Overall it was extremely fun, and extremely worth the hard work it took to learn all my lines.

In Term 2 we were assigned the task of writing a narrative for our family. When I heard about this I was really excited and got writing straightaway. We typed our good copy on our iPads then when I was finished I printed all the pages and then made a book. This task helped me share my imagination with other people and when I was writing the story it was like I was actually the main character in the story, because the story is about what I want to happen to me in the near future. Now I can finally show people what I can think of and what my imagination can do and what imagination can do to so many people. And when I shared my story with my dad he was blown away with it, so that made me really happy.

Half way through Term One I arrived at Minimbah for the first time. It was interesting seeing all the amazing things and actives to do! When I started the lessons I was fascinated and amazed how Woodleigh taught their lessons! I thought, “This school has creative and educational ways of teaching!” On the first week I had been in the Minimbah pool with my new buddy. I thought having a buddy was a great responsibility, we had to be role models being in Year 6, so we acted with respectful behaviour. The next term I was so spirited and excited because we were going to Canberra for Year 6 camp. I never thought primary school camps went interstate! I enjoyed it and learned so much about government, parliament and lots more!

This year has all been amazing, but my highlight and my biggest challenge was caring for my buddies. Ellaya and Kiara are very nice kids, but having two children to look after was hard. The first time we went in the pool I was looking after Ellaya. She was a strong swimmer which made the job easier for me, but when lunchtime came around, I realised my two new friends liked to play completely different things. I felt quite split. Did I go play in the sandpit with Kiara or runaround with Ellaya? When I look back on it, it seems like too small a thing to be so worried about, but I am happy that I was worried as it gave me the idea to take turns between playing with each one each lunchtime, and it also helped my buddies to learn how to compromise. I am very grateful for this chance to practice my leadership.

Chloe

Aaron

Declan

Hugo

During my trip to Canberra with the rest of Year Six I felt that I matured significantly because of the sense of leadership and responsibility that I gained while representing my school. I think I have maintained that sense of leadership and responsibility. In Canberra we went to many exciting places such as the National Dinosaur Museum and the AIS. That meant I had to learn quickly to control my impulses. With my behaviour improving I gained more responsibilities and managed to cope with them. Since then I have taken more on and coped with my anxiety more effectively.

On the 3rd, 4th and 5th of September we had a performance called Cinderella and Rockerfella. It was fun. We had to perform and it was really fun but most people were tired after the third performance. When it was my turn to go on stage I was super pumped up. I thought I did pretty well but that was only the start. We had to do it three nights in a row! Every time I went on stage I was excited but tired. By the third time we did the performance on the last scene of the performance (the shoe fitting scene) I felt leadership. It was like it was only me on the stage (it wasn’t) but I loved it and I bet every one else did, I think every one did well.

This year some people were selected to run for Woodleigh in athletics at Ballam Park. It was such a fun day running all day having so much fun. Being a leader is a great responsibility, by making sure everyone gets to their race on time and making sure no one is doing the wrong thing. We came first in our division which was a great achievement. At the end of the day I felt like I became better a leader because I got to my race on time and I was not doing the wrong thing. I hope everyone had a great day.

In Cinderella and Rockerfella I had a very important role as the user of the soundboard on MIX16. I had to play all the music at the right time which was a challenge because sometimes actors forgot to say what they needed to say and that was my cue to play the music. Also when I was doing the first performance (the matinée) I accidentally pressed the wrong button but I saved it, that was a close call. I felt quite pressured during the performance but I also felt power and I hoped that we did well.

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

This year we have done many things in the library. It has all been very enjoyable. Book Week was a great success with almost everyone dressing up as their favourite book character. The Book Fair was good too, with most of the books selling and lots of people buying books for joy. We have all liked our library lessons in the tent and Mrs.Chynoweth has introduced us to lots of new books and authors. I have really enjoyed my final year of library at the junior school. If the Senior Campus is half as good, it will be amazing. Lachlan Long – Literature Portfolio

L i br a ry

Book week is always my favourite week of the year, as we get to do many things such as seeing an illustrator and dressing up as a book character. Book Week started off as usual on Monday when Mrs Chynoweth put up the fantasy themes inside the library. Then on Tuesday and Wednesday Mark Wilson came in to visit us. Mark Wilson is an illustrator who has a big passion for animals, Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

especially endangered animals and many of his books and illustrations are about them. He also likes to write about war. And finally on Thursday it was the Book Week assembly which meant that we all could dress up as our favourite book character from a book of our choice. The assembly was awesome and full of magic, from all the Harry Potters and other magical characters. It is great

to be able to show our costumes and wear them all day. We all had a laugh at the teachers’ performance, which we love every year. This year we had something different too, with a Hip Hop choir called ‘Massive’ visiting us. They taught us how to rap and make up songs and tell stories through songs. We also did lots of dancing to our raps. oing to miss Book Week! Linden Beaumont Lit. Portfolio

stu d e nt lite r atu r e It was Spring time, the flowers were blooming in the bushland by the sea. But soon it would get colder and they would have to go to the mountain jungles where there were very many caves. Lester a young cheetah was hunting for food. It was quite a while until she realized that a nearby bush was quietly rustling. Lester was very curious of what was behind the bush so she peeked around the bush and saw a cheetah that was about to bite a big branch off a black berry tree. Her name was Marla, she was at least one year older than Lester. She came from another tribe. Marla turned around and saw Lester and decided to pounce on Lester when she turned around. In about one and a half minutes Marla pounced. Lester shrieked and they started to fight. The sun was about to go down when the two girls stopped fighting. Lester said “Why don’t we make friends?” “Ok” said Marla and the two girls made friends and lived happily ever after. The End Lily Y1

The Magic Boat

Morgen – Foundation

Islands “I love it, don’t you?” I had just worked out how to make a coconut raft with string. “Come on Daisy, let’s go!” So, off we go, me and my dog, Daisy. OK, let me take you back in time. When I was little, my mother died from hiking up a mountain. My dad still lives in the city. I still believe she is alive. “Mmmmmm, yummy coconut.” I love coco… WAIT! Where’s Daisy! No. Come on, let’s go find her. (8 minutes later) “Oh no, Daisy has totally vanished.” I’ve looked everywhere, she has disappeared, totally! Wait! Sorry to scare you. But I think I hear Daisy down o the beach. Come on, let’s go quickly. “Daisy, I found you!” Daisy and I were rolling around on the warm sand, as if it was my birthday. “Come on let’s have a coconut.”

Tabitha Y2 Last night I saw beady yellow eyes looking fiercely at me. I snuggled my teddy in bed, I was shaking like I had never shaken before. Then outside I saw something run out from behind a tree. Then my bedroom door went bang and it fell of the hinges and something came into my bedroom. I screamed loudly. I looked under my bed and saw a fierce big black cat. It hissed at me very loudly…

On The Water

She crashes through the waves, Her taunted sails fly through the strong wind, Her mast as firm as brick, Her floors were rickety and dusty, Her ropes taught. Up to her neck in the deep blue ocean, As she bursts through each of the waves, Leaving them gurgling and bubbling, And the great golden sun shimmering on the water.

Hugo – Y4

I am the sight of a humming bird sucking nectar from a colourful flower I am the taste of fresh gingerbread on a Christmas morning I am the smell of a fresh chocolate cake on my birthday I am the touch of your feet crunching on the leaves in the rainforest I am the sound of baby birds hatching from their eggs I am success. Ollie – Y4 I am the smooth handle of a hand gun I am the smell of smoke coming from all directions I am the deafening sound of bombs being fired in the morning I am the sight of rapidly approaching enemy soldiers I am the awful taste of artificial revolting soldier’s rations I am conflict. Magnus – Y4

Sienna Y2

I am grateful for … My fun and kind friends that help me on tricky words and when I am confused. I am grateful for my fun, funny and playful parents. I love them with all my heart and all my love. I am grateful for my funny, annoying and crazy brother. He is the best brother I could ever have in the whole world. I am grateful for my cuddly and cute rabbit. She always kisses me on the hand. She is the cutest thing in the world and her name is Cups. And that is what I am grateful for.

In the middle of the sea a ship was floating gently…until a huge storm came! But this ship was no ordinary ship it could fly. It flew to some calm waters. But the ship had another problem the tide was pulling them back towards the shore. The worst part was the sand was quick sand. The boat was sinking fast it tried to fly back but it could only stop them sinking. That night the tide began to pull the ship towards the sea. In one week the ship would be free. One week later the ship was free and was sailing happily across the sea. Ronan Y2

The Gloomy Night on the Beach It was a very gloomy, windy night at the beach and something shone in the moonlight. It had red beady eyes and black shiny fur. It was the Bomber Monster! It started creeping towards me with it’s big, black furry feet. Then the waves started crashing and a tornado came out of the sky, and the Bomber Monster disappeared up through the tornado and into the sky. It was silent. The tornado vanished! I stood there staring just where the whole thing had started. Then a vicious, fierce dog stared at me. It had yellow beady eyes. It started chasing me. I was running as fast as I could, and then I fell over as the dog stopped. It came up to me and licked me on the cheek. Then my sister came running down the path and I said, “That was the scariest time of my life.” It turned to me and barked nicely. I picked it up and took it home. I told my sister what had happened with the Bomber Monster and so on. The little dog became my best little pet. I loved it. Bethany Y2

Lolita Y2

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

year 5 The desert sand shimmers below. My ship shudders and crashes into the desert floor. I look around. Nothing. Just barren desert. The shimmering desert stares back. The hot, dry wind peels at my skin. My feet start sinking. With my heart thumping in my chest, I realise I am alone. The journey has begun. Nathan It almost hurts with the hot sun heating the sand and climbing up the mountain dunes. I’m starting to feel like I am finally free as I soar beneath the shimmering sun. The wind will blow me to the ground so I won’t end up back in that horrible dark and gloomy room. Ahead, I can see a glowing, floating object that, as I get closer, is the singing of angels leading me to the destiny... Ned Bang! In a flash of light, you’re there in the desert, a hot glowing desert. It’s dazzling. You don’t know what to do. You’re still stunned by the flash of

year 3 Toothbrushes You use them to brush your teeth. You put toothpaste on the tooth brush before brushing you teeth. I find them in Bentons square. You would and should brush your tooth in the morning and bedtime with your toothbrush. HOW TO USE THEM!!!! Brush round to the back and front after that put your teeth together, next with your tooth brush go round in circles on the front and the back teeth. Bella

Shadow I think this is a grabber. I think this works by putting two arrows together then the third arrow apply’s pressure to hold the wrapper in between the two arrows so it doesn’t fall out. Then the boxes have machines to control the arrows. Then the first two points are handles then the other one is a lever to pick the wrapper up and put it in the bin. Jack

TOOTHBRUSHES Toothbrushes are strange things. They make your teeth clean, they also make your teeth feel strange. They give you strange tastes in your mouth. Toothbrushes have bristles on the end. Toothbrushes live at a sink and they

Excerpts from Journey. light that led you here.

Liam W-K

I feel the hot, shimmering sun as I lie here on this cold, soft sand. I see abandoned and destroyed towers with nothing inside, but as I go on top of a

hill, I saw a forgotten and destroyed town. I came from a rusty old house. I always wanted to be adventurous, so when I was older I set off. By the time I got there I was nearly under all that rough and rusty sand. It was all over my skin. I got up, I could hear

“The wind will blow me to the ground so I won’t end up back in that horrible dark and gloomy room.”

hill I can see little broken metal poles with weird looking symbols sticking out of the ground. As I run through this steaming, hot desert, all I can see are forgotten towers and bits of scarves flying in the air. I see symbols and everything. Talia P You wake up in an unknown land,

your choice to find out, so come, take your chance. Chris I was flying through the air, the wind thrashing in my face. I fell to the ground. Then I saw a shimmering light in the distance over a hill of crunching sand. The sand was rough on my skin. As I walked over the

my feet crunching through the sand I saw these places in front of me with a symbol. Bethany In the very centre of a desert filled with shimmering yellow sand I stood covered in a very thin cloak. It felt smooth and warm against my

QUICK WRITING. Mrs.Williams would give us obscure topics and we would have to write for 5 minutes without stopping. get bought at the shops. You use them by putting toothpaste on the bristles, then wetting the toothbrush and then brushing your teeth. Amelia

SHOES – What else can you use them for? • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

To kick them around Playing catch Clap them together Put a plant in them Use the laces as a rope Using them as a mirror – if they are shiny To hit someone As a present Tie something up Use the laces to measure something Use the laces to tie something up To make a picture To make a toy car To wear as a necklace For knocking something out of a tree Use them as gloves.

Will

Narrative writing It was a dark, cloudless night in London. Everything seemed still. Everything was silent. The only light came from the moon

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

not remembering anything but your age. However, you know one thing: you are destined to explore. Wind blowing in your eyes, you don’t know where to go. Will you stumble across a hidden and lost city or will you starve to death in the unforgiving desert. It’s

and the Street lamps. Not a sound was made as a figure clad in black approached the Tower Bridge. With nothing visible except for its gloved hands, the figure silently scaled the wall of the Tower Bridge. As it reached the floor that contained the Crown Jewels, it paused... Oscar

TOP SECRET! Base code 34990 Gate code 3488 Steal 5 bulls Put bulls in the field If done 5000€ Drive way: 58 Maia street They were driving on the muddy drive way to the end of the house, when Pepe spotted a piece of paper. Pepe showed his dad the piece of paper. “Look what I found! “ said Pepe. “A piece of paper ,ha ha ha!” “No! Read it. Are you a dad or not? Ey?” So Pepe’s dad read the piece of paper. “We got him now! Run this note to the police and tell them to come to the house with a detective.” The police came with a detective. They asked Pepe some simple questions , like: Where did you find it? Or when did you find it? Emile

ANGRY BIRDS REPLICA One sunny day all the angry birds were sitting on the beach relaxing, but then the pigs came! But they weren’t coming, they were just standing there talking to each other with a big barrel and a sheet over it. “What are those boo boos doing over there?” said Bomb. But then they just started running to Bomb and then they pulled the sheet away and there standing right in front of him, was an exact replica of himself only with red eyes. But he was not worried because he knew the pigs were very dumb so he exploded the whole barrel, but when the smoke cleared the only thing that was there was the exact replica of him, only with King Pig. He had a knife near his ...ah tummy. But let’s go to the really important stuff, THE EGGS ARE IN SERIOUS DANGER! “No! Not the eggs! I really wanted to be a father!” “You will be a father,” said Matilda. “But…. said Bomb, “Sshhh, said Matilda, “An egg is hatching.” Bomb turned around and there, on the couch was a baby that looked exactly like him. “What!” said Bomb. Ewan

skin. There was a short scarf covered with symbols wrapped around my neck. There was a high and very dazzling hill in front of me. Then I started to walk forward…. Robbie It is almost sundown; the sand is glimmering in the last of the sun light. I see lots of sparkling stuff everywhere. They look like tickets. They don’t have this sort of stuff in the sky. Every time the sand blows it sounds like the wind when the trees blow and when things like sand fall. It sounds like a waterfall. The sand feels like dirt or maybe a special type of rice. The cloak is smooth on my skin, it keeps me warm when the wind blows. I do miss home up in the sky past the clouds. You can see the land far below. When you see the scattered buildings they look rusty and very sandy. They feel very hard as well. I wish I could go home. AmbeR

S tory begin nings Year 6

“So, you understand the case?” asked Simon as he checked his phone. “Yeah, Simon, I do. Now would you please just relax,” Monica said as she flipped her dark, curly hair over her shoulder. “You do understand that the opposition is defending a Witch Doctor?” Simon asked. “Oh, I’m so scared!” “No need to be sarcastic. All I am saying is that you shouldn’t be too confident.” And with that, Monica shrugged and Krystal walked off.

hayden Foundation

BLOOD There was once a deadly werewolf that ate thirty ducks each night. His name was Blood, he had pointed teeth and black hair. One night he couldn’t find any ducks to hunt so he said to himself, “What will I have for dinner?” Suddenly he heard a cow moo happily! “Is this my lucky night?” he thought, “But why is it coming from farmer Ned’s double decked cottage ?” So he started to walk anyway, ignoring farmer Ned coming out of the cottage with a dart gun three thousand. When Blood finally arrived at the door, a dart dug deep into his ear. When he came round again he was in a cage. On the top of it lay a brochure that said “Market of animals tomorrow.” That meant he had to make a move.

Kailan

The door creaked slowly as the person strolled in. The floor boards squealed irritably as his boots stepped along the dark, moonlit floor and dust perfumed the still air. He ran his hand swiftly along the mounds and layers of blankets that covered my cold, rigid body. “We have to go now,” he whispered into my pillow. Otto As the sun awoke upon the beautiful morning of the Festival of Light, the village came alive. The people of Shtouom worked hard. Out of joy though. Joy for the feast, joy for the new chief and joy for a day where they didn’t have to be afraid. In this village though there was one boy. A boy that felt fear and sadness only. This boy was to be the new chief. At midnight tonight he would become a man. Lachlan I like to picture people in my mind with detail. Then I love to describe them with words. Words that are long and roll off your tongue. I adore the way words can find a way into your head and stick, words that I will remember forever, its incredible. Words mean everything to me, I live and breathe them. I used to love reading and just looking at innocent little words sitting on paper screaming at me to read them and listen to them. Scarlet

Music was blasting, there were excited people everywhere. It was late, without the lights it would be pitch black. It was freezing, we could see ourselves breathing, and fresh snow had fallen earlier that day. Our girls Olympic snowboard team was taking turns practising their routines. I had just finished and now it was Kayla’s turn. Sarah I ran around the park, watching people walk by. No-one notices me, not even the man. Everyone just passes by, and when I try to touch them, my hand falls through. I try to scream and yell, but nothing comes out of my mouth. I feel my face, and realise that my mouth is simply not there. My head disappears, my arms and legs soon follow suit. There is nothing left but my hands, then they turn into sand, and the wind carries them away. I float upwards, and turn to look at the people, they are all gone, apart from the man. He is always there. I hit the clouds, after 3 painful minutes of floating in the air, and wake, back in my dark padded cell, with a knocking from my padded door. A man with a clipboard strolls into my depressing cell. His eyes so dark it felt as if he was looking into my soul, and his hair like fishing line. Max D

Year 6 Writings... ...on almost the other side of the world, there was a box. On that box it had a label with the words: Mr. Alex Despond. It was going to be delivered to him, as he’d purchased it on eBay two days earlier. What he didn’t know was that since he was so new to things like eBay, he had put the wrong address in. Josh W It’s not safe to sleep at home anymore so my family made a devastating decision, to leave home and split the family in half. Mum moved up a floor in the apartment block, Iris doesn’t even know where I live. It was for my own safety but to me it’s horrid. She’s just another child and you don’t just dump a child. I’m lying to myself. A normal child doesn’t fight. Normal children don’t scream, kick and wrap their arms around your neck. Iris wasn’t a normal child. As much as I wanted to stay, I couldn’t. For Iris’s sake I still believed my lie. Gretel Suddenly short figures started emerging from the buildings. As they got closer I saw that they were about the same height as me ( which isn’t very tall by the way) but they looked twenty something years old. They were wearing a collection of rags and what looked like leather armour, oh and they were armed with bows and knives! I turned to run back the way I had come but more of them were blocking the way out, they had surrounded me. As I stood in the middle of them one approached me, I took a step back. “ who are you?” I asked “I am Xef, leader of the elf revolution.” Isabelle Number 73, it says on his door. I use the key from the file to open the door, I look inside. My stomach drops, I see gleaming in the very little light what seems to be his eyes and teeth. Riley Well this has been an amazing adventure. One thing everyone needs to remember, every story has an ending and when it ends we think of what happens next. So do the same with this book. Use your imagination with this book and think. Dreams are limitless so don’t sit back and watch them go by, go chase them and live an amazing life. Kyal

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

M inimbah M u sic Sharing your child’s musical journey is such a privilege! There are many rewarding moments in each day, whether it’s observing an ECC child singing his heart out while flying around the room as a butterfly or witnessing a focussed student in Orchestra striving to master a challenging passage. In this nurturing, interested and supportive school community we are lucky the students feel so positive about contributing musically. Andrea Khoza “I love the sense of community and the friendships that I have built with the other students in the Extension Ensemble. As well as improving my skills on the Double Bass, I made strong friendships with students I hardly knew before. Because of these friendships our music came together and sounded better than ever before”. Chloe – Y6 Students develop their own musical language and at Minimbah, each language is valued. Whether the child is passionate about singing, composing, rapping, playing piano, flute, percussion or violin we all have opportunities to work together creatively and feel the intrinsic reward and spirit of working as a musical team. Andrea Khoza “In Term One I composed my own song all by myself. It’s called ‘Little Bird’. It doesn’t go for long but it is very sweet. I also sang it in front of the whole school”. Tabitha – Y2

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

New Building Another highlight this year, other than all the fabulous music making opportunities was the completion of the new Music Centre. The children now learn and create music in a custom built, flexible space. A personal highpoint was the opening of the building that featured students from Foundation to Year 12, all of whom have been or are Minimbah music students. Seeing the musical journey across the school years in one Café Concert was inspiring. Sue Fletcher In Term 1 we were really excited about the new Music House because we were so cramped in the Library. When we came to school in Term 2 and we saw the music house, our jaws dropped because it looked so good and it was a big change from the portables. When we walked into the music house we couldn’t believe how neat and perfect it was. Getting the new Music House was a great thing. Noah & Tabitha – Y5

Highlights from our musical community... Classroom music One thing I did at music was ‘Small Steps’. ‘Small Steps is a sustainability song. We decided to write a sustainability song because we go out and about in to nature on Wednesday. After we rehearsed heaps we did it live to air on M-Rock at school while people were out playing. That was a great moment! Lachie A – Y2 In our Music Classes I love performance time. Performance time is when people come up and play in front of the class. You can either make something up or do a song you already know. William – Y3 I have enjoyed learning ti-ti’s and tas because it’s fun and you can make songs with it. Hayden – Foundation

Wor k shop/E x t e ns ion up to the Grand Piano and placed my It is great to see the process, from getting music on the stand. I gently put my fin- the music for the first time to performing Ensemble Year 6 Extension Ensemble is always a highlight of my week, mainly because I love music. I love being part of orchestras because it is like a big machine and each instrument is part of the machine, making it work and building it until it sounds amazing. I play flute and I am very pleased to be part of the Extension Ensemble. Jussy – Y6 In music workshop our ‘massive’ group of three have had the most amazing fun and we have learnt so much. But when times get tough we support each other to strive for accuracy. Even though it is a class we feel like we can always express ourselves. Lily & Harper – Y5

Musicale I absolutely loved the Musicale. That moment just before the Rock Band went on stage, we were all just so excited. We were all so happy, everything we had been working on, practising and rehearsing was finally about to happen. Cassius – Y6 The breath-taking hall was filled with a busy crowd. I was so nervous as I walked

gers on the keys and started playing ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’. When I finished playing I got up and the crowd clapped and I went red. After I was so proud. Pip – Y6

live in front of an audience at assemblies. Emma – Y5

Choir

Private lessons

I like choir because we learn a lot of songs that I didn’t know and they are really good songs. When we do choir we always warm up our mouths by singing. When I sing I think it helps me express my feelings and let out my anger. I love choir! Sage – Y4

I love my guitar lessons because I like learning new songs and playing and learning on the second, third, fourth and fifth strings. Guitar is sometimes challenging, but I love it. Ryan – Y4

Café Concert

I love the Café Concert because I get to see the sort of music that other people Incursion with massive play. This motivates me to improve my Hip Hop Choir piano skills. Oscar – Y3 The best thing by a long way was when I love singing at the Café Concert beMassive Hip Hop choir came in, it was cause at the start I felt nervous but when just so awesome and inspirational to I got up there and I finished I was happy. watch everybody singing and dancing, Now I am excited to sing again. It was a even the teachers joined in. I had the special Café Concert because it was the best time and I hope we can do it again. opening of our new Music House. Cassius – Y6 Charli – Y4

Rock Band Rock Band has been really fun, from performing ‘Riptide’ at Grandparents Day to ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ at the musicale.

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

On Wednesday 3 and Thursday 4 September all the Year 6 students took part in the Year 6 production, ‘Cinderella Rockerfella’. Everyone enjoyed it enormously and had put a lot of effort into their roles. On Wednesday we did two shows, a matinee show at 2pm and an evening show at 7pm. On Thursday we did just the evening show at 7pm. ‘Cinderella Rockerfella’ is a modern version of the fairy tale Cinderella. Rockerfella, formerly known as ‘Prince Charming’, is a rockstar and travels the world. After a while he is sick of the fame and wants a normal life. When he is at the town ball; he falls deeply in love with a lovely girl (Cinderella) but then she disappears at midnight and he tries to find her with the glass slipper she left behind. Cinderella hopes that he notices her but it is very hard when you have 2 ugly step sisters (2 boys dressed up as girls) who treat her horribly. All the Year 6s worked on the show since the start of Term 2 and attended many rehearsals. We would rehearse on Wednesdays for most of the day and then after school when required. Everyone had great roles and were on stage throughout the show. Kyal, Max, Declan and Hugo were great as backstage directors and helped us get on and off throughout the shows. Jasmine played Cinderella and did a wonderful job and Riley played Rockerfella. I was lucky enough to get the role as ‘Fairy Nuff’. The show was amazing and everyone did a terrific job of remembering their lines and dances. We all had heaps of fun and when it came to an end, we were all a bit sad. We couldn’t have done anything without any of the teachers and particularly Miss Watson, the drama teacher. Well done to everyone, you did an amazing job! Scarlet – Year 6

dra ma

In Cinderella Rockerfella, I was Rockerfella, and let me tell you, I was nervous. I had to sing in front of a live audience, and my parents hadn’t even heard me sing, ever! Although in the end it was totally worth it; people thought I had a great voice, and the performance as a whole was brilliant. I’m glad I was able to be a part of the musical and all the hard work paid off. Riley – Year 6

We feel free, happy, energetic and creative when we dance

Dance is awesome fun Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

y3/4 camp ace hi On the 10th of September, we left school to go to Ace-Hi-Ranch. First we had a stop at Top Fun. In our group was Kailan, Will and me until Osel and Ollie hopped in our group. We started on bowling, Kailan won in bowling. Then we went out to play mini golf and I just missed a hole in one. Then we went into the arcade, but I didn’t get many tickets.

Blake

On Wednesday 10th September to Friday 12th September, Grade 3/4 went to Ace Hi Ranch. First of all we went to Top Fun and my partner was Amber. At Top Fun the first thing we did was mini golf , then the token games and last ten pin bowling. My favourite activity at Top Fun was the tokens because we could spend the tokens on games and Amber and I joined our token tickets together. Then we got lots of tickets together and everyone got 6 tokens each.

5/6 Camp Licola

My favourite activities at camp were:-

As I was waiting for the harness, my tummy rumbled with excitement. When I got the harness I put it on and walked quickly to the top of the Flying Fox. When I got to the top, I could see a view and the ground. I got clipped in and then I jumped off the edge. It was so much fun! I hit a tyre and nearly hit my head. When I got back to the ground I felt so good and I can say I did the Flying Fox. Then I ended up doing it again. It was still as much fun the second time. I love the Flying Fox. Lana

3..2..1… Jump! I yelled, a little bit scared! But then I wasn’t scared anymore, I was excited. My friends were cheering for me.

Michael H

This camp is earthy, safe and has lots of kind staff living here. It’s been really cold and windy so far but it’s meant to be warmer later in the week, which I’m excited about. I love this camp and I would like to come back again. Warning: If you

get car sick you won’t last long in the car because of the windy road. My favourite activity so far is the flying fox. It’s really fun and safe. You go in a safe harness down a wire and then your friends will help you get down. I loved it. If you come here you will feel safe and have lots of fun. Talia As I stepped in my shining red canoe I felt a splash of freezing cold water, so I quickly hopped in my canoe. As we started paddling slowly we moved up the shimmering river. I was tempted to jump in but sadly I wasn’t allowed to because it was too windy and dangerous. Lily At Licola camp, the rays of sunshine hit the mountains. Through the mountains the sun shine moves dazzling and glimmering over the river rapids. At 7am the swimmers ran to

the river looking for fun and like myself found nothing but chill. As I went deeper and deeper the water came to my neck. It engulfed me dragging me down into its liquid home. When the icy water flowed passed my sensitive skin it almost tickled. “Time to get out,” exclaimed our devious camp overlord. (Mr. Roden) I had mixed feelings about this, on one hand I was thinking this is so much fun and on the other, thinking it’s sooooo cold in here! However, like every other sane person I got out, running back to my cabin in relief. At the speed of light I leap into the shower, spin the hot tap and twitch the cold tap slightly. I soon find out the hot water has been used up. Nick

Giant swing because I was the first one in my group to do it and it was really the most fun swing I have been on. Flying fox because it was a long, long, long way back over and it was the longest flying fox I have been on in my entire life. Horse riding because it was fun and the horse I rode on was Splodge. Rock climbing because it was fun and it looked really cool, but I didn’t touch the top of the rock climbing area. Archery because I thought it was fun, but I don’t really like archery.

Lhamo

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

highlights from 2014

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Minimbah Team Swimming Carnival On Friday 7 March all students in years 2 – 6 travelled to Mornington Secondary College to take part in the annual Team Swimming Carnival. A great day was had by all competing in boogie board, noodle, kickboard and freestyle races. The most hotly contested event of the day was in fact the last which was the Year 6 open freestyle relay. In a nail biting finish the Blue Sea Dragons narrowly defeated the Red Sharks securing the Championship for the fourth time in 4 years. Well done to all of the students for their fantastic efforts. Final scores were – Blue Sea Dragons – 427 Red Sharks – 375 Green Stingrays - 356 Gold Barracudas – 322 Special thanks to the Year 2 students who acted as equipment monitors and to the Year 6 Swimming Leaders who acted as finishing officials. Northern Peninsula Division and Southern Metropolitan Regional Swimming Championships What a fantastic year in swimming at Minimbah. The students worked extremely hard with sensational results. Of the 64 events available in the Bayside District Swimming Team (comprising 11 schools) Minimbah filled 42 events to compete in the Northern Peninsula Division Swimming Championships (comprising 40 schools) at The Pines Forest Aquatic Centre in Frankston North on Wednesday 12 March. Congratulations to all students involved in particular Jade Hill (Backstroke) who won her individual event and to all of the relay teams who placed in the top 4 in every event. A great effort by all involved.

Minimbah students raised over $8000 for the Well Wishers Charitty, to enable the construction of a well in Ethiopia. The new well will supply clean drinking water to 350 people

9/10 Y/o Girls 11 Y/o Girls

12/13 Y/o Girls

Tabitha Williams Tea Williams Sage O’Connor Yuki Savage First Place

Lana Kavanagh Bethany Clements Chloe Cester Amber Cooper First Place

Jade Hill Mackenzie Brown Justine Poyser Scarlet Murdoch Second Place

9/10 Y/o Boys

11 Y/o Boys

12-13 Boys

Rupert O’Neill Ben Drenkahn Harry Blair Hugo Nosiara Third Place

Aidan Bolch Jack Meads Chris Davis Archer Morcombe Nicholas Ireland Josh Wyld Balke Cooper Kyal Angel Fourth Place Second Place

Girls Open Medley

Boys Open Medley

Sarah Jeffries – Back Stroke Justine Poyser – Breast Stroke Jade Hill - Butterfly Scarlet Murdoch - Freestyle First Place

Christian Cottle – Back Stroke Otto Mudigdo – Breast Stroke Kyal Angel - Butterfly Josh Wyld – Free Style Third Place

Students placing first in their events then qualified to compete at the Southern Metropolitan Regional Championships held at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre on March 27. All of the students who competed did so with determination and skill, narrowly missing podium appearances. Congratulations and well done to all of the students involved. Bayside District Primary Schools Athletics Championships On Friday March 28 over 60 students from Minimbah travelled to the Ballam Park Athletics Centre to compete in the Annual Bayside District Primary Schools Sports Association Athletics Championships. On a beautiful, sunny day the students competed along with 10 other schools from the Frankston area to try and win the Divisional Championship for the twelfth year in a row. With a huge team effort and wonderful display of skills, talent and determination this dream was realized in an extremely emphatic fashion. A sensational effort by all involved one which will see many students qualify to compete in the Peninsula Divisional Championships later in the year. Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Final scores for the Divisional Championship Trophy were – 1st: Woodleigh School – 485 2nd: St Brendans PS – 257 3rd: Frankston East PS – 207 4th: Karingal Heights PS – 205 5th: St Francis Xavier PS – 192 6th: Bayside CC – 154 Congratulations to the all of the students who competed and a huge thank you to all of the Year 6 students who acted as team leaders. Bayside District Primary Schools Tennis Championships Congratulations to the following students who qualified to play in the Peninsula Division Tennis Trials on April 23 at Mornington Tennis Club. They qualified by winning the Bayside District Competition held on March 29 at Senior Campus. Pip Chynoweth, Justine Poyser, Archer Morcombe and Mitchell Bladon. Bayside District Primary Schools Sports Association Cross Country Running Championship On Friday May 23 over 70 students from Minimbah travelled to Senior Campus to compete in the annual Bayside District Cross Country Running event. In still and ideal running conditions, they ran on a course that winds its way around the Wildlife Nature Reserve in the top paddocks behind Cruden Oval. Competing with over 800 students from 10 other schools our students produced a sensational team effort which saw them win the Junior Shield, Senior Shield and the Combined Team Championship Shield for the 15th year in a row! The team was very well led by a large group of Year 6 Students who were nominated as Team Leaders for this highly, physically demanding event and for all of the many training sessions in the weeks leading up to the championship. Final scores for the championship were – 1st: Woodleigh School – 356 7th: Frankston East PS – 1139 2nd: Overport PS – 399 8th: St Brendans PS – 1308 3rd: St Johns PS – 456 9th: Bayside CC – 1333 4th: Frankston PS – 916 10th: St Francis Xavier – 1496 5th: Frankston Hts PS – 1003 11th: Karingal Heights – 1532 6th: Karingal PS – 1024 Congratulations to all team members and in particular to the following students who qualified to run in the Northern Peninsula Division Championships at Casey Fields on Wednesday 4 June by placing in the top 10 at the District Championships. 9 year old Girls Amelia Evenden 1st 9 year old Boys Matthew Kavanagh 1st Ziggy Nosiara 10th 10 year old Girls Yuki Savage 2nd Sage O’Connor 3rd Talia Palmer 4th 10 year old Boys Hugo Nosiara 1st 11 year old Girls Lana Kavanagh 5th Chloe Cester 9th 11 year old Boys Aidan Bolch 5th 12 year old Girls Justine Poyser 1st Scarlet Murdoch 2nd Isy Hoffman 4th 12 year old Boys Archer Morcombe 1st

Winter Sport During terms 2 and 3 all students in years 5 and 6 competed in a round robin fixture against local primary schools focusing on Winter Team Sports – Australian Rules Football, Girls Soccer, Boys Soccer, Girls Netball and Boys/Mixed Netball. Games are played on a Friday morning and are played for one hour. Match Results Round 1 : Friday 9 May – Woodleigh vs St Francis Xavier PS Football Woodleigh 12.10.82 defeated St Francis 1.0.6 Girls Soccer Woodleigh 3 defeated St Francis 0 Boys Soccer Woodleigh 1 defeated St Francis 0 Girls Netball Woodleigh 6 defeated St Francis 4 Mixed Netball Woodleigh 17 defeated St Francis 4 Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Round 2 : Friday 16 Football GirlsSoccer Boys Soccer Girls Netball Mixed Netball

May – Woodleigh vs Karingal Heights PS Woodleigh 11.6.72 defeated Karingal Heights 1.2.8 Woodleigh 4 defeated Karingal Heights 1 Woodleigh 8 defeated Karingal Heights 0 Woodleigh 11 were defeated by Karingal Heights 25 Woodleigh 18 defeated Karingal Heights 4

Round 3 : Friday 30 May – Woodleigh vs Frankston East Primary School Football Woodleigh 21.8.134 defeated Frankston East 0.0.0 Girls Soccer Woodleigh 1 defeated Frankston East 0 Boys Soccer Woodleigh 0 were defeated by Frankston East 4 Girls Netball Woodleigh 26 were defeated by Frankston East 38 Mixed Netball Woodleigh 49 defeated Frankston East 2 Round 4 : Friday 13 June – Woodleigh vs Bayside Christian College Football Woodleigh 4.1.25 defeated BCC 1.6.12 Girls Soccer Woodleigh 0 drew with BCC 0 Boys Soccer Woodleigh 0 were defeated by BCC 3 Girls Netball Woodleigh 23 defeated BCC 9 Mixed Netball Woodleigh 24 defeated BCC 19 Round 5 : Friday 20 June – Woodleigh vs St Brendans PS Football Woodleigh 24.12.156 def. St Brendans 2.0.12 Girls Soccer Woodleigh 3 defeated St Brendans 1 Boys Soccer Woodleigh 4 defeated St Brendans 2 Girls Netball Woodleigh 27 defeated St Brendans 9 Mixed Netball Woodleigh 22 defeated St Brendans 3 Overall Team Results Football Girls Netball Boys Netball Girls Soccer Boys Soccer

Division 2 Premiers. Bayside District Premiers Division 2 Runners up Division 2 Premiers. Bayside District Premiers Runners up Division 2. Runners up Division 2

Congratulations to Mixed Netball and Football who finished as Division 2 Premiers and Bayside District Premiers. Well done to all of the students. Minimbah Mini Olympics On Friday 22 August all of the students participated in the annual Minimbah Mini Olympics. This prestigious event was held in the school gymnasium and saw the four school teams – Red Sharks, Blue Sea Dragons, Green Stingrays and Gold Barracudas battle it out in a series of tabloid events and team challenges based on Olympic disciplines. A great day was had by all and it was great to see so many parents and friends of the school supporting the students in their endeavours. Thanks should also be given to all of the Year 6 students who acted as officials and scorekeepers for the day. In a very close competition final results were Junior Champions – Red Sharks Senior Champions – Blue Sea Dragons Combined Champions – Blue Sea Dragons Basketball Lightning Premiership On Monday 25 August 16 students from Year 6 participated in the annual Bayside District Basketball Lightning Premiership held at the Frankston Basketball Stadium. Eleven schools were involved with each school allowed to enter one boy’s and one girl’s team. Each team played ten games scoring 4 points for a win, 2 points for a draw and 0 for a loss. It was a great day with both of our teams playing exceptionally well in all of their games with the girls winning winning the Divisional Championship Trophy and placing runner up in the District Championship. The boys won 8 games which saw them place runners up the Divisional Championship - a fantastic effort! Northern Peninsula Zone Divisional Athletics Championships In Term 1 of this year 30 students from Minimbah were Bayside District Champions in their selected athletic events. This qualified them to compete in the Northern Peninsula Divisional Athletic Championships held on Wednesday 8 October at Ballam Park Athletics Centre in Frankston. The students and their events were as follows –

Year 4 Nathan Giliberto 200m, High Jump Hugo Nosiara 100m, Long Jump Sage Oâ€™Connor â€“ 1500m, Relay Summer Johnson 800m, High Jump, Relay Year 5 Aidan Bolch 100m, 800m, Relay Talia Palmer 100m, 200m, Relay Lui Oberman-Watkins Relay Emma Sherrington 80m hurdles Ned Murdoch Relay Lily Clancy-Dillon Shot Put, Relay Liam Wilkins-Kaighin High Jump Lana Kavanagh 100m, 200m Yuki Savage 800m, Discus Chloe Cester Shot Put Year 6 Archer Morcombe 1500m, High Jump, Relay Justine Poyser 1500m Kyal Angel 80mHurdles, Relay Scarlet Murdoch 100m, 1500m Levon Woodward Long Jump, Relay Isobelle Hoffman High Jump Declan Gregory 100m, Long Jump, Relay Congratulations to Hugo Nosiara (100m, Long Jump) Summer Johnson (High Jump) Talia Palmer (80m Hurdles) Archer Morcombe (1500m) Declan Gregory ( Long Jump) and Justine Poyser (1500m) who won their events and qualified to compete in the Southern Metropolitan Regional Championships in November. Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Minimbah Chess Team From the Leaders… Linden This year has been one of my favourite years when it comes to chess. One of my favourite moments was when I just lost to this guy called Moksh. But its not the losing that I liked, it was the game. It was a hard fifteen-minute game as our armies of chess pieces fought to the death. I started off losing, but then he made a mistake and it was equal. The game was well played by both of us, and by the end of it I had not only learnt lots, but learnt that learning is more important than a shiny first place medal. Max D Being a chess leader was a valuable experience that was, even though I didn’t win many games, something that I would never want to miss. Tournament of Minds Tournament of Minds involves students from all year levels and incorporates both Junior and Senior Campus students. Students compete in cross age disciplines, including a long term, or planned challenge and a short term one. Senior students from Years 7-10 compete against other students from different schools, as do junior students between Years 2 -6. As part of Woodleigh’s Challenge Program, 21 students from Minimbah and 14 from the Senior Campus competed in Tournament of Minds (ToM). ToM is a program that fosters creativity, teamwork and performance skills. In groups of seven, our teams worked hard for 5 weeks at the beginning of Term 3 to find a solution to a Long Term Challenge. They were also required to solve a Spontaneous Challenge on the day of the Tournament. Preparing I think that going to ToM practice every Wednesday was really fun. At the first couple of practices it was all about the base of your story, so you would be deciding what characters you would use and what your main idea was. After that, every single practice you would be doing the script, costumes or paperwork. My group was really unorganised and we were finishing our script in the final practice, so it felt quite nerve racking at times because we didn’t know if we would actually finish in time. Every time I went to ToM practice it felt like we were two weeks behind everyone else. Practising for ToM was really fun but for some reason when we were practising it felt really serious. ToM was a really great experience for me and I’m definitely going to do it again next year. Noah – Y5

Performing On the 23rd of August each T.O.M group got to perform our long-term challenge for four judges at Mount Lilydale Mercy College. My group was called the Bearded Ladies. We were all quite nervous and incredibly excited about the performance. Although some of the costumes were kind of last minute they still looked great when we put them on. We were the second team to perform so we got to watch one group before us and one after us. We started with a song that we had choreographed on the way in the bus but luckily it ran smoothly. Everyone remembered their lines, which was good, and none of the props fell apart. We all thought it was a great success and the judges said that it was a great performance. Isy Hoffmann – Y6

The Spontaneous Challenge This year was my best year for ToM, even though we did well in it last year. Preparing for the Spontaneous Challenge was hard but also lots of fun. About halfway through the training, a lady came and talked to us about what ideas are too crazy and what ideas are too unimaginative to stick with. Luckily our group’s ideas were more on the ridiculous side, so all we had to do was remember not to be too wacky or stereotypical. Our group was very nervous on the day of the challenge, as we all wanted to do well. Sadly, I cannot say that was how it turned out. During the Spontaneous Challenge we were all very enthusiastic and wanted to share our ideas, but in the kerfuffle, our key ideas were lost and we forgot to fill out all the criteria, which lowered our score. Although we would have got a good score for teamwork, we didn’t get any awards, which, in the end, didn’t bother me at all as I had such a great time with my friends in the Bearded Ladies group. Gretel – Y6

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Archer This year I feel that being a Chess leader has made me concentrate more on chess itself instead of having the attitude of when I was smaller, which was WIN WIN WIN. One of the highlights of this year was coming third and winning a third medal; also another highlight was getting a distinction certificate because I have never got one before. On Tuesday 3rd June, the Minimbah chess team travelled to Tyabb Primary

School to compete in our first Chess Kids tournament of the year. Overall our A team placed second. Linden Beaumont, Jack Shalekoff, Eva Mosele and Ronan Coster were the top players for the A team and received silver medals. Eva also received a medal for being the top girl for the tournament, and Linden received a medal for being third top player of the day. On Wednesday 10th September, fifteen of our Year 5 and 6 students competed against over 80 students from neighbouring schools in a Chess Kids tournament at Kingsley Park Primary School. All of our team members played exceptionally well, but special mention needs to be made of Aidan Bolch, Archer Morcombe, Linden Beaumont, Max Dart, Ned Murdoch and Noah Sahely who received certificates of distinction and bronze medals for their team. Aaron LansDavis also won a medal for the most improved player for the B Division. A big congratulations to Oscar Carter, Kailan Cester, Ronan Coster and Hudson Morgan who competed in the Junior Primary Chess State Finals on Tuesday 28th October. They all played extremely well and placed 11th in the overall competition.

maths talent q u est This year a number of our year 3 - 6 students at the junior school entered the Maths Talent Quest. The Maths Talent Quest is a competition where students can work on an open ended mathematical project on a topic of choice. Ballroom Maths Lily – Y6 “I enjoyed doing this project because I learnt all about different types of angles and lines. When I went dancing I was thinking about the angles and the degrees and the lines that I was making with my body. The shapes in dancing when we do free dancing to the music, there are dance steps that are shapes like squares, circles and triangles.” Planes, Trains and Automobiles Xan – Y5 “I enjoyed researching the trips I will be making with my mum and dad. Using the world map I drew a red line to show where we will be travelling across the world. From my graphs I have learnt that I will spend most time travelling by plane. I will spend the least amount of time in a train.” Horses Bethany – Y5 “I worked out the costs to feed my horses, care for my horses and what it cost to prepare me to be the best

rider I can be. Through completing this project I have found that I have chosen a very expensive sport.” My Family Tree Emile – Y3 “I think it was a very hard project to do because it was so big and getting the information was hard. The hardest bit was doing the family tree. I am glad that I did it because I found out more information than I expected to.” My Family Tree Michael – Y5 “I found out that my family is very big and that there are more boys than girls in my family. The oldest person in my family is 80 years old and she is still alive.” Results Credit Lily Brown, Bethany Clements, Christian Cottle, Amelia Evenden, Xan Eckstein, Gretel Friedlander, Jasmine Giliberto, Michael Hobbs, Isabelle Hoffmann, Sarah Jeffries, Emily Potts, Justine Poyser, Emile Stigter, Levon Woodward Encouragement Harry Blair, Oscar Carter, Kailan Cester, Matthew Jeffries, Hugo Nosiara, Rupert O’Neill, Talia Palmer, Yuki Savage, Emma Sherrington, Harper Tutton,

just a little...

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Goldie Cromb Y12 VCD

Megan Daly Y12 Studio Arts

Luke Wolfe Y12 Studio Arts

Ed Wiggins Y9 Art

Damon Thomas Y11 Studio Arts

Kayla Livingstone Y12 VCD

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Tom Atkinson Y11 Studio Arts

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Elle Bastin Y12 Studio Arts

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Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

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Alex Ferguson Y9 Art

Damon Thomas Y11 Studio Art

Andrew Juchnevicius Y12 VCD

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senior campus visual art

Becky Boehme Y11 Studio Art

Olivia Milne Y12 Studio Arts

James Bugg Y12 Studio Arts

Bonnie Daniello Y7 Art

Meg Jamieson Y12 VCD

Isobelle Giles Y12 VCD

Lawrence Curtis Yr 12 VCD

Caleigh Smales Y11 VCD

Gabi Hearn Y10 Art & Design

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Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

h/stead “We ought never to do for young people what they, with a struggle, could be expected to be doing for themselves.” This quote from Michael Norman, the founder of the school and past Principal, still holds true for us today. It reminds me of a story about an open letter from a parent to others at the park to allow her child to experience failure in order to celebrate success. Dear Other Parents At The Park: Please do not lift my daughters to the top of the ladder, especially after you’ve just heard me tell them I wasn’t going to do it for them and encourage them to try it themselves. I am not sitting here, 15 whole feet away from my kids, because I am too lazy to get up. I am sitting here because I didn’t bring them to the park so they could learn how to manipulate others into doing the hard work for them. I brought them here so they could learn to do it themselves. They’re not here to be at the top of the ladder; they are here to learn to climb. If they can’t do it on their own, they will survive the disappointment. What’s more, they will have a goal and the incentive to work to achieve it. In the meantime, they can use the

stairs. I want them to tire of their own limitations and decide to push past them and put in the effort to make that happen without any help from me. It is not my job to prevent my children from feeling frustration, fear, or discomfort. If I do, I have robbed them of the opportunity to learn that those things are not the end of the world, and can be overcome or used to their advantage. If they get stuck, it is not my job to save

help. I don’t want them to learn that they can reach great heights without effort. I don’t want them to learn that they are entitled to the reward without having to push through whatever it is that’s holding them back and earn it. Because none of those things are true. And if I let them think for one moment that they are, I have failed them as a mother. I want my girls to know the exhilaration

“It is not my job to prevent my children from feeling frustration, fear, or discomfort. If I do, I have robbed them of the opportunity to learn that those things are not the end of the world, and can be overcome or used to their advantage.” them immediately. If I do, I have robbed them of the opportunity to learn to calm themselves, assess their situation, and try to problem solve their own way out of it. It is not my job to keep them from falling. If I do, I have robbed them of the opportunity to learn that falling is possible but worth the risk, and that they can, in fact, get up again. I don’t want my daughters to learn that they can’t overcome obstacles without

of overcoming fear and doubt and achieving a hard-won success. I want them to believe in their own abilities and be confident and determined in their actions. I want them to accept their limitations until they can figure out a way past them on their own significant power. I want them to feel capable of making their own decisions, developing their own skills, taking their own risks, and coping

with their own feelings. I want them to climb that ladder without any help, however well-intentioned, from you. Because they can. I know it. And if I give them a little space, they will soon know it, too. So I’ll thank you to stand back and let me do my job, here, which consists mostly of resisting the very same impulses you are indulging, and biting my tongue when I want to yell, “BE CAREFUL,” and choosing, deliberately, painfully, repeatedly, to stand back instead of rush forward. Because, as they grow up, the ladders will only get taller, scarier and much more difficult to climb. And I don’t know about you, but I’d rather help them learn the skills they’ll need to navigate them now, while a misstep means a bumped head or scraped knee that can be healed with a kiss, while the most difficult of hills can be conquered by chanting, “I think I can, I think I can”, and while those 15 whole feet between us still feels, to them, like I’m much too far away. Whilst this story is not the basis of Homestead it articulates part of what we are trying to achieve. That is, produce well-rounded resilient young adults ready to face the world. Craig Azzopardi Director of Junior Homestead Programs Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

1 homestead one

Year 7 in Homestead 1

Homestead 1… more like Funstead 1! Being a part of Homestead 1 has been a big adventure. We’ve surfed, cooked, camped and climbed! It doesn’t get any better then that! Homestead 1 has been a warm and inviting environment to start our journey through secondary school. Our tutor group has become a little family and I can’t wait to spend the next three years with these people.

Myah Trebilcock & Zali Mayall – Y7

remember my first day of Woodleigh as clear as day: I remember being a foot shorter and being worried about what was to come. I was worried about being alone in this warzone known as High School. However, when Miss Cian rushed me into Homestead 1 along

new ones, and events like Outward Bound only strengthened our bond together. It’s the countless lunchtimes playing table tennis and drawing on the whiteboard, it’s the fact that we never placed below fifth in any sport event, and it was the thrill of waiting for Year 10 to finally be allowed to sit on the

“It was the thrill of waiting for Year 10 to finally be allowed to sit on the comfy chairs in 1.3” with 16 other strangers (who I would soon find out were my other family for the next four years), I began feeling oddly confortable. Whether it was the students, the teachers or the Homestead itself, it felt like home. As our time together as a tutor group grew, we became closer and we really did become like a family in some ways. While we did lose a couple members of our family along the way, we gained Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

comfy chairs in 1.3. These are just some of the many little things that made our Homestead what it was. While Homestead 1 itself may be gone, the memories aren’t. It will be sad to leave this Homestead at the end of the term but I know I will always have a place here within its walls (when they’re built again, that is). Lachie waite – Y10

Homestead 1 has been home for my fellow Homestead Oneders and myself for our junior High School years. We’ve had highs and lows, and we have faced a lot together. Orientation on the first day proved that everyone else really was as nervous as I was, and I personally remember sitting in the tutor group not knowing how much this group would mean to me in the years to come.

“ ”

I remember sitting in the tutor group not knowing how much this group would mean to me in the years to come.

Homestead camps in Years 7 and 8 brought our tutor group closer together and helped form the bonds that we still have today. Over the last four years we have struggled through Outward Bound and we have shared so many memories that will stay with me forever. Homestead was a time for us all to relax and just have fun amongst the busy days we were having, and Homestead 1, and all the friends I have made, will be something I have with me forever. KIARA ENGWERDA – Y10

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

homestead two

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Another great year in Homestead 2 has passed! Although Homestead 2 technically doesn’t exist for the time being, the spirit lives on with us all. Homestead Athletics wasn’t a hit weather wise, but many took the blue theme quite literally. Though us Year 10 girls had a hard time washing blue paint off ourselves, it was well worth the effort and we hope that future Homestead 2 students can continue the tradition. For us Year 10s, it will be hard to leave Homestead 2 behind as we venture on to Senior Homestead (but we won’t miss Mr Mac’s colour code reminders!), but the essence of Homestead 2 will remain with us!

Sammy Nutt and Frankie Nowicki – Y10

his year our Homestead had to move our lockers to the Science Room and our meeting place to the Library. A lot of people found it uncomfortable with the small breezeway between the lockers that we share with Homestead 1. We have also done activities with other year levels and our own (Year 7). Some of the highlights of this year in Homestead were: going to Ballam Park, doing activities with the Year 10s and 8s, donating money to Kiva and making bath bombs. As a Homestead we have also competed in Homestead Swimming, Homestead Athletics and the Homestead Cross-Country. The best opportunity we have had to get to know each other was on Homestead Camp. This was great fun. Homestead is also the place where you don’t have any pressure to hand in homework or do things you would in a normal class. My favourite activity that we have done all year would definitely have to be Ballam Park. I cannot wait to go to Homestead Camp next year, do more activities and Lachlan Lee-Smith – Y7 move into the new Homestead building.

Homestead 2 Outward Bound was a journey like no other. Nine days of constant adventure and exploration. Our group was lead by an Outward Bound instructor, a fun, easy-going and well-spirited chap by the name of Brody. He helped us through the tough times and cruised with us through the good ones. Brody taught us many great and wellreceived skills that helped us conquer the outback. We hiked as a group over mountainous landscape and through dense bush and shrub. All the while Ms Ley was struggling at the back of the pack trying to keep up with the youthful and energized Year 9s. This all changed when she took a bite into gluten free bread, she began to run and didn’t stop. ‘It was the bread’ she said. With a new leader pushing us to victory we were determined to finish the few remaining days we had of our journey. We climbed, paddled, walked and ran our way up to 20kms a day. Keeping in mind we had 1520kg packs to carry and rationed food goods and utensils. Crossing the finish line and making it to the buses to take us home was definitely an amazing feeling for all. Speaking for me I know that Outward bound will always be something that I remember and look back on whenever challenges arise in my life. Sam Ginsberg – Y9

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

I guess you could say that Woodleigh is a great school, but it means so much more to me and my fellow peers in the school, and that is because of Homestead. At the start of Year 7 you are put into a group of kids from Years 7-10: that is known as Homestead, you stay in that Homestead till the end of Year 10 when you are sent up to Senior Homestead. This year I started at Woodleigh in Year 7 and I was put into Homestead 3. It was the most nerve racking experience going from Year 6 to 7 but having a little â€˜homeâ€™ at school made life so much easier. At the very start of the year on the first school day I only had two friends who came from my primary school, but then Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Homestead 3 is and has always been like a second home to me. Ever since year 7 we have used it as a place to socialise and hang out, there is always a friendly environment and always somebody to talk to.

Everyone has changed so much over the years, but we have always remained good friends. The friendships I have developed over the last almost 4 years are ones I will keep for the rest of my life. Having multiple year levels in the one place is good because it allows the younger students to have someone to look up to in their first years. I know I both respected and feared the massive, ominous looking Year 10s in my first year.

Homestead has taught me responsibility, independence and respect for other people, which are skills I think are necessary for everyone. I will never forget the camps, the cramped locker bay, and the Homestead excursions everyone always loved. Homestead is one of the things that make this school so great and a very important part of Woodleigh. Jesse Mulder – Year 10

everyone from Minimbah, who seemed to know everyone, came with open arms and was ready to make new friends. In first term, we had our Homestead Camp. Homestead Camp was a blast. All the Years 7’s got to know everyone a lot better, and a few of us even became friends with the Year 8s. We all bonded over the experience really well. One of the highlights of camp was definitely the cook off, my group had decided to cook to a fairy theme. We had our fairy wings on and started cooking, we got our small meat sticks, our mini hot dogs and our fairy bread ready, it was quite a rush but in the end it was worth it because we won the cook off and got an award after camp.

After camp we had the Year 7 Homestead Swimming to look forward to.

In Term 3 it was all about sport; we had our Cross Country and our Homestead Athletics coming up.

On the day it was very exciting, we were all really pumped and ready to give it our all. It was an experience to remember, winning and losing races but it was all worth it because everyone had such good sportsmanship that in the end it didn’t matter.

Cross Country was in the first couple of weeks, so everyone was getting ready. In sport our teachers were also getting us ready, seeing how long we could run, seeing our beep test results and improving our skills. Cross Country was a blast! Everyone may not of come first or second, but everyone was so supportive and cheerful it made it a day not to forget.

In Term 2 we were introduced to our Year 10 buddies. Our Year 10 buddies have been such a big help this whole year. The point of our Year 10 buddies is if we need any help we could always go to them, and in Homestead Activities our buddies will generally be our partners. My partner and I have become good friends over the year and I hope it continues like this.

Homestead Athletics was a big ball of fun. We had all chosen our competitions and were ready to go. There was so much to do, which just made it exciting, no one was worried about coming last but excited because they knew

whatever they got they were earing points for Homestead. What really made it fun was all the Homesteads were huddled together in the freezing cold. In the end it started to rain so athletics could not go on, but that didn’t really matter, everyone was happy with what they got and what they had earned for their Homesteads. Term 4 has only just started but its been so good seeing everyone and I can’t wait to see what our loving Homestead 3 is going to throw at us next. Homestead 3 is a great Homestead full of joy and always has open arms to anyone. I can’t wait for the Year 7s next year to have as much fun as I have had so far! Tara Pillai –Y7

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Year 7 Homestead 4. what I enjoyed.

n my first day, I was really excited and nervous. I was excited because I had heard of all the great things Woodleigh had to offer, and I was nervous also because I didn’t know what was coming around the corner. In the end everyone turned out be really kind. Like the Homestead Tutors and Coordinator.

I experienced lots of exciting things throughout this year in Homestead like: the Homestead Swimming Carnival and Athletics. One of my highlights throughout this year was the Year 7/8 camp at Cumberland River, Lorne. I have had many more highlights though. My Activities and my Activities Week Camp have been really fun. For my activity camp I was in Fun, Food and Fitness. Throughout this year I have made lots of new friends. Luke Paton – Y7

I’ve said before that Homestead 4 is like a family. There are the parents, the siblings and the cousins. There are those weird few who always seem to be slightly out of whack, and that odd branch of the family that makes no sense to anyone. But, you love them anyway.

On Outward Bound there was no logic. We made superbivvies’, created layered tunes while caving and learned to appreciate vitawheats.

I’ll be sad to leave Homestead 4, especially my tutor group. There have been times where I didn’t think we were a good fit as a group; people avoided each other on camps while others argued. However, in hindsight, I think that’s fairly normal in a family. We stuck with each other anyway and eventually, we clicked. We survived Outward Bound, Hattah and three lots of new Year 7s. I’m not sure if the same can be said for our sanity, but physically, we came out fairly unscathed. And, we become a lot stronger as a group through each struggle.

We know where the muffin man lives; we joined the penguin company and took time out on solo.

Those camps though, Homestead Camps and dear old OB… Really, I’ve got a newly found knowledge of how well you can force people to get to know each other. I’ll remember those times we climbed on the ‘Forbidden rocks’ at Homestead Camp with a smile. On Outward Bound, those first few nights, I remember looking up at the stars; all of us as awed as each other. All our eyes were younger, our minds even more unknowing, and we bonded in our naivety. For that short while, we forgot the pain of our backs and our feet. The time when we received our clothes drop and everyone went crazy. The top of Mount McCloud, eyes tracing the path we’d just walked. No times compare, really. Especially now. Now when I realize I’m truly in the age of technology. I’ve really started to appreciate so much more the memories I have with nature and the memories of when I’ve been completely with other people. We’ve been together for four years. And, to those reading this, that probably doesn’t seem like much. But it is. Four years is a very long time for us. We’re still young and really, truly, it seems like a lot. We’ve been together for a quarter of our lives. We’ve seen each other at drastic ends of the spectrum; our best and our worst, and I can’t think of another group of people that I’ve spent so much time with. So, yes, of course I’ll be sad to leave. And, so will everyone else. We all look forward to the future, even if we aren’t ready. We’ll say our goodbyes and pretend to be prepared, because that’s what teenagers do. We’ll bluff our way through it. And, I know that even if we aren’t quite ready for Year 11, we’re sure ready to kick the bucket on colour code. Katherine Robertson – Y10

Maddy Marshall – Y9

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

We became leaders, we created friendships and we all laughed when Quinton tackled Heath. It was tough, it was a long drive but most importantly it was fun and we can all look back on it and feel proud. Ella McCarthy – Y9

homestead four

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

6 homestead six

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Walkerville ‘14 This year Homestead 6 went up to Walkerville for five days of camping. We participated in surfing, bike riding, long beach walks, rock pooling and enjoying the area. Surfing seemed to be everyone’s favourite activity. The bike riding was challenging but also enjoyable. For our first night we had some amazing gourmet meals including soups, curries and meats using a wide variety of foods. Numerous awards were given out: Best Presentation was given to Amelia and Gabby, Best Costume went to Nathan, Best Menu to Sophie, Mia and Vieve and Best Dessert to Luca, Tom and Harley. On Wednesday night the Year 7s had a picnic dinner at the lighthouse. The boys’ practiced their marshmallow stunts while the girls did parkour races. The same night the Year 8s went for a camp out at Bear Gully to get an experience of next year’s Outward Bound and we had to set up the tarps ourselves. There were lots of foxes around and we didn’t get much sleep!

Outward Bound what a trip. Hiking, more hiking and when you couldn’t think you could do anymore, you hiked some more. Hiking in this amazing habitat was certainly an experience. We discovered Year 9 stew, bad jokes were cursed at and good jokes were hard to find. There were dislocated knees, rolled ankles, amazing hot chocolate and a craving for scroggan. The legend of Mr Scott’s snake kill lives on. People discovered hidden talents and some people discovered things that they never knew about themselves. Outward Bound, an experience you will never forget. Max Wiggins –Y9

Our group was probably the most accident-prone group in the history of OB. We were a mix of good walkers, blood noses, asthma attackers and slowpokes. Many good memories were made, especially

“Our group managed to miss 4 campsites and have to walk 18km on the last day but the inside jokes, farts and memories we made were defiantly something special.”

It was good chance to get to know everyone better and, overall, we enjoyed the camp.

when we were rafting and caving. Our group managed to miss four campsites and have to walk 18km on the last day but the inside jokes, farts and memories we made were definitely something special.

Gabby, Amelia, Indiah & Emma

Chloe Lulofs – Y9

Year 10 in hs 6 Homestead has been a journey that I had never experienced before coming to Woodleigh. The people in our Homestead Tutor group have relationships that go beyond the classroom. We think of each other as family and are all very comfortable as a group and I think that it is a really great thing to have. My favourite memory of Homestead is Outward Bound. Outward Bound was the camp where we all got so close and began to become a very close group. We are all very different which in result made us all very close. Monique Gilpin – Y10

My favourite moment in Homestead 6 was Outward Bound. The hiking was tough and the activities were challenging but we all clicked really well as a Tutor group. Everyone was able to share the loads of work and the loads of equipment. I really enjoyed everyone’s company. We were lucky enough to have patient and happy Tutors. I had a wonderful time. Lauren Whitehead – y10

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

This was my first Homestead Camp at Woodleigh and a truly great experience. I really enjoyed having the chance to connect with my peers without the pressure of the school environment. Since arriving back at school I have felt a lot more confortable around the Homestead group. On camp I felt like there was a perfect balance of obstacles and relaxation time. For me the cooking was definitely a challenge, but it really made me appreciate my parents a lot more. Since camp I have started cooking at home to try and prepare myself for future camps and life in general. The highlight of the camp was definitely relaxing and having fun with friends, but I really did enjoy all of the activities that the teachers organized. My favorite activity was the surfing, because it was a chance to improve upon my skills, show off (just a little) and it was a lot of fun. My other favorite activity was probably the Bay Discovery where we went out on a boat and got really cold and wet! It doesn’t sound that great, but I think the uncomfortable experiences (as long as they aren’t to extreme) are the ones that bring people together and make Woodleigh Homestead Camps so memorable. Overall I had a great time and have many great memories. Ebben Saunders

Outward Bound This year on Thursday 27 February, all of the Year 9’s were supposed to go on a trip to the Snowy River but unfortunately for us it was canceled due to the bushfires. We then got moved to a National Park in NSW

where we got dropped off in the middle of nowhere and told to survive. Every day we were woken up to a very annoying saying “rise and shine it’s butt whipping time”. We then had to get out of our very warm sleeping bags. We played a warm up game of Temple Run and then got started on a very long day. Once we were all packed up and ready to go we started walking. The packs were very heavy and put strain on your back and legs. We would stop for lunch and eat a lot of food to replenish our energy. We would unpack our packs and get out all the food we had to get it all prepared. We would then eat to our hearts content till there was no food left. Once we ate our food we packed up and kept walking. When we finally arrived at our appointed destination we threw our packs on the ground. We then started to get our camp site set up. Once we were finished setting up our bivvies we started cooking dinner. Once dinner was prepared we had ‘Sassy’s Big Chat’ and then sometimes we played games or a story was read and we were lucky enough to look at the stars. Overall Outward Bound was an eye opening experience. I hope that everyone who goes on it will think the same. Thank you to Tim and Ms Mac for making this happen. Abby Hoogkamer & Nadia Coburn – Y9

Year 10 in homestead 7 It’s very difficult to sum up the past four years in a small written paragraph. It seems like yesterday I first stepped into Homestead 7, not knowing anyone and feeling like the smallest thing on

earth. I can’t believe the time has gone so fast, but then again, it also feels like a lifetime ago that we said goodbye to our parents as we left for Waratah Bay on Year 7 Homestead Camp. Over the past four years, I have particularly enjoyed getting involved in all aspects of the school, including the farm, Musicales, Homestead, and other co-curricular activities. I have seen so many things, made so many memories and had so many amazing experiences in Homestead since that first camp, and I am going to be really sad to walk out of the doors and into the Senior Homestead ones. I know I have many more enjoyable times ahead of me, and am looking forward to beginning the new and last phase of my school life. Tess Runting – Y10 Year 10, Term 4. It is weird now being told to reflect on the past 4 years. I am unsure where it went. I remember stepping into Homestead 7 on my first day of Year 7. Everyone seemed so big and intimidating, and it was hard to imagine myself in the upcoming years, being in their shoes. Many moments with my Homestead have been very interesting. My Year 7 Homestead Camp definitely comes under this category. I remember being told it was going to be sunny with no rain. But when it came to the week, it wouldn’t stop raining and it eventually resulted in my tent becoming an outdoor aquarium. We had frogs, yabbies’ and many more of nature’s vast variety of friends. Whilst I had never been so wet and cold in my life, looking back on the experience, it’s just a really funny story I will be able to tell for years to come. And gladly at the end of the week, I had made some amazing memories with my friends. Although the future years contained some brilliant experiences, I can’t help but reflect on my time on Outward Bound and Hattah. The hikes were not easy, and the early morning get ups were not something I ever got used to, but I did have a blast. I learnt so much, whilst having my friends’ shoulders to lean on to help me through when I needed it. By the end of it all I had indeed ‘Hattah good time!’ My time with Homestead 7 has been thoroughly enjoyable. So many memories have been made that will last a lifetime. Gabby Wardrop – Y10

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

7 homestead seven

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

snr

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

12:14 year 12 two thousand & fourteen

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

James Adams

“Did I tell you about the time I performed at Disneyland and Universal Studios?”

Amy Baxter

Jessica Agar-Walton

Michael Andrews

Annabelle Bailes “Annabelle made a funny.”

“My fake nails are long enough yeah?”

“Love makes you restless, because your life is better than your dreams.”

“Don’t judge me”

“What would Beyoncé do?”

Stephanie Brown

James Bugg “Helloooo...”

Jarrah Burgess “ ...is it me you’re looking for?”

Edward Carson

Georgia Carter

Lotte Clifford “There’s a reason it’s called chemystery.”

Thomas Cole

Matthew Cook “All my life I’ve had one dream, to achieve my many goals.” Homer

Goldie Cromb “This porridge is just right.”

Ella Crotty

Lawrence Curtis

“It ain’t easy being cheesy.”

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

“Only a ginger can call another ginger “ginger.”

“Roses are grey, Violets are grey, Everything is grey, I am a dog.”

“You know nuthin.”

“Two strikes, one tick.”

Eleanor Bastin “...”

Matthew Caballero Biggs “I spent 22176 hours for a piece of paper and a handshake.”

Max Coleman “...”

Megan Daly “You just have to imagine that every bruise is a hickey from the universe, and everyone wants to get with the universe.”

12:14 year 12 two thousand & fourteen

Emily Damon

Zoe Davies “...”

Jakob De Coninck “Fall 9, Stand up 10.”

Molly Debenham

“(/)(;,,;)(/) Why not Zoidberg?”

Connor Donehue “If two wrongs don’t make a right, try three.”

Owen Eades

Thomas Emond

Jessica Evans “I had glandular fever before it was cool.”

Hamish Ewen

Stuart Ferguson “Fight for thine liberty, to engage in festivity.”

“Miles from nowhere, I guess I’ll take my time.”

“...”

“Watching people eat bananas makes me want to have a shower.”

“...”

Thomas Fisher “I have a cunning plan.”

Isobelle Giles

“The roof is not my son, but I will raise it.”

“Mrs Laughe is Lamping at us.”

Lachlan Gogan

Nina Greig-Towers “My life is a winkface.”

Patrick Griffiths

Freya Hands “My essay isn’t done, but I sure am.”

Isabella Hart

Ruby Hayne “I’m The Cookie Monster.”

Amy Holland

Ellen Hynes “A herd of beautiful wild ponies running freely across the plains.”

“A day without sunshine is, you know, night.”

“I’ll do it.”

“Sometimes my madness is the only thing keeping me from going insane.”

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Lachlan James

Tasha James

Megan Jamieson

Mietta Johnston

Chloe Jones “Sorry I am late, I didn’t want to come.”

Andrew Juchnevicius

Patrick Kearney

Cameron Kittle “It’s like the chocolate equivalent of an STI.”

Kayla Livingstone “Never go full swagger.”

Haydn Lock “Im suseptably, suceptable to spelling sucseptible wrong.”

Hazel Lynn Kenny Ma Alexandra Manson “What’s your name, er, again?”

“Thanks to Woodleigh I learned to write good.”

“I am not funny.”

Jack Martin “13 years of English and I still can’t find a quote.”

Ella Mason

Alex McDonald

Zara McGahey “Lasagne is just spaghetti flavoured cake.”

Ella McGrath

Jack McJorrow

Tomáš McKenzie

“There’s nothing more manly than a man in a dress!”

“Envirofreaking everyone out since 1997.”

“Frothin’ grom.”

“...”

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

“Sometimes when I close my eyes I can’t see.”

“Schmoon is love schmoon is life.”

“...”

“ACHOO ACHOO ACHOO.”

“WWCD… (what would carrot do?)”

“Wait, guys. What were you talking about?”

12:14 year 12 two thousand & fourteen

Alex Miglietti

Nicole Milanko

Grace Mills

Olivia Milne

Katrina Ogier

Liam Omar “Hang loose.”

James Patterson

Rowan Quigley

“...”

“Have you tried turning it off and on again?”

Molly Reid “What a man, what a moment.”

Cameron Russo “Fish out of water.”

Micaela Schreiner

Alanna Sharp

Olivia Sherwood

Callum Simpson

Georgia Sinclair

Kye Sisson

Olivia Smith

Evan Soutar

Jayde Southwell “If you’re ever feeling lonely, just eat in front of a mirror.”

Sharni Stewart “Your Crazy Horsey Friend!”

“Aside from my intellectual prowess, my modesty is my greatest attribute.”

“You’re laughing because I am laughing but I am laughing because I farted.”

“Evolution: Kye… Doc… Doc Sizzle… Sizzle… Sizzlack… Moe Sizzlack… Moe… Dragon” – Ghandi

“What do you get when you cut an avocado into 6.02x10^23 pieces? Guacamole.”

“In my mind this was so much better.”

“...”

“You’re welcome.”

“Hannah Montana says nobody’s perfect, yet here I am.”

“Why have cake when you can have cans?” – Grandma

“Do you have any food?”

“A pademelon king bids you farewell.”

“I’ll do it tomorrow.”

“We can’t all be winners.”

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Saying goodbye (By jess evans)

How do you say goodbye to a place that has been statistically more of a home than home for the last six years?

Alexander Theofanis

Elizabeth Thompson

“See kids, I was cool in High School.”

“I haven’t showered in four days.”

I remember my first day at Woodleigh. What a different time it was. A time when I thought that green overalls were a great fashion choice and that hard work meant spending a term learning about some Austrian dude from a long time ago, buried in ice. Between now and then feels like no time at all, but so much has changed. I can safely say for every Year 12 finishing this year that life at Woodleigh has been an adventure. One from which we have all grown and developed into better people. Those doe eyed youngsters that once donned double grey are gone and in their place stand - mostly and only by strict, legal definition - adults. What a difference six years makes. Now, more than ever, we have united as a cohort to become what is an extremely diverse cluster of some of the strangest and greatest human beings you’ll ever meet. We’ve learnt to treasure the very short time we still have together as a unit before we all go our separate ways. This is a bittersweet thought as we think about our lives beginning, but also of what has to be left behind.

Matthew Tinkler

Alina Turek

“So many logs I feel like a lumberjack”

“…I can’t believe she forgot my birthday.”

Woodleigh is such a special place and is something I will take with me for the rest of my life. The opportunities that are offered to us kids is phenomenal and we are all so extremely lucky. This year alone we have been treated to talks from vari-

“What a difference 6 years makes. Now, more than ever, we have united as a cohort to become what is an extremely diverse cluster of some of the strangest and greatest human beings you’ll ever meet.” Audrey Turek

“…I can’t believe I forgot Alina’s birthday.”

Max Wade

“Congratulations, you are the 999,999th person to read this quote! You win a free iPad!!!” ous public speakers, some hilarious, others more sobering: but all were very worthwhile and the lessons learnt from these people are things that will be useful for a lifetime. Another fantastic aspect of Woodleigh is the relationships and respect between teacher and student, especially in the senior years. This is something I will miss just as much as my fellow students. I would like to thank everyone. Every single student, teacher and staff member – past and present for creating and maintaining what is the most incredible school. I am so immensely grateful for the opportunity to attend Woodleigh, to form such strong friendships and to receive an education from some lovely people that care so, so much. I suppose the best way to say goodbye is not to at all.

Charlotte Wall

Luke Wolfe

“Love, happiness ‘n’ Crocodile Dundee”

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

“If you can’t handle my Miranda Priestly you don’t deserve me at Patsy Stone.”

In my opinion, you can take the student out of Woodleigh, but you can’t take Woodleigh out of the student. JESS EVANS – Y12

Ode to Nigel Blue shirts, blue eyes Nigel’s words like lullabies Could the sides please leave And the middle stay seated Nige, god dammit Why you leaving, we can’t handle it Nige, goddammit Best principal, outstanding X2 No one will ever be, no one will ever be our Nigelo, Nigelo Why’d you have to go? Come on Lawler, this ones for ya Lawler we’ll call ya When you’re set free Our hearts are sinking in the Woodleigh sea Cause Nige you would guide us Through thick storms Handing out your blue forms Nige, god dammit Why you leaving, we can’t handle it Nige, goddammit Best principal, outstanding X2 No one will ever be, no one will ever be our Nigelo, Nigelo Why’d you have to go? Come on Lawler, this ones for ya

12:14 year 12 two thousand & fourteen

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

year 11 2014

stepping stone Year Eleven is the steppingstone to our future. Each hop and skip signifies a leap towards our dreams, hopes and aspirations. At times we worry that the river is ‘too wide’ or ‘too deep’ but with every step we are closer to that last year.

Taylah Argent, Tom Atkinson, Mallory Barry, Beck y Boehme, Hannah C aldwell , Jack Graham, Mitch H utton, Elliot Keeler , Tilly Learmonth, Ryan McDermott, Andrew McQuarrie, Ma x Rowe, Nicci Teitge, Madeleine Van Basten Batenb u rg, Rhiannon Van Vliet, Bobbie Viney, Costa Virtanen, C airie Whelehan, Josh White

Thomas Allchin, L achie Angel, Tom Angelico, Dan B roughill , H ugh C ampbell , Liv Cook , Zen De x ter , Jas Dickinson, Théo Ducos, Ryan Francis, Issy Jack , Ryan Lindsay, Lewis Marshall , Sarah M u ir , Ria Pillai, C asley Rowan, Issy Sabin

Nic B ernaldo, Sam B ird, Tess B retag, Lochie C arlson, C ameron Davies, Will Gordon, Andrew Gynes, Hannah J u risic , Ru by Pritchard, Jamie Pu rcell, Nik R aca , Maisy Ronchi-Banay, C aeleigh Smales, Annie-May Spence, Jai Trebilcock , C allu m Van Den B erg

Isabelle Agar , L achlan Armou r , Chris Balthazaar , Paige B u sbridge, C amille Chapman, Lucas Fay, Claire Gristwood, Clara Kotsimbos, Darian O’Donoh u e, Jarryd Parker , Sam Parker , Mattia Pecorino, Erin Santana , Sam Sciclu na , Harrison Scott, T yson St Jacqu es, Chloe Vitols

Liam B u llard, Mayra Cu ming, Fraser Dawson, Chloe de Haas, Connor Donnelly, Aidan Dowling, Jessie Farqu harson, B eau Findlater , J u lian Lee, Lé a Marqu et, Maire McC arthy Holding, Ru by Middleh u rst, B ranko R adu novich, Liam Scarpella , Gu s Tu rner , Conor White

Harrison B uchanan, Té a Christmas, L achie Coxon, Ryan Donnelly, Lucy Doran, Zoe Draper , Gen E vans, Elena Ferrarin, E amon Magree, Eliza Nowicki, Alana Padu la , L achie Robinson, Rebecca Sherrington, Nick Su llivan, Damon Thomas, E vie Wilkins

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

As I look around me between the pillars of work completed through blood, sweat and tears, I see a group ready to take that final jump. For those new to Year 11 (and crossing rivers) there are a few nuggets of wisdom I can give you on your journey. Firstly: expect to work hard. There are outcomes and SACS, practice exams and criteria to be met. (Daunting I know). However, as all of us can tell you, it’s completely possible. Whilst the workload might sound scary, Year 11 has proved to be a lot of fun. For starters, we’re older and wiser, and with this ‘wisdom’ comes a little respect from those around you. Another great aspect of Year Eleven is that you’re not alone in your endeavours as you jump from stone to stone, and at times you may feel like you’ll fall in... but in the end your teachers and peers are there with a steady grip to pull you back up. Most importantly for those to come, it’s important you keep your balance. There’ll be times you won’t know where to go next but if you can find that peace between family, friends and work. – Year 11 should feel “easy.” So in brief, maintain that balance, muster your strength and be ready for that final jump, after all, you’re nearly at the other side. Jai Trebilcock – Y11

Grandad I don’t know you and you don’t know me not well You liked conspiracies, running, attention and treats You liked good stories and twisted double meanings You tried but not hard enough - my name was wrongly spelt And the useless presents were badly chosen and awkwardly given You were mean until you were kind People had told me all about you But I didn’t understand… In your castle full of belongings I ignored you sometimes I would hide upstairs in my room Until I felt guilty I would try to talk to you But you’d always change the subject Your stories were amazing, but rarely true Your company was eccentric You added floccinaucinihilipilification To everything... Then you were ill and sick I watched you die - you lay in bed so thin You were a skeleton with saggy skin Bed sheets piled high in the cleaning bin Time of death 5:14pm Tuesday. I wish I had known you, and you had known me, better… Sibel Hulusi – Y8

Setting Free I was brought to a dry and dusty meadow. There was nothing, only lifeless and pre-loved fields, which were dehydrated, and crushed under the touch of her feet. The clouds were like grey puffs that sailed high above the trees. A droplet plunges from the sky and falls into my cage; I look up and longed to reach them. She slowly opens my cage and puts her arm gently in for me to perch on. She whispers something softly as can be, but I cannot understand her. I spread my wings and lunge off into the crisp cool air, where I gradually ascend higher into the sky. She has almost disappeared from my sight, although she has not moved. Two years ago, she found me… I was alone and abandoned, my flock had left me after I was attacked. I had nothing. She saved me from dying. She took me in and fed me, nursed me back to health. I remember the excruciating pain like it was yesterday. I am frightened about being free again because I don’t know where to go. I will miss her.

Allana Gogan – Y9

WOODLEIGH in

WOrds

T he B est Part of the J ob

he season of chills, disease and death is upon them still, even as they were meant to be coming out of it. Sympathetic thoughts crowd my mind as I approach those children closest to the garden wall, the most isolated of the school. Their clothing was pitifully insufficient but there was nothing for me to do about that now. I had a job to do and I intended on doing it. All of the children looked ravenous. They were part of something bigger, for now they would have to wait; everything had to be perfect. Sleek, shiny shoes were slippery on the wintery scene as I finished my path to those girls close to the wall. Their attention was directed to me immediately and intensely; bending down to get to their eye level I explain. Inquiries are made and answered; they nod and move off to spread the word. Stiffly straightening I make a beeline to Jane. Hissing her name, I catch her attention. Tired eyes are guarded against me, but she makes no move to stop me from approaching her. We exchange words, going over every detail with as much attention as possible. Finally there is no more to do than put our plan into action. We part ways; Jane goes inside to the schoolroom and I back across the road to where I had come from. I nod to my team and action is yelled. Mr Brocklehurst is standing in front of the entire assembled school as they are eating dinner, speaking. “Well, for once it may pass; but please not to let the circumstance occur too often. And there is another thing which surprised me: I find, in settling accounts with the housekeeper, that a lunch, consisting of bread and cheese, has twice been served out to the girls during the past fortnight. How is this? I looked over the regulations, and I find no such meal as lunch mentioned. Who introduced this innovation? and by what authority?”

“I must be responsible for the circumstance, sir,” replied Miss Temple: “The breakfast was so ill prepared that the pupils could not possibly eat it; and I dared not allow them to remain fasting till dinner-time.” “I must be responsible for the circumstance, sir,” replied Miss Temple: “The breakfast was so ill prepared that the pupils could not possibly eat it; and I dared not allow them to remain fasting till dinner-time.” “Madam, allow me an instant. You are aware that my plan in bringing up these girls is, not to accustom them to habits of luxury and indulgence, but to render them hardy, patient, self-denying. Should any little accidental disappointment of the appetite occur, such as the spoiling of a meal, the under or the over dressing of a dish, the incident ought not to be neutralised by replacing with something more delicate the comfort lost, thus pampering the body and obviating the aim of this institution; it ought to be improved to the spiritual edification of the pupils, by encouraging them to evince fortitude under temporary privation. A brief address on those occasions would not be mistimed, wherein a judicious instructor would take the opportunity of referring to the sufferings of the primitive Christians; to the torments of martyrs; to the exhortations of our blessed Lord Himself, calling upon His disciples to take up their cross and follow Him; to His warnings that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God; to His divine consolations, “If ye suffer hunger or thirst for My sake, happy are ye.” Oh, madam, when you put bread and cheese, instead of burnt porridge, into these children’s mouths, you may indeed feed their vile bodies, but you little think how you starve their immortal souls!” Mr. Brocklehurst again paused, perhaps overcome by his feelings. He is about to start speaking when a young girl carrying her plate and cutlery, by the name of Jane Eyre, approaches him. “Please Sir. May I have some… more?” said Jane Eyre sweetly asks. “MORE?” he replied, a musical number breaks out, children are singing and breaking into synchronized dances everywhere. “CUT,” yells the commander “No, this simply just won’t do. The number just isn’t right here, we’ll try it in another story, maybe Dickens, maybe Dahl, Who knows? Bring me the book.” The hardcopy, leather bound edition is brought forth and the director indicates to his assistant which lines to strike through and then dictates an appropriate filler. Nodding to everybody I yell out to generate the portal. There was nothing else to be added to this storyline so onto another we go. It was an important job we had, making books readable, but a fun one. Looking down at my schedule a smile makes its way across my face; we were going to try putting topsy-turvy land into an Enid Blyton story. Hesitating, as I always do before I leave a story, a warm glow of satisfaction makes its way through me. I know that I have played a major role in changing the story line for the better. This is my favorite part of my job. Ella McCarthy – Y9 Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

An extract from “The Dinner Party” I sighed as I closed the door I couldn’t remember the last time a social outing had been that humiliating. However, that didn’t make it any better. It just meant that when it did happen, it was all that more confronting. I just couldn’t understand how naïve and ignorant people were. Yes, Scarlet and Jess were outright racist, but they didn’t even realise it. Yet, what was worse is that so were the others! They don’t even realise it, but they were. For the first time in ages, I was thankful that I lived alone. I mean, I owned a cat, but who knows where she was (I say owned, but she’s really just a stray that feels sorry for me). It meant that I was able to kick my shoes off and then collapse on my rather abysmal looking beanbag. I didn’t have much furniture, or a very large house for that matter, but as long as I had something squishy and soft to sit on, I was fine. Yet, once I sat down, I didn’t switch on the telly or pull out a book. Instead I stared

Elise Wiltshire, Cat Yeong and Katherine Robertson – Y10 This piece was the winning entry in the Readers’ Cup.

at the wall, reflecting. It was a painful reflection, but I knew I’d feel better after I’d dissected my thoughts. I wondered, as always, where these stereotypes relating to me had even come from. Why did everyone think all Asians were outrageously smart? I didn’t want to break it to them, but I had better things to do then spend all my time studying when I didn’t even go to school anymore. Did it even effect them in anyway? Why did they think that my parents wanted me to be a doctor? (I doubted they very much cared, we lived in completely separate areas and they had another daughter and son to take care of). And, really, as if I’m going to do that silly girl’s assignment. How did she even get into accounting, anyways?! Does Joel have to put up with these sorts of issues? Did his friends constantly make jibes about him always wanting fried chicken? I’m sure he put up with just as much as I did… Everyone puts up with it. No one even seems to care any-

more, it’s like a mentality of ‘Yes, we’re racist, but so is everyone, who cares?’ I don’t understand, why do people think it’s okay? Why do I get looks every time I walk into the library or a book store? I remembered suddenly, Jed’s comments throughout the night. They swam to

I was fine. Yet, once I sat down, I didn’t switch on the telly or pull out a book. Instead I stared at the wall, reflecting. the surface of my memory, and I’m not sure how I never before noticed how outwardly racist he was to Joel. I put it on the belief that it was because I was so tightly strung due to… certain people, yet really, did I ever notice racism when it wasn’t directed towards my race? Now, sitting here, of course I notice it. But out there, when I’m so caught up in my own troubles, do I give others comments a second thought if it’s not about me? I shook my head. It’s too much to think about in one night. I knew it

An extract from “detective mario and the kidnapped peach” They squeezed through the loud, filthy gathering of drug addicts, until they found a door against the left wall guarded by two Koopas. Koopa turtles are the nicknames given to the Mushroom Kingdom’s hired guns. Elite mercenaries they were, and they were able to be bought cheap. Offer them a bag of mushrooms, and they’ll likely guard you for over a week. They wore heavy body armour, resembling a turtle’s shell. Mario kept his distance. ‘Damn. He’s hired Koopas.’ ‘What do we do?’ ‘I’ve got this.’ Mario reached into his pocket, extracted a red flower. ‘They call them fire flowers,’ Mario explained. ‘Are they legal?’ Mario didn’t reply. He just popped it into his mouth and chewed noisily. Suddenly he buckled over, and emptied his stomach onto the floor. He looked up, and Luigi saw a burning fire in his eyes. Mario roared loudly, hands ready to tear out somebody’s throat. He whipped out his pistol, and opened fire at the Koopas. The left Koopa’s head exploded in a fountain of blood. The right Koopa had his assault rifle at the ready, opened fire. Mario rolled out of the way. The stream of bullets mowed down a whole row of druggos. Luigi dived behind a Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

crate of mushrooms for cover. Mario aimed down with deadly precision, and fired six shots at the Koopas’ head. The first bullet killed him. Mario charged for the door. ‘Mario, wait!’ Luigi cried. Mario kicked the door down, and roared at the top of his lungs. Inside were five Koopas, two wielding pump-action shotguns, the other three with rapid-firing Uzis. The Goomboss sat on a red velvet throne at the back, clearly higher than the clouds. Mario opened fire angrily, shooting down two of the Uzi-wielders. The shotgun Koopas both fired, and Mario rolled behind a table, kicking it over and using it as cover. Shotgun shells tore the wood apart. Luigi was still outside. He looked around desperately for a weapon. He saw a group of smackheads sitting against the wall, with a shotgun sitting in front of them. Luigi rushed over, snatched the shotgun. The smackheads didn’t even blink in reaction. Mario sat behind the table as it was ripped apart by the shotguns and the one remaining Uzi. There was nowhere else to hide in this room other than this table. He had a few seconds left to move or else he’d be dead. When suddenly Luigi stepped into the room, a shotgun in his hands, and he blasted at the shotgun-Koopas. They flew back, blood flying from their chests like popped water balloons. The UziKoopa was swinging his gun around,

wasn’t the time to question myself. I’d leave that for the morning. People’s minds do funny things after 12 o’clock, I reckon. Yet… I suppose a little longer questioning tonight couldn’t hurt. So I sat there, wondering how no one could no-

tice how diminishing and hurtful such comments were. I speculated how a girl like Sophie could make friends like Scarlet, Jessica and Jed. I pondered if, once again, she saw things in them that we didn’t, or if she just wished to help them see the things we did see. I criticised myself for thinking I was more enlightened than they were, and yet I hoped that I was. But, my most important thought was the same as the first one. How could they not see how much it hurt?

Daniel MacDonald – Y10

but Mario took his chance, leaping up and blasting him to bits. Luigi’s shotgun was smoking, and Mario reloaded his gun. The Goomboss crawled back on his throne, his eyes filled with worry, begging for mercy. ‘Take what you want!’ he pleaded. ‘Take all of it! Just don’t kill me!’ ‘Who were you talking to before?’ Mario growled, the fires in his eyes raging. ‘He had a bag over his shoulder.’ The Goomboss swallowed. ‘Who?’ Mario stepped forward, grabbed the Goomboss’ fingers, and snapped them backwards. The Goomboss cried out in pain. ‘Who was he?!’ ‘Bowser!’ the Goomboss shrieked, crying in pain. ‘It was Bowser!’ Luigi’s jaw dropped. ‘Oh my god...’ Mario shook his head. ‘God damn it.’ Mercilessly, he shot the Goomboss in his right eye. Luigi was too shocked to notice. ‘Bowser... he’s...’ ‘He runs half the brothels in uptown,’ Mario said. ‘He specializes in fetish dungeons. His biggest brothel is Bowser’s Castle. He’s also the leader of the Koopa mercenary army.’ ‘That’s why he kidnapped Peach...’ Luigi breathed. ‘Her brothel’s big competition for all of his. If she goes down, his empire rises...’ ‘We have to stop him,’ Mario said. Suddenly, the Goomboss’ phone started to ring. Mario hesitated for a

second before answering it. ‘Yeah?’ he said. ‘Hello Mario,’ Bowser’s deep voice said on the other side. His menacing foreign accent sent chills down Mario’s spine. ‘What do you want?’ ‘I want you gone. You’re meddling with my plans. Stop now while I’m giving you the chance. If you continue trying to stop me, I’ll unleash every last Koopa upon you and your miserable police department. I run this city. Not you.’ ‘You’re going down, Bowser.’ Bowser laughed on the other end of the line. ‘I don’t think so, detective. You better hurry. This Peach I stole is losing its flavour. I might have to dispose of it.’ Mario clenched his fist. ‘If you touch her...’ ‘Oh I’ve done more than touch her, Mario. I know how much you love her. And I’m going to inflict as much pain and suffering as I can upon her, just so you can stomp on over here and get yourself killed.’ He laughed then hung up. Luigi had heard everything, and his jaw dropped in shock. ‘You love Peach?’ Mario didn’t move for a while. Then he looked at Luigi. ‘We’re going after Bowser,’ was all he said. He paused and then added, ‘I’m gonna tear his goddamn heart out.’

TO BE LIVING IN A DREAM It is the human condition to want for knowledge. We thirst for it, nurture it, search for patterns in it, all the while trying to justify its place in our world. Though others may conceal this knowledge, we continue to strive for answers, at times tormented by undesirable realities. Due to our nature, regardless of power or fear, we will find the truth within it. The only question is, will reality expose itself to us? ‘Women can’t drive,’ my father would bellow. ‘They just can’t. They must have nervous feet or something because one minute they’re stopping and the next they’re going; it’s like watching a seventy-year-old with weak bladder tryin’ to take a piss.’ For all my five-yearold self knew, he could’ve been right. Up to this moment his ulterior claims had proved accurate, and therefore my trusting blue eyes saw this exclamation of sexism in the same light of truth. My father was always an oasis of education, he taught me values I still rely on today, but many other lessons he taught me became discarded on my path through life, proved wrong by my latter experience. Whilst comfortably settled in the caboose of the car, the seatbelts coarse heat against my chest, my mother approached the intersection. Confined in my little world of Pokémon Ruby, my awareness of my surroundings was minimal. So, as the car pulled out in front of us, I was helpless to change the course of our future. But my mother, with what I had always seen as ‘nervous feet’; my mother swerved from the path of the roaring Holden Commodore as it tore through the give-way sign. And as I raised my eyes, I saw her feet as steady as oak trees atop the pedals, coaxing them with such precision that she simply could not be a bad driver. As modestly as that, the illusion my father had pressed upon me was shattered by newfound ‘truth’. Now, in my reality, women could drive. Galileo’s theorems, although now seen as the foundations of modern science, were not always as widely accepted in the confines of early 1600’s Catholic Italy. With his proposal of a concept termed heliocentrism (the concept that the planets revolve around a relatively stationary sun) came uproar. The previously sacred and biblical belief that Earth was the axis of all was being challenged, and in reply, many powerful bodies, including the Catholic Church, demanded that Galileo revoke his claim. ‘Abstain completely from defending or teaching this doctrine and opinion’ they ordered; the philosopher detested this request, but nevertheless surrendered to

Published – History: Politics: Literature Magazine – Edition 4- Reality – Excerpt- Editorial 18/06/2014

the will of his religious context. But personal perception can only be oppressed for so long. Galileo began to write a thesis that was expected to hold heliocentrism and geocentrism in equal light, and which, not surprisingly, did not. Brought again before the Roman Inquisition, charged with ‘heresy’ and ‘contradicting holy scripture’, Galileo denied any claims of his promoting heliocentrism due to the punishment that would surely follow. Only when confronted with undeniable evidence of his guilt did Galileo exclaim his perception: ‘Eppur si muove’- ‘and yet it moves’ (referring to the Earth’s position in relation to its surroundings). Now, in 2014, we hold Galileo as one of the initiators of modern science, with others following his work, and over time subduing the now weak reality of geocentrism. Due

is incapable of administering. Although North Korea is often viewed as a dictator led fascist state, many of its citizens find a relief in their unyielding praise of Kim-Jong-Un, their steadfast vehemence of the USA; they find a relief in their predetermined yet oppressive realty. Shin Dong-Hyuk, an escapee from the infamous gulag Camp 14, reflected on his time in North Korea, stating ‘I miss the innocent and lack of concerns I had’. Following this, he exclaimed that ‘more people are committing suicide here (South Korea) than in the camp.’ As it may seem obvious to the Western world that this tyrannical country is living in a constructed reality, in the case of Shin Dong-Hyuk, this seems to have little impact on their happiness. Is it possible that the sense of contentment this falsity provides to its people outweighs

C onversely, oppression can provide a comfort that u ncensored reality is incapable of administering . A ltho u gh N orth Korea is often viewed as a dictator led fascist state , many of its citizens find a relief in their u nyielding praise of Kim - J ong - Un , their steadfast vehemence of the U S A ; they find a relief in their predetermined, yet oppressive realty.

to a culmination of irrefutable evidence, the powerful became the powerless with the church facing constant challenge over their geocentric views. Through changing contexts, the gathering of evidence and therefore social support, a reality seen as weak can become the reality of the masses. Galileo also serves as testament to the fact that we cannot thrive on knowledge in the presence of fear; and although Galileo’s conjecture may have been, or could still be incorrect, the existence of oppression only hinders humans on the quest to reality. Conversely, oppression can provide a comfort that uncensored reality

the brutality many of them meet with? Is truth to be valued over happiness? Furthermore, North Korea’s censorship of foreign accounts, such as through banning the Internet and the control of both internal and external media coverage allows the government to preserve the reality that they are the Arcadian state. It seems the only way to preserve a prejudiced and seemingly false reality is through censorship, isolation and containment: through oppression. The concept of power acting inversely with reality is a common motif in literature, found in novels such as Rob-

ert Charles Wilson’s Spin and Spies by Michael Frayn. In Spies, an imbalance of power is represented domestically between the characters of Bobs and Ted, though this inequity stretches far beyond the white picket fence of number six. With an abusive husband, Bobs feels helpless to escape her current situation. This comes as questionable to the reader, as Ted is shown to publicly conform to social expectation, and would not dare to approach his wife if she simply left as it would be ‘beneath his dignity’. Therefore, if Ted had little sweeping dominance over his wife, what was the force acting upon Bobs to cage her in this cruel condition? The paradoxical nature of Bobs’ situation is rife; though society condemns the private actions of people such as Ted, they similarly condemn broken marriages, particularly in the context of English 1940’s. Bobs predicted she would be isolated and judged for failing at marriage, that was not the pinnacle of ‘order’ it professed to be. The ‘shame’ associated with such a revelation, she believed, would overpower any pain she had felt during the relationship. In reply, the melancholic wife ekes out a masked existence, hidden under her pale blue cravat. Spies demonstrates how the power of larger society on the individual can cause the construction of facades to hide truths that are just ‘so….unsatisfactory’. So yes, maybe women can drive, the universe doesn’t revolve around us, Kim-Jong-Un isn’t divine and Bobs’ marriage isn’t exactly Acadia, but then again, maybe we are all being blinded by further delusions that we have accepted as truth because they seem so. ‘The military is hierarchal’ my father would bellow. ‘The fat mean bastards sit on top, breaking the backs of the many who carry them below, all in a futile effort towards a pointless goal’. And this, I still believe. Unbeknown to myself if it is my father’s impact that dictates this perception, I still hold it in the utmost certainty, for I have no reason not to. And this is what it boils down to: reality. If we are presented clearly with an ulterior truth, a higher truth, regardless of the loss of comfort we experience, we will grasp it as real. Whether that be in the form of exposure to other worlds (North Korea) or simply witnessing miraculous expert driving, humanity will always strive for the paramount of knowledge. The most powerful reality is that which is accepted as true, but where does the truth lie? beth Thompson – Y12

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Alone:

Dark sea The blue night sky had darkened into dead black, the clouds are a mixture of the deepest blues and fragile greys like a thunderstorm was about to begin, hiding the shining moon. Waves crashing into the ocean floor, the sand lifting, like spirits had awakened from the dead, rise to haunt people in the dark misty night. Patches of seaweed all over the ocean floor, that look like a school of sharks, stalking their prey. The wind is wild and fast and forceful like it can’t control it’s self -going over the wave and under making the whitewater spraying ubiquitously Over the wave making it look like misty fog On a cold winters day. The wave looked like it was angry and wild, like it was trying to get away from something. The water looked cold with a dark blue almost like a black through out the sea with a hint of aqua making it look like the night sky. The rain started to hail down like bullets flying into the ocean floor hitting into the sand. Like it was trying to get the Earth’s core. Eliza Jane Cumberlidge – Y9

MY WHEELCHAIR, MY MEMORY STICK I used to hate this wheelchair, Not being able to play sports that I enjoyed, Having the label of a cripple, Not being able to reach things up high, Knowing that my legs will never be able to work again, But then I realised it was a reminder that I am alive, That I survived, That out of so many who died, I was a survivor, It doesn’t matter that I have to be in a wheelchair the rest of my life, At least I’m alive, Being in a wheelchair is just a small price to pay, For being alive and not resting in the ground, It’s my wheelchair, my memory Shayniah Williams – Y9 stick.

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

The bell finally rings sending shots of electricity through your ears. People push and swear at each other, all of them trying to get to their lockers. Your phone vibrates against your body and you pull it out of your pocket. You read the text over and over again not believing what’s said “BITCH, BETTER WATCH YOUR BACK.” But what you didn’t know was that was only the start if it. Weeks would pass and every day you would come home with a different pain in your body; sometimes it was physical and sometimes it was mental. You would run straight to your room, lock the door and look at the razor or the scissors in front of you. You would wonder to yourself if maybe another pain would take away this pain that you’re feeling. It’s really hard showing your face at school. Your friends have turned on you, leaving you alone in the dark. Stuck in this hellhole of a life, it’s like you’re screaming at people for help but no one listens. The teacher looks at you with a sad aura around her face, but of course she does nothing. Your parents are too busy with work to worry about you. So each day you wonder what’s really worth living for. But you don’t realise how much they care about you. There are people that worry about you. They like you but are too afraid to stand up for you just in case they’re dragged into your sad excuse of a life. You walk to the bathroom and take out a razor and slowly slice your thin, paper-like skin and it tears apart at the seams like your heart. The pain hurts but it takes your brain off the memories you hold. You scream and cry. But no one hears. You go to school and realise there is a new boy sitting next to you, he smiles at you and you smile weakly back. He looks at you funny and asks if you’re alright. That’s the first time someone has asked you that question in a while and you smile back a little stronger this time and say, “I’m fine.” But really you’re not. He smiles and nods his head. It sends your head spinning and your legs go weak and your stomach goes crazy. You have never had this feeling before but you sure as hell like it. Tonight was the night – the night where you say goodbye to everyone. You decide to take a walk to have one more good look at the world – to drink it all in. You walk along the streets and end up at the pier. You see a hooded figure in the distance. It looks like a painting – the figure standing there and all the lights making a small path along the creaking wooden planks. You walk to the end of the pier and realise the figure is the boy with the amazing smile. He looks at you and sees the scars still daring to open against your pale skin. He looks worried at first, and then suddenly a wash of emotion runs across his face. He pulls you into a desperate hug, like he can feel all the pain you feel, like he can feel every punch that was smashed against your body and the ocean of tears that you have cried. And that’s when you realise that this person has given you enough strength for another day. You cry in his arms and spill everything you have hidden from every one. You walk back together and you realise that life is full of unexpected surprises, and this chance encounter on a dark and lonely pier has changed your life forever. Abby Hoogkamer – Y9

e stood there for what seemed like an eternity. Hand in hand, watching the dancing fire and billowing black smoke consume the Wishart house. Days had passed since the tunnel of smoke had touched the skies of Corrigan. The word that Jasper was dealing one last blow to the Wishart’s had spread like wildfire. And I didn’t think I’d see Jasper again, until someone knocked on my window. I looked up from my desk

grotesque animal. Fear consumed me. I wanted to yell, to cry and scream for help. But the black hole in my stomach took the breath from my mouth. Frantically I tried to scramble back into my room as though it was some safe haven where the monsters couldn’t get me. In one movement from the shadow, a boot met my face. Kicking me onto my back, with the little spark I had left I looked at the face of my attacker. Right into the eye of the demon. The darkness took

off. I went down again. I sit at the lakes edge. Eliza’s head tucked under my arm. She is sleeping. In my head I re-live the latest worst night of my life. Waking up to the pain once more, but this time in my bed. My father coming in and telling me what had happened. How the Sarge had arrived just in time to be useless – just after the trigger was pulled. Pete Wishart is in jail still but soon to be released. It was found he acted in self-defense, and that Jasper

I sit at the lakes edge. Eliza’s head tucked under my arm. She is sleeping. In my head I relive the latest worst night of my life. to see Jasper looking down at me. “You know what Charlie, one day I reckon one of those will have your name on it.” I smiled up at this warm face. The face of my friend. I was almost out of my window when the crunch of leaves underfoot came to my ears, and Jasper wasn’t moving. Jasper heard it too. He snapped around in time to catch something hard on his forehead. He fell. All I could see was a shadow of what must’ve been a man. But he was growling like some

hold of me and I felt my eyes close. I woke. Something warm was oozing down my face. Blood. My senses were coming back, I could feel the ground under my head, I could hear distant grunting. Then all at once I felt the pain wash over me like a wave. I opened my eyes and tried to stand – but the blinding pain was too much. Slowly I tried again, and this time I stumbled to my feet. I heard a boot slam and I spun around to see Pete Wishart get behind the driver seat and speed

had knocked me out. I knew more than ever that I was leaving. Saying goodbye to all this injustice. I had to leave, and do it for the both of us, because now he never can. Because of everything wrong in this town, my friend was gone. Everything he ever wanted to do, gone. I kissed Eliza’s head, taking in the smell of her hair. Repeating it to myself over and over again. Jasper Jones is gone. Nic Busbridge – Y9

A Sport that gives Countries a Bad name I drove along the highway at hundred with all the windows down. I felt like I was free – I felt nothing could stop me. Then I heard it – the noises that pulled me to a screaming halt, slamming on the brakes. I stomped on the brake so hard I thought I pushed the brake pedal through the floor. I flung the car door open and slowly got out of my car. The noises got louder and as I slowly crept closer I realized the noises were barks, but not any sort of normal bark. They were barks of plea, fear and what scared me most was death. My mind was suddenly flooded with images of what I would most likely face. The images scared me. I wanted to turn around and ignore the barks of death. But I couldn’t, I pushed on. I was only ten maybe, twenty, metres from what looked like an entrance; a tunnel that looked like it went under and come up into the enclosure. I entered the hole on my hands and knees scraping the white, tough skin off the top of my knees

and before I reached the other side both my knees were turned into red pools of blood that hurt if I touched them, but I pushed on. I wanted to know what was on the inside, what the state was like. My curiosity got the best of me. I crawled out of the hole and took in my surroundings. I was in a small room with steel walls covering all four sides with a rectangle cut out in the front wall, which must have been used as a sort of entrance. In the middle of the room there was a ring of cages, which I later found out it, was a fighting arena. I left the room and found myself in a hallway with doors leading into other rooms on either side. I could still hear the barks, but they were now behind me. I turned around and cautiously walked towards the horrible, pain ridden shrieks of agony that assaulted my ears with each passing second that I stayed in that horrible, torturous building. I crept ever closer, always checking corners and turning around to make sure nothing was fol-

Jacob Plummer – Y8

lowing me. I came up to the last door, adrenaline coursing through my body but my brain being flooded by images that constantly scared me and made me cringe in pain. I was about to poke my head around the corner and then barking just stopped. It suddenly became a tiny whimper that I could barely hear. I slowly poked my head round the corner and the images that flooded my mind that scared me suddenly became reality. On each side of the room small pokey cages that would hardly be able to fit a medium size dog in had huge dogs that lay on the floor of the cages dead. Blood seeped through the bars of the cages onto the already blood stained ground. I was suddenly flooded with images of people standing around cheering for the dog they put bets on. Cheering for the dog to kill its opponent. I could see the people who train the dogs beating them into a state of fear and then using that fear to rip another dog to pieces. And then I saw what bought me to the

ground. A puppy lay in the middle of the room. A pool of blood formed around his little snout and grew bigger as blood trickled out of his mouth and snout. My eyes felt like a pool of tears big enough to swim in. My muscles felt like jelly. Uncontrollably shaky. I tried to keep the tears back, but they become uncontrollable. I managed to stumble over to the puppy and fell down beside him in my own pool, a pool of tears that grew with every passing second. I picked him up and laid him in my lap. I knew there was nothing I could do. I felt helpless. It felt like a knife had been driven straight through my heart. I caressed him in my arms. Cradled him for what felt like hours, but in actual fact was only a few minutes. I spoke to him. Telling the little puppy that it was going to be okay. I felt his muscles start to go limp. I felt his head fall back into my arms. By then, I had lost all hope.

The Following piece is a Year 12 Context Response. the topic or “prompt” is the visual. This piece was required to reference the ideas in the film “Wag The Dog”

Dialogue (The evening news plays on the television)

Interesting isn’t it?

lies is a distraction. It’s in the government’s best interest to look like the good guy, the tame protector of our households, not the viscous beast snarling at our freedom. Think about it Anna, we are constantly presented with danger, provoked to fear the things we don’t know.

What?

Ok like what then?

This whole ordeal with Motts… I just don’t understand.

Alright, remember Grenada in 1983? Our government had been embarrassed by Vietnam, a war that lost all popular support for our armed forces. We needed a win, America wanted to assert its dominance in the eyes of the world and present itself as a fearsome military presence. Days before the invasion of Grenada ‘Operation Urgent Fury’ as it was called, a U.S. Military base in Beirut was bombed killing 241 American soldiers. America’s military was in dire straits. For us, the citizens, well the government needed to reignite the patriotic militarism that our country was forged from. When there is something to fear, an enemy, that is when the population is prompted to turn a blind eye to any political blunders, any damaging events to national integrity. Our minds are maneuvered to pay attention to what upholds our government’s integrity. Sometimes it all seems like an act.

That’s exactly it we can’t do a lot. Our government has the power to manipulate the news by drawing attention. The bigger story will steal the show, a sex scandal will out sell a police chase and a war will outsell a sex scandal. It’s this destructive cycle that worries me. How far will a government go to distract us from what is really happening. Right now they have sacrificed one man to take the fall, but how many people have taken the fall before him and how many will take the falls to come. We are met with a confident face, a figure of honor, always reassuring us of our direction but behind that face how many people are steering the ship. Who is it that really makes the decisions because I damn well didn’t vote them in. There is power much more volatile than we imagine behind the faces we see on the news. We have been taught to fear what we don’t know and it’s the hidden authority beyond our vote, beyond the press conferences and headlines that fears me the most.

Well I’ve got to say Joe you do have a point. Now you mention it news stories

(Anna sips her coffee and flips the page of The New York Times)

*‘Earlier today Stanley Motts a freelance ‘spin doctor’ was charged with treason against the United States of America. The news draws attention to media manipulation and the….’*

The man was feeding lies to the public, causing conflicts that didn’t exist, what is there to understand? Well he is a con artist, a spin-doctor, whatever you want to call him, I get that I just don’t understand who employs him? This guy is a scapegoat for something bigger, something more powerful. It’s just another curtain being pulled in front of our eyes. Surely you can’t be serious? Next you’ll be telling me not to use my cellphone because the NSA will be listening hahahha, come on Joe think about it. I’m serious honey! *Thud* (The door of the neighbors ‘Buick Roadmaster’ slams) What if all this talk about treason and

do wash through and we become distracted, there is always something happening, something drawing the attention away. Isn’t that the way the media works though, news happens and the best stories that will sell are broadcast, what can we do about it?

It’s scary to think about, always fearing Communist governments, radical groups and terrorist organizations. We never really know who we are fighting but there is always someone to turn our eye from what is happening here. We are Americans, we pride ourselves on liberty and freedom but are we free from oppressive restrictions? In this consumerist society nothing is truly free, everything has a cost and the cost of believing we are free is being oppressed by a constructed thought. Look at this Joe, page 22, Albania backed by Canada and France have called for a United Nations Resolution over America’s apparent “Violation of international Law” during the Albania crisis last month. See what I mean! Page 22! America has violated international law and we read about it in the gossip section. It’s a twisted world we live in honey. You’re not wrong, turn the television up thanks. *And in breaking news Stanley Motts has suffered a heart attack and is under emergency care at Washington hospital. His state is unclear but it is unlikely he will attend court tomorrow…* James Bugg – Y12

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

The Principal of Woodleigh School spoke to the VCE students in the senior campus about confiscating any phones seen in class or in study sessions. They was an uprising of anger amongst the students and they asked one student to speak to the others reassuring the reason in this action. Cairie Whelehan spoke in a morning meeting, with all students from Year 11 and Year 12.

The Death So slowly it did die The friendship of you and me I didn’t realize Until our idle chatter Was cold and curt exchanges That we felt obligated to perform Until I stopped receiving hellos and goodbyes And you stopped replying when I said them to you Until whenever our eyes happened to meet Both pairs would dart away And pretend they never saw the other When I first met you, you were the new kid A stranger in a strange land I was assigned as your friend An awkward arrangement A bad tour guide - unable to translate But the strangeness fell away after time And I hope you saw me as a friend As I saw you So you moved on I can’t blame you I did something wrong I’m sure Or did I not do enough? An unsatisfactory friend To be left behind In the dust of your departure To cut my hands on our broken friendship As I try to get up And look away from the mess and into the future Rebecca Willis-Gregg – Y8

In VCE English students analyze persuasive texts under exam conditions, as a quick homework exercise Year 11s were asked to write a sample exam paper.

Smart phones – are they too smart? Don’t get me wrong, I love my IPhone as if it were my own child; the Apps, the constant communication, the accessibility, but at what cost? I’m a constant offender of scowling atthose who spend hours looking down on their blinding screen, missing the opportunity of non-artificial human interaction, mumbling furiously, whilst I scroll down Instagram and Facebook. Its only recently I’ve noticed this after a friend commented on my hypocrisy, I started to notice the scowling looks I received from others (usually older) discovering that, I too, had fallen into the trap of these smart phones, with all of their dangers.

I’m not saying don’t use your phone, of course communication is important, but ask yourself this – how much do you use your phone for necessary communica-

Communication is important, but ask yourself this – how much do you use your phone for necessary communication? me a distraction away from where I am. That is exactly where the real danger lies.

tion? Was uploading that picture of your lunch really so vital? Does the world really need to know how he broke your heart?

They offer Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter and so much more! Its great! It really is! And so is being completely off

Lost for words

Girl With the jet black hair.

Words.

As the girl with jet-black hair and an age of 14 years stepped through her school doors; out into to the open air she hungrily inhaled the fresh aroma of a winter’s day. Advancing closer to the school gates she moved swiftly and gracefully through the snow, falling snowflakes catching on her slender and curved body.

lifted his nose to nuzzle in the palm of her hand. The girl gasped at the sudden contact but, mimicking the deer’s actions, she cast it aside. She again, moved forward and let her fingers roam over the deer’s back. Rather abruptly a gust of wind flew into their faces and conveyed them back to reality.

In deep thought she came to a decision and took a detour through the park on her daily route home. She moved through the snow at a leisurely pace. Taking in all that her green orbs let fall on. Without warning she stopped. The billowing wind surrounded her, the cold biting at her skin. CRUNCH. She froze, turning around steadily, expecting a pursuer of sorts.

T he billowing

Those stupid things that come out of people’s mouths. Those pointless things that people feel the need to express. Those worthless things that seem to make everything worse.

I don’t need them, nor do I want them. Why can’t people understand that? I get on perfectly fine without them. I am mute. Not deaf. Why do people feel the need to gossip about me just because I don’t speak my mind? Why do people pity me for my silence? I don’t need their sympathy. I don’t want it either. She’s lost for words, they say. I am not lost for words. That would imply I had them to begin with. I simply have nothing to say. Elise Wiltshire – Y10

It can make you an easy target for anyone who is watching. I know that as a 17-year-old-girl, walking down a dark, isolated street, I will turn to my phone for its brightly casting comfort, giving

It feels as those everyone is judging you causing these smart phones to form into a way of coping. If you are alone in public, your phone represents popularity elsewhere, it can stand for disinterest in reality, or as the older community sees it, addiction.

When you are so engaged in your phone like that, it can open you up for business. Business you might not necessarily want. You may think you’re escaping when in fact it’s attracting those on the outside. Now don’t just think its women who are under threat here, any man in a situation such as this can be taken off guard that stands as a protection against anyone wanting trouble.

That’s why I cut myself off from them.

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

guard and unaware of the reality around you. The small device that offers so much artificial intelligence allowing you access of all our favourite Apps, wherever you are, also offers someone else to take advantage of that. Wherever you are.

Lifting her head her eyes widened at the sight her eyes had provided her. A deer, presumably a young male, was positioned in front of her, watching with eyes that were flickering with curiosity. Cautiously the girl stepped forward; hesitantly moving her hand upwards. There was now a portion of doubt in the deer’s eyes but he cast it aside and

So next time you find yourself on your phone, look up, experience the world around you, observe the characters you encounter and live. Live happily and live safely. Cairie Whelehan – Y11

wind s u rro u nded her , the cold biting at her s k in . The deer tilted its head up and promptly rushed off until the girl could only make out a faint outline of the deer, which was currently standing underneath a withering old oak tree. Sheltered from the snow. Taking her time, the girl resumed walking, replaying all that happened in her mind. Going back she could’ve sworn, in that moment, she felt infinite. Sophie Jinks – Y7

Seaside grief.

he sun was low, almost as low as the horizon. The sky was purple and pink and the sand was still damp from the night of rain before. I was coming to the end of my run when I saw him. Half his body sunk in the sand; he must have been there for hours. As I got closer I saw the grey plastic. It hung half out of his mouth. His eyelids were heavy and each blink was slow. I reached out to touch his shell, it was warm and smooth. I knew I was the only one on the beach and I had to help somehow, but he was dying. I’d never seen something so close to death until I saw him. I tugged at the plastic bag; it had the familiar green text “Woolworths” printed across the bag like the ones I used at home. It tore and half the bag was still stuck in his throat, he made a hissing sound as he exhaled and I felt the disappointment and pain of the turtle. I fiddled with the plastic trying to get him to open his mouth but he’d already given up hope. His gleaming black eyes stared straight at me; it was a kind look that seemed to take a lot of strength. It had been half an hour and the sun

I Am – We are 7B

Ellie Norman – Y8

had set. The cool evening air stung my skin and the salty spray gave me watery eyes and white speckled hair. The old turtle lay there unable to move. I felt as if his pain was mine and mine was his. I screwed up my face as I thought about those volunteers who refused to come because it was after hours. They didn’t care if a turtle died on the beach alongside a pathetic brunette who had never thought about putting rubbish in the bin instead of throwing it onto the ground, who had never thought about the impact her actions could have on marine life. But right now I cared, I cared that I had never thought about it, I cared about an old turtle whowas suffocating on a plastic bag, dying before my eyes. It was really dark now, the wind howled and the waves smashed against the shore. The turtle lay imbedded in the sand, my hand on his shell. My legs were stiff after being crossed for so long and my hands numb from the cold. With each minute he was one step closer to dying and I felt the heat drain from his body. The plastic bag still hung from his mouth and I noticed a small fishing

hook stuck in one of his back flippers. I could tell he was old and ready to die but I wasn’t ready to let him go, not after my unsuccessful efforts to save him. The plastic bag was too far down his throat, each breath for him was agonising! He couldn’t eat and I knew the feeling, the feeling his stomach was so hungry it felt as if it could flip inside out. His breaths became louder, each one stinging his throat as I knelt beside him in the autumn night. I felt as if he understood me, as we could communicate with our eyes but that he could not understand my struggle to help him, or maybe he had already decided that he could not continue. The old turtle lay, my hand on his back. I waited there with him for hours. I wanted to be there when he passed so he would not suffer a lonely death. After two hours sitting in the cold, the heavy loud even breaths had seemed to stop; his eyes had clouded over and stared into the distance. A tear ran down my cheek and I patted his shell one last time then turned to walk back across the thick grains of sand on my miserable walk home.

“Can a play show us the very truth and nature of love” A review of “Shakespeare In Love” A play has many limitations, what it can achieve is different though. Though the idea of a play is always to try and convey or communicate a story, that is the purpose. And in past times, plays weren’t just entertainment, they were education, people went to see plays to be taught something, to be educated and learn something, rather then now which is all for entertainment’s sake. A play has limitations in the sense that it restricts someone’s personal life, love can really be displayed on stage but more so the person playing the character and falling for that character. For a play can capture that love sense for the audience, but it’s only something that may remain between characters. For being in the state of mind of another person, can do many different things to a person, which may include falling in love, but I believe this is because of acting as another, and thinking as another one’s self. Therefore an audience can see a play achieving something such as love and really conveying the message of love on stage. For in Viola’s situation, it is the hype and the glory, and being able to go to another world that can play with your head. She has fallen in love, but whether that is with the concept of actually physically falling or because of a play, being able to step into another story or place and act this love, and because she loves it and has this passion for this is where she can factiously fall in love. That’s how limitations affect a play, through realism and reality, but still a play can achieve so much. As much as I’m yet to find love, which sucks, because I’ve been looking for long enough. The film, where a dazzling unexpected beauty of Shakespeare is played, by a young American man, also capturing the unsure, unfitting love between Will and Gwyneth Paltrow, as she is a young play lover, whom is enthralled by the idea of love. Personally I don’t think it captured love, it may however have captured love the way Hollywood likes to look at love. We see continuously throughout the film, a passion for theatre, that’s what their love is, and usually depicted as the love for that thing, and without a play and acting, their love would be nothing. It didn’t capture true love, but maybe infatuated love and pretentious love nonetheless, for the sake of Romeo and Juliet, but do we see a bond, so strong, so unbreakable? Perhaps not, we see young puppy love, bound to have a tremendous impact for a short-lived time. Not a love that changes someone’s life forever. This is why we do not see the film capture love, because its all supposed to be for show and the play. Not only can we see this short-lived romance, but the nurse sees it as well, she knows that Viola must be with Lord Wessex, for Will will only be a short infatuation with romance, based upon both their childish love for theatre. Which this concept of actual real physical love has been more mythical and pretentious, because the acting outlier, because unfortunately when the story line is based around a theatre, that gets our suspicions up and makes us question already. Max Rowe – Y11

I am respect, equality and individuality. I am dad telling me not to talk with my mouth full I am blonde hair, freckles and giraffe legs I am from tearing my skin and picking my nails I am food, lots of food. I am sandy beaches on a hot, summer day. I am cricket on a summer’s morning I am margarita with extra cheese I am sitting around the fire in the great outback I am from a sailboat shining in the moonlight. I am a social media site getting used everyday I am big brother to a loving little boy. I am cheese melted on top of nachos on movie nights. I am a bed slept in as long as I can on weekend mornings. I am Dora the Explorer to Hannah Montana and now Pretty Little Liars I am tennis on a well-worn court I am from shutter to lens I am chocolate, delicious and untouched I am obsessed with free Wi-Fi I am from a big family, with some people I don’t know I am a 5-star admiral on the Xbox 360 I am sport, family and fun I am about being fair and caring I am from Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Eragon, Graceling and other must-reads. I am from “Toughen up Princess” I’m the lightning across the sky I’m the rolling thunder that follows I am working hard and having fun I am jumping off the pier in summer I am mum telling me to clean my room I am from learning new things every day I am rosebud pub I am a singlet on a hot summers day I am mum telling me to call my sister I am brave, outgoing and curious. I am a leader. I am AFL in September I am Year 7 at Woodleigh Most of all, I am Me

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

The Wonders of Gariwerd It is often hard to remember what you feel. You remember fragments of what you saw, the blank spaces filled with the pictures you hold, the feelings replaced by words - yet neither is real. Sometimes, however, exceptions occur. Times when emotion rules over. When that sense of awe is still there. Hours, days later. A view. An amazing, beautiful, inspiring view - is one of those times.

M t H otham S now C amp At 7.30am on a Sunday morning, the Mt Hotham camp group left Woodleigh for a fun and exciting week up in the mountains. We started getting excited as the snow gradually appeared as the bus ascended. The next day we clicked on our skis and strapped on our boards for a lesson to help develop our techniques to get us down the mountain. We had lessons every morning followed by two sessions of skiing down a variety of runs. Some of us decided to challenge ourselves by going down black runs whilst others preferred to stay comfortable on blue runs. The weather cleared up on Wednesday, which made skiing so much more pleasant as the sun lit up the brilliant blue sky. This camp was truly fantastic. Jacques Palisse – Y9

P hotography camp The day I got my Activities Camp booklet I already knew what I would like to do for the week; Photography. Before the camp I would take photographs, but I never really knew how to use the DSLR Cameras and Photoshop, but at the end of the week I knew it like the back of my hand! We started the week by learning the basics of the cameras like how to adjust your ISO, aperture and the shutter speed. After that we went around the school to get some photos of the environment at Woodleigh and started to play around with natural light. We were introduced to the magic of Photoshop and how to get that airbrushed look! On the Wednesday we took the train into the city. For half the time we were in the city we walked around the city in groups of three or more and took photos of a variety of sights in Melbourne, including architecture, people, parklands and iconic buildings, and we got food of course! After that we all joined back up and had a tour of the Street Art around Melbourne with a Professional Photographer. This was great because before this, I never really appreciated Street Art and it was great to document this from behind the lens.

When you look up, after staring at your feet, with the world spread out beneath. With the wind blowing gently, cooling the heat in your cheeks. Watching the birds fly, glide, twist and turn. Usually above - but now below. Yes the image will fade but the feeling will stay.

No one will forget it, or remain untouched. There are some things that need not be repeated to be remembered. This is it! The Wonders of Gariwerd Camp made use of the natural attractions of the Grampian National Park. Students participated in a number of walks, a visit to the Brambuk Aboriginal Cultural Centre, abseiling and rock climbing. Katherine Roberston – Y10

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

When the week finally came to an end we all needed to have at least 5 photos for the Gallery. Everyone captured some great shots and there was a real range of photos types and subjects. I really enjoyed this camp and I highly recommended it if you love to take photos and want to get good at using Photoshop! Noah Mosele – Y8

F u n , F ood and F itness I bought some salty chocolate at one of the shops on our Lygon Street Foodies Tour. I wanted to share it with my family and I wanted to try something new. Laura I am proud of myself for trying my best in the tree surfing and overcoming my fear of heights. Kiara The free range marinated beef, in the first shop we visited on our Foodies tour, was so tender and rich in flavor it was a new experience for me. Gabby Making our meal at Bay Play Lodge turned out really well. We made chicken carbonara pasties and Toblerone Mousse from scratch. It was great that we were able to buy some of the food at the Dandenong Market. It was delicious!

Maybel & Skye – Y7

H orse R iding I n T he H igh Co u ntry This Activities Week, I wanted a challenge of a different kind. As we arrived most of us had little riding experience, and were all nervous about how we would manage such large animals for five days.

We were lucky enough to have beautiful weather, and experienced some amazing views over Mt Stirling and Mt Buller. We all came to appreciate how strong and agile our horses were, as they climbed huge hills with determination as we held on for dear life.

After only one hour of riding, we were charged by hundreds of alpacas from the neighbouring property, challenging our already shaky confidence. Somehow, we all made it out unscathed, and moved on to enjoy a fantastic five days.

By the end of the first day, all of us had complete trust in our horses (not to mention a sore lower half!).

AC TI V ITI E S

week Cross Country Ski Camp Ice covered slopes and rolling mountains were just some of the amazing things we witnessed on Cross Country Ski Camp. We began by learning the ropes of crosscountry skiing on the beautiful alpine range of Dinner Plain. Throughout the week we explored several locations including JB Plain, where we took shelter in an old hut, Wire Plain and Paw Paw Plain, where we constructed an igloo fit for an Eskimo. Our final challenge was to ski from Mt Hotham to Dinner Plain, passing our igloo in the process. After a long day of skiing, which included 12 kilometers of treacherous terrain, we headed back to our luxurious lodge. This camp was a brilliant experience, testing our physical and mental limits, spending time with people we wouldn’t usually interact with and providing us with life long skills that we will undoubtedly use again. Thanks are given to the teachers who made this experience possible and to all of the parents, who likewise, made this experience possible. Jack Hall – Y8, Ned Middlehurst – Y8 & Lachie Muiriden – Y10

We were all very grateful for the McCormack’s warm hospitality, and I hope one day to return to experience another wonderful adventure. I highly recommend this camp to all! Sammy Nutt – Y10

VO LC A N I C PL AINS CO N S E RVAT I O N CAMP We completed almost 500 hours of volunteer conservation work at the three Victorian Conservation Reserves involved in the Eastern Quoll Recovery Team: Mt Rothwell, Tiverton and Dunkeld Pastoral Company. Another successful Volcanic Plains Camp.

We planted grasses around frog bogs, collected Bandicoot poo for the purpose of training sniffer dogs, cleaned up Wallaby poo from the Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby pens, cutting tree branches for the Wallaby pens, tracked the Tiger Quolls and set traps to catch them, we worked hard cutting down South African Box-thorn, Tree Lucerne, English Hawthorne and Golden Ash. We went hunting, we built 50 nesting boxes for Feathertail Gliders, Sugar Gliders and Squirrel Gliders and hung about half of them in majestic River Red Gums along the Wannon River, planted 200 trees and shrubs along the river, fixed up tree guards that had been trampled by kangaroos and finally gassed rabbits in their warrens. Then we finished our week with a celebratory dinner at the world famous three hat Royal Mail Hotel on Thursday night and walked it off by climbing Mt Sturgeon on Friday morning. Quolls hiding away Mt Rothwell, the place to be, Wallabies hop by

Dylan Bolch – Y7

A simple task here Onlooking the road ahead Watching and waiting

Keeley Baptist – Y8

Graceful through the mud Undoubtedly tired too We fall back to Earth

Anon

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Ceramics Camp

URBAN ADVENTURE

During this week, a group of Year 7s to Year 11s explored the possibilities of ceramics.

Activities Week Camp was the perfect mid-term break from schoolwork and a chance to explore new environments and develop friendships and bonds between other students.

Throughout the week, we were given the opportunity to discuss, create and reflect on a range of ceramic techniques. I thoroughly enjoyed spinning a clay bowl on the wheel and creating a range of boxes, bowls, plates and sculptures. This was a fantastic opportunity to not only develop my knowledge and pottery techniques but to also develop my own style and feel rewarded with the end product I produced. I believe everyone would agree it was a great camp week. Rebecca Boehme – Y11

HEALTHY LIFESTYLES Wellbeing Camp Wellbeing camp was certainly one of the most entertaining camps. The week was jam-packed full of fun, educational and downright entertaining activities. We did things like visit Peninsula Fresh Organics, visit Shiva Ashram, make natural body products, had a visit from a dietician, had a Zumba lesson, ate delicious food mindfully, and somehow managed to fit in daily meditation and yoga lessons. We went from kale chips, to Toolba, with a little bit of ‘how much cream have you had’ and ‘the struggle is real’, right back to ‘majandz’ (you had to be there). It was an amazing week filled with learning, entertainment and fun. Wellbeing Camp is something I will never forget! Rebecca Gynes – Y9

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

This year I was lucky enough to be a part of ‘Urban Adventure’. This was an exciting five-day camp based in the city that allowed us to complete challenging yet fun activities in the city. We caught the bus up to the city everyday to do numerous activities at Medibank Icehouse, Etihad Stadium, MSAC, Bounce, Vic Markets & indoor climbing at Hardrock. The highlight of this camp for me was the 20km bike from Southbank to St Kilda; it was a great way to view the sights and landmarks of the city.

Screen Printing During Activities Week of 2014, a group of keen young artists took a screenprinting adventure with Ms Ward and Paula (a practicing artist). It was definitely an amazing experience with many new skills learnt by all, including stencil printing, photographic printing and texturized prints. It was great fun to be able to come up with your own t-shirt designs and bring them to life; everyone took home heaps of really awesome prints on tshirts and canvas. A week well spent! Sam Ginsberg – Y9

MTB CAMP SNOWSPORTS RACE TEAM A week of pure amazement and shredding at Falls Creek, what more could we ask for? It’s been a great week of training and skiing for

riding the chairlift with your friends, and that is exactly what this camp has delivered. What an awesome week with a lot of awesome people!

“There were some particularly impressive results with 11 students making it through to the Nationals competition at Perisher” all of us and I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we have all improved our racing and freeriding. This is my first time at interschool racing, but after a solid week of training I already feel confident with the rest of the guys. With the help of our own race instructors we are on the way to being trained and ready for our races at Mt Buller. But its not just all skiing, there is plenty of time for monopoly, chill time, but nothing beats a day of flying down the slopes, shredding up the terrain park, and

The week after camp we headed to Mt Buller for the Interschool Competition and everyone gave it their absolute best. There were some particularly impressive results with 11 students making it through to the Nationals competition at Perisher in NSW. Congratulations to Kelsie Vickery, Sam Parker, Will Burdon-Smith, Elliot Cameron, Cal Donaldson, Ben McKenzie, Ollie McEnroe, Damon Thomas, Eamon Magree, Beau Findlater and Tomáš McKenzie.

With its many different challenges and activities, Camp Week is a definite highlight of my first year at Woodleigh. I was in the MTB Trails activity, run by Mr Stephens and Mr Landman. During the week we worked on a variety of skills such as: riding safely through rock gardens, small rock ledges, pump tracks, jumps, log obstacles, and lots more. But the main thing we worked on was beating our personal best. At the end of the week all of us felt more confident trying new challenges that at first seemed daunting. We rode our bikes around two different State Parks devoted to MTB riding. The You Yangs National Park has two main areas and we started our week by exploring the easier one called “Kurrajong”. Building our confidence on relatively easy tracks was a great way to start off the camp. On Tuesday and Wednesday we took a shorter drive to Lysterfield State Park, where we took a closer look at developing our skills, and did some time trials. Thursday was the most challenging day of the week. With its steep rock gardens and ledges, the 2nd area of the You Yangs National Park, the “Stockyards”, pushed all of us to our limits. We finished off our fantastic week with a day of pure fun at Lysterfield again. We spent the day riding down all our favourite tracks, and doing time trials again. When I got a much faster time than on Tuesday, it became evident that I definitely had improved. This camp wasn’t just about riding bikes, it was about building confidence, it was about pushing yourself, it was about taking risks, but most of all, it was Griffin O’Neill – Y7 about having fun.

Yarrawonga Golf

As we headed off in the mini bus filled with over twenty boys and two girls (including myself) to Yarrawonga, the thought crossed my mind; I don’t know how to play golf. I had played a few rounds of mini golf but that was the extent of my golf career. Here I was embarking on a week jam packed with golf and I wasn’t sure if I could even hit a ball. In the first round of golf we played it was clear throughout the week my game would greatly improve because as it turned out, it could not possibly get worse. The amazing teachers however responded quickly to my needs and the itinerary was altered so the rest of the days could be enjoyed rather than taking ten plus shots on every hole. The camp catered for all abilities, Ryan Lindsay – Y11 some people being quite talented and others like myself who had no way to Bayplay go but up. Along with the golf we enjoyed great dinners filled with laughs and all For our first year at Woodleigh this was a great round good times. One of the most surprising things I learnt from the camp start to Activities camp week. We were in Bayplay. This was the massive amount of food teenage boys consume. I would pack myself involved snorkelling, scuba diving and water activities. Our favourite was one roll for lunch while others limited themselves to four. We were fortunate snorkelling with the seals because they were so amazing to watch swim and enough to have lovely accommodation that was a far cry from the tents jump out of the water. Woodleigh students have become accustomed to. On this camp we learnt about our strengths and weaknesses through I would recommend this camp to all, it allows for experienced players the challenges we faced with lots of fun at the same time. This is an amazing to improve their game and complete beginners to learn the art of golf and camp and I would recommend it for anyone that loves the water. Bianca Julicher – Y7 have a blast! Liv Cook – Y11

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

A mazing R ace It was Monday morning, and we rocked up at Fed Square expecting an easy, no-homework week to cruise through. Apparently this is not what the Amazing Race is about. We found ourselves solving clues to find our destination, jumping on trains and trams all over the place, pretending to be enthusiastic about dancing and solving confusing challenges. All this happened with a smartphone in one hand and our laminated map in the other. We went to bed earlier than we had in years, completely exhausted at night. But the fun we had throughout the week made it utterly worth it. We learned that the race is not always to the swift or the strong – just make sure you catch the tram going in the right direction. Danielle Lewis & Katie Lee – Y9 Leo Pryor & Jesse Vienet – Y10

P re - D river E d u cation The week spent at METEC in Kilsyth on the Pre-Driver Education course provided us with many opportunities to learn about road rules, general driving safety and potential hazards whilst on the road. The classroom sessions were interesting and made us think about how we would perform as drivers and how well we know our road rules. Of course, the highlight of each day was being able to drive a manual car around the 5.5km course. We learnt how to make three-point turns, hand brake starts, reverse slalom and how to change gears smoothly. For some of us as first-time drivers, it was hard to get used to changing gears, but we got the hang of it by the end of the week. Doing the beer-glasses activity was really hilarious, but we now don’t underestimate the influence of drugs and alcohol on driving safely. It was great that a number of us gained our Learner’s Permit and will now be able to get out there and practice. The hardest thing will be convincing our parents to help us gain the number of hours required, but after this course, they will certainly feel more confident about accompanying us out on the roads.

Aviation C amp The week started with fine weather, which only got better throughout the camp. This is virtually unheard of for an aviation camp in August and the students were able to fly as much as they liked. Liam Bullard was keen to get his flying hours up and by Tuesday afternoon, flew solo in a Cessna 152 for the first time. He still isn’t allowed to drive solo in a car yet. Lachy Angel won the inaugural Woodleigh Aviators Competition in fine form with a win in the Race to Devil Bend and a near perfect spot landing. Our only Year 7 on camp, Marshall Grande, along with Brooke Ellis and Will Blackney, flew many circuits of the Tyabb Airport and will be flying solo very soon. The highlight of the week for all though, would have to be that the students all beat Mr Scott in the Race to Devil Bend. Will he ever live it down? Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Red Hill Riders Ahhhh riding over hilltops covered with fresh grass and spring daisies, on a beautiful horse with all your friends, the sun covering your face in a warm and bright ray of sunshine. Sounds picturesque and sounds like something you would find in a fairytale right? Wrong! You can find this beautiful setting right here on the Mornington Peninsula. As the sun rises over Woodleigh the Red Hill Riders of 2014 strutting their gear burst through into the library. The wave of excitement they bring with them was astounding. We are all ready to set off for the Arthurs Seat riding school. After a quick pep talk from Ms Hayes and Ms Clifton we hop on the bus. When we arrive at the very movie-ish like, family friendly

riding school, we get introduced to Elizabeth. She puts us on our horses and off we head for the first trail ride of the week. From here on in it just gets even faster and exciting because everyone is getting better at handling their horses and get to move at a quicker pace. I think that there was one good highlight about this camp and one bad but a kind of funny one. All right it’s always good to start on a good note. So Thursday rolls around and after we had finished riding and have cleaned up all our stuff we head off to Rosebud for some fish and chips on the beach. Now there is only one thing that is better than fish and chips on the beach and that is, fish and chips while sitting on a jetty, dangling your

MIWATJ This year for activities week I headed up to North-East Arnhem land for the second year in a row. On the 17th of August, seven students and three teachers left the cold Melbourne weather to immerse ourselves in a whole other world, a way of life that, to us, seemed unstructured and foreign however to Yolnu people was their normal lifestyle. This year was special because we were able to get the opportunity to spend time in two different communities Dhalinybuy then Garrthalala. After visiting Yirrkala and the wonderful Indigenous art gallery that exhibited art from the local area there, we then travelled inland to Dhalinybuy and spent a few days there before heading to the coast to visit Garrthalala for the remainder of our trip. It was great to go back to Garrtalala as this is where I visited last year and already had strong connections with the people there. However it was also an amazing experience to visit Dhalinybuy for the first time, as I was able to feel the same overwhelming feeling of meeting new people as I did the year before. Time spent in the first Homeland community involved constant engagement with the kids and participating in some cultural practices, basket weaving for the miyalk (women) and spear making for the dirramu (men). For the students who had never been up before it was amazing to see how well they were able to relate. Within the first few hours of being at Dhalinybuy, everybody was immersed in the community, either off playing endless amounts of basketball with the kids or peacefully sitting and

legs over crystal clear water while you watch a gigantic pod of dolphins swim off into the horizon. What a perfect day. Now for the bad news. So on Tuesday we head off just like we did Monday but we decided to go on another route, one that the horses hadn’t been on in 3 months. As we head off down the track all the horses get really excited and start to canter. As we head around a corner Ms Hayes’ horse pig roots and shy’s sideways and she falls off her horse. Even though we had a couple of difficult times, I have got to admit this will be one heck of a week I’ll be remembering for years to come. Rose Clancy-Dillon – Y7

talking to the Elders. It was not till the second day at Dhalinybuy however when our group was made to feel truly a part of the community. This is when the adoptions occur. As I recall from last year, the adoption process is overwhelming as within minutes of being assigned your Yolnu name, besides the person who is adopting you, you all of sudden have countless new family members. The process of being adopted is special

these are. My name is Barnumbirr meaning morning star, other examples were names like Biyay’ (Goanna) or Dakawa (fresh water yabbie). Although I was not adopted into Dhalinybuy I was still made to feel apart of the community as it became clear how interlinked all the communities are. I was asked who I was adopted by and what my Yolnu name was; this instantly provided me with more new family members that I was unaware of.

because it signifies that you have been truly accepted and embraced by the community. It was amazing to see everyone go through this process, all having the same look of joy and confusion on their faces as I did when I was adopted into Garrthalala the year before. Everyone is assigned their Yolnu name based on a combination of physical and personality attributes, although sometimes it is never really clear what

Our time in Dalhinybuy ended with a trip to the local waterhole where we were able to swim and jump off rock platforms about 3m. Although some of us were a little bit apprehensive about swimming in an area that seemed like home to a baru (crocodile); we were told that, because there were waterfalls just up stream, the baru could not reach this waterhole. This was somewhat reassuring.

We then headed to Garrtalala. Although there were not nearly as many kids there and it was very quiet in comparison to the previous year. it was good to get a warm welcome from the kids I knew. Alana and I were greeted with smiles and instant invitations to the basketball court. It felt like we had never left. Although it was all the other Woodleigh students first time here and it took a little bit longer for them to settle into the community especially after the experience at Dhalinybuy, everyone soon felt at home. They discovered much like I did at Dhalinybuy that they too had family in this other community. The most memorable part of Garrthalala for me was being able to see BJ again, he is my wawa (brother) who I was adopted by last year. Our time in Garrtalala was very different there as there was less constant activity with the kids; we learnt a lot about Yolnu culture and history from the Elders such as Multhara Munungurr. She put a lot of time and energy in sharing her wisdom with us and I know for me, but I am sure for everyone else as well, that it was invaluable content that we learnt about the land and the people. When Mr Aldenhoven (Biyaye) asked me to write an article for the magazine I knew instantly that it would not be an easy task. Both my Miwatj trips have been profound and it is next to impossible to explain the effect it has on you or even put into words the experience that I have had. All I can say is that I strongly recommend this trip to anyone who is interested in putting themselves out of their comfort zone and getting a truly rewarding experience.

Mayra Cuming – Y11

Beginners’ Surf Camp For us, surf camp was swell. It was one ripper of a tide, oh sorry time. Despite our chilly start to the week, by Friday we were catching barrels in the green room. We had a smashing experience with the ocean kayaking and a stunning bike ride through the forest with laughs from Hannah’s stacks and Suttie’s break downs every five minutes. We couldn’t have asked for a better and funnier group of people to be carvin’ those waves with for the week. Thanks to the teachers for Nick’s tuning tips and of course the great loud classics on the radio. Surf camp was gnarly! Esse McCarthy & Tilly Hiscock – Y9

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Brian Henderson Reserve

Gravity Zone

Yoga

Macrame

I love animals and I wanted to learn more which is why I chose the Brian Henderson Reserve Activity. We learnt what the animals in the reserve eat and we got to pat ‘Tom’ one of the quolls and helped make him friendly and more familiar with people.

Gravity Zone was my favourite Activity because I love jumping and doing tricks on trampolines. I learnt new tricks such as a front flip, backhand sprint and a front aerial. It has helped with my circus skills. I was helping others learn tricks and making up routines and filming them. Maybel Gardner HS4

I chose the Yoga Activity because I wanted to try something new that I had never done before. I learnt how to be calm in sticky situations and also ask my body only what I can do. A funny moment during the sessions was when we were doing really weird stretches that looked a bit awkward. The other Activities were good but I loved Yoga the best. It was fantastic!

I chose to do the Macrame Activity because I thought it would be fun to learn something new. We learnt how to tie different types of knots and to make a plant hanger. It was great being able to experience it with my friends.

Caley Hood HS3

My favourite Activity was the Brian Henderson Reserve because I love working with animals. We learnt what they do in the Reserve and how to look after the flora and fauna. My best memory was when we walked the turtles, blue tongued lizard and the snake. I love having the Brian Henderson Reserve as an Activity.

Animals and Gardens My favourite Activity was Animals, Gardens and More, it was fun and I really like it up at the farm. I learnt how to give sheep medicine and also how to handle them. During the sessions we built a shelter for the lambs.

Harrison Broomhall HS6

Ella-Grace Salmon HS7

During Yoga I learnt lots of different things about connecting with your body and using your breath as a tool to relax yourself. I enjoyed the meditation at the end of each class because it was

Shelby Donnelly HS3

Dance and Choreography Dance and Choreography was my favourite Activity because I love dance and calisthenics and being able to choreograph my own routines. I learnt a series of dance routines, playing to my strengths. The friendships I made were spectacular. Tayla Brough HS6

Maddy Balcombe HS1

Fishing My favourite Activity was Fishing in Term 1. I wanted to do this Activity because I like fishing as it’s always interesting to see a piece of bait turn into a fish. During the sessions we were taught how to gut and fillet the different types of fish that we caught. A funny moment during this Activity was when I hooked someone swimming under the pier and I tried reeling them in thinking it was a big fish. Oakley Davis HS4

Indoor Rock Climbing I like Rock Climbing but I’m also a little bit afraid of heights which is why I chose to do this Activity. It was a great opportunity to face my fear and climb the vertical walls. One memory that I have is of the tunnel because it was dark and 100m long.

Franny Richardson HS7

I chose Indoor Climbing because it is fun! I learnt how to climb the wall only using colours and was able to do a climb in the bouldering area that not many other students could do. My funniest memory was when someone had almost finished a climb but fell off before completing it. Ryan Tzeremes HS4

Gravity Zone I love trampolines and learning how to do tricks which is why Gravity Zone was the perfect Activity for me. I learnt how to front flip, do a walkover and I nearly got to complete an aerial. My favourite memory was when I did a front hand spring walkover and I couldn’t help but laugh when I tried copying another student but ended up face planting instead.

Amelia Fithall HS6

“I hooked someone swimming under the pier and I tried reeling them in thinking it was a big fish.” Wellness and Sustainability Wellness and Sustainability was my favourite Activity and I chose it because it looked like it would be fun. We learnt about the environment and how to make candles and also made juices and went on walks. Lily Turner HS3

Photography I wanted to do this Activity because my sister had participated in the Activity Week Photography camp and it looked fun! We were taught how to take a professional photo and I enjoyed going with my friend and doing modelling.

Jessica Trewin HS7

Girls Football Girls’ Football was my favourite Activity because I got to meet heaps of new people and learn new skills. I wanted to try something that I’d never done before which is why I chose this Activity. I learnt how to kick a football and how to work as a team when playing football. What made me laugh was falling on my butt every time I tried to take a specky.

Amber Engwerda HS3

Cross Country The Cross Country Activity was my favourite because it helped improve my fitness and I enjoy running. During the sessions we learnt different types of running and fitness techniques. I also enjoyed the Brian Henderson Reserve Activity with the kangaroos following us around everywhere.

Christian Hodder-Packer HS3

really relaxing.

Quincy Seagren HS4

Skating at the Shed My favourite Activity this year was Skating at the Shed because I skate and I thought it would help me improve. I learnt how to do frontside 50-50’s and a backside boneless in the bowl. I will remember all the good times skating with my mates. I had a laugh when one of my friends fell over and ripped a hole in his pants. Felix Hosken HS7

Fitness for Fun I wanted to do this Activity because I wanted to do something productive and get out of my comfort zone. I learnt new techniques and fitness routines that helped my core muscles. I will remember the feeling of accomplishment after my first class, I really had not wanted to do it and ended up enjoying myself every time. Sophie Jinks HS7

SSI Snorkel Diver I did this Activity because I wanted to learn how to snorkel and have fun. My favourite memory was when we came across a giant stingray and it scared everyone. I had a great time snorkelling and would recommend it to anyone.

Harley Blake-McLeish HS6

Snorkel Diver was my favourite Activity because I love the ocean and it’s so much fun to see all of the fish. We learnt how to snorkel and information about the sea creatures we saw, such as the seahorse, stingray and box fish.

Erin Doherty HS3

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Ceramics – Teapots and Crazy Clocks I wanted to do this Activity because it sounded cool and I love using clay. We were taught different techniques and ways to use clay. It was great being with my friends and seeing what everyone made.

Charlotte McCarthy HS4

Triathlon My favourite Activity was Triathlon because I wanted to get fit physically so I could do competitions. I learnt all the strategies to make you feel less tired and make you go faster. What I will remember from this Activity is seeing everyone trying their hardest and doing well.

Josh McMillan HS6

Fur and Fleece Frenzy I did this Activity because I love sewing and you get the choice of what you want to make. During the sessions I learnt new sewing techniques and also another way to thread a bobbin. I enjoyed meeting new people who like the same things as me.

Holly Evans HS2

Wood for Beginners Wood for Beginners was my favourite Activity because I like building things. We had the opportunity to make a box and a cheeseboard and it was a great way to make new friends.

Chelsea Bracchi HS2

Year 7 Comments on Activities - 2014

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Young Round Square Conference 2014 -

F rench E xchange Almost one year on from our exchange experience and everyday we still think and reflect on the amazing times that we shared, but also on the challenges that we faced and things that we learnt.

on the Champs Elysees. We were given some freedom to stroll this famous street in our little groups and enjoyed looking at the luxury shops, bakeries and buildings that makes this street so world renowned. We made our way to the Christmas Markets, which had us filled up with nutella churros in no time.

After getting off the plane after our 24 hours of travel, we finally emerged into the Parisian air and were welcomed into the City Of Love by blue skies. The buildings that surrounded us reminded us of where we were, the classic balconies covered in flowers and cafes serving coffee and croissant lined the streets. Our hotel, a picturesque

The final day we were able to visit the Notre Dame and the Catacombs, giving us a different insight into the city and its history, before packing up and heading to Lyon. The nerves were raw on that two-hour train ride, with everyone anxious to meet the host family that they would be staying with for the next six weeks.

“To be part of a French school community so different to Woodleigh School was eye opening, we didn’t realise schooling could be so different!”

woke up excited for the week ahead; it was 2.30am and I was pumped for what was to come. My parents drove me to Melbourne Airport where I met the five other students who were coming and Mr Stephens and Ms Clifton who were accompanying us on the trip. We were going to the Young Round Square Conference for 2014. This year’s host school was Kings College, which is situated in Auckland, New Zealand. After a short two-hour plane ride we arrived in Auckland where some Barazza Leaders, older students who would lead or discussions and activities for the week, greeted us. King’s College is very different to Woodleigh; it has boarding houses and it is predominantly concrete courtyards around brick buildings. Kings College also had a Church onsite. This was vastly different to Woodleigh as Woodleigh has a larger connection to the environment. The week was super fun but some aspects of the conference really stood out. I really enjoyed making new friends that I got to know really well throughout the week. I exchanged email addresses with some kids and we have managed to keep in touch well after the conference. I also enjoyed climbing Rangitoto Island. This was a scenic walk that half of the delegates did. Even though this was an amazing walk, it was very taxing. Everyone was buggered after the walk and we all slept well that night. I also really liked the JUMP! session. JUMP! was a session where we talked about global issues. The most raised issue was global poverty, which is something I feel really passionate about. After the session we were asked to write down two things; one was something you were going to do at home to help the world, and the second was something you would do to help change the world globally. Since the conference I have done Live Below the Line and the 40 Hour Famine which are two fundraisers striving to help cull global poverty. The keynote speakers were terrific too! I especially liked Mike Weber who talked to us about changing the world for the better but through taking little steps at a time. Another highlight of the trip was learning the Traditional Maori dance, the wellknown Haka. The Haka is a lively dance which the New Zealand national Rugby side does before the game. This is supposed to intimidate the opposition. All in all the conference was an amazing experience and one that I will never forget. Dylan Bolch – Y7

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

pink and white doll’s house up a cobblestone street, was just a short walk away from a bustling square, which gave us plenty of choices for our first dinner in France. We struggled to stay awake but managed to eat our very French three-course meal, which consisted of escargots (of course) goats cheese salad, various roasts and apple crumble for desert. The first day in Paris presented a few challenges, such as getting confused in the Metro, but we got the hang of the Parisian way and any negatives were hugely outweighed by the positives, such as walking happily along the Seine, browsing through the Louvre, locking our locks on the famous lock bridge and ordering our first breakfast in French! Deux croissant chocolat et un chocolat chaud s’il vous plait! The second day was absolutely glorious, and we powered through so that we could fit as much as possible into the day. First stop, the Eiffel Tower. Standing on the top, looking over the incredible city, we were reminded of why we had chosen this unique experience; for these simply breathtaking moments. We also ticked off Sacre Coeur, Montmartre, and the Arc de Triomphe and had a delicious lunch

Living with a French family as a teenager and interacting with new people on a daily basis was both challenging and rewarding, as it allowed us all to expand our communication skills and to form incredible bonds. To be part of a French school community so different to Woodleigh School was eye opening, we didn’t realise schooling could be so different! The days were long, the classes full and there were big differences in the interactions between teachers and students, however the students were very kind and helpful and all enjoyed having a shiny new Australian to question, practice their English on and show around their home town. French school took up almost four weeks of our trip, the other two weeks being the Christmas/New Year holidays. While the snow refused to fall on Christmas Day, many of us were lucky enough to be taken into the French Alps for the break, while others ventured to Barcelona and other places with their host families. Christmas in France has some different traditions, but certainly the same amount of food! All in all, it was a truly life changing experience and I know I cannot wait to get back to my French family and the crazy streets of Lyon and Paris.

Casley Rowan – Y11

I n d i a n Exc h a n g e D e c e m b e r 2 013 India India India, where do I start? My initial impressions were of bright colours, a plethora of people, of course the Taj Mahal - and without doubt - curries! We did come across all of these things, but not in any way we could have imagined. After almost 24 hours of travel we arrived in Indore and met our host families with whom we would be staying with for one week. I speak on behalf of all the girls when I say that they were so welcoming and friendly, which was exactly what we needed after our journey. Moving on to our delightful escapades in Indore. We attended Daly College, which is rumoured to be the 2nd best

school in all of India, the cream of the crop private school-wise. Their campus was literally a separate suburb, painted with flowers and trees around every corner, manicured lawns, dozens of buildings and an auditorium the size of Frankston Arts Centre. At the school we went to their annual Round Square fundraising fete, fishing competitions, and the Junior and Senior School concerts. The school also organised for us to go on a two-day trip to a place called Mandu, where we witnessed some of the most beautiful and ancient temples, ruins and palaces. Despite the hot sticky weather we could become engrossed in India’s raw and genuine history. Our time in Indore concluded with saying good-bye to our families in the early hours of the morning to catch, yes another, plane trip back to Delhi. Delhi was even more of an adventure because we had to be more independent as a family was not hosting us. Delhi was even more of an eye-opener as we were immediately surrounded by thousands of beeping horns, cows lying in the middle of - what it would seem, but it was so busy we couldn’t quite establish where the lines were, highways - stray dogs everywhere, and so many people that I think I am now a claustrophobe. Whilst staying in this city that is con-

stantly moving, St. Mary’s hosted us. Again, a very busy school, one would never have thought that you would meet the friendliest, happiest and accommodating students and staff. At the school we attending some of their classes, played sport, sung with the junior music classes, learnt traditional dances and, much to our hesitation, spoke in front of their entire class of Year 11 and 12’s. This school was vastly different as it was four storeys high, had maybe five trees, and much more people suffocated into a much smaller area. This was both confronting and wilding eye-opening. It was more of the India we were expecting but not really at all ready for, which was good for all of us. St. Mary’s organised for us to go for a four day trip to see the Taj Mahal,

H idden away amongst this crowded, lau ndry ridden , wildly over pop u lated area was t h i s b e au t i f u l a n d co lo u r f u l l i t t l e s c h o o l . A bo u t fo u r storeys high , filled with smiling c h i l d r e n , down to earth teachers and e x tremely good facilities , it can be fair to say that w e w e r e a s to u n d e d with this school a n d i t s pe o pl e . Agra and Jaipur, these places are filled with the most intricate yet grand historical monuments and of course fantastic shopping. The Taj Mahal was utterly magical. You see photos, and hear stories but there is no postcard that could properly convey the pure magnificence and enrapturing grandeur. Our trip to the Golden Triangle was cut short due to someone *cough cough* myself *cough cough* becoming rather unwell. But skipping the details, we made it back to Delhi for our final week. It was here that we went to the slum school in Katha, which did not even look remotely like what we thought a

broadening horizons slum school would look like. Hidden away amongst this crowded, laundry ridden, wildly over-populated area was this beautiful and colourful little school. About four storeys high, filled with smiling children, down to earth teachers and extremely good facilities, it can be fair to say that we were astounded with this school and its people. India truly just kept throwing us swerve balls because this was noth-

ing like what we had imagined. At the Katha School we worked with the students from Year 11 and 12 on the issue of climate change. The language barrier was a bit harder this time compared to the other schools, but we managed. We half-discussed, half ‘got a teacher to translate’ what we had to say about climate change, and then made huge posters on the differences between how global warming affects Australia and India. Before we knew it, our time in India had come to a close. Chapter by chapter our trip to India couldn’t have been more memorable. The people we met, the friendships we made, the foods we tried that made us – and by us I mean me – cry, the curries we basically breathed in, and the stories we experienced are now safely locked away into the box in our memory that has the plain label on it saying: ‘things I will never forget’. We will never be able to give enough thanks to Ms (Mama) Borley, and Mr Pilgrim for absolutely everything, and of course Mr Bolch who made all of this possible. To all the girls that went, I am so utterly glad we are as close as we are, I don’t think I could have made it through this trip without you guys. Dhan’yavāda Rhiannon Van Vliet – Y11

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

BARNUM

BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE

reating a production often starts with an idea of wanting to create a show that is not only fantastic, but memorable. One that sets a bench mark in the creative arts. Embarking on such a journey requires a few key things. Incredibly professional directors/producers, a cast with so much energy nothing is impossible and one critical element: drive and determination. Woodleigh’s Barnum was the epitome of hard work, determination and dedication. Without being too biased, Barnum demonstrated the results of devotion and enthusiasm, and will be a show to live up to for many years to come. Barnum follows the life of Phineas Taylor Barnum (P.T. Barnum), an American showman come businessman intent on giving the world a glimpse of his imagination and dreams. He saw colours, freaks of nature and entertainment so dazzling and bewildering no man could close his eyes or resist a look. Phineas Taylor’s world consisted of a 160 year old woman, 25 inch men and a woman 8 ½ feet tall with a beard. He wanted to fool the world or, as he referred to it, ‘humbug’ people, which lead him to never allow the truth to get in the way of a good story and ‘what the folks don’t know, can’t hurt them’. Barnum is credited with the phrase: “There’s a sucker born every minute”, and it led him to embark on his entertainment career. Woodleigh’s performance of Barnum was a spectacle intended to be seen by children of all ages. The buzz and feeling of being part of a show or a cast is one of the best natural thrills available. Every show has its ups and down, its issues and its vanquishes, though determination presses out any bumps in the road. Every cyclops, mermaid, clown and acrobat within this cast made this show what it was, and there was not one man (25 inches or otherwise) that let it down. I was truly honored to be a member of the cast, a part of something so grand and memorable. I could not possibly comprehend or fathom the extent and true amazement this show really was. On behalf of the cast I would like to thank Sue and Michael Fletcher and Nick Donaldson for their passion and commitment to every single element in this show, their attention to detail and their visions of beauty and success. Without these three, the show would not be the same and their efforts will be remembered. The 27th, 28th and 29th of August 2014 will be three dates that I will never forget and will remain in my heart for a long time. And it just may well be that Barnum is the ‘Greatest show on Earth!’

There are 3 things to remember about doing tech work for school productions: Be professional, be polite to the actors, and always remember that they couldn’t do the show without you. It can be a thankless job at times. While the roses fly at the cast, you have to carefully ensure that there is sufficient light for them to do so, and that they

It’s been choc-a-block with devising and presenting more ensemble performances than you could poke a (scarf transformed into a) stick at. First up we worked in groups on The Identification: a play created from a stimulus poem about a family identifying their son’s body after an accident. We later worked on more topical ensemble pieces from the point of view of a family’s reaction to the 2014 Budget. Most recently we’ve devised performances set in an aged care home, where we explored the past lives of the residents through flashbacks. As well as these there have been other works, including performing Australian scripts dealing with issues surrounding the Stolen Generation. Our main performance style focuses have been Brecht’s Epic Theatre, and Absurdism. We’ve incorporated elements of these into our pieces, and studied in further detail Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Harold Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter. We have also been enthralled while seeing and analysing performances at the Melbourne Theatre Company and The Malthouse Theatre. Drama has been full of exciting group tasks, being inspired by incredible plays, and brushing up our writing skills. This year I have also been lucky enough to be a part of Melbourne Theatre Company’s (MTC) ambassadors program. This has been an incredible experience that has introduced me to 20 other keen Year 11 Drama students. It’s meant going up to Southbank each month in the afternoon, where we would watch a current MTC show. However, before each performance was where we heard all the wonderful trade secrets. We would have a talk from someone directly involved with the production we were about to see. This could have been an actor, the director, a set, costume or sound designer, or a casting director. Talking to these people gave us in depth insight into their roles in the industry and the rewards along with the challenges. And of course, seeing so much theatre of all different styles has been amazing and something that I mightn’t otherwise had the chance to do. It’s been a wonderful year being immersed in the world of drama and surrounded by passionate people both inside and out of school.

During unit 2 activities this year, I took part in the Junior Production. Our first session was spent acting out the story of the Three Little Pigs, as we decided we would base our performance on a fairy tale, or children’s story. However, we ended up choosing a modernized version of Cinderella. In the first couple of sessions, we sat in a circle and read through the script. After that, we started to stage it. This meant we figured out where the audience would be, and where we would place props and how we would block the scenes. We soon learnt our lines and began working on our characterisation and expressive skills. Then it was time. Time to learn the Disco Duck! We were taught the proper moves to the Disco Duck by the dance teacher, Jodie Dunphy. This song appeared many times throughout the performance. Finally, we organized costumes and props and started doing full run-throughs. In the last week of the activity, we performed our production at Minimbah and Penbank School. I enjoyed making the kids laugh throughout our performance and I hope they enjoyed it too. The whole activity was really fun and I would love to do something like this again.

Max Rowe (P.T. Barnum) Y11

Bobbie Viney – Y11

Juliet Hosler – Y8

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Cosi, and that was when it all really started. Since then I have done Dismal Creek, Mother Courage, assemblies, presentations, Arts week performances and Musicales. From humble beginning as a lighting technician in Year 9, I found myself scriptwriting and being ‘Creative Director’ for the 2014 Autumn Musicale. Am I bragging? Possibly. Do I deserve it? I’ll refrain from

adrenaline-pumping experience of doing a show, or the incredible, proud joy of seeing it run without a hitch. Every time I have done a show, I stand up at the end with the audience to applaud the performers, and I always feel proudas-punch to know that I had a hand in making it a good show. I suppose that in the end, that is the thing that is so good about all of the work I do.

“From humble beginning as a lighting technician in Year 9, I found myself scriptwriting and being ‘Creative Director’ for the 2014 Autumn Musicale. Am I bragging? Possibly. Do I deserve it? I’ll refrain from commenting.” sound good doing it. But the thing is, it’s one of the most rewarding contributions to make. I started back in 2010, when we did The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. That was my first show as a tech, and although I had only one job; which was to push spacebar on a computer at certain intervals, I knew the moment I started, that I would be coming back for more. The next year, I worked on

commenting. Doing this work has been a real adventure, and often, one of the most stressful things in the year. You would think that by the time enough rehearsals had been completed that even I could recite all the actors’ lines for them that the anxiety would be quelled by a sense of preparation. Well, I can assure that it’s not. Even as a technician, nothing prepares you for the unique

YEAR 11 DRAMA Year 11 Drama has been fab.

No matter how hard it is, no matter how stressful it is, there is always the thought that when the curtains fall and the audience erupts with applause, you know that you were a part of it. I know I will miss all of it; the adrenaline, the joy and of course, watching every single performance from the best seat in the house. Alex Miglietti – Y12

Y7/8 Junior Production Cinderella

Year 12 Drama We started off VCE drama this year with our first major task, the VCE Drama Ensemble.

We were split into two groups and we had to create a 30-minute performance about The Black Death. This challenged us to create a performance based in 14th Century England, which we had to relate to a modern day disease from the 21st Century.

DRAMA

Working in a group could be challenging at times with people being absent or away on holidays but everyoneâ€™s hard work created two wonderful performances. It was a rush for both groups to finish but we both pulled it off for a fantastic performance for family and friends at the start of Term 2. During this time we also saw two plays by the Melbourne Theatre Company. We were required to see these so we can write on them in our final exam. The VCE Drama Solo was our other major task for the year. We were required to make a seven-minute performance incorporating props and sound, as well as exploring different character transformations. This was often challenging. My Solo was about a cyclist who wants to convince motorists to give up their cars. I would like to thank the Year 12 Drama class of 2014 for all the wonderful memories over the years. We would also like to thank our awesome teacher Ms. Saunders for helping us and supporting us throughout the year. Kayla Livingstone â€“ Y12

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

year 12 Media Throughout the year media has been an exciting and enjoyable subject. The main focus of the year is the folio, which involves selecting from photography, film, animation and others in order to make a final product. My choice was photography because it suited what I wanted to explore and interested me the most. My overall idea for my photographs was to explore the concept that the environment is able to impact on people’s lives and identities. Other than designing the folio and making our final product we had to learn other core study from the media textbook. First we started by analyzing two media texts; American Beauty directed by Sam Mendes and Submarine directed by Richard Ayoade. The class had to study the texts by learning the lighting techniques, mise en scene, camera techniques and more. After we had finished, we started on investigating the social values and discourses of the 80’s and 90’s whilst analyzing two texts: The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and the Cosby Show. The class investigated what social values were shown throughout the texts and how they changed over time, for example, that African American’s were less educated than the white race, which was a dominant value for some time. Finally we learnt about media influence and the different communication theories that explore how different audiences interpret texts or how they can be affected by them. Within this study we also learnt about media regulation, for example, classification. Overall the entire year has been enjoyable, but my favorite part would have had to be making the folio and being able to create something that meant a lot to me. It gives students a chance to explore what they want without restrictions. Media is a great subject for any student because it gives you insight into what is really happening within the world and that, as an audience, we shouldn’t believe everything we see. It is also incredibly interesting learning about how media texts are made and what techniques have been used, but after doing media you can never watch anything the same again. Although in the future I won’t be doing anything media related at University, I will always see texts from a media student’s point of view. Overall I would recommend any student to study media! F reya Hands – Y12

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

music:

The Music Department is one that I have been very closely acquainted with since the very beginnings of my Woodleigh life. As I had been learning piano for a number of years before I started at the Senior Campus of Woodleigh, I was quickly thrust into the Woodleigh music world. From then on I would be in Jago at least once a week for my piano lessons, and on top of that, pretty much every day for music class. A lot of my best memories of Woodleigh involve Jago and the Music Department in one-way or another. The Musicales were quite often a highlight for me, as I loved the thrill of performing. In fact, my best performing experience ever was during the 2012 Spring Musicale, where I performed with my band Men In Suits as part of the Year 10 Group Music course.

“ my best performing e x perience ever was d u ring the 2 012 S pring M u sicale , where I performed with my band M e n In Suits” One of the best things about the Music Department at Woodleigh is how there is so much involvement with it from lots of students within the school. Sitting in music class, or in a piano lesson and being able to hear students in other rooms practising away on their instrument of choice brings me a sort of odd joy, as I know that other students are enjoying what the Music Department has to offer just as much as I do. The opportunities that arise from the Music Department are incredible. Things such as Musicales, Café Concerts, bands, choirs and ensembles are all on offer from the Woodleigh Music Department. And who could forget the staff, every single one of which are such wonderful and approachable people, and that certainly makes for a very relaxed and enjoyable environment. All in all, the Music Department has been one of my closest friends at Woodleigh and it is going to be incredibly difficult for me to walk out of its doors for the final time at the end of this year. Out of all of the things that I will be saying goodbye to at Woodleigh, the Music Department will be the one that I miss the most. Matt Tinkler – Y12

Resonance was the theme of this year’s festival, and boy, oh boy did the hall resonate loudly with applause and cheers after Jon Arnheim (Y8) sang Talent Quest winning entry ‘La Donne e mobile’ from the opera Rigoletto. After a standing ovation, the sound of Jon’s name resonated through the room and he was crowned as winner of the annual Woodleigh Arts Festival Talent Quest. Second prize went to Daisy Everett (Y9), and Ruby (Y10) and Esse McCarthy (Y9) for their soulful singing and third prize to Year 7 student, Charlie Lane with his amazing rendition of ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ by Johnny Cash. We were blessed to have renowned artist Godwin Broadbeer working in residence throughout the week, taking Middle Years and Senior Art classes and inviting students to work collaboratively on his own pieces. Monday night featured our traditional Festival Opening in the Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Gallery, showcasing work by VCE Studio Arts, Visual Communication and Product Design and Construction students, followed by a showcase concert of VCE performances from Music, Drama and Film students. Visiting artists/performers included Damian Callinan, whose stand up performance thrilled the Woodleigh audi-

ence. Zeal Theatre Company, returning to the festival to perform their play ‘Brat Camp’ and also to run some amazing workshops with students interested in the making of theatre. On Thursday Indigenous Hip Hop Projects brought the whole audience to their feet, literally. Led by Michael Farah, everyone danced and clapped hip hop style. Many workshops ran throughout the week: guitar making with acclaimed luthier Tim Kill, Hip Hop Dance with IHHP, Comedy with Damian Callinan, Theatre making with Zeal Theatre, Cinema Camera Techniques with Ian Jones and returning artists Penny MacDonald, teaching Alexander Technique and Media Industry Skills taught by exWoodleigh student Lee Zachariah. The week culminated with the our biggest ever contingent of Arts Week ‘Dress Ups’, the annual Brian Henderson Wildlife Reserve soiree, and the always entertaining, always amazing VCE film night. This week long celebration of The Arts, both visual and performing is a rare and special thing - and we are all incredibly lucky, priveliged in fact, to work in a school where Art, and creativity is so highly valued and celebrated. Carey Saunders – Festival Director

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Y ear 11 V is u al C omm u nication D esign

his year in Viscom we have explored design and how it communicates with the greater world. We researched the design process from exploration to the final production through; products, music, film, technology, books and publications. We learnt how pieces are presented and marketed, and learnt what makes a good or a GREAT design and the importance of design in executing a final product. We have undergone various tasks and outcomes, which have been excellent skill building techniques, all of which have been practical and theoretical. In Semester 2 we also used industry standard software such as Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop. As well as the use of this professional software we have

& Studio Arts

also been extremely hands on, including orthogonal, illustration, typography and visualisation drawing. It has been an amazing experience, preparing both my classmates and myself for the final year ahead. Studio Arts has been an amazing year from jumping headfirst with life drawing - something no one had never done before and is still personally one of my favorite lessons. Working with guest artist, Godwin Bradbeer during Arts Week was an amazing opportunity and we gained insights into his extraordinary drawing techniques. This year we investigated various mediums to create bodies of work including printmaking, photography, oil painting, ceramics and

other mediums. Every lesson has been exciting, as we just don’t know what we are creating next! As well as practical work we also studied various artists

excursions in and around the city “the hub of art”. Just to mention a few extra curricular activities we were privileged to receive a personal tour of the National

Wor k ing with g u est artist, G o dw i n B r a d b e e r d u ring A rts W ee k was an amazing opport u nity and we gained insights into his e x t r ao r d i n a ry d r aw i n g t e c h n i q u e s . and the techniques they employed when they created their bodies of work/ concepts. This helped us gain inspiration for when we created our own pieces. We have been lucky enough to go on several

Gallery of Victoria and an etching workshop at the Australian Print Workshop in Fitzroy. Costa Virtanen – Y11

Lotte Clifford Y12 VCD

Allana Sharp Y12 Studio Arts

Year 12 Studio Arts

Year 12 Visual Communication Design:

Studio Arts is an experience of exploration and creation. The first half of this year consisted of each student exploring an individual set of ideas and meanings that could potentially become an artwork. This is a process of inspiration, influence and deep thought into what you want to create as an artist, what you want your art to say and the style you want to distinguish. Each person in our class explored different ideas, for me it was the idea of technological consumerism contrasted with human evolution that I wanted to explore. I enjoyed watching everyone’s ideas progress as we went into the second half of the year. This was a time when all our good and not so good ideas are sorted from one another and the basis of our two final artworks is decided. The process of making the works was greatly gratifying, for me this consisted of carrying a couch to a remote sand dune in Wilson’s Prom and having friends stand in the brisk ocean just to take some photos, as well as moulding a heart from modeling clay. For me the process of seeing our whole year level’s artworks come together was incredible. From the vast array of ideas at the start of the year we all managed to produce work that we could be proud of and display knowing the tedious time and hard work was worth it. Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Hannah Jurisic Y11 Art

James Bugg – Y12

In Year 10 Art we explored a variety of artworks and art styles from developing our skills of chiaroscuro and trying to capture the shape and smooth texture of an egg and applying this knowledge and painting our own still life subject on a canvas we prepared. It was working in charcoal and drawing head studies from life that the effects of tonal contrast really came apparent with our artist in residence for Arts Week Festival; Godwin Bradbeer. Not only did we explore different effects and ways of observing objects this Semester through practice but also we saw a range of art from the National Gallery of Victoria, such as the Renaissance and an exhibition by the Martu people of Western Australia called ‘We don’t need a Map’ at McClelland Art Gallery. By the Year 10 Art class

uring my VCE, I completed Units 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Visual Communication and Design, the workload was high and completing a large folio in Unit 4 was a stretch but achievable. As well as this I have completed Units 1, 2, 3 and 4 in Studio Arts where the workload was equal to that of Visual Communication. Both subjects combined created a huge amount of out of class work for me in order to produce quality finals before the deadline. My passion for design and art motivated me to complete the work before the tight deadlines. Completing two folio subjects was a lot of work, but I loved how I had the opportunity to, and was pushed to explore different areas and learn new skills in art and design. Through Units 3 and 4 in Visual Communication, I have gained many skills. At the beginning of the year we were required to complete a folio of works including an observational drawing, an orthogonal drawing, a promotional banner and a packaging design. Throughout the process of completing each task I gained more skills in effective rendering techniques, learned how to use the computer software Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, as well as this I got a taste of how to generate and develop an idea to achieve a resolved design. I have also gained analytical skills and learned about the effective use and application of typography, which can heavily affect a design. On top of all the technical skills, I have developed my understanding on what design is and how having unlimited constraints or no filters on initial ideas will produce the most successful designs. My favourite skills I have gained throughout Visual Communication include the ability to be more creative and have the confidence to create a concept or design that I normally wouldn’t. I have thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the Visual Communication course, despite having struggles; it pays off in the end and can prove to be very rewarding.

Molly Debenham – Y12

French Exchange for 2014 • Why Romy is looking forward to going to France • Going on French Exchange will finally allow me an exten

Luke Wolfe Y12 Studio Arts

Gen Evans Y11 VCD

French Day At the end of last term, Minimbah held a French Day. The Year 9 French classes were put up to the task of teaching the Grade 4, 5 and 6 students basic French. We were split into groups of three and had subjects such as flowers, food and sport to teach. Rhiannon Van Vliet Y11 Art

The day was a big round robin with different groups of mixed aged students. The amount of competitiveness from the Minimbah students was quite amusing; it was definitely different to our usual French classes! The day was fun and eventful and was a great learning experience for the Year 9’s as well as the Minimbah students. We enjoyed the opportunity to be able to share our knowledge of French with the younger students. The day was full of laughs and enjoyment by all. Au revoir!

Becky Boehme Y11 Art

Allana Gogan – Y9

whole of Australia we knew it was going to be busy, yet we were still surprised by the workings of Jakarta. The macet (commonly known as traffic) was horrendous but it didn’t really matter because it just gave us more time to talk with our newly made friends from PSKD Mandiri. PSKD Mandiri was a beautiful little school, a close-knit community which welcomed us with open arms and made transitioning into Indo

“PSKD Mandiri was a beautiful little school, a close-knit community which welcomed us with open arms and made transitioning into Indo life so much easier.”

lote in Year 7... LOTE, people wonder why we do it. Is it because you actually learn something? You learn something different, and you will use it when you go to a country that speaks that language, for example Bahasa Indonesia. It means that you’ll be able to speak the language and communicate with the locals in Bali, Indonesia and Malaysia. Ned Johnson – Y7

Elena Ferrarin Y11 Art

On December 1st 2013 Bu Pitcher, Hugh Campbell, Steph Brown and myself took to the air not really knowing what awaited us on the other side. After a long day travelling we arrived at our hotel in Sanur and found ourselves reinvigorated by the vibrant culture, wicked smells and enchanting sounds the island of Bali offers.

Indonesian this year has been great. I have enjoyed learning about lots of things from greetings to numbers. It is also quite easy! Luke Paton – Y7

We made the most of our short stay in Bali, learning about CTC (Coral Triangle Centre) and what they do to conserve what is the largest and most diverse network of marine life in the world, as well as brushing up on our language skills with the locals by bargaining for some unneeded but fun goodies. We then flew across East Java to land in the ever busy, non-stop city of Jakarta. With a population larger than the

life so much easier. So many great times were had on this trip but what topped it all was the life long friends I have made. They are the nicest people I have met and they made the trip more than worthwhile. Overall, the trip was a huge success; I learnt a lot about the Indonesian culture, language and I had an awesome time. Thanks to everyone who made this trip possible. Harrison Scott.– Y11

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

ded period of time away from my family and the opportunity to completely immerse myself in a country and culture foreign to me #newcountrynewme. I’m looking forward to being guided, accepted, insulted, cried about, laughed with, and of course exposed. Look out France – Rom’s coming in chaud!

lote

I ndigeno u s ed u cation It has been another dynamic and rich year of engagement with all things Indigenous at Woodleigh School across both campuses.

Minimbah teachers have been leading the way with many classes actively embracing Indigenous content and experiences. At the Senior Campus, particularly at Years 9 and 10, this exposure has continued with the Boon Wurrung unit and the Indigenous Studies elective taking place. On the Reconciliation front, many students have been involved in Reconciliation Week events and the recent Miwatj visit as indeed have a core of very committed teachers. The Woodleigh Community Reconciliation Group has been active all year fundraising and staged major and well-attended film nights, “Utopia” and more recently, “Charlie’s Country”, including selling Pete McConchie’s books and photos The exchange visits to Miwatj and Ampilatwatja have taken place (or are about to) with our Yolngu visitors having a manymak (lovely) time here as mentioned, staying with various Woodleigh families and sharing their culture at school. The Ampilatwatja visit has been postponed to Term 1, 2015, an exciting start to the year. Yoway (goodbye in my language, Jandai) Peter Aldenhoven Director of Indigenous Education

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Andy Gynes and Steph Brown – Grade B and A Swannie winners respectively

S I S D E B AT I N G This year, four teams entered the SIS Debating competition: one Junior, one Intermediate, and two Senior. Keeley Baptist, Jack Hall, Alex Dart, and Shaine Christmas formed the Year 8 Junior Team, and Ed Wiggins, Max Wiggins, Katie Lee, and Bec Gynes, the Year 9 Intermediate Team. Both teams performed solidly throughout the first round, and secured sought-after places in Round Two. Our Senior teams also achieved notable results, with both Senior 1 (Téa Christmas, Casley Rowan, and Andy Gynes) and Senior 2 (Georgia Carter, Steph Brown, Callum Simpson, and Julian Lee) decimating their Round One opponents to make it through to the second round of the competition. T H E D AV S E A S O N Woodleigh entered seven teams in the Mount Eliza division of the 2014 Debating Association of Victoria (DAV) competition. An impressive team of Year 8 students – including Ruby Crofts, Keeley Baptist, Jack Hall, Alex Dart, and Shaine Christmas – competed in the D Grade competition, a grade usually reserved for Year 9 competitors. Jade Frankland, Samantha Beaumont, Abbey Graham, and Alex Ferguson (all Year 9) formed our second D Grade team. Though missing out on a place in the finals, they gathered a slew of wins and best speaker awards in their impressive run. Our final D Grade team – consisting of Year 9 students Ed Wiggins, Max Wiggins, Katie Lee and Bec Gynes – reached some commendable heights this year, making it all the way to the second round of State Play-Offs. Despite their loss to Scotch College, this achievement places them in the top 32 (out of 300) teams in the state. Katherine Robertson, Sofia GrangeMoore, and Gabby Wardrop formed our sole C Grade team. This was their first year in the competition, and though they faced illness and last minute replacements, our Year 10s garnered many victories during the course of the competition. The first of our B Grade teams (Julian Lee, Will Gordon, and Fraser Dawson, all Year 11) also collected

a number of wins and best speaker awards throughout their time in the competition. Casley Rowan, Téa Christmas, and Andy Gynes formed our second B Grade team, and accomplished some superb results: after a highly successful initial run, these three Year 11 students made it all the way to the Semi Finals. This remarkable achievement puts them in the top four teams in the state, a fitting end to a stellar year. In their final year competing with Woodleigh School, Callum Simpson, Steph Brown, and Georgia Carter (Year 12) formed the illustrious A Grade team. Dominating both the Regional and Final competitions, the team found themselves competing in the DAV Grand Final against the notoriously aggressive St. Kevin’s College. Arguing that Indigenous Australians should receive salary for life as a form of reparation, the team showcased the techniques that had made them a force to be reckoned with throughout the year. Though defeated, they came away as second in the state: an amazing effort, and a testament to their masterful skills, thorough preparation and honed ability. Well done team, and thank you for the guidance, advice and support you’ve provided throughout the years as role models to your fellow debaters. D AV S WA N N I E AWA R D S The ‘Swannies’, a crowning achievement in the DAV competition, recognise the year’s highest scoring speakers in each grade and region. This year, Steph Brown and Andy Gynes took out well earned Swannies for Grades A and B respectively. Congratulations! A N D F I N A L LY… All in all, 2014 was a jampacked, challenging, successful year of debating for Woodleigh School. All of our committed competitors have shown tenacity, insight, driven focus, and supportive camaraderie throughout this turbulent journey, and continue to be a testament to the school and its debating power. Such debating success was largely a result of the hard work, support, and inspiring coaching of Cheryl Jackson, Woodleigh’s Director of Debating. Guiding our teams through their tumultuous and terrific year of team lines, splits, rebuttals and cue cards, Mrs. Jackson is currently taking time to raise her new daughter. I speak on behalf of Woodleigh’s debating cohort when I say: good luck, congratulations, and thank you! Nick Donaldson – Assistant Director Of Debating

W hy I W rite ere’s my thing - I read too much stuff. The problem with that is it inspires me to write, because it seems easy. It’s not. I had the same idea of art, and I’ve hit the same giant wall of harder-than-it-looks. Writing is hard. Anyone who’s written will tell you that. People can talk for hours on end but when it comes to writing, we have to stop. And even I have. This is my third write up now. I’ve written, read, deleted, written, read, deleted, in that order. Now the moving finger types, and having typed, moves on. And I’ll try not to destroy it this time. No promises. Anyway, back on topic - why I write. Well, that’s an easy one. I mean, I could say that I feel there are words locked inside of me that I wish to expel and secrete into physical words, but that’s not it. That’s the reason I pick up a laptop and type - because I’m sick of only having the idea in my head. But it’s not why I write. Why I write is a lot more difficult to answer. Because to answer it I’ll have to go on an existentialist bubble bath adventure in space. That sentence alone should be the whole reason why I write. I have written those words in an in-context way that’ll make sense later - I win everything. But back to why I write: Why I write is because, well, there’s empty space. Look at it. Look around you. If there’s room to move, then I’ve failed. Because I haven’t filled it. And I’ll probably never fill it. I can only write so much in my tiny, insignificant, meaningless existence and if I try my best I think a hall and a half could get done with space but that’d be it. Not even a whole tiny bubble in the giant, ever growing foam of worlds that is the bath of the universe. I cannot do it. I’m no nihilist, just because life is meaningless doesn’t give me an excuse to not try and do something. Out of a giant chaotic mess of human existence, I had no say in being born into it. But if I’m forced into the public bar of Earth with 7.125 billion strangers I may as well do the natural human thing and claim a seat and do something in it. Because I was given fingers and control over them, what is the reason to NOT do something with it? It doesn’t matter if it’s writing, reading, exploring space, or chasing your lifelong dream of genetically splicing peanutbutterflies into existence… I lie, sadly. Because it does matter what you choose to do; I’m not advocating becoming The First and Last Evil God King President Dictator of the Galaxy, because that’s negatively filling life. You’re doing the opposite - you’re

taking from people with only one life, and one that they have nothing else to do with but fill. And we do have only one, relatively short, batty life, don’t we? So put stuff in it. All of the stuff. Ideas, sounds, feelings - be happy and be sad, fill it with the stuff you want. I want to fill it and the spaces of those I care about with my own stuff. Because I have ideas, characters, places and plans for all of them coming together, which I can put into their worlds as well. I’m filling my meaningless life up with, in the long run, pointless endeavors. But as a creator and a person, I fill other peoples lives, because the short term is a bit more fun. And I enjoy it. So there. Hazel Lynne – Y12 V isiting A u thor S tephen A msterdam hings We Didn’t See Coming was a maze of a novel, an engaging and seemingly disconnected riddle until a few chapters in. As a textual study, it was rich in substance, brimming with quotes and full of action once decoded! Fortunately for us Year 11s, we were not alone in our deciphering. Steven Amsterdam’s visit was a much-welcomed insight into the fascinating mind of the author who had dreamed up this unique tale. He talked about the story and characters, offering us a glimpse of their personalities and what they represented in his mind, and he answered our questions, filling in the blanks in the book. I myself was offered the opportunity to sit down with him, as he helped me brainstorm an upcoming essay topic, and his help was a very welcome contribution! For every one listening, the additional advice was a fantastic support for our essay-writing and understanding of the novel, and we were all grateful for the time he took to share his thoughts with us. Rebecca

Sherrington – Y11

W hy I S pea k hink of one of the most daunting tasks you dreaded in school. You are standing alone…in front of judges… speaking…out loud… Yes! You got there, that’s right its public speaking folks!! Now for the majority of people, this task is extremely nerve-wracking, but for a confident, slightly insane bunch, myself included, public speaking is actually fun and rewarding! Woodleigh offers many a program for the little tackers in Years 8 and 9 all the way to the giants, well not so much, of the school in VCE. Legacy Public Speaking competitions are run throughout the middle of the year for those budding enthusiasts with a lot to share, with a prepared topic of your choice, followed by an impromptu speech dun dun duuuuun! This is then reciprocated, but magnified in difficulty and stress, in the VCAA Public Speaking Competition for us Year 11 and 12s. Let me run you through the process, its quite simple. Prepared Speech • Pick an issue • Write • Speak Impromptu Speech • Get given an UNKNOWN topic

• Have 5 minutes to come up with a 2-3 minute speech • Speak So if you think that just standing up in front of people and talking is difficult, try doing it when you are freaking out from only have a couple of minutes to prepare. Welcome to the world of public speaking my friends! Honestly though, this stress and challenge is quite exhilarating, I have been doing this for three years now, through school, locally and beyond, so it must be good because I keep coming back! Despite the challenge of public speaking, there are many benefits. Personally, I have gained confidence in myself and speaking ability which aids many of my schooling endeavors, a true passion in the world around me and a drive to inspire those around me. Rhiannon Van Vliet – Y11

W hy I read all me a traditionalist but there is no substitute for extracting knowledge from a book. I am not a big reader of fiction, but there are few things I enjoy more than perusing my vast collection of reference books, finding out this and that. Why do I read though? Well, to my mind, to hold a book, to actually have the tactile pleasure of flicking through pages searching for knowledge is an experience that cannot be rivalled by any other activity. To read the book is to own the knowledge, to share the understanding and to enjoy the sheer delight that it brings. Alex Miglietti – Y12

W hy I Watch S ha k espeare hakespeare’s plays are always interesting to watch because they are very different from what we’re used to. The plotlines are strange and the language used is even stranger, plus if you’re like me and you haven’t read many of his plays then his language can be very confusing at first. I first found out about Shakespeare as a kid when I read Andy Griffiths’ version of Macbeth, I was so confused as to why his cartoony characters were using words like thou, sayst, thrice and toil. It was all very new to me but it really entertained me nonetheless, and I became pretty interested in Shakespeare. It wasn’t until Year 8 that I actually saw one of his plays in theatre, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A bit of a strange one to start off with, the actors had to jump between roles constantly and the roles themselves were pretty weird too! Despite the fast pace and the complex language I thoroughly enjoyed it! My friends and I laughed a lot and still talk about it to this day, remembering characters like ‘Wall’ and ‘Moonshine’ in particular. After the show I couldn’t wait to see another one, and after a long wait, a new one was touring this year! This time it was Henry V, this one was different though in that it had a modern twist to it. They showed it from the perspective of a group of boys in 1941, trapped in a bunker during the war. They were re-

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Congr atul ations to Georgia Carter for winning the State Medal In the UNSW English Competition! Staff / student debate As Year 12s, we are no strangers to arguing with teachers, nor to stakes so high they’d give all sane people vertigo. When we, the Year 12 debating team, faced off against the teachers to the metaphorical death in this year’s edition of the annual English Week Staff-Student Debate, our reputations were on the line. The reputation of our year level was on the line. The reputations of Year 12s everywhere were on the line! Essentially, if we lost, we would never be able to look our classmates in the eyes again. Thankfully for our gigantic egos, we did not lose. The topic was the eloquentlytitled “communic8tion is dead” (Ms Billett pretty please make sure we have the same amount of leetspeak as the actual title), with we students arguing for its survival and teachers (prematurely) lamenting its passing. The teachers came out swinging with the soothing tones of Mr Aldenhoven, landing passiveaggressive barbs left and right. He was followed by Steph Brown, however, pointing out that newspapers were the Facebook of yesteryear, illustrating just why Shakespeare would have killed for a Gmail account, and lacing her speech with so many (devastatingly accurate) old-people-jokes you’d think the teachers had painted targets on their backs. Nanna Jackson hobbled onto the stage to follow, her creaky voice rambling about this newfangled texting business, and desperately invoking “the good old days” of snail mail and telegraphs. Unfortunately for the teachers - sorry, Ms Jackson, but we are for real - her tragic attempts at sympathy votes were no match for Georgia Carter’s poise, eloquence and firey rebuttal, encompassing everything from Snapchat to Sylvia Plath to internet nerds. Mr Lawler sunk to new lows in a desperate bid for victory, insulting Steph’s height, Georgia’s hair and Callum’s obsession with camping apparel (sorry Cal, but he does have a point there) in quick succession, with nary an argument in sight. Finally, however, came Callum Simpson, dark horse that he is, to wrap it all up and secure our win with a triumphantly yelled ‘YOLO!’. Camping apparel and all. All’s well that ends well, thankfully, and Year 12’s reputation remains intact for another year. Class of 2015 – it’s up to you now. Georgia ‘Winner’ Carter – Y12 Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

hearsing the play during bombings with their teacher. At the time I was worried I’d be too tired to watch the show but boy was I wrong! The performers were amazing and kept us captivated in every scene; they were passionate and energetic, using the props of the classroom in all kinds of ways. It was exhilarating to watch and I felt kind of stunned afterwards! And by this point the language didn’t even confuse me anymore, the only time I didn’t know what they were saying was when they were speaking French! Overall it was an incredible show and I’d watch it again and again if I could. I watch Shakespeare because it is so different from the usual movies and books, his plays can make you laugh and cry and it can set your heart racing. Reading the plays is one thing, but seeing it on stage is a whole other experience. Maddie Marshall – Y9 W hy I Participate in T he R eaders ’ C u p eaders’ Cup: a competition about reading. Right? Reading is just one of the few things that the Readers’ Cup involves. After completing said novel or graphic novel (Jane Eyre & Jane, the Fox and Me) teams were set the challenge of displaying their learning and understanding in either a Subversive Text or a Literature Role Play. A range of displays and entries were put forth including a song performed on ukulele, a never-ending scroll and a piece of writing that was a novel in itself! After this the teams moved forward into the short answer question challenge. A fun, inventive, brain-bending competition with on the spot book prizes and chocolate incentives. Readers’ Cup: a fun competition about creativity, imagination, chocolate and of course, reading.

Ella McCarthy – Y9

“ Loo k ing bac k on E nglish .” t was the best of times; it was the worst of times... I am of course referring to the study of English. I have summed it up pretty nicely in those 12 plagiarised words and have also met my non-committal ambiguity quota (or the mark-filled “grey” sic Ms Billet), but I shall nonetheless attempt to write a paragraph using evidence to strengthen this contention (at least it’s not another essay). By the way, for those young students unsure of what I am writing, don’t worry you too will soon be able to write with an academic vagueness and correct metalanguage, of course. So now for some context, since I am meant to be ‘looking back’. In Year 7 and 8 we were deprived of our favourite compulsory subject, finding other things to complain about. In Years 9 and 10, English was actually… fun, in an I’ll-enjoy-this-without-ever-saying-so kind of way. We studied books and more books and then some films and even had a Royal Commission. The workload was not too high, the books were of middling to high interest and we found

ways to have fun in class. By far the most fun from this period comes from Shakespeare study. I implore you; do not study Romeo and Juliet, studiers of that only complain. Instead study Macbeth, where the blood, gore, witches and juicy courtroom politics will surely keep you engaged. During my “to be thus is nothing” monologue, as the infamous murderous king, I yelled at fate and ‘griped’ my ‘barren sceptre’ (very barren as the audience had to imagine it). Juxtaposed with Years 9 and 10 was Year 11, where we had to learn skills and write essays (side note: mention juxtaposition, sure to get you an A+). This is where the romance of literature and film and the content ignorance of watching the media come to an end. You will over-analyse everything! We used to assume that photographs were taken of a nice scene. No! They are set up to convince you of a contention. We presumed that people wrote the truth or what they thought it was. Oh boy, have you got stuff to learn. People write things because they are manipulating your perspective to suit their Machiavellian purposes. It’s a cynical view of the world, but it will enlighten you to the real world (I’m sorry if you are the happy ignorant sort) and will help you pass a very analytical exam. Don’t forget that by studying a writer’s arsenal, you yourself can reverseengineer their weapons (a worrying thought). Nonetheless, the rocky-ride of English has at many times been a fun one and I even learnt new things, so I should be grateful and satirise the topic less. For all those who are still on this journey, it all comes down to the engaging nature of your writing, so for the sake of examiners not reading the same response again and again, “be bloody, bold and resolute.” Callum Simpson – Y12

W hy I T hin k . CE is over, and I look back at English like an old friend. I have grown fond of all facets of her character; her earnest curiosity and bubbling whimsy, her precision and eloquence and arrant cynicism. She has taught me much throughout these last few years. However, her greatest lesson does not end at the completion of the VCAA study design. She has taught me to think critically. English, unlike many other subjects, is not just a matter of digging until you find the answer. Digging for English only results in more digging, so as distinct from clarifying a perception or idea, English only becomes increasingly perplexing, increasingly bewildering and increasingly fascinating. The ability to deconstruct ideas and beliefs is a skill we don’t realise we will carry with us long after our (heaven forbid) essay writing days are over. The ability to question and ‘keep digging’ per se is intrinsic to understanding the crux of belief. Belief, in all its senses is essential to the construction of cultural narrative, embedded in what it means to be aware. To empathise, to question, to find

truth in lies, and lies in truth are attributes that will serve us long after school. For English has not simply taught us to write essays as sustain hand cramps. These ordeals have rather been avenues to some kind of pretentious literary enlightenment that continues to be strangely relevant even beyond the pages of Cloudstreet. English, I thank you for your tedious tasks and unfathomable workload. You have empowered me to question fully and deeply. However, my motivation to continue to write essays on these ponderings remains questionable. Stephanie Brown – Y12

I na u g u ral B oo k I n A D ay C ompetition group of nine students took the last day of their holiday to come to school and to participate in the Book in a Day Competition. With two hours dedicated to planning and mapping out our story, we eventually had our characters, our storyline and all the info we needed to break up into pairs and work on our respective parts. With hours of dedication and some quiche for lunch, we got our story completed, fulfilling all the criteria in our set timeframe easily. It was an easy-going day that allowed us to work together and have a lot of fun.

Elise Wiltshire – Y10

L egacy P u blic S pea k ing I was lucky enough to be one of the four Woodleigh students selected to participate in the Legacy Public Speaking competition. The day started with Mrs. Jackson cramming us all into the bus, where we rehearsed out pre written speeches in front of each other for practice. We then arrived at Toorak College where the competition started. All of the Woodleigh students performed very well in the prepared speeches, and we did well with the tricky unprepared topic as well. Finally it was time to hear the results. Jack Hall (Year 8) and I came equal second in the competition, which rounded off the day and we headed back to class. Edward Wiggins – Y9 Winners Writing Competition Junior Winner Maddie Marshall Junior Runner Up Abby Hoogkamer Senior Winner Elise Wiltshire Senior Runner Up Cat Yeong Speaking Competition Winner Senior Georgia Carter Runners Up Jack Martin Rhiannon Van Vliet Y9 Winner Edward Wiggins Runner Up Harriet Carter Staff Student Debate Winners Student Team (Stephanie Brown, Georgia Carter & Callum Simpson) Readers’ Cup Winners Katherine Robertson, Cat yeong & Elise Wiltshire Runners Up Ella McCarthy, Kaya Grocott, Maddie Marshall & Ruby Crofts Creativity Awards to Sibel Hulusi & Gemma Dawson Adelaide Robertson, Juliet Hosler & Keeley Baptist

Year 7 Mapping the Reserve In the start of Term 3, the Year 7s headed up to the Brian Henderson Reserve to do a hands-on mapping activity. In small groups we were asked to map part of the reserve. At the end we came together and created a complete map of the reserve. We all love going up to there, and I especially loved sloshing through the mud!! Quincy Seagren 7A In Term 3, Year 7s studied Mapping. For 7B this included making a 3D model of Woodleigh’s Brian Henderson Wildlife Reserve. We made the model out of cardboard – each layer represented a contour line. This involved hours and hours of cutting! The next step involved painting and labeling our box with a number of geographical features. It was great fun and awesome to complete. Maks Nosiara and Griffin O’Neill

Ainsley Barwise and Kealey Palmer with their ‘Woodleigh In A Box’ Year 7 Egyptology Humanities During Term 3, Year 7 focused on the topic of Ancient Egypt. We learnt about the ancient civilisation and many of Egypt’s Pharaohs and Gods. Our assessment task was to create an Egyptology book which had to include the information we had learnt about in class. Ancient Egypt was the first look back in time for us and we all loved it! Dylan Bolch & Sophie Jinks 7A 8 Hums – Woodleighville Term 4 in Year 8 Humanities, we have been looking at economics. The teachers created a town called Woodleighville, and we were assigned a role in this community. We were given a new identity that included a new occupation, land and family, and we became part of the Woodleighville community. We had a small say in our identity, such as designing our own houses, and creating a profile from the information we were given regarding our identity. In this community, we would learn/have to deal with community issues, and take a stand for what we think is right. We also had the chance to plead our case to the whole Woodleighville community and try our luck in convincing the rest of the villagers to agree with our point of view, and vote for the same ideals as us. The Woodleighville unit has been a really enjoyable unit, and I personally really enjoyed having a career as a biomedical engineer, because I sounded really smart, but you know, not everyone got to sound smart, like the Swamp Hillbillies. Sorry guys. Emily Thomas

hums 8 Hums Woodleighville House Design This term we have been learning about economics by running our classes through a fictional town called Woodleighville. Woodleighville is a place where many people of different socio-economic statuses live. Each student had to design a house plan based on their Woodleighville character. I chose to use the gaming program ‘Sims’ to design my house. Ebony McFaul – Y8 8 Hums - Utopia Project Summary Towards the end of Term 3, my fellow classmates and myself were told that we would be doing something called the Utopia Project. For this project we would research Renaissance leaders, artists, scientists and philosophers, and write, create, or orate a project on their methods, and what utopia is. I chose to do an art piece on my beliefs of utopia, and the influences of Renaissance artists on the subject. My art is but an attempt to show that our future is in our own hands, and that we have the power to be whomever we may want. The hands depicted are holding a glass sphere like the one that Galileo used to make the telescope, and a key, to the door. The writing surrounding the door is a series of Leonardo da Vinci quotes, and the door itself is the door to your future, your utopia. Remi Chynoweth – Y8

M edieval D ay n March this year a Medieval Troupe came to Woodleigh and we rotated around various different medieval based activities for a day. Some of the things that we did and learnt about were: punishments, weapons, tools and armor, dancing, and knights/chivalry. Learning about all the punishments was fun. We stood at the front of the class and tried on some of the punishment equipment. We were then told what sort of crime that we had committed and what our punishment would be. Some of the punishments were really gruesome. We got told about how the towns worked and that a townsperson had to pull his or her weight in a job otherwise the whole system would collapse. We met a knight as well. He was dressed in armor from head to toe and told us what it took to become a knight - it sounded like a lot of hard work! I have to say that the best part of the day was fighting the knight. He actually gave us wooden sticks and said that we should come up one-at-a-time and hit him. I assume it didn’t hurt him because of all the armor! The only catch, though, was if his wooden sword touched us then we were defeated – we didn’t stand a chance! The day really helped us to better understand what it was like to live in the medieval period. Medieval Day was great – definitely a highlight of Year 8!

Amy Youngman – Y8 Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Y e a r 11 H i s to ry History is more than just learning about the past; it provides much-needed context for issues that the world is facing today. Year 11 History has not only provided us with enjoyment, but also knowledge that has better equipped us for a world beyond Woodleigh. This year we have learnt about a range of different topics from the rise of Hitler to discovering the injustice of Black South Africans under Apartheid. We started off the year learning about Social Memory, which involved interviewing someone we knew about the main aspects

of history they had retained from 1900-1945. It was extremely interesting learning the different parts of history which resonated with people. We then moved onto the origins of World War One and how events such as the Balkan wars, Franz Ferdinand’s assassination and European country’s desire for war impacted and eventually lead to the outbreak of World War One. This then set the scene for our study of Hitler’s rise to power and the Nazi regime. We learnt about the immense hardships experienced by Germany in the aftermath of World War One and the way in which Hitler was able to transform a cultured and educated nation into a country controlled by propaganda. We then learnt about the rise of communism in the Soviet Union during the Five Year Plans and Stalin’s ascent to power. Our final topic for the year was learning about South Africa’s history and how this has shaped its current political state. History has provided us with entertainment as well as interesting information and has been a class that we have all looked forward to and enjoyed attending. Eliza Nowicki & Liv Cook Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

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Y e a r 10 Business Studies In our Business Studies class we studied a wide range of different topics in the business studies world. We first began with Accounting and learned to master the basics of this tricky profession. We then began working on our main project of the unit, which was learning to run our own small business. My group focused on selling cakes, biscuits and sweets and overall we made $300, some of it went back into paying the original budget back but most of it went to a charity of our choice. We also looked into Human Resources and Legal Studies and it was really good to get a sense of these topics. Overall the Business Studies class was thoroughly enjoyable and I felt like I got a really good sense of the busy, clever and the rewarding business career. Lucy Hodder-Packer – Y10

Y e a r 10 H u m a n i t i e s In Year 10 Hums this semester we learnt about how the United Nations works and what kind of issues they cover. We had a mock UN day where we addressed the issue of global warming; it gave the Year 10’s a great insight into how much work goes into shaping and changing the world. We have now moved onto politics. We have been campaigning for a mock election that is being held on the 23rd of October. It has been great to see how the world is being run and how hard it is actually be a political party and trying to please everyone. It has been a great semester so far and I can’t wait for the unit on the Vietnam War, which we will be starting in a week or two. Will Lewis – Y10

History, America Land of Liberty!

I went into Year 10 History, America: Land of Liberty because I had an interest in the content matter, but I left with a newly found passion for History itself. I’ve never before had much of an interest in the past; actually, I have a rather nasty habit of continually looking to the future. But, this subject changed all that. From lesson one, I loved it. We started with an introductory lesson to slavery, which while being rather confronting was brilliant all the same. I’m not going to lie, the whole course was rather confronting, actually. At times, I cringed and hid my heads in my hands; I clenched my fists and questioned the humanity of the past (if there was any); I met eyes with someone else in the

I’m not going to lie, the whole course was rather confronting. At times, I cringed and hid my heads in my hands; I clenched my fists and questioned the humanity of the past (if there was any)

classroom wearing a matching horrified expression. Yet, similar to that first day, the whole course manages to be provoking while continually being extremely fascinating. Throughout, you’re given great work. Really, I’m not kidding when I say ‘great work’: this class has fun essays. I seriously didn’t even think that was possible. I enjoyed, truly enjoyed, writing the essays of this course. I loved analyzing the rich historic artwork and the attention-demanding passages. This class is a must for those who are even remotely interested in literature, history, or America. You’re guaranteed to have a stunning semester, and you’ll definitely emerge knowing more about America’s past then when you entered. (I’m no longer confused when people mention America’s presidents, which is wonderful.) I sigh sadly whenever I look at my subjects for Year 11, as they are devoid of the glorious-ness that is History. While everyone else has met his or her subjects with excitement, I’m attempting to shift mine to make room. If you do have room next year, definitely take this subject. And, if you don’t, then do what I’m doing and try as hard as you can to make room; it’s not one you want to miss! Katherine Robertson – Y10

Y e a r 12 H i s to ry: R e vo lu t i o n s Wowee... what a year of learning! We raced through time and visited Imperial Russia and the Qing Dynasty just to learn they weren’t sticking around for long. Just as these countries were overthrown by radical revolutionary groups, our minds were too. Mr Ryan revolutionised our lives and instilled competitiveness as we fought for fame not shame in the pursuit of Mao badges. The eternal struggle for remembering historian quotes, dates and perspectives came surprisingly easy to some, while other’s minds were left blank. Lost in a haze of dates and statistics, it is now our time to sit this exam and revolutionise our lives for the better! We aspire to be like History Ninja Girl and willing to fight off Slack Students in dat bell curve. From Jack blessing our lives with Queen songs and sneezes, Callum impressing all with his astounding commentaries, Hazel just being Hazel, and Ed’s aversion to work; we would like to thank Mr Ryan for accepting us all as his Red Guards. We shall hold our Mao badges in our hearts forever. Ella McGrath & Alex Manson – Y12

Y e a r 12 L e g a l S t u d i e s : “ LEGAL TEA M UNITE ! ” Scores of eyes look on, envious of the close-knit family that form inside V1 and perhaps envious they should be. Here you will find the most loving family within the confines of Woodleigh School, solving the big issues found in the wide world of Parliament and the courts. When we’re not investigating cases or brushing up on our legal terminology, you can often find us having the most loving of ‘discussions’. Even Jack will chime in with his sneeze(s) of approval. Despite being a very content heavy subject, Year 12 Legal Studies has been such a whirlwind of enjoyment. Many of us will remember the heated games of Jeopardy and the indecision found in watching Sleuth 101. All in all, Legal Studies was an amazing subject that taught us a lot about the terminology and practice of Law. May our legacy forever live on, Goodbye from the Legal Team. Alina Turek – Y12

Y e a r 12 B u s i n e s s M a n ag e m e n t

Y11 L e g a l S t u d i e s R h y m e Do you want your child to soar like an eagle? Then put them into Year 11 Legal. We were acting in a court play and we got bad parts Which we didn’t think we deserved being students of the arts As mad as we were, we set up for glory. We made our own play, we forged our own story Errors struck forth and threatened our scheme. The scripts we produced were spread far between. We pushed on forwards, our goal in sight. We were going to succeed using all our might. We entered the class with 25 speeches. To distribute to the students, as well as the teachers. While a little perplexed they accepted our speeches. And allowed us to sit down upon the metaphorical bleachers. The play began, and we awaited our turn. The break in the court for which we were beginning to yearn. Page 8 struck and we were finally ready. Branko enters the room and the class becomes unsteady An agent of terror, Branko’s not messing around. The police officer, Ryan, has to stand his ground. The class is flummoxed, left without a clue But as they turn to the scripts, they learn what to do. The dastardly criminal took a captive, Who acted supremely, being extremely active Branko is dis-armed, and the fight begins. Good verses evil, which will ultimately win? While Branko loses the battle, he thinks his won the day. As he activates his plan, to blow all others away. He dives for the bomb and sets off the clock, As Ryan shoots him with him with the Glock

This year in Business Management we investigated large-scale organisations, how they run and the effect they have on the Australian economy. We visited a large-scale organization - Carlton and United Breweries - where we learnt about their operations process. We took a tour and had some refreshing cold beverages (soft drinks). We also investigated Human Resources and the correct way to terminate terrible employees. We had fun!

The count down begins and the Ryan leaps for the bomb.

Jack Martin – Y12

With a license for extravagation, it’s worth a shot.

And stops it before it can blow up Tom. The class is rapt and lets out a mighty cheer As Branko is taken away with a ghastly leer. Ms Curtin is impressed, as well as she should And promised better roles, if ever she could. Legal is a hoot and you learn a lot Ryan Francis – Y11 Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

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M at h s Fac u lt y – t h e y e a r i n r e f l e c t i o n

norman library LIBRARY REVISION

Books came in. Even in Year 7, one cannot deny that new books were steadily coming in. Back in the distant 2009, back when the world realised it had never stopped being a Michael Jackson fan, I had become a new Year 7. At this time, I was also liable to chills and colds, so I retreated to the place with the least contest for heaters - the School Library. It was welcoming, fun even. The place was a bit tight, shelves took up around 40% of the building, desks 20%, chairs 10%, leaving 30% for people to walk awkwardly in and out of places. There was enough demand for the desktop computers to warrant their own auction house, and I was bidding for those. When all twelve computers were taken by those who could run, there was always a book. It was a library, after all. In this year I believe I read ‘Skulduggery Pleasant’ by Derek Landy.

2010, there was a Double Rainbow, and the place was my regular hangout. I would wait out the front in chilly mornings for the magnificent librarian to arrive and unlock the library doors. 2010, there was a Double Rainbow, and the place was my regular hangout. I would wait out the front in chilly mornings for the magnificent librarian to arrive and unlock the library doors. I had begun to read books now that the demand for computers was too high. And, when able, I would read out the daily quiz in the newspapers to the librarians, which was a nice laugh. There were still books. This year I read ‘Daughter of the Forest’ by Juliet Mariller. 2011, I believe they added some new furniture at this time. Otherwise same old business and lots of books. I’m not sure, but I think I read ‘The Seventh Tower’, by Garth Nix amongst others. 2012, this was the year the Forbidden Forest of the library, which was the silent study room, transformed into the welcoming and almost creepily tidy Book Nook. Bean bags and all were very appreciated, especially for the enjoyment of reading. This was the year I read ‘Social History of England’ by some dead guy (could it be Briggs?) 2013, I’m now in Year 11. Less time was available for me to go to the library, but some changes were happening, without me! Traitors! But yes, they removed the shelves that took up 50% of the library’s room. And suddenly, the space felt roomy. To this day, I’ve not a clue where they managed to store the hundreds of thousands of books that lined the shelves, and I fear to ask. 2014, I’ve reached the end. I rarely go to the library now, but I recall it with fondest memories. I can barely recognise it and the people in it are going to happenstance through the years as well. The computers disappeared with the acquisition of laptops, the search computers that didn’t work more than they worked retired, there is space to walk around the round tables, and the next annoying generation fill the beanbags. And, as always, we can rely that there will be the books!!

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

Hazel Lynn – Y12 Library Superheroine

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This year again saw many students achieving outstanding successes in mathematics competitions held during the year. Au s t r a l i a n M at h e m at i c s Competition One Thursday morning in August, 104 students took part in the annual Australian Mathematics Competition. This is a challenging task and we were very pleased with the number of participants that we had this year. The overall results were outstanding with the majority of participants receiving a Credit or Distinction. There were 54 Credits, 20 Distinctions and Sean Parker (Year 9) received a High Distinction; he was in the 100th percentile. Felix Friedlander (Year 9) was also on the 100th percentile and he received a prize. These results are outstanding. Felix and Sean were then invited to participate in the Intermediate Mathematics Olympiad. This was a grueling 4-hour task and we look forward to hearing about their results. M at h s W e e k Highlights: Senior Homestead Times Tables Challenge: The final rounds where each Tutor group representative battled it out with Rhiannon Van Vliet ultimately triumphant with all of Year 11 cheering on. Rubik’s Cube Challenge Wow! Who knew that so many Woodleigh students could ‘do the cube’? It was a very impressive and intense atmosphere in the Hall as Mr Ogier tried to compete with the youngsters that made solving a cube look like…a walk in the BH reserve. In the end there can only be one champion- well that depends on the rules. Using a Woodleigh cube, Kenny Ma (Year 12) won but using their own competition cubes, Marshall Grande (Year 7) was the champion in well under a minute. Amazing! Numbers & Letters Staff V the Year 12s Congratulations to Stephanie Brown, Lachlan James, Callum Simpson and Beth Thompson who valiantly took on the undefeated staff team of Ms Billett, Mr Bowen, Mr Macindoe and Ms

McDonald... the teachers won again...it may be time for a rule change next year! Y e a r 7 M at h s G a m e s Day Year 10 Perspective: Earlier this year, the Year 11 General Advanced Maths class embarked on a perilous journey of teaching… the Year 7 Maths Games day. The younger students entered the room as bundles of energy, and remained that way for most of the day, really. The maths aura was strong, with multiple games of Greedy Pig, Dice Footy and origami- making ‘jumping frogs’. But, parents, don’t get too concerned about the level of fun, we did also help them to harness their problem solving skills. The most memorable part of the day, as always, is the ‘Arrange yourselves in order of your birthdays…silently’. (I still remember this day from my Maths Games day, as that’s when I met one of my best friends Gabby.) And, as always, the whispering was very evident, to the point where you wondered if you’d imagined the word ‘silently.’ Sometimes I question why Woodleigh has so many set days where they encourage different year level mingling, and, to an extent, force students to communicate. But, when I’m actually involved in the day, and when I look back afterwards, I know why. They may be a bit of a pain to organize beforehand, but seeing the younger students enjoying maths on the day (a thing that is rarely seen nowadays) and getting to enjoy the day yourself; it makes sense. Katherine Robertson and Luke Myatt– Y10

Year 7 perspective: Earlier this year during Math’s Week, all Year 7s took part in a Maths Games day. With the help of Year 10 Enhancement Maths students, we were able to play some fun games and talk to some people that we usually wouldn’t hang out with. For me, Maths Games Day was a great way to have a little bit of fun. We played

Bingo, which was great and other games that got me thinking hard. The Year 10s were a huge help because whenever we couldn’t find the answer to a question, or if we didn’t understand they were happy to give us a hand. Overall it was a great day and I recommend that the future Year 7s look forward to it. Amber Engwerda – Y7

A few reflections f ro m o u r m at h e m at i c i a n s … (Memorable Quotes from Further Maths) “If it’s gonna be the 12s versus the 11s, we want Lachie!” (Congratulations Lachlan Muirden on successfully completing Year 12 Further Maths in Year 10!) Things we learned in Further Maths: • Maths doesn’t multiplies your choices; Geothermal heating does. • Networks and Decision Mathematics is not about learning how to decide who to friend on Social media sites. • Emus need love too. • Numbers count more than words. Y e a r 11 M at h s M e t h o d s To sum up the overall Cartesian plane of mathematics that we have covered in Year 11 Methods this year, well I could go on quite a tangent, but I will cover it in finite terms for you all. It is a sine that maths helps everyone in the future, without it we couldn’t differentiate anything from reality. I may seem a bit irrational, but I’ll get real for you, maths equals knowledge and knowledge equals infinite power. I have lost count how many times I have asked Mr Mills for help, our class substitute teacher Mr Jarryd Parker, but all the same, doesn’t everyone love a bit of a mathematical challenge? Yes, they do, I’ll tell you why, just cos! Rhiannon Van Vliet – Y11

F o u n dat i o n M at h s Foundation Mathematics provides continuing mathematical development of students entering VCE who need mathematical skills to support their other VCE subjects, including VETiS studies, and who do NOT intend to undertake

Unit 3 and 4 studies in VCE Mathematics in the following year. The areas covered in Foundation Maths include a range of topics from measurement to managing a budget. The content is covered in such a way to show a direct link to real life Maths. Below are some students’ thoughts and comments on what Foundation Maths had taught and shown them:

the VCE General Maths Advanced subject. Throughout the year, we learnt a lot about the complex number plane and various other topics like vectors, more trigonometry and even some basic factorising (go parabolas!). Our class was very energetic considering the amount of maths we got done. Each class was filled with knowledge and shenanigans (not all of them Math related) and was loads of fun. “Fun”.

We have had a really fun time in Maths this year with Mrs. Donaldson. Lachlan Jeffries – Y8

Y e a r 8 M at h s In Maths this year, we have learnt a wide variety of different mathematical subjects, including divisibility rules, multiplying and dividing algebraic fractions, building box and whisker plots and simplifying proportionate ratios. These focuses have presented us with challenges, difficulties, and, with some problems, given us opportunities to prove our teacher wrong. Maths has been a fun and enjoyable experience throughout the course of the year, and we have bridged the gap between us humans and numbers, (if only slightly!) Overall, Maths has been abundant with experiences to remember, and experiences to forget, all forming a better understanding of the strange subject we call Maths, and the startling value of it. Jack Hall – Y8

“I have learnt valuable skills about travelling and budgeting.” “I have learnt how to create and read graphs properly.” “I feel the Maths is a lot easier to understand for me.” “I like this subject because I can use it in real life.” “It will help me in the future to figure out common problems that I might face day to day.” “I have enjoyed how the Maths relates to real life examples.” “I use this Maths in my VETiS subject as well.” Various students from Mr Azzopardi’s Year 11 Foundation Maths class

Y e a r 11 G e n e r a l M at h s A dva n c e d This year, as part of the enhancement program, a group of students completed

Emilie Stocker, Elise Wiltshire & Catherine Yeong– Y10

7 D M at h s w i t h Mrs. Donaldson This year we have done some really fun things in Maths with Mrs. Donaldson; one of my favorites is what we are doing now. We are learning about angles and measuring them. I especially enjoy using protractors to get a very accurate measurement. Throughout the year we have also done some other great things like order of operations, algebra and lots about fractions and decimals. One of the class “favourites” is a Mrs. Donaldson hysterically funny joke sheet! Once you find the answer to a problem it corresponds to a letter, which you use to complete the funny word or phrase to complete the joke. They are always “Hysterically Funny” and everyone really “loves” them.

E n h a n c e m e n t M at h s Y e a r 7 2 014 Students who are academically enriched in Mathematical topics are given the chance to participate in an enhanced version of Maths. We have learnt about many topics above the Year 7 standard which allows us to extend ourselves. The current topic we are learning about is ‘Directed Numbers’. We also participate in APSMO (Australian Problem Solving Mathematics Olympiad). We have 5 Olympiads a year and many students achieve good results. We are very pleased that we have been given this opportunity at the Senior Campus and we hope to continue this program into further years. Dylan Bolch & Jack de Vries – Y7

And finally, congratulations and best wishes to The Class of 2014 and all the best for your future studies. In particular, I would like to congratulate Lachlan Gogan, Lachlan James, Matthew Tinkler and Kenny Ma for successfully completing all 3 Year 12 Maths subjects. Christina Brown – Head of Mathematics Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

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p e r s o n a l d e v e lo p m e n t Year 7 PE and more. Out of all the activities and This year has been great in PE. We have completed a range of different sports and cardiovascular activities. These included swimming, athletics, ball sports, fitness, dancing, gymnastics and games. Two specialist activities we did were dancing and gymnastics. In both of these units we had professional instructors to help and mentor us in completing dance routines, choreographed gymnastics routines and other tasks. During the few lessons we had in dancing we all had a heap of fun. We had two instructors to come and help teach us in the art/sport of dancing. First we started off in some quick partner warm up dances. Since it was the first time for most of the kids dancing with another person, some of us were a bit uncoordinated and intimidated. But in the end it all turned out well as we all practised and got better and better by the lesson.

sports that we were lucky enough to participate in my favourite was Gaelic Football. Gaelic Football was my favourite activity, as I liked the fact that it combined both Soccer and Basketball into one sport. This term our focus is on a competition between all the classes in our year level. We were given the opportunity to play either Basketball or Netball; at the end of the competition whatever team wins the most games will be awarded with prizes and their names will be engraved onto a trophy in the gym. Overall Year 9 Physical Education has allowed me to explore a wide range of sports and activities whilst also providing an enjoyable learning and working environment. Shayniah Williams – Y9

All in all, this year in PE has been a lot of fun learning new sports and different routines alongside my friends. Can’t wait to see what next year brings. Rose Clancy- Dillon – Y7

Year 9 PE This year in Year 9 Physical Education we have done many fun activities such as, Gaelic Football, Speedball, Soft Crosse, Soccer, Self-defense Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

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To learn these concepts we read our textbooks and performed many practical activities that demonstrated and helped consolidate our newfound knowledge. Later in the year we looked at sport and movement from a more biomechanical aspect, looking at the different laws and how they affect athletes in their sport. In the second half of the year we learned about coaching and skill acquisition. Again, we participated in numerous practical activities that always followed in a detailed Lab Report reflecting our knowledge. Overall it has been a great year full of learning in a fun and engaging way.

Year 12 PE

This year in PE the Year 8s covered a wide range of sports, including Hockey, Volleyball, Swimming, Dance, Ball sports and Gymnastics. For Gymnastics we would travel to Dolphin Gymnastics centre in Carrum Downs and learn a variety of Gymnastic Skills.

Ella Waite – Y8

Initially, we focused on the biological aspect of sport and looked at the working of our muscles, bones, cardiovascular and respiratory systems. This gave us a solid understanding and basis that allowed our knowledge to be extended when we jumped into learning about energy and the many different energy systems utilised by our body.

Taylah Argent – Y11

Year 8 PE

The coaches helped us to do a range of skills including flips, tumbles and the bars. On the last session of Gymnastics we went to Gravity Zone where everyone could practise their skills on the giant trampolines. We also learnt about swimming. We would travel to PARC in Frankston where we would learn and shape up on our swimming technique, Survival Skills and Life Saving Skills. We also learnt about lots of different ball games. These games included Netball skills, Basketball skills, Footy and Soccer. Some of the students even had the opportunity to help run some of the sessions for the rest of the class.

Year 11 PE Over the past year the Year 11 Physical Education students have engaged in learning about how the body works.

Year 10 PE During this term, the Year 10 PE class has strongly focused on a number of different topics, highlighting the importance of living a healthy lifestyle full of good nutrition and rewarding exercise. As a class, we have looked into a number of different ways one can fulfill intense exercise, trying out weight training and cardio circuits. We experimented and learnt how to work with various exercise equipment, finding out what exactly they worked on and how they would benefit our body. Extending from this, we were given the opportunity to design our own training program, being in charge of how to work with our body and push ourselves to the limit. Also looking into good nutritional values, we spent this term researching into ways that would best benefit our health. Michelle Martland – Y10

Over the course of Unit 3&4 PE we have learnt and discussed much of the way the body works during exercise and physical activity. During Unit 3 this consisted largely of identifying and discussing the National Physical Activity Guidelines for all age groups, as well as discussing the social-ecological model, a multifaceted approach, for physical activity promotion. Moving on from this we began learning about the different energy systems the body uses to produce energy - the ATP-PC system, anaerobic glycolysis system and the aerobic system – including the metabolic pathways used within the body in each system, and the fatigue mechanisms of each system. In Unit 4 we engaged in a much more practical application of PE wherein we had to design, implement and critique our own training programs for a 6 week period. Finally we ended discussing the use of legal and illegal performance enhancers in sport and the role of WADA and ASADA in governing the use of illegal performance enhancers. Owen Eades – Y12

Food Tech Teen Chef On Monday the 11th of August, Madeline, Issy, Jessie and I teamed up to participate in the SIS Teen Chef competition. The Competition was held at St John’s Regional College in Dandenong. We had to split our team into two pairs, one to make the main meal and the other to make the dessert. We had weeks to prepare for this event so when the time finally came to actually make the dishes, it was exciting. Jessie and Madeline made chocolate meringues with chocolate ganache and toffee. They presented the dish like a professional and it tasted amazing. Issy and I made a twice-cooked Asian chicken. We thought that boning the chicken ourselves would add complexity to the dish and create an advantage over the other teams, especially since we were the only team out of fourteen that boned our own chicken. Issy did an amazing job boning the chicken, which in the end contributed hugely to out gold medal win. We were one out of three teams that won a gold medal and we are very proud. Jamie Purcell – Y11

Outdoor & e n v i ro n m e n ta l s t u d i e s - Y r 12 Outdoor Education this year was full of once in a lifetime experiences in which we were able to experience the outdoor environment and learn about the threats to environments, relationships, impacts and indigenous relationships with the land.

O u tdoor E d u cation is different to all other s u bjects in the sense that it provides opport u nities for hands on learning and actively participating in the environment

We went on a total of 3 camps, Wilsons Prom, Mt Baw Baw and the Grampians as well as a trip to Langwarrin Flora and Fauna reserve. Through these trips we were able to grasp an understanding of how precious and amazing outdoor environments are and were able to form our own individual relationships with the environment and also strengthen relationships within our class. Outdoor Education is different to all other subjects in the sense that it provides opportunities for hands on learning and actively participating in the environment to not only learn the importance of natural environments and their benefits, but to gain life skills that students can take with them once finished their time at Woodleigh. Outdoor Ed this year was definitely a highlight and I would do it all again if I could. Charlotte Wall â€“ Y12

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We’ve completed another busy year in the Science Faculty with lots of opportunities for students, teachers and families to enrich their experience of Science. Amongst the many student successes were: Will Gordon (Yr 11) who has been chosen to participate in the National Youth Science Forum in Canberra in January 2015; Will Gordon (Yr 11) and Gabrielle Wardrop (Yr 10) who participated in the Australian and New Zealand Academy for the Advancement of Science Youth Congress at Melbourne University in July; Quincy Seagreen (Yr 7), Jack Hall, Lachlan Evenden, Isaac Yeong (Yr 8), Alex Ferguson (Yr 9), Luke Myatt (Yr 10), Georgia Carter, Patrick Griffiths and Callum Simpson (Yr 12) who all received Distinctions in the annual UNSW ICAS Science test; Alexander Simpson who was highly commended on his Photographs in the STAV STS; Tessa Runting, Gabrielle Wardrop, Ruben Jakob and Jesse Mulder (Yr 10) who represented the school in the State finals of the Australian Brain Bees; Connor Donnelly (Yr 11) who was highly commended for his essay in the RACI Essay Writing Competition; Ruby Crofts, Isaac Yeong, (Yr 8) Felix Friedlander, Sean Parker, (Yr 9) Rebecca Sherrington (Yr 11) and Callum Simpson (Yr 12) who were all awarded High Distinctions in the RACI National Chemistry Quiz and to all the students who entered all of these competitions and more, congratulations. One can only grow through being involved – and lots of students have been involved. When I first applied for Youth ANZAAS 2014, I was expecting a week learning about science with like-minded people across Australia and New Zealand. Having now completed the experience, it was that and more. Throughout the week we stayed at St Mary’s College, a boarding house for the University of Melbourne. By staying here, we were shown what living at University was like. With our own room, and no one to tell you what to do, and when to do it. For the remaining 5 days, we visited many iconic science places around Melbourne. We visited WEHI, CSL, DSTO, RMIT, Melbourne and Monash University. By visiting these places we were introduced to possible future careers and courses. Gabrielle Wardrop – Y10 In March a select group of Year 7 & 8 students spent the morning with Dr Peter Eastwell during his biennial visit to Woodleigh. He started with a session called “Lightning and Electricity”. In this session Peter demonstrated Van der Graaf generators, Tesla Coils and many other activities and Peter also discussed the “Nature of Science” with the students.

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I learned lots about science that I didn’t know before and more about the more general meaning of science. Archie Noonan – Y7

We learnt about electricity and lightning in the first lesson and the nature of science in the second. Everyone learnt something about each activity and we all had fun!!! Kealey Palmer – Y7 Many students have explored other opportunities to enrich their Science education through our academic and co-curricular excursion program including; Ad-

all over your now gooey hands? Ever made newborn squid, the size of half your thumbnail, ink tiny jets of cuteness? Not even tried canoeing with a friendly baby seal that just couldn’t contain her excitement over your splashing paddles? Well mate, you are just missing out. Romy Lipszyc – Y10 At the end of the last term in 2013, when other kids were off on holidays, I decided instead to do Work Experience at Melbourne University.

Ever made newborn squid, the size of half your thumbnail , ink tiny jets of cuteness?

aptations of the Human Kind at the Zoo, University of Melbourne Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, Careers in Conservation at the Zoo, CSIRO – Ideas to Impact, Year 11 Biochemistry to GTAC and WEHI, and visits to school during Brain Awareness Week and from Biomedical Researchers. Two of our Year 10 students had exciting experiences over the summer. Romy Lipszyc attended the Science Experience at Queenscliff and Katherine Robertson spent a week doing work experience at the University of Melbourne Department of Anatomy. I think you’ll enjoy their excitement and passion. Have you ever held floppy sea slugs that were so overjoyed by your presence they oozed bright purple love

Afterwards, and still now, I can honestly say that it was worth missing a few days of holidays. I spent a week in one of their laboratories, overseeing the daily functioning, helping out with tasks and participating in the cleaning day before they began their holidays. I admit that this might not be for everyone, but as a science enthusiast, it was right up my alley. Not to be clichéd, but when I grow up, finish school and university, I’ d like to go on to be a Cognitive Neuroscientist. This area involves looking at how the brain creates and controls thought, language, problem solving, and memory. Although I didn’t do much of this up at Melbourne, working in a lab for a week definitely helped me decide the direction I want to take. Katherine Robertson – Y10

T h e CHALLENGERS o f 2 014 • c h a l l e ng e p rog r a m The Challenge Program offers the opportunity for ‘like-minded’ students, those passionate for knowledge to gather, energize & collectively create rich learning opportunities. It is specifically designed for students who wish to engage in an enrichment program that offers diverse activities that stretch the mind. Through a focus upon higher order thinking skills, future problem solving, accelerated learning strategies & competitions at the local, state, national & international level, students have the opportunity to engage in cross-disciplinary tasks that favour those who aspire towards high cognitive performance. In contrast to curriculum extension offered in the classroom, the Challenge Program offers multi-disciplinary, seasonal &/or independent areas of inquiry that benefit from the allocated time & flexibility of the Activities Program.

We also started a new initiative; the Friends of Woodleigh Institute for Science Education Research with an email distribution group and a Facebook page to keep interested families up to date with what is happening in Science at Woodeligh. We also held our first two events for this group. An Open Day in the Laboratories, Farm and Reserve followed by a light lunch in Term 2 and a Family Science Night building Model Electric Cars in Term 4. We look forward to doing much more with our families in 2015. But it’s not just about fun for the students. The staff have also been able to get to enjoy some time together exploring philosophical questions about teaching and learning and hands-onactivities we can use in our classes. We had an interesting session with Peter Eastwell about the Nature of Scientific knowledge, the Inquiry Learning process and how both fit with the Australian Curriculum for Science and enjoyed a very interesting session with Neville Young from Scorpio Technology building Dragsters and RoboBugs. We welcomed a new member to our Faculty this year; Ms Danielle McDonald, who has been a great addition to our team and Martin Blake helped out during Semester Two. Dr Gary Simpson – Head of Science Faculty

The Challenge Program this year invited a large number of students to participate in a wide range of interesting and testing events ranging across the usual field of competitions and quizzes and across the usual field of subject endeavours. In so doing, a good time was had by all. Many of the highlights are described within Faculty reports, but others included the following events: Model United Nations Assembly – Casley Rowan and Fraser Dawson Supported by the Rotary Club of Somerville and Tyabb, this year, Fraser and Casley acted as delegates of the Republic of Korea (informally known as South Korea) at the regional competition held at Forest Edge, Neerim East, in April. Over the course of a weekend, they participated in an exciting program which reflected the objectives and principles of the United Nations. Although they thoroughly enjoyed the experience, their extreme politeness under pressure led to the “Glorious Democratic Republic of North Korea”, aka the Toorak girls’ team, triumphing in a rare show of world tolerance. Monash University Enhancement Studies in Chemistry – Alex Miglietti The Monash University Enhancement Studies Program aims to provide university-level studies to motivated students who are undertaking their final Year 12 studies. It is a sixth VCE study option for high-achieving students. Acceptance into the program is determined on the basis of a strong recommendation and high-level results across all subjects in Year 11. This year, Alex Miglietti rose to the challenge of studying Year 13 Chemistry in parallel with his Year 12 Chemistry studies. Not only did he do this, but he also ran lunchtime classes for other Year 11 and Year 12 Chemistry students throughout the year, including during the September holidays, approaching the exam period. He is to be thoroughly commended for his dedication to study and his selfless support of other students. Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award – many takers! Interest in the Duke Challenge has been high this year, and many students have signed up, however, it takes organization and persistence to see the Challenge through to completion. We were very pleased this year to award the Bronze certificate to Rhiannon Van Vliet, Connor and Ryan Donnelly, Catherine Yeong, Jade Frankland, Alex Ferguson and Romy Lipszyc. These students have all signed up for the Silver or Gold Challenge and several others, who had not completed their Bronze earlier, have also stepped up to the higher level challenges so we are looking forward, early next year, to seeing even greater success across the board. Go, Dukes! Amazing Spaghetti Machine competition – The Awakinator. Initially run as part of the Activity program but extended into lunchtimes due to shortness of time, this year’s challenge was to build A Wake-Up Machine. Our intrepid group of Year 10 students with some Year 9 trainees, created The Awakinator, which raised the head of a bi-fold bed with vinegar and bicarb and opened the bedroom curtain with Lego, so that little, hand-sewn ‘Steve’ could watch an egg being hammered open and served on his bedside table while his wardrobe opened automatically (albeit rat-trap-painfully) to reveal his outfit for the day. True to form, we arrived on Judging Day at Melbourne University with just the driest of previous run-throughs. Our eighth placing was an improvement on last year’s effort, and our Year 9 apprentices spent some fruitful time collecting ideas for next year’s competition. Mindshop Excellence As part of the Camps Program in Term III, six students undertook a challenge to suggest “How to Make Frankston More Vibrant”. You can read more about their adventures in the camp section of the magazine. The Challengers, being all of the Faculty heads as well as Su Lampe and Marney Pope, welcome the appointment of Denise Cox as Director of Support Services. Marney Pope & Su Lampe – Challenge Programmers Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

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brian henderson w i l d l i f e r e s e rv e This year we farewelled two of our inaugural Field Gnats; Callum Simpson and Alex Miglietti and Tasha James who have all completed Year 12 this year, with a gift at our Spring Music Night in the Reserve. THeir personal contributions have made a very significant impact on the management and maintenance of the BHWR and the work of the Field Gnats at Mt Rothwell, Tiverton and Dunkeld. We had another successful year in the Reserve and with the Field Gnats completing many hours of conservation work with many working bees on weekends and during holidays and three weekends to Mt Rothwell and two school holiday trips to Tiverton. This year we extended the activities of the Woodleigh Field Gnats to include students from Elizabeth Murdoch College, McClelland College and the Red Hill Venturers. We were fortunate to receive a grant from DEPIâ€™s Communities for Nature fund to control our pest plants and animals and to plant to improve biodiversity. This has been a major benefit as we have sought to control rabbits, foxes, thistles, blackberries, wandering jew and a number of other weeds in the Reserve and the school grounds. Thank you to the many students, staff and community members who have assisted with all this work. Dr Gary Simpson Director of the Brian Henderson Reserve

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sheep showing moments – 2014 This year of Sheep Showing has been both rewarding and tough. We started the year with a rollover of only 8 students, and are finishing the year with a strong team of 25 enthusiastic young people who love getting their hands dirty and learning new things. As the team leader, I have been lucky enough to witness the change in the new team members, as they start off as scared, nervous kids, who don’t want to get dirty, and by the end of one year, have grown into knowledgeable, enthusiastic and amazing young people, who absolutely love doing all the messy work, and all of whom I would consider to be my closest friends. Not only did we start the year with 8 students, we also started the year with many good sheep. I am extremely proud to say that we are now finishing the year with a solid mob of GREAT sheep, which are winning big prizes such as Sheep Of Show! I am excited for next year’s adventures with this great bunch of people and animals, and for all the challenges and rewards that lie ahead. Tess Runting – Y10

During the term 3 holidays, 8 members of the Woodleigh Sheep Showing Team competed with our best sheep, at the

A s a st u dent led program , the organizational wor k that goes into the r u nning of the sheep showing team and loo k ing after the floc k is immense .

Royal Melbourne Show. It was great to be around people who live an agricultural life, I learnt a lot about sheep and meat production. It was lots of fun and very interesting to compete in the junior judging competition. It was great to bring some ribbons home after a week of hard work and unique experiences. Liv Mellor– Y10

As a student led program, the organizational work that goes into the running of the sheep showing team and looking after the flock is immense. Between keeping track of food levels, sending in our entry forms on time, caring for our flock’s new arrivals and dealing with anything else that goes pear shaped, we keep very busy! The very best thing about Sheep Showing is that we do all this while having the time of our lives. We’re a tight-knit group of friends and I know that these are the memories that are going to stay with us long after we leave school. Ella McCarthy – Y9

One thing I really enjoy about sheep showing is going to the shows and spending time with my friends, doing something we all enjoy, with the sheep we all love. Kaya Grocott – Y9

I love Sheep Showing because of the connection I have with both my sheep. The amount of time and effort I put into Lily and Jasmine and then seeing the result at shows makes it all worth

it. My favourite moment this year has been Lily’s second place at the Royal Geelong Show in a large class, against multiple reputable breeders. Ruby Crofts – Y8

I am proud to say that in my first year of sheep showing, I pulled out 3 lambs! The first lamb was when the sheep team was having a meeting and we saw a lamb’s leg sticking out in the paddock. After the meeting, me and a few other girls and boys stayed behind. We herded the sheep into a pen in the sheep shed. The leader; Tess had a look and decided the lamb would need help, as it was twisted. She gave me the opportunity to pull the first lamb out (the sheep was having twins). I was very excited to be pulling the lamb out! I had to pull down, holding on to the slimy, sticky legs of the lamb. It was really tough, but worth it! Now the lamb is known as Coupé, and his twin sister is named Posé. Caley Hood – Y7

The thing I like most about the sheep showing team is the shows that we go to and just being with all the animals. Even though I have only been to 3 shows I still like them, especially the overnight shows because you have time to explore and buy things. Max Hawkins – Y7

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Work experience, sitting in an office filing paper work, staring at a computer screen with many random words that to you make absolutely no sense, day in and day out your mind is slowly pouring out all excitement. Hold on, you can throw that somewhat vague imagination out of your head because what I did was much better. For the week I worked at Hella, an Australian derivative of a major German designer and manufacturer of Automotive Headlights and Taillights. In Germany, they design the lighting systems for some of the big names: Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, while down under they do the same for Ford, GM’s Holden and all the way from Japan, Toyota.

Now, going with what I said before, they do everything, absolutely everything. They design each individual component to co-operate with the manufacturer’s specs, they perform extremely detailed and accurate simulations of how they interact with each other and how they are moulded, and then they actually design and make the moulding dies which can weigh up to 10 tonnes, but only take up about a cubic metre. And still, the brand new parts are put together and tested to find their full capabilities. And all of that, comes down to these guys. The upstairs computer designers (who I was with for the first three days) are the go-to guys for shaping and simulating the brand new parts. They showed me how to use a highly detailed form of CAD called Catia with which I used to design my own flagpole bracket, which also later got stress tested. The downstairs hands on guys (who I spent the last two days with) are the main men who

make all of it work; the machines, the work stations, the dies, the robots and their specific attachments. With them, I helped to reset a program and I assembled a utility for a robot. One result that I found as of this arrangement is that there isn’t a huge lot of communication between the two floors and as a result, a lot of stuff has to be redesigned, rebuilt or reprogrammed. But all in the end, it works out magnificently. One really great thing that I enjoyed was the many tours that different people brought me on around the factory. Every different person showed me a different perspective to the whole operation. Starting out with just a basic overview, then getting onto what the machines do, how the work, the way the programming works, just everything. Every tiny little detail that makes everything go. All of the processes involved were very nicely and straightforwardly put to me. Most importantly, everyone who

One thing I particularly loved about City Bound was the whole concept of a “rich task”. For me, this seems a whole lot more real-world than just working on different things for 65 minutes each in a day. Working on one task, that has to be completed in a variety of ways, really gives you the chance to get a deeper understanding of a topic. When I read the topic for this final reflection, which was “What have I learned from City Bound?”, I found it hard to answer. You see, school is great for teaching you little factoids that you can go home and say to your parents “I learned XYZ today at school”, and then having you recall as many of those factoids as you can in classes or in a test. Admittedly, Woodleigh is a bit better about this than some other schools, and its learning is a bit deeper, but City Bound took this to a whole new level, and it was just amazing. One of the great parts about this kind of “real world” learning is it comes with matching “real world” assessment, and I thing it is fitting that City Bound should end the way it does. I only hope, again, that my parents manage to grasp this and base their expectations on what they see and hear, not what comes on a report at the end of term (although I

would hope that both paint a similar, preferably positive picture). I think it is worth taking a moment here to mention the food. It was awesome in every sense of the word. I got to try something different every day, and while I had experienced most of the different foods before, eating out with your family and eating out with friends are two very different things, and both worth experiencing in their own right. That was one part of City Bound that I most definitely will not forget.I know that this was also meant to be a bit of a “lunch challenge” but the different regions on the map really just provided us with inspiration and ideas for different places to visit. I think that planning where to eat might just be when we worked best as a team! When we had the various Icon Visits they acted as a chance to have a bit of a break, but also to learn in yet another different way, one that helped us with our Rich Task more subconsciously than consciously: while we didn’t draw much direct information from the Icon Visits for our conclusion, I think the ideas and people we were exposed to through these experiences shaped our findings in ways we weren’t aware. Aside from that I think they gave us an insight into

some of the different places and systems within the city, and also into some different people’s lives, which was a unique opportunity. I was a bit lost when I came to think about what I had learned about myself. What can a person honestly say they have learned about themselves, especially in a given period of time? Not much, really. Self-awareness is something that comes gradually, not learned in little bits that you can isolate and name and say “I learned this about myself today”. Here, however, are some thoughts. I think I learn better when I think there is a point to the learning. I also think I behave better in a group when I have something to work on, and am not at a loose end. This is not so much to do with laziness or getting distracted as much as the fact that I just am nicer and more useful when I’m doing something. On a side note, I also noticed I have a tendency sometimes to write very long sentences! All in all, I think it is great that City Bound has enabled me to learn so many things!

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Felix Friedlander – Y9

I worked with was what made it all worthwhile. They were all very nice and accepting and very willing to give me a lot of insight. They gave my experience that extra thing that you can’t really describe or put your finger on. Overall, I’ve had a great week and I really would like to continue with Automotive Engineering as my career choice. I thank everyone who I met but didn’t get names because of my short time there, including the HR manager, the upstairs designers, the downstairs guys, the wise security guard who I met every day, and everyone else in between. Again, I thoroughly enjoyed it and had a great time there. Oh yeah, and I got to see some ‘top secret’ stuff, as in the 2015 Toyota Camry. Don’t ask me to show you it, I wasn’t allowed to get any pictures and I’m hopeless at drawing and using CAD as good as them. You’ll just have to wait. Dominic Angelico – Y10

CO M M UNITY PARTNERSHIPS

working with Chumkriel language school in cambodia

The City Life Experience On June 4, 11 students got the opportunity to go and hang out down at City Life in Frankston. City Life is an organization that supports the homeless by giving them the chance to have a free warm meal, a cup of coffee and to just have a simple chat and laugh with the staff or a volunteer. When we got to City Life we only had a small idea of what to expect of the day. We had a quick rundown on what the organization was about then got separated into 2 groups, one for preparing food and cooking for the clients, and one to go and socialize and play board games with them. When we see homeless on the street a large majority of us tend to turn a blind eye and pay no attention to them. We need to understand that the homeless were once like us, and never wanted to be homeless. Some may have taken bad paths but some are people just like us that just couldn’t support them selves financially so they are forced to live on the streets. City Life made me really experience the true meaning of “don’t judge a book by its cover”. I can honestly say to myself that I would never have spoken to these people out on the street, as we all feel they are living in a different society to us, but actually meeting these people made me realize how good their hearts are. They are willing to have a conversation and laugh with you, and they are almost always willing to tell you their story and give you advice on how not to end up In their shoes.

Going to City Life and seeing these good people made me realize that we need to appreciate what we have, although it’s commonly said throughout our lives from our peers to “be happy with what you’ve got”, I guess you never really see this until you’ve seen the people you come across coming in at City Life; they have nothing compared to us, but we are the ones complaining about our clothes not being “cool” or our phone being broken. City Life was an amazing experience and I would love to go back the next opportunity available. If you are willing to help out the misfortunate, meet new people and have fun, City Life is definitely worth giving a shot! Just a quick thought, the next homeless person you see, give them a smile and maybe a quick “ hello, how are you?” as this can honestly make someone’s day. Being acknowledged as a human being plays a huge part in ones life. Hari Shore – Y10

Mornington Special Development School I believe that in life everybody has the right to live, laugh and play no matter who he or she is and what others might think of them. I had come to this conclusion after mere minutes in the MSDS in Term 2. When we walked in we were given visitor tags and outside we could see the students playing basketball. Upon going outside I discovered that the dynamic of the yard was not all that different to that of my primary school.

Here however, the children mingled and all played together and welcomed us to their school by inviting us to play tag and four square. For the rest of that day I helped out at the school, but it didn’t really feel like helping. It was just amazing to be able to be there. My second day there, which was quite recently I was told that the students would be practising for the music festival, and it was great to see them all having so much fun, even in music class which was at the end of the day when everyone was getting a bit sick of school, Joel danced, Tom played the bongos and Keeley sung on the microphone. The younger children were out at RDA, so we got to work with kids from the age of about 8 or 9 up to 16 and 17. I can’t wait to go back to MSDS and I know that their music festival performance will be amazing. The community program has been a real eye opener to me and to any body reading this, I think that we should take the initiative to be as welcoming as those students were on that very first day. REMI CHYNOWETH – Y8

Spring Park Primary During the Year 8 program this year, my group hosted children from Spring Park Primary School and showed them around the science lab. There were three activities to take part in: the touch tanks, where the children were able to touch and feel different animals such as sea urchins and hermit crabs; the marine tanks, where the children were able to see and learn about different sea creatures including the Port Jackson Shark,

and there were also some skulls to look at and learn about evolution from. We started the day by taking the children to the gym where they ate lunch and we got to know them. It made me realise how lucky we are to have the resources we have at Woodleigh when I heard them say things like “This is what I dreamed of ” and “Wow, this is what I call a gym.” I sat down with a group of children and they were really nice to talk to; it was obvious they were really excited to be here. After they had eaten, we took them to the science lab. I was conducting the marine tank tours along with Keeley, Georgia H and Ashleigh. I learnt a lot about marine life myself, and it was very interesting. The most challenging thing I did was probably learning to say ‘the spotted mottled shore crab’, a big tongue twister. It was really touching to see the kids’ faces when they saw the Port Jackson Shark; one boy even asked if it was a computer hologram. After we’d shown them around the marine tanks we showed them the shark egg, which the shark had hatched from. All the kids found it very intriguing, and were all excited to hold it. We also taught them about different shells and coral and the diving programs we have here at school. Then we passed them onto the next group, where they would look at the skulls and touch tanks. Overall it was a very lovely day, and I learnt a lot as well as the children. It made me realise how lucky we are to have access to all these things every day and that it shouldn’t be taken for granted. Juliet Hosler – Y8 Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

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Throughout 2014 Woodleigh continued it’s recent strong performances at the SIS Carnivals. With 13 schools competing in these competitions our efforts in achieving top 3 finishes in all three Division A Carnivals – Swimming, Cross Country and Athletics – is a significant one that our school community should be proud of. Those results have been achieved on the back of a great team culture, some individual brilliance and the hard work and dedication of the staff involved. Our teams also competed impressively in the SIS Weekly Sport competition winning three pennants and achieving some great results along the way. Winning isn’t everything, and my personal highlight throughout this years’ SIS Weekly Sport competitions was the Senior Girls’ Football match played at Woodleigh against St Peter’s College. St Peter’s won the Victorian Schools Championships earlier in the year after going through that competition undefeated and unchallenged. Our team took them on in an epic encounter; the tackling was fierce, the skills impressive, and the desire and competitive nature of all those involved was memorable. The game came down to the wire and St Peter’s came out victorious. But on this day, our girls were also victorious. They had come significantly closer than any other school in Victoria to defeating St Peter’s. The way our girls played the game, and then handled themselves in defeat was a credit to them and a great example to all of those who were watching as to the type of effort we should be giving when representing the school. Woodleigh maintained a strong connection with local community sporting organisations during 2014. We had over 140 students represent us in either after school basketball competitions at FDBA or Friday evening netball at FDNA. With nearly all of our school competitions taking place during the week, many of our students are also actively involved in community sport teams on the weekends. The end of the year is the appropriate time to thank those who have contributed strongly to our sport program throughout the year. This year I’d like to thank our Year 12 students for many years of significant involvement in our sporting program. It was fantastic to see such a large contingent of Year 12s represent Woodleigh for one last time at the SIS Athletics Carnival. To the parents who do so many drop offs and pick ups and cheer from the sidelines, to the staff who organise, prepare and coach our teams – without your contributions, the diversity of our program just wouldn’t work. Next year will see the introduction of a new sport uniform. I’m looking forward to our students embracing this and wearing it with pride as they represent Woodleigh in some of the 25 sports that we currently participate in. Ben Davenport – Director of Sport

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Homestead Sport This year only two of our three carnivals were completed. The Homestead Athletics Carnival got underway down at Casey Fields but not long into the program a deluge of rain bought about a premature end to the day. Homestead 3 continued their outstanding recent results in 2014, although this year the challengers closed in. Homestead spirit was alive and well and it was great to see high numbers of students competing and Homestead colours abundant. Homestead Swimming On Monday, February 24th Homesteads headed to Pines Pool with the sun shining for the Homestead Swimming Carnival. Homestead 3 has dominated this event for several years and this year was no exception. It was their consistency across all age groups that saw them achieve yet another victory. Home0stead 6 proved to be the big challenger, and with Tutor Group wins in Year 7 and Year 9 maybe 2015 will see a new overall winner. The Invitational Individual Medley pits our fastest swimmers against each other to determine our best all round swimmer on the day. The showcase event sees all the spectators lining the pool and cheering on the swimmers. In the girls race Caitlin Robinson (Year 8) swam impressively to win this event for the first time. Vieve Schneider (Year 7) and Zali Mayall (Year 7) finished in second and third place and showed that they will be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years. The boys race was also hotly contested with Ned Middlehurst (Year 8) victorious ahead of Sean Parker (Year 9) and Jesse Mulder (Year 10). At the other end of the scale the novelty events were again a great success. The Boogie Board and Flipper Relay, Search and Retrieve Relay and the Underwater Relay were an opportunity for students who were less confident swimming the traditional races to make a contribution to their Homesteads on the day. Tutor Groups Champs

Year Level 7 8 9 10

1st 4&6 1 6 3

2nd 3 3 6

3rd 3 7 4 2

Overall

Place 1st 2nd 3rd = 4th = 4th 6th

Homestead 3 6 4 1 7 2

Score 423 402 354 322 322 243

Homestead

Results – Individual Girls

Cross Country In the first week of Term 2 runners turned out in great numbers to represent their Homesteads in the 2014 Homestead Cross Country Carnival. The track was dry and the weather suitable for running as students and staff alike challenged themselves on the 3km and 4km courses. Whilst the number of students completing the races under the designated times was comparable to last year, this years event saw more and more runners pushing themselves to do the best that they could and, in turn, give their Homesteads a better overall result. The cross country is a challenging event and not for everyone, so it was fantastic to see so many students take on a personal challenge throughout the day. For the first time in the history of this event the overall result finished with a tie for first place. Homestead 3 shared the honours with Homestead 1.

Triathlon The summer of 2013/14 saw a small group of dedicated students represent Woodleigh in Triathlon for the first time. The students trained regularly in the disciplines of swimming, cycling and running and put their fitness and skills to the test in a series of races held throughout the season across Melbourne’s bay side suburbs.

Yr 7 Yr 8 Yr 9 Yr 10 Yr 11 Yr 12

1st Franny Richardson Laura Farrugia Chelsea Gardner Kelsie Vickery Evie Wilkins Nina Greig-Towers

2nd Vieve Schneider Ruby Crofts Grace Cockman Bri O’Donohue Mayra Cuming Meg Jamieson

3rd Zali Mayall Eloise Dillon Mel Armour Gabby Kittle Jessie Farquharson Audrey Turek

1st Wil Reilly Lachlan Evenden Beau Galley Rupert Hodgkins Chris Balthazaar Jacob De Coninck

2nd Hunter Savage Jonah Milne Max Wiggins Brai Waddell

3rd Ryan Tzeremes Noah Mosele Max Brzezek Max Clarke-Stringer

Xander Theofanis

James Bugg

Individual Boys

Yr 7 Yr 8 Yr 9 Yr 10 Yr 11 Yr 12

Sport Aerobics What a fabulous year 2014 was with 9 teams from both campuses competing at the Inter-schools State Championships in September. Charli Brough and Sage O’Connor (Year 4) won the gold in their section, Level 3 Juniors, and went on to compete at the Nationals in Brisbane. They represented their school beautifully winning fourth place in an amazing section. Gen Siggins (Year 10) competed as an individual at the Victorian Gymnastics Championship, winning her section with a stunning performance. Congratulations to all the competitors for performing at their best and supporting their teammates. A big thanks to our coaching team, Hayley, Kristina, Jessie and Breezy. What great role models you are. Lindy Maginness – Aerobics Coordinator

Cam Macindoe – Triathlon Co-ordinator

During Term 1 and 4 on Monday afternoons, a group of Woodleigh students took part in Triathlon training and races. In training we focused on transitions, running and swimming skills. In the running sessions we learnt important skills on how to keep a steady pace throughout the whole running leg. We travelled down to Frankston beach where we learnt how to spot the finish line during the swim leg and how to avoid pushing and shoving in the pack. The races were exciting knowing that you would be racing with someone you knew and you would have fun. The training really helps us on race day because we were prepared and knew what was going to happen. Ben Rawlings – Y8 Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

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Homestead Cross Country continued... Homestead Results – Tutor Groups 1st H6 H1 H1 H7

Yr 7 Yr 8 Yr 9 Yr 10

2nd H4 H3 H6 H2

3rd H7 H4 H3 H3

Overall = 1st = 1st 3rd 4th 5th 6th

Homestead Homestead Homestead Homestead Homestead Homestead

1 3 4 6 7 2

532 points 532 points 554 points 575 points 580 points 670 points

Homestead Athletics Carnival This year’s Homestead Athletics Carnival saw very few events completed before the rain set in and ended the day. There were, however, a few records broken: Record Breakers Clea Clifford (Year 10) – 400 mtrs – 1:03.30 seconds Jacob Plummer (Year 8) – Javelin – 33.00 metres

Kelsie Vickery (Year 10) – Long Jump – 4.48 mtrs Nick Williams (Year 9) – Shot Put – 13.14 metres

SIS Swimming Woodleigh continued it’s recent outstanding results at the SIS Swimming Carnival held on the 11th March at MSAC. For the second year running we finished in second place overall in the Division A competition, with Padua winning the event for the 25th consecutive year. This year our success was a result of our consistent performances across the evening. We finished in the top 3 in half of the 84 events which was an amazing effort. We were also the only school apart from Padua to win an age group pennant, taking out both the U17 and Open Boys pennants. Woodleigh also received the Merit Award. Well done to the following students who won individual races on the night; Vieve Schneider, Caitlin Robinson, Lachie Angel, James Adams and Ruby Middlehurst. Congratulations also to our 2014 Swimming Captains Alex McDonald and James Adams who performed impressively on the night and inspired others to get involved in the lead up. It was another record breaking night in the pool for our students with 4 new SIS records broken. Congratulations to the following individual and relay record-breakers: Lachie Angel – U/17 50m Breaststroke, U/17 50m Freestyle and U/17 50m Backstroke Lachie Angel, Lachie Robinson, Michael Andrews & James Adams: Senior 4 x 50m Medley Relay Overall Place 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th

School & Student population Padua (2109 students) Woodleigh (588 students) Flinders (706 students) St Francis Xavier (2413 students) St Peters (1190 students) Nazareth (806 students) St Johns (1090 students)

Total Points 828 592 581 516 474 459 363

SIS Cross Country Very cold conditions greeted us for the running of the Division A SIS Cross Country at Baxter Park on May 27. With one of the largest teams we have taken to this event, well prepared and race ready, we were excited about the challenges that this tough event provides. It was a fantastic team effort on the day with all runners giving 100% effort. The most outstanding individual performances on the day were: Kelsie Vickery (Under 15 Girls) – 1st place Clea Clifford (Under 16 Girls) – 1st place Lachie Evenden (Under 14 Boys) – 6th place Gabby Kittle (Under 16 Girls) – 6th place Nina Greig-Towers (Under 21 Girls) – 6th place Franny Richardson (Under 13 Girls) – 7th place Gen Siggins (Under 16 Girls) – 7th place Evie Wilkins (Under 17 Girls) – 7th place Beau Galley (Under 15 Boys) - 8th place Chris Balthazaar (Under 17 Boys) – 8th place Max Brzezek (Under 15 Boys) – 9th place Overall, we finished in 3rd place, which was an excellent result. Well done to all involved and a big thank you to team captains Xander Theofanis and Tasha James for the great contribution they have made to this team during their time at Woodleigh. Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

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Throughout 2014 Woodleigh competed in 29 SIS Weekly Sport competitions across the Junior, Intermediate and Senior categories. Congratulations to the following teams who won pennants this year: Junior Boys Basketball, Junior Mixed Table Tennis, JUNIOR MIXED TENNIS and Intermediate Boys Handball.

Gold Coast Netball Carnival Netball noun a seven-a-side game in which goals are scored by throwing a ball so that it falls through a netted hoop. By contrast with basketball, a player receiving the ball must stand still until they have passed it to another player. Queensland noun a state in northeastern Australia Add these together and “what do you get?” I hear you asking… A 9 day, jam-packed rollercoaster of sun, sock tans and all things social. I present to you the 2014 Gold Coast Netball Carnival. Whist all of you Melbournians were sleeping in, staying in your pyjamas all day and rarely going outside… Myself along with 19 other girls, Mr Davenport, Mrs Schmidt and Lisa Hayes spent the middle week of our Term 2 school holidays up in sunny Queensland playing netball. With 4 full-on days of competition, 2 days of travelling we needed a bit of a break. So we decided to go hit up the theme parks on our days off! You can see how we all came back very exhausted, looking forward to a good night’s sleep. SeaWorld! Wet ‘n’ Wild! Movie World! We were stepping from experience to experience, relishing all that the top third of the east coast of Australia had to offer. Now back to the netball! This year Woodleigh decided to take up 2 teams (a junior and an intermediate) along with 2 coaches and Lisa our manager/first aid guru/ mum. The Carnival itself was pretty straightforward. 4 days of netball with a day in between each. The first 2 days were dedicated to grading games (where we played against other teams in our age group) to then be placed into divisions for the last 2 days to play against teams our skill level for the final results. With over 60 netball teams competing from across Australia and New Zealand, you could really say we were the centre of the netball world. The juniors were lucky enough to attack and defend all of their grading games to make it into the top division for their age group, which meant they had a tough competition awaiting them. The intermediates on the other hand had the complete opposite. Playing girls 2 years older than them early on and then having much more equal competition for the last 2 days. We all agree that no matter who we were playing, both teams came out as much stronger players who were working really well as a team. You can imagine what it must have been like for Mr Dav – spending over a week with 22 other females… So we decided to make it all the more fun for him by belting out the tunes every single bus ride, taking 5 minutes extra to fix up our hair in the morning and even giving him a run for his money with how many rides we could fit in in one day. I guess you can say some intimidation was felt on his part. Offside the netball court we definitely showed him how much fun we could be! We flew over a third length of Australia to be welcomed with smiling faces and a big competition waiting! Despite being untouched by whether we won or lost a game…. we all returned to Melbourne with smiles on our slightly burnt cheeks and plenty of fond memories to think back on whilst we wallowed in Victoria’s contacting, obstructing, and replaying weather. Definitely a trip that left us with sore muscles, diverse, new skills and an experience that we will never forget! Anna Van Vliet – Intermediate Team - Netball Captain Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

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FDBA Basketball With 10 current teams playing in 2014 Summer Competition basketball continues to be one of the highest participation sports at Woodleigh, with more than 70 students taking part in the weekly competition at Frankston Basketball Stadium. It is clear to see, by the sheer numbers, that this sport is highly valued and the players thoroughly enjoy the experience and participation. Summer Season has taken off with a bang and we have many teams moving up an age group and in top divisions. Each week we continue to see some great individual performances and many team improvements. It has been encouraging to see some individual players taking on more leadership roles within their teams and making regular contributions for improving team participation. The season has just started and I wish all of the players the best of luck for a successful and enjoyable season. A big thanks to the parents and the staff involvement in the program. Especially the parents for their support and encouragement each week, who turn up to every game and offer invaluable support. Belinda Schmidt – Basketball Coordinator

SIS Cross Country (results continued) Overall Place 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th

School & Student population Padua (2109 students) St Francis Xavier (2413 students) Woodleigh (588 students) Flinders (706 students) Balcombe (414 students) John Paul College (955 students) St Johns (1090 students)

Total Points 323 719 1083 1178 1232 1429 1872

SIS Athletics On Monday 13th October we took a team of 80 athletes to Lakeside Stadium in Albert Park to compete in the Division A SIS Athletics Carnival. Our students performed incredibly well on the day across both track and field events. Collectively they gave their best and fought for every available point on the day. Of the 150 events run and won on the day, we had 73 top 3 finishes including 21 first place finishes. It was an outstanding performance that included many personal bests and led to us finishing in 3rd place overall. Well done to our Under 15 Girls team who won their pennant. Woodleigh was also awarded the Merit Award. Students to win individual events on the day were Jessie Farquharson, Kelsie Vickery, Bri O’Donohue, Clea Clifford, Liv Mauerhofer, Zoe White, Liv Smith, Jarrah Burgess, Evan Soutar, Riley DiVincenzo, Cooper de Haas and Rupert Hodgkins. Congratulations to our team captains; Evan Soutar who finishes his athletics career at Woodleigh as one of our most outstanding athletes ever, Liv Smith who broke through for her first win in the Javelin in her final year, and Nina Grieg-Towers who despite being unable to compete on the day after completing the Melbourne Marathon the previous day has been a great contributor. Overall Place 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th

School & Student population Padua (2109 students) St Francis Xavier (2413 students) Woodleigh (588 students) St Peters (1190 students) Flinders (706 students) St Johns (1090 students) Nazareth (806 students)

Ben Davenport – Director of Sport

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Total Points 1196 1183 973 848 808 770 629

FDNA - Friday night Netball This year we saw an impressive representation of Woodleigh Students for after school Netball on Friday nights at Jubilee Park. We are currently in the middle of our 3rd season for the year, with 7 teams across Years 7-12. We have had a great number of students join Friday night netball for the first time this year as well as many keen and enthusiastic players retuning. We had a great start to the year in Term 1 with 8 teams competing across all age groups. The girls did extremely well despite many interruptions to the term, and it was great to see some new Year 7s pick up the game so well. The term 2 and 3 season is a long season with about 18 rounds and finals, We continued with 8 teams, 2 of which were made up of the Gold coast Carnival girls in preparation for their trip. All teams did extremely well, with a few teams progressing to finals. Our Year 9/10s had to form one division, 3 teams competing against each other was quiet tough, but the girls stuck it out and we were very proud of them. The Year 11/12 Woodleigh Phoenix, made the grand final in a great game by the two teams, they went down by 4, congratulations to Rhiannon Van Vliet on receiving best on court. Also to our Year 9/10 team Woodleigh Unicorns who also made the grand final for division two they did extremely well but were unable to come up with a win. We would also like give a huge congratulations and our appreciation of all our senior helpers throughout the year, who have given up their spare time to help coach and mentor our junior players. Well done to Jayde Southwell, Rhiannon Van Vliet, Olivia Cook, Mayra Cuming, Jesse Farquharson, Anna Van Vliet and Zoe Pragt, you have all done a fantastic job and we hope to see you all of you back next year. The continued commitment and dedication by all the netballers has been amazing, keep up the good work and we hope to see you all and many new faces in 2015! Lee Wilkins â€“ Netball Coach

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VSCC Mountain Biking Every year the VSCC (Victorian Schools Cycling Championships) runs a series of cycling races, for road cyclists, mountain bikers and BMX racers. Along with a small group of people from Woodleigh, I entered the mountain bike series and raced students from all over the state at Dromana Secondary School, the You Yangs Regional Park, Lysterfield Lake Park, and all the way to Bendigo for the state final. I was in the novice category (the racing category

senior G I R L S S O C C E R

senior boys cric k et

only applies if you have a Cycling Victoria membership) and raced around 20-25 kids in each race. All the results were based on a points system – so 1st place received 5 points, 2nd place received 4 points and so on, until 5th place. I placed well in each race and ended up winning overall in my category, which was awesome. All of the other students from Woodleigh placed well in their events as well. I definitely recommend this series to the mountain bikers from Woodleigh, as it is a great opportunity to race against kids from different schools, as well as ride some tracks which you may not have ridden before. However, soon mountain bikers from Woodleigh won’t be confined to just riding tracks which potentially require a long stretch in the car to get to. In 2015, we are looking to build a skills track at the senior campus in one of the paddocks near the Brian Henderson Reserve. This track has the potential to be amazing, just like the track that Dromana Secondary School has, but we need the support of the Woodleigh community to help this happen. Stay tuned for more news about the track, and see if you can get out for a couple of rides over these holidays. VSCC Series Results Alex Wardrop – 2nd overall in JR17 Novice. Noah Mosele – 6th overall in JR17 Novice. Tom Angelico – Equal 1st overall in JR19 Novice Tom poyser – Y8

J U N I O R boys cric k et

j u nior girls soccer

intermediate girls netball

intermediate girls volleyball

intermediate boys baseball

senior girls bas k etball

j u nior boys football

intermediate boys bas k etball

intermediate boys football

intermediate girls softball

Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

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H P V – W inners W onthaggi 6 H r

intermediate girls soccer

intermediate boys cric k et

j u nior boys bas k etball – pennant winners

j u nior girls football

intermediate girls handball

I N T E R M E D I AT E G I R L S B A S K E T B A L L

intermediate boys handball – pennant

j u nior girls bas k etball

J u nior M i x ed T ennis – pennant winners

senior girls netball

j u nior boys soccer

j u nior girls netball

intermediate boys soccer

senior boys bas k etball

j u nior mi x ed table tennis – pennant

senior boys football

senior girls football Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

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sue renner Sue Renner’s tremendous passion for the French language and culture has shone through in all of her classes over the last 12 years at Woodleigh. She has regaled students with stories about the rich French culture and how it has shaped our modern

world, and students have made a long-term attachment to her. She has been involved in a diverse range of co-curricular French activities, including visits to the NGV to view special French Art Exhibitions, Year 10 Pique-niques sur l’herbe, planning for and welcoming students from the New Caledonian school at Koné, cooking French specialities, crêpe-making and helping Year 10 students to prepare for their overseas’ exchange. The list of Sue’s involvement and achievements is incredibly long. Sue also taught the

Grade 5 and 6 students at Minimbah for a very long time and we have profited from her instruction when the students have made the transition to Senior Campus. In the Activities program she has shared her passion for Doctor Who and her skill in Calligraphy and Sewing. Sue was also a tutor in Homestead 4, and her ever-reliable manner was a real asset to the team. Sue was Queen of Year 7, taking them under her wing, making sure they knew in triplicate where to be, what to do, how to behave,

solving their problems. She always attended Junior Homestead Camps, preferring her boogie board during surfing sessions - always active despite the sometimes cold conditions. Sport days were met with keen enthusiasm, always dressed in the Homestead 4 colour of red. Her organisation in the day-to-day running of Homestead was spot on and she could be relied upon in all circumstances, particularly in

At the start of 2014, we welcomed the following staff: The Junior Campus happily welcomed Mrs Kate Marino to the teaching team where she took on the role of teaching Foundation. We welcomed Sarah Watson to the role of Drama teacher and we also welcomed Bronwyn Burrows as an Integration Aide. In Term 4 Alison Cummins took over from Phil Thomas as he took some well-deserved Long Service Leave. In the Canteen at both campuses, Alisa Melhuish coordinated catering along with Sinead Parker and Jackie Frith who were new additions to her team. At Senior Campus, we welcomed Denise Cox who has joined us from Hong Kong to become our Director of

Support Services; we also welcomed Catherine Soper, who will be sharing the role of Principal’s PA with Lauren Green; and Scott Pendlebury, Provisional Psychologist. We also had a number of staff filling in for leave vacancies and assisting us this year, including; Andrew Peach, filling in for Debbie Borley (Long Service Leave), Martin Blake; Melissa Cranwell, filling in for Pamela Green (Long Service Leave); Linda McLeish and Cassandra Zara. During the year we fare welled a few staff members: Teresa AloWarde, Principal’s PA (filling in for Lauren Green during Maternity Leave); Chris Richardson, Property Manager and Cheryl Jackson, Director of Debating. We will also be fare welling Sue

Renner at the end of this year as she heads off into retirement – she will be missed! The following staff took well-earned Long Service Leave during the year. At Minimbah; Phil Thomas enjoyed a break. At Senior Campus; Linda Shepherd, Canteen Manager; Pamela Green, Staff Secretary; Debbie Borley, Director of Activities Weeks; Heather Boundy, Head of Library Services; Sophie Lea, Director of Counseling; Gareth Bolch, Deputy Principal – Administration; Gina Bolch, Director of Careers; Cathy Holt, Director of Music; Merilyn Green, Music Secretary; Di Mold, School Nurse and Office Assistant; Karen Humphries, Library Technician. We also had several staff head

off on Maternity Leave this year including: Lauren Green; Kate Hadley and Sharna Carter. We wish them and their families all the very best! We also had the pleasure of having the following staff return to Woodleigh: Debbie Page, taking over from Cheryl Jackson; Veronique Lapierre in the French Department; Mark Adams, Accounting and Humanities; Nick Donaldson, English and Humanities and Natalie Clifton, English and Humanities. To all staff who assisted us with temporary vacancies, or who left during the year or at the end, a very big ‘thank you’ to you for your contribution to Woodleigh School.

Staff 2014

The 2014 magazine is printed on 100% recycled paper stock. It is printed with soy-based inks as part of a waterless printing process. The use of these materials and processes in the printing of the Woodleigh magazine reduces waste and conserves precious resources.

Please recycle. Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

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carey le bas

a crisis to step up and take charge. Sue’s door was always open to staff and students; she was a fabulous, supportive Tutor and Teacher who lived and breathed the Woodleigh philosophy, caring for her students and for the Homestead Team. Sue’s time spent as a tutor and classroom teacher will certainly be treasured by both students and staff.

After ten years in the IT department at Woodleigh, Carey Le Bas has left. As a Computer Tech, Carey was always knowledgeable and helpful. A great resource for students whose expertise (and patience) with sometimes quite fickle technology had finally run out.

Michelle Pitcher – Head of Lote

nigel l aw l e r

Nigel Lawler, stalwart of the English Faculty and general guru, is stepping down from Head of Senior Campus and back into the English classroom, his natural domain. Now is not a bad time to reflect on his work in the English Faculty over more than two decades. Nigel used to be a common, or ‘garden variety’ member of the faculty before his many promotions. His office was in Senior Homestead and he had the messiest desk anyone has ever seen and yet he always knew exactly where every single paper was. It was an extraordinary party trick. Now he has an impeccably tidy desk and still knows where everything is. I guess some things never change...

In those early days Nigel was nominated by his students as The Herald Sun Teacher of the Year. And he won. A feat never matched by any other teacher at Woodleigh. He was, and remains, a brilliant classroom practitioner: one of those teachers who can be doing a close analysis of a Hamlet soliloquy on the board; be modifying the questions he asks to the needs of the students; be noticing

students. After he has shown you how to structure an essay, those skills stay with you for life. He has introduced generations of students to classics and modern literature alike (although we were all glad when he got over his Ben Elton stage), and is the type of teacher who can give you the due dates for the year in the first class.

In those early days Nigel was nominated by his students as The Herald Sun Teacher of the Year. And he won. A feat never matched by any other teacher at Woodleigh. who’s on YouTube; be registering the emotional state of students and still notice a paper, through the window, that will need picking up after class - and that’s Friday, last lesson... when he’s not at his best. He has been loved and respected by generations of Woodleigh English

Woe betide anyone who schedules an excursion during one of his classes. He is planned down to the last minute. Which is not to say that he is inflexible. His willingness to adopt new technologies and embrace new genres and styles has been invaluable to the faculty over the years.

Carey had a keen interest in the Arts, and all things theatrical at both campuses of Woodleigh School. He was a stalwart member of Woodleigh choirs, having first performed in them as a student many years ago. Carey’s humour and good nature is missed by all. All the best for the future. Steve Fraser – Head of ICT Services

immortalized by ‘Midway To Monaco’ in this year’s Year 12 Assembly – is “People in the middle stay seated and those on the sides can leave”. However, his truly great moments in the Hall have always been during the Staff Student Debates where he launches truly vicious attacks at his own team members and is fairly rude to the opposition too. To hear his rant on such an occasion is to be mesmerized by his erudite wit and the extraordinary breath control that makes it possible for him to speak for five minutes before drawing breath. And the content? Let’s just say, it’s lucky he’s the boss. Fortunately this is one great Lawler tradition which will continue, as will his continued work for the English Faculty as he returns to the English classroom. The ‘Corridor’s’ loss is our gain! Helen Billett – Head of English Faculty

His most famous quote – as Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

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w o o d l e i g h s c h o o l s ta f f l i s t – 2 0 1 4 Junior Campus, Minimbah Rod Davies Head of Junior Campus Susan Bennett Hayley Blakiston Matthew Boundy Jeff Box Anne Bridgeman Anne Briner Kerrie Brodie Annie Bryson Bronwyn Burrows Pia Calder Maree Chynoweth Liane Clements Melissa Cranwell Georgina Cooper Lisa Coxon Alison Cummins Jodie Dunphy Wendy Dwyer Colin Elstub Sue Fletcher Aviv Gerszonovicz Sarah Gow Abby Haigh Anita Harris Bernadette Hayes Andrew Hicks Sophie Hosking Andrea Khoza Carey Le Bas Kate Marino Noeleen Martin Connie Miotto Sinead Parker Marney Pope Sally Rawlings Lisa Rix Mark Roden Kathy Sayce Michael Scott Nicole Shepard Johanna Smart Phil Thomas Chris Trenwith Lisa Wallace Sarah Watson Gabrielle Williams

ACKNOWLEDGE M ENTS Thank you to the students and staff who have assisted in the production of the 2014 Woodleigh School Magazine. Special thanks to Siobhan Marsh, Suzanne Cunningham, Di Mold, Gabby Williams and a host of others for proofing this edition of the Woodleigh School Magazine. Woodleigh School Magazine 2014

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Jonathan Walter Principal Senior Campus

Nigel Lawler – Vice Principal

Mark Adams Deb Agar Peter Aldenhoven Teresa Alo-Warde Ingrid Austin Craig Azzopardi Narelle Barnes Emily Bauer-Jones David Baxter John Beckley Alison Behrend Helen Billett Martin Blake Shaun Blake Hayley Blakiston Gareth Bolch Gina Bolch Val Bookless Debbie Borley Graham Bouette Heather Boundy Josette Bowden Bryn Bowen Jeff Box Graeme Boykett Anne Bridgeman Christina Brown Rachel Bryant Sharna Carter Mark Chapple Rosemary Cian Charlie Clarke Natalie Clifton Virginia Collins Levy Joanna Conroy Elspeth Cooper Suzanne Cowap Denise Cox Suzanne Cunningham Peter Curran Jennifer Curtin Paul Davis Andrea De Jong Bree Dolbel Jenny Donaldson Nick Donaldson Jodie Dunphy Wendy Dwyer

Colin Elstub Jenny Emery Dilanka Fernando Sue Fletcher Steve Fraser Jacqui Frith Aviv Gerszonovicz Tracey Glen Wendy Goodinge Lauren Green Merilyn Green Pamela Green Kristen Guthrie Kate Hadley Januar (Ned) Hanafie Joy Harris Nick Harrison Debbie Haskell Bernadette Hayes Sally Hicks Bill Higgins Cathy Holt Cathy Hughes Karen Humphries Julianne Iline Cheryl Jackson Laurent Julicher Jeanette Kaindel Robyn Kent Debs Kesterson Michelle Kiehn Su Lampe Alphonse Landman Veronique Lapierre Gary Lawson Sophie Lea Carey Le Bas Samantha Lewis Monica Ley Adam Liddiard Lisa Macdonald Cameron Macindoe Robyn Mantel Siobhan Marsh Danielle McDonald Alistair McRae Alisa Melhuish Connie Miotto

Many thanks to Kristen Guthrie, Birra Li Ward, Heather Runting, Matilda Hiscock, James Bugg, Jakob De Coninck, Alphonse Landman, Andy Hicks and The rest of the Staff of Minimbah for their wonderful photographs. Big thanks to Sandy Liddiard, Sally Hicks, Troy Pieterman & Rod Davies. Many thanks as always to Peter Booth from Fishprint Pty Ltd.

Ian Mills Di Mold Briony Morgan Yair Neumann Glenn Ogier Ruth Ogier Gab O’Loghlen Christian O’Toole Debbie Page Michael Paxino Andrew Peach Mel Pegler Pam Pegler Scott Pendlebury Troy Pieterman Lance Pilgrim Michelle Pitcher Marney Pope Jennifer Redman Sue Renner Suzanne Ribet Chris Richardson Geoff Rogers Tom Ryan Carey Saunders Belinda Schmidt Michael Scott Linda Shepherd Aaron Sim Gary Simpson Karen Somkiat Catherine Soper Tony Southwell Brett Standham Michael Stephens Ailsa Stuart Di Summers Kristine Taylor Christopher Trenwith Alexandra Treloar David Vaughan Lisa Wallace Birra-li Ward Andrew Westle Lucy Wharington Lee Wilkins Adam Young

Thanks to Lotte Clifford – Year 12 for the cover. It was always in safe hands. Final thanks are reserved for Jonathan Walter. He let me loose again, to design this weighty tome which reflects the sheer bloomin’ excellence of this place. The best darned school in Australia. Enjoy the holidays, and I’ll see most of you in 2015. Adam Liddiard – Magazine Guy

Barnum

..and in the air, Woodleigh rocks it everywhere.