From Year 9
What an exciting couple of weeks the Year 9 students have had. Last Monday started off with the Year 9 Excursion to The Shrine. After studying World War 1 in Humanities, it was a great opportunity for them to hear the stories and learn about the history of war in our country. On Friday students had a guest speaker from Melbourne City Mission, and in STEM students have been making Racer Cars.
STEM Electric Racer Cars
Throughout the course of the Year 9 STEM elective, students have been working towards making a racer that will take off. They were very excited to have finished the production of their electric racer cars. They had so much fun, and they were all able to take off.
Shrine of Remembrance Excursion
On Monday 30th October, Year 9 students were able to attend an excursion to the Shrine of Remembrance where they had an educational tour. This excursion was inspired by a group of Year 9 students who wanted to educate others about the negative impacts of war as part of their Mercy RITES Project. It also was helpful in consolidating their learning in Humanities as they have just completed the unit on World War 1.
At the Shrine of Remembrance, we able to learn more deeply about the impact of war on the men and women who served for our country. We also learned of the civilian impact and deaths. We learnt that even years after the wars are over, the leftover weapons, landmines and bombs still have a huge impact on communities. We also got to understand why the Shrine was built, so that the families who lost someone would have somewhere to go and remember them.
Tanecia McBride
The Shrine of Remembrance excursion was amazing. We were able to walk around and take a tour inside. We saw a room decorated with the beautiful poppies and origami cranes. We saw a ship from Gallipoli and many other war items. We learnt about how courageous the armies were and saw statues of those who risked their lives to save their country. We were split into small groups and had tour guides who, with their knowledge took us back to the past. Our tour guide Dianne told us the story of how many young people were enlisted during World War 1, including a fourteen-year-old boy who lied about his age and so he was enlisted. Unfortunately, he became very ill and died of disease. Personally, I was more intrigued with the stories about the people that I heard while at the Shrine than the stories that I have researched for our Mercy RITES project. It was fun being out with the whole year level and being able to reflect and remember the hard times of the men and women at war, and the deceased that didn’t make it back. I would like to thank Miss De Bono who organised the excursion and the teachers that supervised us.
Athiei Gor
Melbourne City Mission
On Friday 3rd November during Mercy RITES, the Year 9 students had a guest speaker Belinda Biffin from Melbourne City Mission, Front Yard Services talk to students about homelessness in Australia with a focus on youth homelessness. She provided an opportunity for us to break down the stereotypes of homelessness and helped us reflect on how lucky we are. At the end of the session, we talked about how by contributing to our Christmas Hamper Appeal, we can really make a big difference to someone’s life. Any families who wish to support the Christmas Hamper Appeal are encouraged to contact reception directly.
During our final Mercy RITES lesson for the year, we were privileged to have a member from the Melbourne City Mission (MCM)/Front Yard Services come and talk to us about youth homelessness. We were informed of the signs that someone who is experiencing homelessness may have that we weren’t aware of before. We also learnt that homelessness is not always visible, and that there are wide range of different types of homelessness. As this information is not known broadly, we feel that it's important we were informed about it. While helping people experiencing homelessness is complex, we were provided with referring agencies that can help anyone we know who is dealing with hard times.
Mary-Grace Fitzgerald and Sienna Zuniga-Donata