Hot Docs films screened at the Wheeler Centre– and the City of Melbourne gives permission for students to write climate change slogans in the city centre! The Wheeler Centre hosted an event in the city for Year 9 Hot Docs students,​ families and the general public on the last Friday of Term 2, as a grand finale for the Weather Stations global climate change project. The main purpose of the event was to screen the six inspiring documentaries the Hot Docs students made last term about climate change. These high­ quality films are being sent to Europe in the next couple of weeks to screen at the Berlin Literature Festival, FreeWord in London, and at schools in Dublin and Poland. There has also been an expression of interest for some of the films to be shown at a prominent Melbourne film festival early next year. The audience, and the Wheeler Centre, were really impressed and the students should be very proud of their excellent films. In between the documentaries, students Maxine Huntsman and Eliza Lucid interviewed Angharad, Matt and Leisa from Tipping Point Australia, who planned some of the activities and excursions, and introduced us to the scientists, artists and performers who worked with the class on climate change last semester. Grace Wright and Tien Bui interviewed writer Tony Birch on stage about his writing and his extremely positive experience of working with the Footscray students. In addition, examples of the writing students created with Tony Birch were projected onto screens around the room. At the end of the event, Darcy Smith and Spencer Davis concluded the night on the school’s behalf. During the evening, the students were each presented with a “graduation” present by Melbourne City Councillor Rohan Lippert. The “Breaking the Silence” kit consisted of several large pieces of chalk with an invitation to graffiti in the city. The idea for the kit came from activities earlier in the year following a tour of the street art in Melbourne’s laneways. In one activity, students were given chalk and cameras and asked to write slogans on the city footpaths. In the second, they were asked to mark a line with chalk on the walls along the Yarra below Federation Square to show the possible future level of sea rise in Melbourne due to global warming of the oceans. Rohan encouraged the students to write climate slogans across the city centre and said if anyone challenged them, to say that they were doing it with the permission of the Melbourne City Council! Several high­-profile visitors were present, including climate scientist David Karoly, who features in a couple of the films. A big thank you to all the family members and the several FCC staff members who attended on the night. The event was an excellent finale and it was great to end on a high. I’m sure the students will remember it for years to come. So where do we go from here? During the semester, our thinking about climate change and what we can do about it has been challenged. Hopefully the momentum and motivation will continue into the future and help strengthen environmental initiatives at school and home. I sincerely hope we find the funding for this program to continue next year. Sue Dwyer ­ Hot Docs teacher

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Fresh Science at the Museum On Wednesday 29 July, the science devotees from various year levels gathered to hear five top young science researchers talk about their discoveries. Students heard about the development of adaptive composite materials for use in aeroplane wings or Formula One racing cars that would continually change their shape to optimise performance. We were told of biological developments that used the immune cells (T cells) of living organisms and retro­fitted them, genetically modifying them to fight cancerous growths. This would potentially eliminate the need for damaging treatments like radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Lastly, we learnt about the amazing advances being made in solar cell technology despite a distinct lack of funding for research. In the future, a thin film of solar cells on our backpacks may power the increasing array of electronic devices we use in our everyday lives. Fresh Science is a national competition that selects top young scientists from around Australia to present their work to the media and public. It helps early­career researchers find and then share their stories of discovery. The scientists work in a range of fields from botany and zoology to biotechnology, medicine and engineering. Inspiring and fascinating!! University of Melbourne Endeavour Roadshow As part of our ongoing partnership with the University of Melbourne, the Endeavour Roadshow visited FCC recently as an outbound schools outreach program that gives school students the opportunity to experience an exciting introduction to Engineering and IT. A team of Engineering and IT students visited students across years 7, 8 and 9, conducting an impressive and engaging program. Each presentation is in the style of an interactive workshop to increase fun and facilitate tactile learning. This year, they built robots and then manoeuvred them through an obstacle course. Learning by doing – always popular! Mere Monkeys Year 10 Psychology students headed off to the Melbourne Zoo to take part in activities relating to our current class studies. The Mere Monkeys program challenges our students at a VCE level to consider the findings of classic animal research that have contributed to contemporary psychology and led to the current practices for ethical care and treatment of animals in research. Students participated in an ethical discussion about a Zoo­based case study as members of an Animal Ethics Committee (AEC), and observed the behaviour of a social primate species. They collected and recorded qualitative and quantitative data, which will be further analysed back at school. The students worked extremely well despite the distraction of three giant lions peering at us through the windows as potential dinner! Adam Taylor ­ Head of Science  

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Year 10 Environmental Science students have just arrived home after an unforgettable experience exploring the Great Barrier Reef on the “Ecosystems at Risk – Coral Reef Study Tour”. A group of International students from FCC were also part of the tour group. The Environmental Science elective focuses on the Great Barrier Reef throughout the course and studies the effects of human impacts. The Coral Reef Study continues a long­standing commitment at our school to engage students in not only the study of marine ecosystems, but also to actively protect these fragile and important ecosystems. Students at our College have participated in field studies (TeachWild Marine Debris Survey) and other research that helps raise awareness of the importance of protecting marine environments and have also engaged in scientific field work working alongside scientists in this endeavour. During our week exploring the Great Barrier Reef, we all had many wonderful and unforgettable experiences that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives. We were treated to some hot, humid weather, which was well appreciated after leaving Melbourne in the depths of winter. The highlights of our tour were the boat trips to Fitzroy Island on the inner reef, as well as Hastings Reef and Michaelmas Cay on the outer reef. On both these boat trips, we had the opportunity to snorkel and see the true beauty of the reef. Perhaps the “experience of a lifetime”, was the catamaran trip to the outer reef where we actually carried out an “Eye on the Reef” data collection. This involved the students assessing the health of the reef by collecting data using underwater slates to make observations of certain indicator species. This data was then uploaded to the “Eye on the Reef” web site  and used by the GBR Marine Park Authority to analyse and determine whether there was evidence of coral bleaching, Crown of Thorns starfish infestation, or high water turbidity caused by nutrient runoff. All the students carried out the survey with a high level of commitment. We were also treated to some wonderful sights such as clown anemone fish, green turtles, giant clams, white­tipped reef sharks and a diverse range of colourful fish and coral of every description. The visit to the turtle rehabilitation centre at Fitzroy Island was also a highlight. It was great to see these beautiful creatures being looked after by such dedicated people concerned about their welfare, as they are at such high risk of being threatened by human impacts. The whole trip was a great success and the students involved enjoyed top quality accommodation at the Northern Greenhouse and food at excellent restaurants around Cairns. Thank you, to Maureen O’Flaherty who helped with the organisation of this tour. Michael Hardiker ­ Organising Teacher

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The SNAP team is pleased to offer your senior students the opportunity to participate in a number of free I Belong programs, held during the September school holidays at RMIT’s City campus. Master Classes Master Classes will introduce students to RMIT graduates who are now working on exciting and ground-breaking projects. These interactive seminars will give students in Years 10-12 the chance to hear from industry professionals about their careers, how they achieved success, and how their RMIT experience helped them get to where they are. Master Classes in 2015 will be led by James Waldie – an Aerospace Engineering graduate and spacesuit consultant for NASA – and LAB DE STU, an award-winning design collective with a focus on cutting-edge and sustainable product design. Revision Lectures Educators from Neap will introduce students to subject-specific techniques and problem-solving methods to help them revise for their VCE exams. The lectures will cover key areas of study, strategies for working through complex questions and common feedback from VCE examiners. Students will also hear from RMIT teaching staff and current students, who will invite them to consider how their favourite subjects can lead to an exciting range of career and study options. Revision Lectures are for students who are currently studying Units 3 & 4 inEnglish/EAL, Maths Methods and/or Chemistry. Ready Set Design – Interview Bytes Places still remain for Interview Bytes, the final workshop in our Ready Set Design series. What happens when you get a folio interview for a design course? What sort of questions will you be asked and how can you prepare to be your best on the day? The Interview Bytes workshop will answer these questions and more. Get tips from current RMIT students and staff about how to succeed in a folio interview. You will also have the chance to practise your folio interview skills during this session. Interview Bytes is for VCE students currently studying Units 3 & 4 in an art or design subject. — To register their attendance for any of the events above students must visit our Eventbrite page, select the session/s they wish to attend, and provide their details. More information about these programs can be found on the individual event pages. Please distribute the attached flyers to your students and relevant subject area teachers. The flyers can also be printed and displayed as posters in appropriate classrooms or student spaces. Feel free to contact the SNAP team if you have any further questions about these opportunities.

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Year 11 student Angela Velasquez was featured in the Maribyrnong Star Weekly recently after being chosen to meet with retired Governor General of Australia Dame Quentin Bryce as part of a Young Women and Leadership Q&A at Victoria University on 10 September. Some of the ideas Angela would like to promote as a leader of the future include, legalising gay marriage, making it easier for people under persecution to migrate to Australia and making the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions a priority for Australia. The article can be read in full here: http://www.starweekly.com.au/news/a-meeting-with-dame-quentin-bryce/pub/maribyrnong_hobsons_bay/

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Mission to Mars Earlier this term, the Year 9 Mythbusters students embarked on an excursion to the Victorian Space and Science Education Centre (VSSEC) at Strathmore Secondary College to participate in their Mission to Mars Program. The students had spent a number of lessons prior to the excursion learning about Mars, its features and its similarities to Earth to prepare themselves for this risky mission. Upon arrival, everyone was assigned their Mission roles for the day and donned the space overalls before splitting into two teams – one bound for Mars to search for life and clues to its past and the other to Mission control to guide the astronauts through their mission. After a “10 month” journey, the astronauts landed on Mars, put on their space suits and commenced their assigned research tasks, assisted by those in Mission Control. Astronauts took on a variety of roles including testing rocks for signs of life, monitoring radioactivity and hot spots, searching a suspected river bed for clues and taking rock core samples. Unbeknown to them however, those in Mission Control were acutely aware of impending disaster in the form of an enormous dust storm (due to a lack of atmosphere on Mars, dust storms can last for up to three months and would be deadly for any astronaut) and had to promptly and calmly evacuate the astronauts safely from Mars. Fortunately, all astronauts were successfully saved. In the afternoon, the samples collected from Mars were analysed in the Lab to try to piece together the history of the small patch of Mars surface that was explored, revealing signs of flowing water from the past, valuable metals, volcanic activity and possible life! National Science Week 2015 What a week in Science!! National Science Week was celebrated last week and FCC was all over it like ducks on a June bug with a gluttony of Science events above and beyond the usual all over the school. In the immortal words of Barry Becher for Ginsu knives “Wait!! There’s more!” Here’s a link to the original advert for those not old enough to know what I’m talking about: www.youtube.com/watch?v=abLB7aTmnE4 Students took part in a successful Guinness Book of World Records Stargazing Event, won yet another award at the annual Amazing Spaghetti Machine Engineering contest at the University of Melbourne, participated in Giant Superquiz Friday with a prize to the Astronomy and Light Festival at Scienceworks and travelled to Mars and back surviving a mammoth three-month sandstorm in the process. World Record Stargazing event On Friday 21 August, Mt Stromlo Observatory led Australia in attempting two Guinness World Records: Most People Stargazing at a Single Site (Mt Stromlo) and Most People Stargazing across Multiple Sites in a Country (Australia), including Footscray City College as one of the nearly 50 official Guinness World record sites across Australia. The attempt was in honour of National science Week and very appropriate as this year’s theme is “Light”. We started the evening with a couple of “Back to the Future” SciFi classics (has it really been 30 years?) before decimating what seemed like too many sausages. Then we cracked open the celebratory telescopes (about the same size as the one Galileo used over 400 years ago) and prepared for the 10-minute block where we all had to be looking at the stars at exactly the same time as all the other sites across the continent with varying weather conditions and visibility. The record to beat was 3006 set in Mexico and at the last count we had well over 7000, so I believe that’s called smashed out of the park. Special thanks to our official Guinness scrutineers Tara Dinan and George Desilva for making our numbers count (30 students), to Rob McLeod for helping with logistics and Jak Dunstan for dropping in to lend moral support. Amazing Spaghetti Machine Competition 2015 The creativity and engineering skills of Footscray City College students have delivered another successful entry in the annual Amazing Spaghetti Machine Contest, held by the Engineering Department at the University of Melbourne. This year’s team secured another top five finish and won the prestigious Spaghetti With Everything award. Out of the 27 teams originally entered, 12 made it to the final day of judging and after a hectic morning reassembling the machine Spencer Davis regaled the judges with a specially written Spaghetti Machine song, a first I believe, while Liam Jumpertz bamboozled them with his magic tricks, also a first! Then came the big heart in mouth moment where everything has to go perfectly right – and it did! A perfect run through, delivering a bowl of cereal with a dash of milk after 13 transfers of energy. Well done to all the team: Jackson Groves-Koeleman, Ryan Butler, Hamish Drumond, Jakob Howard, Jackson Glover, Gene McLas, Patrick Luker, Oscar Hambleton, Michael Davis, Spencer Davis, Keth Peiris, Liam Jumpertz and Harris Langham. Adam Taylor – Head of Science

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Once again our school production has proved a triumph. Following two successful preview shows on 30/31 July, Sweeney Todd School Edition opened on 6 August to an enthusiastic audience full of special guests, family and friends. Opening night theatre goers also had an opportunity to dine in style before the show, with our VET Hospitality students putting on a Gala Dinner extravaganza. The rest of the run was phenomenal, filling the theatre to the brim for almost every show. As I reflect on the success of the Sweeney, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Joss, our brilliant new vocal coach for her tireless hard work with our amazing students. I’d also like to say a huge thank you to returned student, Maddy Vernon who was responsible for designing our costumes as well as Edie Gray, also an ex-FCC student, who along with Maddy designed and applied all the makeup and hair designs. But of course you wouldn’t have been able to see or hear the stunning performances if we didn’t have our tech crew. This group of boys worked with yet another ex-student, Rory Hynan, to learn all the skills needed to run the show.There were many tense moments throughout the season, but they managed to troubleshoot and solve any issues with calmness and precision, even with me going mental next to them. They are possibly the brightest, most hilarious and sweetest tech crew I have ever worked with; and as the tech desk is my home during the show run I have been completely thrilled to share it with them. I’ll save your seats at the desk for next years show. Next, of course the mysterious black clad figures that dart across our stage. Our backstage crew! They are a well-oiled machine, held together by an incredibly quick-minded cog, Margaret Erickson. Margaret has been my main support through the last few weeks, even while juggling a Bollywood competition and year 9 coordination. I wouldn’t trust anyone else to lead our backstage crew as slickly as her. Thank you! I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Madi Kerr. This is Madi’s second return to us since she graduated in 2013 and every time she comes back she is more amazing. As assistant director, she helped mould this show into the vision we designed together. Madi volunteers her time and attended pretty much every rehearsal. It is incredible to witness the dedication and drive of one so young. Lastly, I have one last special thank you. Those of you who are familiar with our department here will notice that we were missing one very important member of our team, Emma Schmidt, who is lucky enough to be enjoying the sunshine in Europe for the term. Unfortunately, her absence left a huge hole in our team. Before she left, Emma worked weekly with our backstage crew building and sourcing props, making lists and sorting costumes. So even though she was not here in person, her work was. This brings me to a very special thank you. It is very rare that you meet two students who are willing to step into a role left by a teacher, let alone the amazing Emma. But Toby Thomas and Darcy Lucid did just that. I want to take this opportunity to thank them from the bottom of my heart. Since the start of term these two have been working lunchtimes and after school to build, buy, beg or steal props and sets for me. They have saved my life this year and stepped up above and beyond the call of duty for a student. They never said no to me, they just got things done. A huge thank you should also be extended to the parents, guardians and friends who helped in any way, especially Paul Santzaridis and Kevin Drake who played a huge part in the construction of our set. At Footscray City College we really are blessed with some of the most talented, dedicated and hard working students. As a director I couldn’t be prouder of all of our students. Congratulations to the entire Sweeney Team! Emily Unt Wan – Production Director Stay tuned for details on the end of year fundraising Cabaret – Early December (official dates still to be confirmed). Auditions coming soon! Students, please check theatre door for more information. Comments from the students: Being a part of the school production this year was an amazing experience. We started with the nerve-wracking auditions which were then followed by the casting. After finding out who we had in our magnificent cast, we started our rehearsals. The rehearsals took up the majority of the production times and led up to final weeks of our production. We went through multiple readings, singing rehearsals, tech runs and dress rehearsals. Overall the whole show was the most fun I’ve ever had with the school and I highly recommend you join it if you’re considering it, you’ll have the time of your life and will truly respect the power of almighty Unt Wan. Darcy Smith, Year 9 I have always loved musicals, watching them, listening to them, and as of recently, being in them. This year I was chosen to play the wonderful Mrs Lovett in our school’s production of Sweeney Todd. Out of everything I’ve ever done in my life, this has been the most challenging and rewarding experience. Having Australian high school students play deranged 50+ year olds, who kill people and make them into pies in the east end of London in the 1800’s seems absolutely bonkers. However, with the amazing team here at Footscray led by the fearless and courageous Emily Unt Wan, we managed to pull it off. Six months of hard work and dedication from the whole crew, both on stage and off, culminated in six top-notch performances. The theatre became our home, and the cast and crew our family. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything in the world. Lainey Drake  Year 10

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Doggie Players Visit Footscray City Students We were fortunate to have four Western Bulldog players visit our school recently. They took some of our Year 7 students through a footy clinic and then answered questions from our students regarding their football careers and life after footy. The players were Marcus Bontempelli, Lachie Hunter, Michael Talia and Jack Redpath Success At Interschool Athletics Congratulations to the following Year 7-12 students who recently won their events at the District Athletics and have now qualified to compete in the Regional finals at the Newport Athletics track at the end of term: Year 7:   Mame Salah 800m, Emma Kiely relay & high jump; Claudia Inkster relay, shot put, discus and triple jump; Moses Huf-Tirfe 1500m; Maria Tsapa relay; and Isis Mitchener relay. Year 8: Maddison Wallace 100m; Jackson Glover 800m and 1500m; and Hugo Speth 1500m. Year 9: Jhonathan Elias relay; Joshua Savage relay and shot put; Alex Southgate relay; Maxine Huntsman 800m and 1500m; Eliza Lucid 1500m; Jack Vorano relay and Max Hazeldine 3km and 1500m. Year 10: Brody Vorano high jump and long jump; Saskia Hynes relay; Isabella Olsen relay; Jada Kyle 200m; Monica Reason discus, shot put and javelin; Lucy Redmond relay;  Oliver Veljanovski 1500m and Joanna Nguyen relay. VCE: Tony McDonald triple jump;  Liam Murray high jump; Madeline Hird relay;  Hannah Veljanovska 3km, 1500m and 800m; Steele Aburrow relay, javelin and triple jump; Greta Damnics javelin and triple jump; Ishan Bose Casson relay;  Aaron Gauci 1500m; Eloise Curtis relay; Shannon Osborne 200m and relay; Nhial Paolo discus;  Caiden Vorano 100m and relay;  Mitchell Srahah 1500m; Brianna Wilson 400m and relay; San Inmang long jump; and Joshua McSweeney relay. Congratulations and good luck to all competitors on the day.   Mark Komp – Leading Teacher Health/PE & Sport

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The library and English faculty joined forces once again to arrange for forty lucky students to attend two separate all day excursions to this year’s Melbourne Writers Festival. They got to participate in some amazing programs and did the school proud by asking some very astute questions of the panelists. Students on Monday were treated to 4 sessions featuring various authors. First, we heard Amra Pajalic (The Good Daughter) and Demet Divaroren discussing the many diverse qualities of what it is to be Muslim and the fact that, like with all people, you cannot judge someone based on one aspect of their lives. After all there are Muslims from so many different countries with different cultures and within those, Muslim people have differing levels of faith and connection with the religion. They co-edited Coming of Age: Growing up Muslim in Australia, which collects memoirs of prominent Australian muslims. Next, Justine Larbalastier author of Liar (pictured here with Maddy Lewis, Yr10) talked to us about her latest release Razorhurst set in the Sydney suburb of Surrey Hills in the 1930s. It’s a tale of survival among the gritty streets where standover men and gangsters control everything. Oh, and there’s a supernatural element too, with one of the main characters able to see dead people. Justine showed us real police mugshots from the 30’s which she used as inspiration for her characters and which made for a very entertaining and eerie presentation. The third session consisted of Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean co-editor Kirsty Murray and contributors Samhita Arni, Justine Larbalestier and Annie Zaidi discussing this collection of short speculative fiction. The book was created by bringing together female writers and artists from India and Australia to collaborate on stories, both in prose and comic formats, which investigate some aspect of the experience of being born male or female. Finally, we were witness to the grand unveiling of the annual Inky Awards shortlisted books! This is a literary award for international and Australian YA books hosted by the State Library, where the nominations and winners are all selected by teen judges and online voters. This ceremony was compered by the always entertaining Abe Nouk who also treated us to some of his poetry. For the Thursday excursion, the first session was at the Immigration Museum and involved a tour of the exhibition Identity – Yours, Mine, Ours.  The tour was followed by an excellent workshop by Abdi Aden who asked students to reflect on their identity and to consider the factors that have shaped them.  Abdi shared his personal story of surviving civil war in Somalia, his harrowing journey as a refugee at a very young age and then eventually becoming an Australian citizen.  Abdi’s extraordinary optimism was engaging given the adversity he has faced in his life.   During the second session we heard from authors Jane Caro and Kelly Gardiner about their historical fiction novels Just a Queen and The Sultan’s Eyes.  They spoke of the research that they embarked on in order to tell fictional tales of very real people. The last session was a lot of fun! Authors Bernard Beckett, Bernard Caleo and Sally Rippin spoke of the three books that they would choose if they were stranded on a Desert Island.  The students had a laugh about the obvious need to include books on how to build a raft and convert sand into silicon in order to create communication devices but then we moved on to discussing the books that have really made an impact on us. We have books by all of the authors we saw at the festival in our library collection.

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Principal’s Report After many weeks with a high chill factor and a rampant bout of a cold/flu type virus sweeping through the staff and many of the students recently, it is almost end of term and time for parent teacher interviews. Parent Teacher Interviews Wednesday 16 September The interviews will take place on the last Wednesday of term, and the booking system for appointments with teachers will be made available on Compass from next Monday. Throughout the course of the afternoon and evening we would ideally like to see all parents with our students accompanying them. It is one of the two important official occasions of the year where parents and teachers can come together to discuss our students’ progress and ways of continuing to support them to achieve their best. Sweeney Todd & the Chef’s Pre-Theatre Dinner For those who attended the production of Sweeney Todd, I’m sure there will be full agreement that the depth of talent of our students was amazing, as was their ability to take on the challenges of Sondheim’s vocally sophisticated operetta. The bar seems to rise a little higher each year with our major productions, and each year our students rise to the occasion superbly. The creativity, dedication and hard work of the students -on and behind stage – and the staff deserve the highest commendation. Of the staff, particular mention must go to our dynamic director, Emily Unt Wan, Margaret Erickson, choreographer and backstage manager, and Jocelyn Jensen the voice teacher. A special thank  you also to our three past students – Madi Kerr, Maddie Vernon and Edie Grey – and those parents and friends who volunteered their time, skills and expertise to contribute to this quality performance. (Please see more detail about the production in the later article by Emily.) The pre-theatre dinner on opening night was also a great success. Our VET Hospitality students had a great industry-style experience under the guidance and tutelage of Scott Thomas, chef of The Plough and parent of one of our year 7 students. The Hospitality students really enjoyed the level of hands-on involvement that Scott allowed and encouraged. The service was professional and the food was absolutely delicious with three courses that included canapes, fried gnocchi with wild boar ragu, and quince and pecan pie. The Friends of FCC also used the occasion to fundraise for the school, as well present $10,000 worth of small grants for different items to enhance the resources for our students. A very big thank you goes to those parents who assisted on the evening and particularly to Tracey Doherty the President of Friends, who took on a large amount of responsibility to make the Friends contribution a success. Tracey also organised and ran the candy bar for four of the five performances of Sweeney Todd. Special acknowledgement and thanks must also go to Scott Thomas for his extremely generous contribution to the school through volunteering his time to prepare for the Chef’s Pre-theatre Dinner, and to work with our students to produce the three courses on the night. Building Fund Makes New Carpets Possible Thank you to all families who have been able to contribute to the school’s Building Fund in recent years. We have now amassed a nest egg of over $60,000 and a significant portion of this will be used to replace carpets. Over the coming holidays,the large area at the top of the spiral staircase will have the carpet replaced, and the lower forum area (bottom of the spiral staircase) will be completed over the summer holidays. The increasing number of parents contributing to this fund is very much appreciated, as it all goes towards the improvement of our facilities and the provision of the physical learning environment that our students deserve. NAPLAN 2015 Results NAPLAN data arrived in schools recently and year 7 and 9 parents should have received their child’s results. In spite of the limitations of standardised testing, such as NAPLAN, it is still pleasing to note that  our overall results have followed the pattern of recent years with a continuing upward trend. The year 7 data indicates that we generally have a strong cohort coming into the school with results above the state average in all areas – reading,writing, spelling, grammar/punctuation and numeracy. At year 9, this cohort proved to be equally strong with results above the state benchmarks in all areas tested. This reflects very well on the standard of the literacy and numeracy skills of our students at this year level. As a school, our main concern and interest is the level of growth achieved by students from year 7 to 9, and indications from the NAPLAN measures of growth are very positive. In reading and writing the percentage of students who registered high levels of growth from year 7 to 9 is well above the state average. The other literacy areas reflect a fairly similar pattern, and in numeracy also the percentage of students making a high level of growth was above the state average. Overall, the NAPLAN data continues to tell a positive story about our students’ levels of literacy and numeracy skills and their progress. The growth data also  speaks well of the work of our teachers in developing their students’ skills and levels of progress. Year 7 2016 Our enrolments at the junior end of the school are continuing to burgeon, and it seems that in 2016 we will have probably nine, but possibly ten groups at year 7. Many of these enrolments are coming from the local feeder primaries within our Designated Neighbourhood Area, but there are also quite a few coming from further afield. We would like to take these increasing enrolments as an endorsement of the work of our staff to continuously improve, and of the manner in which our students represent our school so admirably in so many forums. Finally, we look forward to welcoming you to the parent teacher interviews in the last week of term. Maria Bawden – […]

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The Friends of Footscray City College invite you to a Pre-release screening of at the Sun Theatre Yarraville Wednesday 28th October at 7PM Tickets are $25 (Drink Included) Book tickets at http://www.trybooking.com/162866 All proceeds to Friends of Footscray City College

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Kryal Castle in Ballarat was overrun by the barbarian hordes from Year 8 on the last Tuesday of Term 3 as part of their studies in medieval history. During the day students took part in role-plays and activities learning about the feudal system, medieval torture and punishment, weaponry, and daily life for peasants, knights and royalty. At lunchtime the year 8s explored the medieval-styled buildings and grounds and watched Australia’s reigning champion knight showing his skills on the jousting field. Several students spent time in the village stocks and cage and the day ended with a battle on the jousting field (with rubber swords and shields).

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Farewell to the Year 12 Students of 2015 The end of their school days for our year 12 students culminated in the Graduation Dinner at the Atrium, Flemington Racecourse on Friday 16th October. Attended by approximately 400 students,families and staff, it was, as always, a very special celebratory occasion. It was  genuinely a pleasure to present the graduation certificates to the year 12 students, in acknowledgement of their achievements and successful completion of VCE or VCAL. It was also a fitting occasion to recognise the endeavour and achievements of all those students who received subject awards for excellence. Special mention must be made of Leo Palmer who received the Highest Performance Award with excellence awards in five subjects. Thanks must also go to Leo and Hayley Russ who delivered a very eloquent valedictory speech on behalf of their fellow students. The spirit of their speech very much reflected the spirit of this cohort. They have been an exceptionally cohesive and inclusive group who have worked and studied together and shown great support and care for each other. As well as being congratulated on their achievements in their studies they also deserve to be congratulated on these special qualities that have characterised their relationships with each other. As we say farewell to our year 12s, we wish each and everyone of them the very best in their futures ahead of them. Footscray Learning Precinct The October meeting of the Strategic Advisory Group for the Footscray Learning Precinct was held at Footscray City Primary last week. There was a project update from the DET representatives and they presented a Request for Proposal, which is essentially a tendering process to engage an external company/consultancy for the stated purpose of  undertaking a feasibility study to inform the development of the Footscray Learning Precinct. The main areas the successful company/consultancy will be expected to deliver on include information and data gathering international and national educational research. including that related to best practice learning precincts an overview of current provision in the inner west key stakeholder interviews (includes FCC, Footscray City PS, Gilmore College, Victoria University, Maribyrnong City Council, Sky High – there will be other primary schools and organisations interviewed as well as the identified main stakeholders) feasibility criteria to enable the assessment of options for the configuration of the precinct –  to include: education value and opportunities, technical matters including physical space requirements and accessibility,community value and financial, costing and other economic matters a draft feasibility report to be revised in response to qualitative and quantitative research followed by  the presentation of a final report The revised timeline for this feasibility study is that the commencement will be  early December with completion in early August 2016, and a brief for decision to the Minister of Education in mid-August. Sustainability Award Winners We were invited to attend the Sustainability Victoria ResourceSmart Education Awards event with repeated follow-ups to confirm that we were attending, which gave us an inkling that we may be up for an award. And we were, in fact we  won two, one for Community Leadership School of the Year, and the other for Biodiversity School of the Year. A special thank you to Spencer Davis and Kieran McMahon who rose to the occasion and represented the school brilliantly with impromptu speeches of acceptance for the awards. The Year 9 Hot Docs students’ films on climate change were a major player in us gaining the Community Leadership Award. Thank you to those students for the creativity and futures thinking that went into their documentaries. Acknowledgement must also go  to their teacher, Sue Dwyer who not only taught and guided the Hot Docs students through the production of their films, but has put in many voluntary hours working with the Wheelers Centre to promote her students’ work and to generally promote sustainability within the school and the wider community. It was largely the work of Jak Dunstan and his student leadership group, the Footscray Environment Society (FES) that won us the accolade for Biodiversity. Jak and his students have planted a lot of western plain tree species around the school and in tracts of land near the river. They have also been proactive in bringing about changes to improve our rubbish disposal practices and to have more eco-friendly lighting installed in our gym and other areas of the school. A very big thank you goes to Jak, Sue and all of those students who have been involved and have shown great leadership within the school around these environmental issues. (Further information about the awards event are detailed in the article below by Jak and Sue) Maria Bawden

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Athletics students off to State Championships A fantastic effort also by two of our students at the Western Metropolitan Regional   Athletics recently. Mame Salah (Year 7, pictured) won the 800m and Hannah Veljanovska (Year 12) won both the 800m and 1500m. They are now through to the State Championships at Albert Park. Well done and good luck to all individuals and teams representing Footscray City College. Year 7 boys cricket through to next level A number of inter-school sport teams were successful earlier in the year at district level and are going through to regional finals later in Term 4. The first of these were our Year 7 Boys Cricket team who played this week. The team travelled to Brookside College to take them on in a Twenty20 match. Captain Will Elliot won the toss and elected to bat. The boys posted a very competitive score with the 10th wicket falling on the last ball of the innings for 106. The best performers were the opening pair of Zac Pritchard (25) and Will Elliot (30). 
In the second innings the boys were fantastic with the ball and in the field to bowl out Brookside in the 14th over for a total of 55 to complete a 51 run win. The pick of the bowlers were Arkii Van Wills (3/14) and Roni Thomas with the amazing figures of 4/4. Jackson Groves-Koeleman was a star in the field taking 4 catches. They will now play Williamstown High at the next level of competition in early November. Mark Komp, PE and Sport coordinator

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  The departure of the Year 12 class each year is always an emotional time. For many of these students it is the end of a six-year association with the school; for all of them it marks the end of their formal secondary education. Over the past three years I’ve admired their extraordinary array of talent, their kindness and the level of genuine warmth shared with each other and the staff. I’ve loved the way they’ve grasped opportunities to make their mark and enrich their lives. From a school perspective they’ve challenged us to be responsive, to trust them and to embrace their youthful exuberance. On balance this has built a level of mutual respect and bond we can all be proud of. This milestone in their lives is celebrated with a number of school occasions.   On October 16 was the end of formal Year 12 classes and a Year 12 BBQ lunch.  That evening we celebrated with the Year 12 Graduation Dinner of 2015.  Our students accepted their graduating certificates and awards with pride and a sigh of relief that all their hard efforts had paid off. The night’s MC was Assistant Principal Stephanie Campbell and the graduation ceremony was preceded by numerous speeches ranging from our Principal Maria Bawden to Mike Sturmey the President of School Council. The highest performer for SAC assessments was Leo Palmer who attained outstanding results for all his subjects. Our two valedictorians Hayley Russ and Leo Palmer gave a very wonderful speech on their experiences at Footscray City College over the last six years and the school’s contribution to shaping them as individuals. Thank you to all teachers and aides who attended this very important evening for our students. Thank you to Resmie Recepoglou, Julianne Mulholland and the Year 10-12 team for your assistance and support.   The class of 2015 has been an energetic, engaged and creative group of young people, we will miss them greatly. December 14 is the official day for the release of all VCE results. To all graduating students, we wish you well as you embark on the next phase of your journey whether it be tertiary/tafe study or employment. Vicki Tentzoglidis – VCE Sub School Manager

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The annual FCC Art show will open on Tuesday November 24 from 6-8pm in the school library. The exhibition will remain open until the end of the day on Thursday November 26 and will feature a range of artworks from all year levels and a multitude of media: 2D, 3D, painting, drawing, photography, digital, furniture, visual communication and more. This occasion will also be the launch of the “Short Films About Footscray” project which will be shown in the cinema next door to the library on opening night. Refreshments will be served and as usual, there will be an opportunity to vote for the People’s Choice award. Paul Dooley – Head of the Arts

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Women in politics, meeting Quentin Bryce On the 10th of September Grace, Angela and Shea, accompanied by politics teacher, David Browning, ventured to a leadership conference at Victoria University legal campus. The conference showcased Quentin Bryce and her achievements, who focussed on encouraging young women to be leaders in politics. We were first invited to an afternoon tea that allowed us to personally meet Quentin Bryce as well as  a number of other inspirational female leaders, such as Nicola Roxon who was the first female attorney general. It was a fantastic opportunity to discuss and learn about current issues such as domestic violence, immigration, the importance of mental health, and female standards of the 21st century. We had the opportunity to ask Quentin a number of questions, such as how she overcame oppression from being a woman in politics and her opinions on current Australian affairs. Quentin motivated us to be all that we can be. “Be bold,” she told us. It’s an experience that has enriched our political understandings as well as our understanding of how we should look towards our current and future issues in society. To have met such a wonderful role model is a testament to the unlimited opportunities that we are gifted with. Written by Grace Ernestine, Angela Velasquez and Shea Grant

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FCC wins Sustainability Victoria ResourceSmart Awards FCC came first in two categories of Sustainability Victoria’s ResourceSmart Education Awards last week: in Community Leadership and Biodiversity. We were also one of four schools (and the only secondary school) shortlisted for ResourceSmart School of the Year 2015 award, which was won by Winters Flat Primary school in Castlemaine. Altogether, FCC won nearly $2000 of prizes, mostly money, which we can put towards more sustainability actions at school. Students Spencer Davis (Year 9), Kieran McMahon and Jackson Glover attended the awards at the Melbourne Convention Centre with teachers Jak Dunstan and Sue Dwyer, along with representatives from 120 schools across Victoria. Everyone had to literally walk down the red carpet to enter the auditorium! The event, staged by the Victorian Government, featured an expo of impressive environmental project exhibits from schools across the state in the foyer. During the morning, we participated in small group discussions with teachers and students from other schools to discuss strategies for increasing participation in sustainability activities within schools. The general consensus was that sustainability education and activities need to be embedded in the curriculum and across all areas of schools if practices are going to change. Extra-curricular clubs and actions are not enough to induce major change. We took notes of lots of the amazing things that schools across Victoria are doing, both on their grounds and in their local communities, to increase awareness of sustainability and climate change and to decrease their carbon footprints, and have brought back lots of great ideas. We heard and watched presentations about projects including creating habitats for endemic and endangered species, putting solar panels on all or part of school roofs, lots of different creative programs for reducing and recycling waste, canteen and food tech projects, gardening projects to create wetlands and growing food for the homeless, and projects by teachers and students in art, technology, engineering, science, media and other curriculum areas. All these schools’ activities and programs are contributing to a healthier, more sustainable state as well as some great educational outcomes for students. We were very surprised to win anything after hearing about all the amazing things that other schools are doing. And it was a bit nerve-wracking getting up in front of a packed auditorium but fortunately Spencer and Kieran did all the talking. They spoke with confidence and represented the school magnificently. http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/educationawards

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This information is for Year 12 students who have applied for TAFE and/or university courses through the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC). Change of Preference (CoP) gives you the chance to add, delete and reorder your preferences. If you receive an offer, you will be offered the course highest on your preference list you are eligible for (you have met the ATAR and selection criteria requirements). It is also the last chance you have to make sure your preference list reflects what you would like to study in the future. Download the information sheet here: Change of Preference Calendar 2015

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All Parents, guardians and the community are most welcome and are encouraged to be active in the Friends of Footscray City College. The aim of the Association is to organize activities that will be of benefit to you, your child and the school. It also provides another opportunity to disseminate information from the school and a forum for parents to meet informally. The Association is made up of parents past and present, ex students, members of the wider community and teaching staff. The first meeting for 2016 will be on Tuesday, February 9 at 7 PM in the FCC staff room. Everyone in the school community is welcome to attend. Meetings are limited to one hour and we will have plenty of refreshments to keep up your energy. Please come along and have some fun knowing that you are making a contribution to your child’s education. The aims of the Friends of Footscray City College are to: Contribute to the well being of the students, staff and other members of the school community. Assist in building the participation of parents and friends in the life of the school generally and in the education of their students in particular. Provide a forum for the discussion of education issues and contribute to the process of formulating school policy. Support the work of the school council. To raise funds for the benefit of the students.

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