Download pdf version PRINCIPAL’S REPORT Exams & More Exams Our year 12 students are now well and truly into their final exam period, having started on the 29th October. So far reports from students and teachers are that the exams have been as one would expect, with no unpredictable or unpleasant surprises. This hopefully works favourably for our students and their results. But, as we know, exam performance is generally not just the result of what you know, but is mixed with levels of anxiety, with the two factors varying in proportion, according to the individual student. Year 11s start their end of year exams this Friday (7th Nov) and finish up the following Friday. On Monday 17th November, the students will commence their Year 12 program. It is compulsory and vitally important that all students attend these classes. The program runs until Friday 28th November and covers the first two weeks of work for Year 12. The early commencement program for Year 12 is to give our students a head start, as many other schools do, and it is essential that students take advantage of this opportunity and treat it seriously. Year 10 students will also follow suit shortly after year 11s, with their exams commencing Monday 17th November. The in-house exams for years 10 and 11 are about developing students’ revision and exam techniques in preparation for year 12, as well as testing the knowledge and skills they have learnt in their current year. It is expected that students put serious effort into the preparation for, and the sitting of these exams, to assist in optimising their academic outcomes, both for now and in the future. Art Show While exams and academic outcomes are of great importance, there are other parts of school life that are also important. The recent Art Show was an example of this, showcasing some of the finest creative talent we have. For all who visited the exhibition, I am sure you will agree our students’ work in all mediums – painting, drawing, photography, digital art, ceramics, wood design and graphic design – was typically of high standard with some pieces of exceptional artistic merit. Thank you to all students who had work exhibited, and thank you particularly to teachers Bronwyn McCoy, Olga Kurbienko, Beth Cleary, and Paul Dooley and pre-service teacher Jessica Geraghty-Wreford who organized all displays and were basically responsible for the Art Show happening. Thanks Also to Jessica and her students who create a beautiful glass lamp which will take pride of place on the main reception desk. Finally, a big congratulations to the winners of the People’s Choice Award, and please read Bronwyn McCoy’s article on the Art Show to find out who these two talented young people are. FCC goes to Tanzania – World Challenge Trip The school’s involvement with the World Challenge program since 2007 has been part of providing a rich variety of extra curricula opportunities for our students. So far different groups of students have visited Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Borneo, and on the 18th November another group will be taking off for Tanzania on the east coast of Africa. These World Challenge trips focus on developing students’ leadership and independence skills, as well as developing their sensibilities as global citizens. The Year 10 and 11 students along with teachers, Kellie Catanese and Mark Komp have an impressive itinerary for the Tanzanian trip. Some of the highlights are: general orientation to Tanzanian life, including buying fresh produce from local markets for cooking classes run by the local women volunteer work with a village community , helping with the construction of new class- rooms and teaching the students English a safari trip to see the impressive East African wildlife a major trek in the Livingstone Mountains and along the shores of Lake Nyasa finally, a few days of rest and relaxation on the Swahili coast. For the students on this adventure it has every prospect of being an exciting, fascinating and possibly life changing experience. They will not return until midway through the last week of the school year, so I guess we will have to wait until the new year to hear reports of their experiences. Meanwhile, it will be business as usual at FCC, with the rest of us being kept busy with such things as course commencement programs for all year levels, awards assemblies and presentation night, Year 10 work experience, and the end of year activities program, etc, until the 19th December. Maria Bawden – Principal ‘BEST FIJI TRIP EVER’ As they say at the Olympics, this was the ‘best Fiji trip ever!’ The recent year 10 and 11 trip to Fiji was as always a pleasure to be part of and not for the reasons you may think. While it’s true the snorkelling, fishing, sea kayaking, bush walks, reef adventures and explorations are a fun and exciting part of the trip the real depth of the trip comes from the cultural exchange with the village community. It is a pleasure to see the students embrace relationships with the locals through various activities whether it be basket weaving, coconut husking, language activities or culinary investigations (i.e. eating local food!) The main activity though is the dance rehearsals for the big performance on ‘Feast Night’. The students spend a lot of time with the villagers, who are very generous with their time, learning the traditional boys and girls dances but also developing strong bonds with them. This makes for a great night in the village with the feast, exchange of gifts, the performances and then general partying and even some teachers were seen to dance. I think the students are generally a little surprised at the depth of feeling they develop with the villagers and the final farewells are rarely a dry-eyed event. A special thanks to Mike Sturmey and Elaine Rose for the enormous amount of effort they made before and during the trip to make sure everything went smoothly, your efforts are […]
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