WELLINGTON JOURNAL – EDITION 17

Upcoming Dates: November

Monday November 6 (Pre Cup Day)
I thank all parents and carers who have followed absence note protocols for the day. If you haven’t already done so yet, I urge you to please provide a note to the College to cover any absence. Your support is appreciated.

Mulgrave Country Club – John Milledge Scholarship Program
I had the privilege of attending the Mulgrave Country Club last week for the presentation of the John Milledge Scholarship. This significant scholarship is awarded to a Year 11 student, entering Year 12. The scholarship is open to all schools, government and private who reside within the jurisdiction of the Mulgrave Country Club. Our nomination was Noraysha Be of Year 11. It was fantastic to see her receive her award in the presence of her mother and 2 of her siblings. Congratulations Noraysha, you are a worthy winner and sincere thanks to the Mulgrave Country Club for their support. Noraysha is looking to a career in nursing once she has finished her secondary schooling in 2024.

Awards Night and Late Start
This is a reminder to the Wellington Community that Awards Night is not far away. After a three-year hiatus due to COVID we are back at Robert Blackwood Hall, Monash University on Tuesday November 21. The evening of celebrating student achievement and performance begins at 6.45pm for a 7.00pm start. Award recipients have been notified individually, with the Community invitation landing via COMPASS yesterday. I encourage all members of our community to attend this great night.

As this is a whole of school event, there will be a late start on Wednesday November 22. The Charter Buses will operate 2 hours later than normal. The gates will open at 10.30 am, with recess scheduled at 10.45am. Period 3 classes will commence at 11.10am with Periods 4 and 5 following as usual. Dismissal will be at 3.00pm.

Year 12 Exams and commencement of Unit 1 and 3, 2024
We are nearing the end of our senior examination program and attention will soon be focussed on preparation for 2024. Senior School VCE Units 1 and 3 for 2024 will formally commence on November 20 and run until December 1. Please note that these classes will not be a vehicle for ‘induction’ or ‘holiday homework’ in the various areas of study. Units of work will commence during this period, with these two weeks being counted for the time allocated to each study. As always, the work is documented on COMPASS, under the School Documentation and Student Resources tabs.

Mr Hugh Blaikie
Principal

Hudson Institute of Medical Research: Young Women in Science Program

Wellington has a long history of involvement with the Hudson Institute of Medical Research and its work experience program, Young Women in Science. Hudson Institute is a leading Australian medical research institute recognised internationally for discovery science and translational research. It undertakes research in areas such as cancer, reproductive health, newborn health, hormones and health and inflammatory conditions.

This year we had two Year 10 students participating in the program, Natharie Gunatissa and Shereen Wang. These students participated in a selection process and were successful in being offered a week’s placement, along with students from Box Hill High School, Brentwood Secondary College and Pakenham Secondary College.

The week culminates in each of the students presentating to the mentors who work with them across the week, the program organiser Dr Fiona Cousins, the CEO Professor Elizabeth Hartland, family members and school career practitioners.

Natharie and Shereen were outstanding ambassadors for the College and the evaluation forms we received from their mentors were indicative of their commitment and hard work. It was a pleasure to hear that our students quickly developed connections with the other young women involved in the program and worked collaboratively across the week.

Lucinda Huffer
Director of Student Programs

From the 9th to 13th of October I was given the opportunity to be a part of the Young Women in Science program at Hudson institute, giving me and other girls from various schools to see how work would be like at a medical research facility with mentors in the fields that we were interested in.

This experience brought my understanding of medical equipment and the people that have a mission to learn and push forward discoveries of science. Works in fluorescent microscopy, PCR tests, staining tissues and feeding tumorous cells and bacteria were a window into a few of the experiments that these amazing people do day to day. My mentors were specialists in cancer research, where they learn every day and become literal lifesavers.

Outside the lab we got the chance to see a “clean room” a sterile room for intensive procedures, shut off to many however we got the lucky chance to put on surgical robes and enter. In addition to activities outside the lab, we got to analyze the data from our experiments and gain insight into a bioinformatics and computer science career.
In the middle of the week all of us got to meet and have a Q and A with CEO Elizabeth Hartland, discussing all of our burning questions about careers, lab work and pathways.

Overall, this week would not have been the same with the people involved, the Hudson team, Fiona and my mentors for making this experience as joyful as it has been and all the girls that got involved. This program has taught me a lot about what a future in medical research would be like and has been a valuable experience with new friends and pathways.

Natharie Gunatissa
10D

At my time at the Hudson institute of medical research, I explored the area of inflammation with my mentor Emily. The main experiment we conducted looked at bacterial resistance against antibiotics. We swabbed e-coli bacteria on plates, then added different genes that were suspected to cause resistance and put them in broth to grow.

To test resistance, we added an antibiotic strip to see if the bacteria with the added gene would still grow with antibiotics. Testing bacterial resistance allows for more targeted treatment of sicknesses. It was really cool to participate in my mentor’s project, even if my contribution was just pipetting and swabbing plates. After observing what a PhD and post doc work looks like, I have a lot of respect for my mentor and researchers as their work is not nearly as simple as just finding a new discovery. They have to go through many, many processes, and trials, which often times take years for the end result of a published paper.

I also followed and observed some PhD students, a research assistant and different people in the lab. I helped to make media, such as agar plates and broth for bacterial growth, and watched chips being made, which are able to host both human and bacterial cells, which I found especially interesting. As a group, we also stained endometrium, lung and brain tissue and later looked at them under the microscope, observing the nuclei. I also got the opportunity to see rats which were used for research, and I was able to see a different research medium.

I’m incredibly thankful for not only my mentor by the people on the floor I was working on, who were extremely welcoming. I was able to ask my mentor and the people on my floor many questions and learn about their own career paths, the steps they took to get where they are and the field of research as whole. I’m thoroughly inspired by their hard work and this experience has heightened my interest in research as a possible career and study path.

Even within the group of work experience students, it was a privilege to meet so many smart, determined girls who share my mutual love of science. Overall, this has been a really insightful experience that only deepened my interest in research, I highly recommend this program to future students with a passion for STEM.

Shereen Wang
10L

Year 9 Morrisby Careers Interviews

Over a two-week period, the College welcomed a team of external career practitioners employed by the Department of Education to work with our Year 9 students. This is fully funded through the My Career Insights program. My Career Insights aims to give students the confidence to start making more informed choices and decisions around their future schooling and widen their perspective on potential career options.

Year 9s completed their Morrisby Online Careers Assessment earlier in the year and the Careers team at school has run additional sessions for absent or now students, to ensure that no student misses out on the opportunity to receive their results and meet with a career practitioner.

Morrisby is the online discovery tool designed to help students learn more about themselves – their values, preferences, and skills – giving them a better understanding of where their strengths lie. These personal insights help open-up a variety of possible career pathways, specifically tailored to who they are.

Thanks to Careers team member, Janine Webb, who had the job of scheduling more than 300 appointments and going to classes to gather students who hadn’t arrived on time for their appointment.

Ms Lucinda Huffer
Director of Student Pathways

Student Feedback

In my perspective the Morrisby interview experience went excellently well. Its admirable that in the education system we have professional and helpful programs like Morrisby that guide us and show future goals and career opportunities that they have in line for any kind of students. The interview was professionally done and was straight to the point. Just as they have mentioned, you can redo the Morrisby test if you have an opposed interest which when completed, will show you new careers that you may be interested in. Overall, the Morrisby system raised my confidence knowing that I have opportunities for my career path which will lead me to a successful future. And with that being said, have a great term everybody.

Alif Rahman
9D

If I were to rework the Morrisby interview I’d make it online and make it so it just shows you everything in a PowerPoint and explains every part. Other than that, it wasn’t bad and it was an interesting experience.

Donka Kinavong
9H

Touch Rugby Clinics in PE

For the past 2 weeks, we have invited Touch Rugby Coach Giancarlo Leung to run introductory sessions in several of our PE classes across years 7, 8, 9 and 10. Giancarlo has exceptional knowledge and experience in Touch Rugby and really captures the student’s attention with his enthusiasm through the activities. The feedback from students was overwhelming so we welcomed him back to provide additional sessions for our students. We thank Giancarlo for his great work and hopefully will continue working with him next year through Sporting Schools.

Ms Brooke Moon
Health & Physical Education Curriculum Leader

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