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Alpha News 2022, Term 4, Week 10

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Term 4, Week 10 2022

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From the Principal

End of Year Celebrations

As we move towards the end of this academic year we have seen a number of celebrations take place.  Most recently our RockStar Night saw close on 200 people attend to enjoy the music and food under a balmy evening backdrop.  It was wonderful to see the students, families and staff get dressed up to fit in with the themed event.  I have to say I enjoyed the chance to get out of the suits and corporate wear myself and have a little bit of fun with everyone.

Thank you to everyone who turned up to share the night and kick up their heels.

 

I extend my sincere thanks to Ms Dani Permezel (Nicholas, Year 6) who organised the event working with our PFA President Ms Voula Allimonos and the Head of Music and Performing Arts Ms Priya Wilson.  The “Known Unknowns” entertained us throughout the evening with many old classic Rock and Roll tunes alongside our Greek Band Latin Folk Band led by Mr Nicholas Kapralos and, the School’s Heavy Metal Band assisted by Mr Ewen Baker.  There is clearly much musical talent in our School both amongst our students and their parents.

The end of year celebrations has also seen students on excursions to Funfields, Movie Houses, Adventure Parks and Sports Round Robin games.  Students have had their Orientation days, going to their classrooms and meeting their new teachers.  All Year 7 students received their new laptops amongst much excitement. 

The end of year announcements and final assemblies saw Aristotle win the Primary House Shield and Socrates win the Secondary House Cup.  Congratulations to all for a wonderful year of spirited House Competition.

We also had the opportunity to award Academic Awards to a number of successful students.  I congratulate all recipients on a great effort throughout the year.

As we bid 2022 farewell, I take this opportunity to thank parents, students and staff for a terrific 2022.

I wish everyone good health for the holiday season ahead and I look forward to all 2023 will bring.

Merry Christmas Everyone.

Dr Vivianne Nikou
Principal
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IMG_0087 Recolour

From the Assistant Principal, Head of Secondary

The years seem to be getting shorter and shorter – Its hard to believe we are already approaching the end of 2022. We are grateful that we haven’t had to endure any lockdowns this year as life slowly seems to be returning to normal; however, it hasn’t been a totally uninterrupted year. Student and staff absences have been unusually high this year but luckily we have coped well. Students haven’t been adversely affected by the increased levels of absences and we have been quite lucky with low levels of COVID infections.

Orientation

Our current Years 7-9 students began their 2023 courses this week during the Orientation Program. They spent three days here at School getting familiar with the environment and making new friends. The rationale behind this program is to give the students a headstart on what they will be studying in Term 1 next year. Teachers will have set a small amount of holiday homework during the Orientation Program, but the Heads of Faculty are monitoring levels, to ensure students aren’t overloaded. It’s important that our students find the right balance between schoolwork and leisure so they can enjoy the festive season with their family and friends.

Our new Year 7 students have also had their first taste of secondary school this week. The parents enjoyed a welcome morning where they were able to socialise and meet other parents going through the same transition process. I’m sure the students’ emotions ranged from blind fear to absolute excitement – totally understandable feelings. The feedback we received from the students and some parents was very positive. The kids settled in very quickly, and by the third day it looked like they had been here for a couple of years. They weren’t even put off by the testing we conducted on second day. We wish them the best of luck next year.

Awards

Dr Nikou and I enjoyed distributing a variety of awards at the final assembly. These students have worked hard in their subjects to earn this recognition and they should be proud of their achievements. The curriculum between Years 7 and 9 is very formative and sets the students up for the VCE. The skills they learn in this phase of their education are vitally important. I would like to make special mention of the students who won three or more awards:

  •  Isaiah Ha in Year 7 won the Art, English and Science awards.
  • Mariana Galanopoulos in Year 9 won subject awards in Greek and Humanities, and Half Colours in Swimming
  • Agam Saini won subject awards for; English, Media, Math Methods and Science, and also won Half Colours for Swimming and Athletics.

What a fantastic achievement for these students. We all understand and appreciate the amount of work it takes to win multiple awards. Congratulations and well done.

After a productive and busy year, we hope that all families are able to enjoy the Christmas period together with extended families and friends. Please stay safe and we will see you all next year.

Years 7 and 12 Students commence on Monday January 30

Years 8 to 11 students commence on Tuesday January 31

Mr Lukas Silver
Assistant Principal, Head of Secondary
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From the Secondary School

From the STEM Faculty

Year 7 Maths

Students have been applying their skills to analyse statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on what it means to be Australian.  

The end of term wrapped up with dice-based probability games. 

Year 8 Science

The last few weeks of Term 4 had Year 8 students studying planet earth, with a focus on the rock cycle, volcanoes and earthquakes.   

The final task for Year 8 drew on their engineering skills and required them to construct an earthquake proof structure. Each group was assigned an earthquake prone country and given a budget based on the average monthly income for that country. Students then designed their building, bought their supplies from the ‘shop’ and built some amazing structures. Each structure aimed to be representative of the country and withstand testing on a shake plate.  

Year 11 Biology

On an unexpectedly sunny day, Year 11 biology students explored Werribee Open Range Zoo, in order to observe animal adaptations to different environmental conditions.

” On the 10th of October, the Year 11 VCE Biology class went on an excursion to the Werribee Open Range Zoo. The class were able to further their understanding of adaptations as we were able to see how a variety of different animals were able to adapt to different environments. For example, a zookeeper showed us to the zoos eastern grey kangaroos, where she taught us how they have an adaptation called embryonic diapause. This means they literally have the ability to pause their pregnancy to ensure that their joeys are born into an environment with the most suitable conditions, increasing their survival. This was a great opportunity to enhance our knowledge whilst seeing the animals up close and personal in their natural habitats, and our adventure even included a safari!”

Aristea Papax

Headstart and Orientation Week

Focus on practical and observational skills.  

2023 Year 7s enjoyed a practical lesson with 6 workstations that worked on many different practical skills they will be using next year.

2023 Year 8s practiced using microscopes and observed chemical changes.

2023 Year 9s observed the pH of household acids and alkalis, built electrical circuits and analysed nerve density in different parts of the human body.

2023s Year 10s calculated the speeds of different shaped objects through water, discussed the functions of feet and analysed differences between human feet and chicken feet and performed various tests on water from the Darebin creek and Yarra river.

During head start week, Year 11 Biology students practiced their experimental skills and got ahead on their knowledge of enzymes ready for Year 12 next year.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday.

Ms Lily Potocnik
Secondary STEM Teacher
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Still Life Drawing Challenge

From the Primary School

From the Acting Assistant Principal, Head of Primary

Year 6 Graduation

Wednesday 23rd November, we celebrated our Year 6 class with a graduation ceremony. While some students have only been with us a short time, many have been with us since 2015 for ELC or 2016 in Prep. Dr Nikou presented the students with a graduation certificate. Primary School Captain Yara Al Assad and Vice Captain Alexander Bassett gave a ‘captains review’ of 2022, which included many key events of 2022. A highlight of the ceremony was the ‘Moana medley’ performance. 

The Primary School Cup, awarded to a student who has ably demonstrated the school values, was awarded to Christina Lablache.

Conclusion of 2022

I can’t believe the end of the year has come so quickly! 2022 has undoubtedly been an eventful year. How wonderful has it been to spend the entire academic year on campus.  Seeing the students participate in excursions, sporting events, camps, concerts and assemblies has been fantastic.  I am extremely proud of all Primary School students and all they have achieved this year.  Your child will receive their academic end of semester report this Friday.  Please ensure you celebrate your child’s ‘areas of success’ and explain ‘areas for improvement’ are opportunities to enhance their learning.   I want to acknowledge all the hard work and dedication of all staff who work in the Primary School.  I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as Acting Head of Primary this term.  Mrs Nicholson will be returning from long service leave in 2023.  She is looking forward to seeing all the smiling faces of Primary students.

Have a Merry Christmas and safe holidays

Mr Luke Barnewall
Acting Head of Primary
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ASPIRE Learning Expo

ASPIRE students in Year 3-6 had the opportunity to share their projects with their fellow students in the primary school on Tuesday the 29th of November. The energy was intense, the ASPIRE students were nervous but excited. Classes took turns to visit the Expo, to view the poster presentations and quiz the presenters on their information.

Topics ranged from Endangered Species to Microbes. Students handed out brochures, invited their peers to explore Minecraft Worlds full of facts or play Kahoots.  Also on the day, as part of our commitment to environmental action, ASPIRE students sold biodegradable toothbrushes and handed out bookmarks which communicated important messages about protecting our environment.  
ASPIRE, aim higher!  

Mrs Downey 
Primary Numeracy and ASPIRE Coordinator 
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Year 3

Gratitude is an Attitude

It only seems like yesterday that we started in Year 3 and suddenly we’re at the end of it. This year our classroom had a Gratitude Diary and each day we would write what we were grateful for. Please read some of the things we recorded in our special book that reminded us that no matter how challenging life might get, that there is always, always something to be grateful for. 

Emily – I am grateful that I am in Australia 
Ella – I am grateful for flowers because they bring joy. 
Anastasia – I am grateful for my sister. 
Alexia – I am grateful for our new nurse. 
Dean – I am grateful for having the best year at school. 
Owen – I am grateful that I got to see Clare and her baby. 
Lily – I am grateful for the people who died in the wars for us. 
Hanna– I am grateful for my mum who helped me with Mathletics. 
Xander – I am grateful for being able to go to camp. 
Nicholas – I am grateful for having my pet dog. 
Evan – I am grateful to have friends and people I trust. 
Lucas – I am grateful for being at school. 
Thalia– I am grateful to have Alexia back and for kind friends and teachers. 
Dustan – I am grateful that we got to bring our teddies for the Teddy Bear’s Picnic. 
Christos– I am grateful to be back at school after Covid. 
Panagioti – I am grateful for my mum. 


Year 3A is forever grateful to have spent a wonderful year together creating lifelong memories in our beautiful school.  Season’s Greetings to all.  

Mrs Anna Vayenas
Primary Teacher 3A
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Whole School

From the LOTE Department

Christmas Wishes from Abroad

Our collaboration with our ELC friends at Mystiko Kleidi in Greece has continued, with the children on opposite sides of the world making gifts and videos to share special Christmas messages. On Monday we received a wonderful surprise – a special Christmas video message from our young friends in Greece.

Click onto the link Schoolbox – ELC (ags.vic.edu.au) to watch the video. 

Our ELC children also have been busy making an Australian themed wall pocket organiser (thank you to Kiria Anita for sewing it all together!), and a giant Christmas card for our friends in Greece with their own special Christmas messages. Our parcel is on its way to Greece, and we hope Santa delivers it just in time for Christmas!

Congratulations, Preps!

Congratulations to all our Prep students for receiving their Greek Alphabet licenses this week. The children have worked hard all year and have learnt to read and write all of the upper- and lower-case letters of the Greek alphabet. All the children should be proud of their efforts this year and now have a license to proudly show their family and friends. The children have achieved a major milestone in their language learning journey and a strong foundation for the next phase in learning to read and write the Greek language. Congratulations!

It tastes like Greece!

On a recent Monday morning, Year 6 students participated in a Cooking Demonstration held by Chef Niko, a local chef from Greece. After watching Chef Niko demonstrate some steps for making tiropitakia, students then had the opportunity to do some of the cooking themselves! Ranging from rolling the dough, to mixing the filling, to making their own tiropitakia and basting them with an egg wash, each student had something to do! While these were cooking, Chef Niko showed students how to make a Greek salad, and tzatziki. Students got to taste everything firsthand, after watching it be made and helping in the process. And a special surprise at the end- students got to have freshly made loukoumades! There was a happy buzz in the room as students took part in the demonstration, watched Chef Niko cut vegetables – oh, so fast! –  and particularly as they got to taste traditional Greek dishes. What a wonderful way to end the year!

Greek Radio Theatre       

Our Greek Radio Theatre students recently held a working lunch to complete work on their Greek language Hindi myth. Our theatre teacher in residence, Ms Katerina Poutahidou, joined us to help work on our voice projection.

Look out for the finished radio story in the new year!

Greek Christmas traditions

Year 7 Greek students recently celebrated the end of a productive year with a series of activities. Certificates were given to students who recently participated in a Greek writing and a Greek film competition. Students sampled a Greek souvlaki and Greek dancing. They also learned about Greek Christmas traditions, such as the boat (karavaki) motif.  In the past, Greek people decorated a boat rather than a tree at Christmas, notably on St Nicholas’ Day, 6 December. St Nicholas is considered the patron saint of seafarers.  As many Greeks worked on or by the sea, their families prayed that St Nicholas would bring them safely home.

Students made their own karavaki to hang on their tree, a nice blending of old and new traditions.

A huge thank you to Mrs Jana Tsioukis, former parent and now grandmother of current Alphington Grammar School students, for the very generous donation of the souvlaki skewers which were thoroughly enjoyed.

Ms Effie Bindevis
Primary Greek Coordinator
Ms Denise Diakodimitriou
Head of Languages
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Updates and Reminders

From the Finance Office

The finance team would like to remind families that have not yet submitted their payments to please do so as soon as possible.

Please see below for the CSEF financial assistance program information sheet and application form.

Upcoming Events

Term Dates 2022

Term Dates 2023

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