Newsletter, Term 1, 2024

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Congratulations to everyone on a great term 1! As always from reading through the newsletter it is obvious to see that there has been an abundance of activities taking place throughout the community so far this year. The range of activities taking place is also amazing, with something for everyone with a great mix of new events and re-occurring events taking place!

A big focus for us this term has been on the cultural element of the school. With a quarter of our Community new this year it was important to bring everyone together towards a similar philosophical understanding of what we are trying to achieve around our school purpose. In this way, the TC Launch Video is a powerful tool produced by staff and students. If you have not watched this video, I do highly encourage you to do so.

I will be on long service leave for the first three weeks of term 2. Adam Cribbes will be in the Acting Principal position. Adam knows the school extremely well from his role as Assistant Principal - Director of Learning.

Congratulations once again to all for your contributions towards the TC Community in term 1. We look forward to seeing everyone back in term 2 for another great term.

Peter Ellis
Principal

TC Touring Critters - The 2024 Animals and permaculture Expo!

On the 4th of March TC Animals hosted the 2024 Animals Expo along with the grand opening of their new enclosure, the Aviary for Life! The aviary is a native aviary for our king parrots and kakarikis, as well as our very new red-tale black cockatoos which we only got yesterday! The goal of the expo was to share the program's achievements and showcase the animals that we are very lucky to care for.

During the event, a sausage sizzle was set up to provide food and refreshing drinks to the attendees, which was a great way to get the occasion going! To top it off, Backyard Permaculture used the pizza oven to serve scrumptious scones with jam and cream to the public.

Students gave tours to the visitors, showcasing the diverse range of animals in the program, including fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals. As an Aviary class leader, I was posted outside 'Aviary for Life', answering questions from the public and providing some information to guests. I enjoyed helping to contribute to the event, and seeing how happy our King parrotts and Kakarikis are in their new enclosure!

Shoutout to all the students who contributed to the Mural on the New Aviary, and to Violet for designing and directing it - It's beautiful!

The highlight of the day was the welcome to country performance by Delanah and the speeches given by the two Aviary headkeepers, Sofie and Kiara, who discussed the process of creating the Aviary and how it is today. At 5:00, everyone gathered around the Aviary for Life to listen to the speeches and learn more about the amazing work they do!

It was a great team effort to pull off the event, and everyone chipped in to make it a success.

By Mietta Palmer

Turtles all the way down!
2024 Turtle camp

On Monday morning, a group of adventurous naturalists set off for the week to save and release turtles on TC’s annual Turtle Camp!

After a 3 1/2 hour bus ride, we arrived at our destination: Cohuna, a small country town with a population of only 2,415 people (2016), situated on the bank of the Murray river. We unpacked the bus and set up our tents on the waters edge at the local caravan park. The late afternoon consisted of water fights and card games, and a scrumptious pesto pasta for dinner. Afterwards, a night walk commenced at nightfall. Some things we spotted were; Orb weaver spiders, possums, bats and a family of kookaburras. We also explored the Rickety jetty, lucky that no one fell in!

The next day, we woke up early to the call of peacocks, cockatoos, and a beautiful sunrise. We got ready and quickly scrambled into the bus, ready for a day full of activities.

Our first stop was Clydevale Holstein dairy farm, where the cows are milked by a machine/robot whenever they want. We learnt how the new mechanics work and the process of milking, as well as being able to visit the baby calves, which were absolutely adorable!

Throughout the week, we learnt about the local species of freshwater turtles, which include the Broadshell turtle, eastern long neck and the Murray short neck.

On Tuesday, we were very lucky to take part in a turtle survey research project. We set up river traps in the afternoon, and the next day we brought them up onto the bank to see what we caught.

43 adult turtles in total, as well as the odd carp or two!

We were able to observe the scientists measure and weigh them, and once they were finished, we got to release them back into their watery home. A lot of us grew very fond of two of the Murray short necks, which we named Oddle and Poddle. These turtles had small little grooves on the edge of their shell, so they were identifiable by other scientists. Before releasing them, we had to re-drill the grooves into a spot where they don’t have any nerves, and then they were good to go!
After we packed up everything, the aboriginal people we were working with held a smoking ceremony which we participated in and connected to country.

That night, we had a bonfire along the river, where we roasted marshmallows and made s’mores. A night sky photographer taught us how to take photos of the stars with our phones which was really cool as well!
At the bonfire we met four scientists from America who were studying Australian river turtles and on Thursday we got to see them collect a swab sample from a female broadshella cloaca.

For the whole week we searched and scavenged for turtle nests, new and old. We visited people’s farms and properties, looking out for baby turtles and their nests, and at last, we found some. On the edge of a dry paddock, overlooking the water, we found an old nest that had been protected by Turtles Australia a few years ago. We removed the wire and dug up 17 baby turtles wriggling beneath the soil. One of them were still connected to their egg yolk, and there were four unhatched eggs so we reburied them afterwards. One by one, we released the baby turtles into the river and sent them on their way.

Graham was the man from Turtles Australia who guided us throughout the week. He taught us how to spot a nest and how to hold turtles properly. He was so kind and patient even though more than half of the nests we ended up finding were just ant nests! He was so enthusiastic about his job and educating all of us it was a truly fun experience. He showed us how to feel the eggs in female turtles.

Over the course of the week, we released a total of 36 baby broad-shell turtles. It was an amazing experience to see new lives entering the world and helping to support Turtles Australia. It was truly a unique experience that we will forever cherish. 🐢🌏

By Mietta Palmer and Ruby Egan-Douglas

Red Hill Agriculture and Horticulture Society Show

Hi my name is Liv, I'm poultry head keeper. I recruited my buddy Naomi to come and help with the show this year. For the TC program I took two of our school chickens to the 96th annual red hill agriculture and horticulture society show. The show is full of interesting sheds and stalls ranging from alpacas, sheep, cow showings to woodchopping, farm equipment, kelpie mustering and dog high scramble. Other exhibits are art shows plus food, baking and growing competitions and a large range of food stores and produce stands. In the corner of the show was the poultry pavilion. Representing TC were 2 outstanding chickens, Lucifer the rooster and Cadbury the chocolate Orpington. Prim, clean and proper they entered the competition. The judges held, poked and prodded the chickens. I'm pleased to report that Lucifer came first in the “my favourite rooster” class and Cadbury came second in the “large soft feather female” class.  That's a great result against the swift competition that were from all around Mornington peninsula! It was a great day overall and I recommend it to anyone and everyone from the community to come and experience the Red Hill show for themselves.

By Liv Schubert

Animals Instagram

Splish Splash! - TC's 2024 Pool Party

On Tuesday, TC's Pool Party for 2024 took place at Aquarena, and it was nothing short of a spectacular event leaving everyone who attended with fun memories and a sense of excitement for the next one. It was a day filled with laughter, sunshine, and good vibes. The teachers and students put in a tremendous amount of work to make this event spectacular so that everyone would look forward to hanging out with their friends on a hot summer's day, and they did not disappoint! 

At the start of the event, TC's grads paraded around the pools, showing off their exotic and creative costumes!

To add to the fun atmosphere, live music was performed by TC's very own bands and performers. Everyone sang along and swayed to the tunes, making the pool party even more enjoyable. It was great to see so many talented individuals showcasing their skills and entertaining the crowd!

One of the many fun stalls was the clothes swap, run by the TC EAG (Environmental Action Group), where they collected pre-loved clothing and accessories from families and students who didn't wear or need them any more. It was a huge hit, and heaps of people found some fantastic new additions to add to their wardrobe. There was also a face painting and henna stall which was also popular too! Another creative activity was portrait painting, where a handful of art students volunteered to draw a portrait of someone else, and a lot of beautiful drawings were created.

The VM students did an incredible job of running their sausage and drinks stall, and everyone appreciated their efforts and enthusiasm!

However, the main attraction of the day was undoubtedly the pool. Everyone got in and enjoyed the cool water, whether it was for Laps for Life, swimming competitions and games, or just a free swim. The slides were open all day, and everyone had a blast trying them out too!

At the end of the day, once all of the competitions had come to an end, the winning community was announced - and it was Gold! 

Gold had earned the most points when competing, therefore they were revealed as the winners!

As the day drew to a close, our principal, Peter, was a good sport and agreed to get a bucket of ice water dumped on his head for the VM Laps for Life fundraiser! It was a fun way to end a perfect day spent with friends and community, and of course, to cool off.

Overall, the TC Pool Party was a huge success, and everyone left with smiles on their faces, looking forward to the next one. It was a great reminder of how important it is to come together as a community and have some fun!

By Mietta Palmer and Ruby Egan-Douglas
TC Jounalists

Debating Competition

Earlier this term we saw the TC Debaters come out of the woodworks and strut their stuff in front of a huge crowd in the PAC. So the Community Debating Competition was held on Thursday February 15th at lunchtime.

The first debate was between Gold and Green Communities. The Gold team was made up of Mietta Palmer, Em Cormack and Nathan Chan. Green consisted of Ruby Egan Douglas, Lara Blain and Ezra Callec. The topic was that “there has never been a better time to be a teenager”. Gold argued in the affirmative, Green in the negative. Both teams made wonderful arguments that were clearly prepared in advance. The final score was very close but there could only be one winner. Gold took the first round.

The second debate was between Blue and Red Communities. Blue had Jakob Marley, Max Kong and Luca Hughes in their team. The Red team was made up of Clara Shade, Finn Stone Kay, Will Genat and Amin Safari. The topic was that “detentions make schools better”, Blue for the affirmative and Red for the negative. The topics were brilliant and created fantastic interest and lots of great arguments. Again we saw a fun and exciting debate, lots of brilliant points being made by both teams. Red took the win, just!

So that put Gold and Red into the final. The topic here was that “high school teachers should be replaced by AI”. Gold got the affirmative and Red had to argue the negative. Gold made some fantastic points but could not quite get enough to beat the amazing Red team.

So that puts Red Community in first place for the Community Cup so far.

Next up we will have the Basketball competition. So much fun to be had at TC Events!

Community Basketball

This Term we had our Basketball event, Everyone brought their community cheer as for the Seniors, Red community came up on top showing great performance and sportsmanship Whilst in juniors Gold came first, showing who will be the next great Templestowe basketball players. 3x3 player matches where played with Seniors and Junior matches, teachers, students, and all came to support their communities, showing great school cheer, we hope to see you next time!

By Ezra Callec

The Secondary Youth Leadership Conference

The Secondary Youth Leadership Conference is designed to inspire, strengthen and empower high school leaders. Our students embarked on a journey of self-discovery, empowerment, and leadership development. They listened to engaging keynotes, completed interactive activities, and had reflective sessions that cultivated their sense of personal agency and self-leadership, equipping them with indispensable skills for success.

Entry Camp

During the week of the 18th-22nd of March, our Entry students went out to Camp Howqua to complete a series of adventure activities. Rather than trying to re-create the moment, lets hear it directly from the students.

My favourite memory of Entry camp…

‘When I discovered a new food combination (strawberry jam on hashbrowns)’ – Quinn Downing
‘Ziplining through the rain’ – Teddy Darwin
‘Trying my hardest and having fun at Camp Howqua’ - Atilla Oguzhan
‘Midnight party that barely anyone came to’ – Sam Mackinnon
‘Watching the remnants of Activity Group 2 go down the Wedginator more times than I want to go down any waterslide’ – Oscar Pearson
‘Battling on the high ropes course with my friend’ – Blair Innella
‘When Quinn got drenched because he stood next to the water. It was amazing how even though he didn't go on the waterslide he still found a way to have fun.’ – Helena Hutchison
‘Making a morning announcement with my friends’ - Afra Aboufazeli
‘Flying upside down on the flying fox while spinning’ -  Zara Smith
‘The disco’ – Teresa La Delfa

I laughed the hardest when…

‘When Angus pretended to be possessed’ - Alvand Aboufazeli
‘I got splashed in the waterslide’ – Lukas Edwards
‘I watched someone inhale water’ – Rafe Etherington
‘Someone in my cabin threw a pillow and hit someone in the head’ - Abram Mcgowan
‘Eden and I were the only ones awake and we were laughing a lot’ - Katie Pilipasidis
‘I nearly hit a kangaroo on the hill in archery’ - Samuel Haines
‘When Arlyn's boot came off in the river and she almost lost it’ - Edie Oppenheim
‘The teachers came in my cabin and told everyone off’ - Violet Hurley
‘I got properly sawed in half by my underwear when I was on the waterslide’ – Bodhi Baryczka-Ross
‘When Ollie and Flynn sung in the shower (at different times)’ - Isaac Renehan

A big shout out to…

‘Lola H. For always being there for me. And to the staff.’ – Willow Hunter
‘All the people in my cabin and the button man’ - Chiara Hunter
‘A big shout out to all the staff who took time organizing this camp and the activities’ - Chloe Delagas
‘Marianna and Miette for letting me wear their pyjama pants’ – Hanna Tomsa
‘Mia because she stayed up with me when everyone else went to sleep’ - Jemma Stratton
‘The people in cabin 19’ – Ryan Eftekhari
‘Chiara the worm’ – Angie Santa
‘My friends for making it more enjoyable’ – Sunny Venn
‘Elijah for stealing Jakes lollies’ - Kimi Swedosh
‘The teachers for managing everything and keeping behavior in control’ - Meredith McGill

2023 Grad Reunion Dinner

Out 2023 Grad Cohort enjoyed one last celebration post exams, coming together with family, friends and staff to reflect on 2023 and look forward to a fabulous 2024. Thank you to all those that came to celebrate, it was a great night to remember.

DAV Debating

Interschool Debating kicks off for Templestowe College!

The crazy kids from TC were back at Tintern Grammar to shake up debating! TC walked away with two wins for the night and the Year 9 team only suffered a one point loss! 

We have three teams this year which is an exciting growth from last year. An awesome performance from Em Cormack and Zahra Malik walked away with Best Speaker awards for their respective debates.

A very busy Term 1 for our 2024 Grad cohort.  We started the term with a fun Activities Day. The Grad co-hort started the day with a meeting in the PAC and then broke up into Connect Groups before some fun games outside.  Nothing like a little competition to start the year followed by a BBQ lunch.

Our nine weeks have been broken up with some fun Dress Up Themed Thursdays; 60s Hippies, Anything but a Bag, Photoshoot Ready, Childhood Dream Job.

The undisputed highlights have been the Grad Fashion Parade at the Pool Party – we were so lucky to have fantastic weather and Grads made a real effort with their fancy dress outfits. Grad Formal at Vogue Ballroom other highlight of the term.  A very special night for all that attended; students and staff with a 3 course sit down dinner and great music to encourage nearly everyone to get up on the dance floor.

Grad Formal

Frisbee Golf

Unit 2 PE students ventured into the realm of semi-competitive frisbee golf, illuminating the pivotal role of 'access' in promoting physical activity. Making use of Ruffey Lake Park’s course, being 1 of merely 14 fixed-permanent courses statewide, recognised by the sport's governing body, underscores how scarcity in resourcing can impact recreational pursuits. 

To reinforce concepts, disc-golf was also selected due to its low-impact characteristics, making it accessible for individuals of all ages. Students had a great time navigating the course and immersing themselves in the natural environment.

Wheelchair Basketball

As part of our Unit 2 PE studies focusing on physical activity promotion, we arranged a ‘Wheeltalk' presentation, provided by Disability Sport + Recreation Victoria. Wheeltalk is a disability awareness program aimed at shedding light on the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities. Our presenter, a Paralympian and current wheelchair AFL player, delivered an inspiring session, sharing his remarkable journey and emphasising the importance of educating the community on disability rights and inclusivity. The presentation concluded with a wheelchair basketball game, where we had the opportunity to experience firsthand the difficulties of passing, catching, and shooting while manoeuvring in a chair. This experience emphasised the many obstacles individuals with physical disabilities encounter and reinforced the notion that being physically active should be viewed as an opportunity rather than an inconvenience. It was a memorable and insightful experience for everyone involved. 

Outdoor Elective Camp

The Outdoor Ed. Elective Groups spent a week in Gippsland doing a range of activities. Our students were responsible for camping, cooking, leadership, hygiene and navigation amongst other things. We bushwalked overnight in the Mt. Baw Baw area and dealt with a lightning storm and heavy rain. Students managed their own tents and equipment and did so, so well. We then moved to the Thompson River and spent time rafting and river sledding. Lots of fun and the whole group really enjoyed being on the river on a very hot day. Unfortunately the high temperature and strong winds mean't we needed to change camp sites to avoid high fire danger. Students were given 30min to pack and be ready to go. 20 students were up and gone in 30min - Amazing. Thanks to everyone involved, especially Kat Suller who joined us as a leader for the camp.

Outdoor Environmental Studies - Unit 3&4 Summer High Country Tour

TC was the first school to do the new RockWire climb on Mt Buller! ⛰️⛰️

Based on a Via Ferrata, which means “iron way”, this climbing method originated in Italy to help soldiers cross treacherous mountains during World War 1. It is now a common alpine activity across Europe and North America. Students and staff experienced a guided climb along a secure route exploring the Summit’s west face over a series of fixed anchors, steel cables, ladders, bridges and other features such as steps and handholds. It was a privilege to be the first school in Australia to climb the Buller Via Ferrata, what an experience for our Outdoor unit 3&4 students to start the term!

Term 1 Interschool Sports

During term 1, student participation in interschool sports has been great! A large number of students got involved, tried their best and represented TC with pride. From the crack of the cricket bat, to the swish of the volleyball over the net, the bounce of the tennis ball, to the swing of the baseball bat, students engaged in a variety of sports. 

There are a number of sports on offer during Term 2, so if you haven't already, please sign up via the sports board outside the PE office or send a Teams message to Marguerite Metaxas (Interschool Sports Leader).

Interschool Tennis

Entry Tennis

Bojan, Garcia, Mingzhi and Alvand had a great day at Entry Tennis, competing hard but fairly whilst getting on with the other teams both on and off the court. Whilst TC didn't come away the victors, the Templestowe team won their final matchup and there were some excellent shots played along the way!

Intermediate Tennis

It is thought that tennis originated in the northern France in the 12th century, invented by monks looking to pass the time. The game that was to become tennis was played with hands, more closely resembling Downball or Foursquare, but with the introduction of rackets in the 16th century the game started to take on a resemblance to the modern game. Although watching some of the action at the intermediate tennis day on the 15th of March it was clear that many of our competitors were not familiar with either the history of this fantastic sport or rackets at all.

The weather was near perfect, and the team was excited to get on the bus to Heathmont for what promised to be a great day out. Admittedly we only had one team member on the bus but we were hopeful that the remainder of our team would arrive in time for the start of play and our one player was keen and had played tennis before, so we were hopeful of great things.

Arriving at the courts our team doubled in size with our numbers swelling to 2, as we needed 4 this was some cause for concern, and news that one of our players was not going to make it did not help to build our confidence. Our confidence was further dented when the teams from Auburn and Forest Hill turned up, they must have had 40 players each, but we assured ourselves that what we lacked in quantity we made up for in quality, at least 50% of our team had played tennis before which turned out to be a far higher percentage than our opposing teams.

Play got under way and our third player (and secret weapon) arrived in time to take our second match in straight sets. A considerable amount of time was taken up with explaining the rules and scoring system to many of the competitors, directing them where to stand and which end of the racket to hold.

Soon the teams sorted themselves out and those that had some real tennis talent rose to the top, like cream in unhomogenised milk. TC finished at the top of their group but lost out in the semi-finals finishing in third place overall.

It was a fantastic effort given our students were on court for the entire day without a break due to our small team. Well done to Eden, Xavier and Daniel who represented the school and played some sensational tennis.

Division and EMR Swimming

Following on from the success of our TC Pool Party, on Friday 1st March, 19 students progressed to Division Swimming. In an electrifying display of skill and determination, the swimming team dove headfirst into a thrilling competition, emerging victorious in 25 events. The team broke 14 records, and had 3 age-group champions: Jessica Ryles, Tiana Hardie and Thomas Radford.

Congratulations to all!

On Tuesday 26th March 12 students then progress to the Eastern Metro Region Swimming competition. In a thrilling demonstration of expertise and perseverance multiple students placed in their events. Imogen Nolan came first in 17-year-olds 50 metre Breaststroke. Thomas Radford came third in 18–20-year-olds 50 metre Butterfly. Grace Richards came second in 16-year-olds 50 metre Breaststroke and third in 50 metre Backstroke and 100 metre Backstroke. Our relay teams also brought home multiple silver medals. Fantastic effort to all the students that represented TC with pride! 

ESDP Wrap

Term 1 got off to a great start in the ESDP program. We welcomed many new students at the Entry and FLE levels and all have settled in well and made to feel welcome by our returning students.

This term involved the preliminary stage of the Basketball Victoria 3x3 tournaments. We competed in the Diamond Valley region and had Junior and Intermediate boys’ and girls’ teams advance to the Finals to be held next term at the State Basketball Centre. The Senior first stage will be held at Diamond Valley on the last day of term, and we expect more teams to progress.

We recently conducted our first round of physical testing for the year, and it was pleasing to see the overall improvement in fitness from players in the program. We also have more height in the program that we ever have had previously.

Next term we will see the finals of the 3x3 competition and the Victorian College Championships, which is the general competition held by Basketball Victoria. This involves a series of Round Robin competitions for Junior, Intermediate and Senior age groups with winners of each section progressing through to a State Final. We are looking forward to the opportunity to compete together and enjoy some more great basketball.

Entry Humanities

The Entry humanities students enjoyed a lesson where science met history as they tried their hands at mummifying apples. Like all good experiments, some were successful (and some less so!) but everyone had a great time creating their mummies and writing small chants to keep their mummies safe in the afterlife. 

Get Rich Westfield Excursion

The Get Rich students went out to Westfield Doncaster to explore and undertake some market research. Their challenge was to buy something, and to sell it for more. The task got students thinking about how to advertise and sell goods. One student, Alex Fernandes, bought some peanut butter and made homemade dog biscuits and sold them at school. 

One student said about the excursion that it was 'very different when you go to Westfield with an objective or something to look out for, you notice different things'. The students are now about to begin the planning of their market stalls to run at school during Community Integrated Learning week and at our Athletics and Indigenous Games Day. 

Bank Note Design

The Reserve Bank of Australia commenced a public campaign seeking ideas from the community to reflect First Nations cultures into the design of an updated $5 banknote, so our 2 Get Rich classes got involved in celebrating and coming up with themes for submission. The new design will replace the portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and celebrates First Nations cultures and history. 

Legal Studies Unit 1 Visit Heidelburg Magistrates Court

The visit to the magistrates court was an in-depth and engaging experience and showed our class the inner workings of a part of the legal system. We were able to walk into courtrooms and watch cases of both criminal and civil law, and we engaged with magistrates to ask questions we had and to develop our understandings further. To summarise, the court excursion was a memorable experience that allowed us to apply our knowledge learnt in class.
By Will Modra

I thought the trip to heidelberg magistrates court was a very insightful experience in which we as students got a view into both the life as a worker in the justice system and other processes within the courts. I really enjoyed this trip and recommend more like this.
By Odin Finn

We welcomed 16 new international students to our school this year. They have come from China, Germany, Iran, Japan, Singapore and Vietnam.  Eight have started at our language centre and the other half have gone into mainstream classes.  The international office has been buzzing with activities with students making new friends and practising a new language.

Lunar New Year

Year of the Dragon started off with lots of cheers and chocolate! We offered all our international students  chocolate gold coins, best wishes and some festive donuts. Some connect teachers also celebrated with their students.  Demi who has a few students who celebrate Lunar New year, had them exchanging messages and giving each other some "gold" coins.

Ashish Isono

Ashish Isono is from Japan.  He is doing a study abroad program with us for term 1 and will return home during the Easter holidays to go back to his Japanese High school.

Ashish has shared some of his thoughts:

I like Australia’s environment and I like the people. The difference is that I noticed the roads are hilly and angled so the buses are sometimes slow. Of course another interesting difference is the Japanese sushi which is sold everywhere. I appreciate the free educational policy for students at the Templestowe College that they can choose different subjects and I liked that school finished earlier compared to Japanese school.

The high school system in Japan generally works like this: students have a Junior High school (year 7 to 9) after year 9 they sit an exam to get into High School (10 to 12).  After year 12 they take another exam which leads to Uni or other pathways.

Celebrating 18!

The program like to acknowledge students who turn 18 as a few of our students are not here with family and also because 18th birthday are not always a landmark birthday in some countries.  We buy cake and ask them to invite some friends to share in the singing and eating.  This term we had 3 birthdays!

Happy Birthday to Hasan, Chirs and Vivian!!!

Language Centre Parent Presentation and Meeting 

The language Centre held a parent presentation and meeting.  It is an opportunity for students to present to their adults what they have been doing and working on for the term, some students volunteered to stand up and present to the whole group.  Parents and guardian were also able to chat with teachers to  see how the students were doing.

2024 School Production - Matilda!

Our beloved extraordinary bookworm is coming to the stage here at TC. Matilda the Musical, based on the book by Roald Dahl, is a story of a little girl who dares to take a stand and change her own destiny, because even if you’re little you can do a lot. Staff director Hayden Smith says “it’s a super fun musical. The energy is high, and the songs are fun.”

There have only been two rehearsals so far, but excitement is already buzzing in the air. Jasmine Fuga, who plays Miss Honey, says “I love theatre, I think it’s a great opportunity to connect with people and make new friends, and it’s just so much fun” and she’s most looking forward to “just doing the show” because “when it all comes together, it’s really exciting.” Hannah Radford, who plays Mrs Phelps, says “the cast and crew at TC are so lovely and I’m really excited to work with them…The passion and love for the show is everywhere.” Will Genat, who plays Miss Trunchbull, says “it’s always the villains and the angry characters that are so fun to play…there’s so much you can infuse within their performance”, and he’s most looking forward to performing the song The Smell of Rebellion, which he says is “this jazzy, absolute banger” and during that song there’s a part where “Miss Trunchbull’s gonna be lifted up…above everyone, and people are gonna…spin her around and carry her around the stage.” 

There’s lots of reasons the Matilda cast wanted to get involved. Em Cormack, who plays Matilda, says “I love musicals…I’m an avid theatre kid” and “I have been in every school production that I have been able to” as well as “choir, dance classes, acting - anything to get closer to theatre.” Emily Dean, who also plays Miss Trunchbull, says this performance is a “bit of a second chance” as she “did Matilda in primary school and was Miss Trunchbull, but never actually got to perform it because of COVID.” Quinn Scotti, who plays Mr Wormwood, says “it's my last year at the school” and “I thought that being involved in the school production would be a great way to create some memories.” Luca Hughes, who also plays Mrs Phelps, says “I was in The Addams Family Musical last year, and it was by far the best production I've ever been in…so I immediately jumped at the opportunity to audition for Matilda the Musical.”

This year, there are two people playing some of the lead roles, and they’ll each get two nights to have the spotlight. The main characters in Matilda are Matilda Wormwood herself who loves books and is very intelligent, the headmistress Agatha Trunchbull who Will describes as “this matriarchal figure. She is like a battle axe. She doesn’t give up…She’s angry, she’s spiteful, she hates children”, Matilda’s teacher Miss Honey who Jasmine describes as “a fragile woman…she’s had a lot happen in her past, but she’s very kind and it’s sort of contrast to the principal, Trunchbull”, Matilda’s parents Mr and Mrs Wormwood, Bruce Bogtrotter, The Escapologist, The Acrobat, Mrs Phelps the librarian who Luca describes as Matilda’s “outlet for her stories and her escape from her own unfair world”, Rudolpho, Lavender, and Matilda’s brother Michael.

Some of the cast have even found similarities between themselves and the character they’re playing. Luca says “I love books and stories” just like Mrs Phelps. Miss Honey is a teacher and Jasmine says “I’m actually studying this year at TAFE; my cert III in Early Childhood Education.” Even Emily found some similarities between herself and Miss Trunchbull, saying “around my younger siblings, definitely get my inner Trunchbull out sometimes.”

Performing isn’t the only part our students have in this production. There are student directors too, and Hayden says “we’re keen to have our student directors running the show as much as possible.” Miles Leahy Baulch is one of these student directors whose role is to “support the production by helping people with their lines, and their characters, and movement on the stage, and managing the show in general.” He says directing is “something that I haven't really done before, apart from short bursts in classes, so it was something different that I could…discover new things with.” Will was a student director last year and this year again, and he says “I wanted to come back and…make it even better than last year.”

Feel like you’re missing out on the fun? It’s not too late to get involved. According to Hayden, a call for backstage crew will be put on Teams early next term, “so keep an eye out for it.”

The cast and crew would like to say a big “come see Matilda!” with Will adding “we’ll sell out every single night.” Save the date, August 13th-16th.

By Rory Opie
TC Journalist

Zoology and Ecology Excursion

On 5th of March students went to Marine and Freshwater Discovery Centre at Queenscliff and closely observed a variety of plants and animals in their natural marine habitats through snorkelling and a boat tour. Students also got an opportunity to visit an Australian Fur Seal haul out site.

Triennial and Top Arts Creative Practice Excursion

On the 14th of March the 3/4 Art Creative practice students went on an exciting excursion to see the NGV’s Triennial and Top Arts exhibitions. We were also given a guided tour which was very informative for our unit 3 course work. It was great to see the amount of variety of different artforms, materials and subject matters in the contemporary art displayed.

One distinct thing about an art excursion is always the incredible feeling of community that is created and the amount of inspiration the exhibitions elicit! I loved Franziska Furter’s weather rug installation because of its bright vibrant colours and how it interacted with the historical works around it.

By Escher Mclaverty

Instagram

A great way to follow the visual arts @TC is to follow us on Instagram! TC Visual Arts (@tcvisualart) • Instagram photos and videos

TCNEWS is brought to you by TC Journalists Ruby Egan-Douglas, Rory Opie and Mietta Palmer who provide great stories to our community! To revisit our term 1 stories, click on the links below and to and stay update, find Next Week @TC in your email inbox every Friday or under the community tab on the website.