MARCH 2019 – ISSUE 2

IMPORTANT DATES

Thursday 4th AprilAPC Families Committee Meeting

6pm - 7pm - Pickles St Campus

Friday 5th AprilAPC Families Committee Meeting

8:30am - 9:30am - Pickles St Campus

Last day of Term 1

Tuesday 23rd AprilFirst day of Term 2

Applications for Year 7 Enrolment

Available for Non-Government Schools

Brass Woodwind Evening 5pm-6pmDanks St, Drama Room

Thursday 25th AprilPublic Holiday Anzac Day

Tuesday 30th AprilVoice Evening 5pm-6pm Danks St,

Drama Room

30th April - 3rd MayHorse Riding Camp

Thursday 2nd MayOpen Day 2pm - 6pm Danks St Campus

Monday 6th MaySEAL Registration Closes

Saturday 11th MaySEAL Test

Last week I joined 1,800 educators at the International Baccalaureate global con-ference in Hong Kong had gathered from over 40 countries across the globe to en-gage in open minded discussion about how to create a better world for our stu-dents.

The conference opened with a keynote speech from psychologist Jamie Chui, who drew our attention to the increasing numbers of students who were present-ing to her suffering from anxiety and guilt. She emphasized that this was a global phenomenon with up to fifty percent of students not able to deal effectively with stress.

At Albert Park College we have recog-nized this challenge and we have put in place a program that we feel will provide real benefits for our students. Our posi-tive education model is designed to ena-

ble our students to thrive in their lives.

Positive education operates on several levels but ultimately its aim is to devel-op in our students a growth mindset, a capacity to look upon their lives in a positive and mindful way.

The program explores the importance of sleep, diet and regular exercise for teenagers today and provides practical advice and strategies to enable our stu-dents to keep these key building blocks to better health in balance.

The impact of social media on their lives is explored and practical tips of-fered on how to keep their reliance on technology in balance.

Interestingly, we explore the develop-ment of the adolescent brain, with the emerging field of neuroscience giving

“The well-being of todays youth has never been more challenging.” - Michael Carr-Gregg

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us insights into what drives teenage decIsion making and thinking.

Mental health issues are explored with an empha-sis on developing strategies that will make our students more positive, more resilient and better equipped to face the challenges life has to offer.

In short, we are focused on developing the whole person, helping every student to better under-stand how to live the “good life” that we all want for them, a life of purpose and meaning driven by shared values.

We understand that this program will have far more value if it is shared with each and every par-ent, so we are preparing to launch the program to parents in term two. A positive education website will be launched which will give parents well cu-rated and in depth research on practically every topic of interest to you in seeking to understand fully your son and daughter.

We are seeking your support as we share with you the topics that we are covering at the College. We firmly believe that this shared conversation will have greater impact as the conversations we have at school become the conversations you have around the dinner table.

All this work is underpinned by respected voices in the field of positive education. In particular, the work of Dr Michael Carr-Gregg who continues to work directly with our College and who has devel-oped a comprehensive body of work which looks unflinchingly at the things that are influencing the teenagers of today.

Seminars, such as the recent one held at Albert Park College on the topic of gaming will also be a feature of this program. In short, we will explore

every means possible to create a partnership of learning for our community.

As I left the IB global conference I felt proud that not only had we recognized the scale of the chal-lenges facing our students, we had put in place a program to meet this well-being challenge.

The positive education model will explore year by year the issues that matter for our students and together we will equip them for healthy and hap-py lives beyond school.

Written by Steve Cook

Foundation Principal

3MARCH – ISSUE 2

Lucky businessman brings live saving program to APC

When local real estate agent Greg Hocking woke up in the emergency ward in 2013, his first thought was that he’s been in a serious car accident. Surrounded by beeping medical devices and buried in a nest of tubes he slowly reached down to his aching leg. Was that where the car had hit him? The rest of his body felt fine – so what had happened? Staff informed him he had just woken from an induced coma. Lying in the ICU over the next week, Greg found he was wrong about the car accident, but he was lucky to be alive.

On Sunday July 23rd 2013, Greg waved goodbye to a neighbour as he took off for a regular af-ternoon ride. The route from Middle Park to Box Hill was so familiar he can’t recall it, but he does remember cutting it short. “I made it to the top of the hill at Riversdale Rd, but I was feeling very light-headed,” says Greg. “I stopped, put the bike down, sat on the side of the road and, I found out later, I was dialling 000.” Greg never finished the

phone call. It was around 5:30pm. As the pale sun faded in the sky, Greg suffered a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), lost consciousness and collapsed. Unlike a heart attack, which is caused by blocked arteries, an SCA occurs when the brain fails to regulate the heart valves. “Electrical impulses are going all the time from your brain to your heart valves,” Greg explains. “If that gets interrupted for any reason, they basically flutter and there is no blood going anywhere. The heart’s still beating. The heart’s not damaged, but because the valves are stuffed, circulation diminishes very quickly.” Also unlike a heart attack, an SCA can be treated by CPR. Just like a heart attack, how-ever, an untreated SCA results in death.

On that cold winter’s afternoon, some twist of fate propelled the right strangers into Greg’s vicinity. The first man to arrive on the scene was out for an evening walk. He also happened to be the Chief Registrar at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. He dialled 000 and began CPR immedi-

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ately. Next, Andrew Silvers and his wife Gabrielle were heading to dinner by car. Dr Silvers is an anaesthetist that specialises in heart transplants. Initially driving past, Gabrielle told her husband to turn around and offer assistance. The fire brigade responded to the 000 call and brought a defibrillator, which Dr Silvers used on Greg. He remained unresponsive.

Desperate, Dr Silvers asked the crowd that had gathered if anybody had an EpiPen. A woman did. She ran to her car to retrieve it. Dr Silvers administered the adrenalin into Greg’s thigh. Greg’s heart rate returned and began to stabilise, though he remained unconscious. Later, special-ists could never tell Greg why his brain had failed communicating with his heart. But they did tell him he was clinically dead for 13 minutes. Consid-ering Greg had an SCA alone, causing a period of time where oxygen did not get to his brain, doc-tors told him he had a 1-in-24 chance of complete recovery - around 4%.

Incredibly Dr Silvers lives two doors from Greg’s childhood home, where his mum still lives today. It was this chance aid of a number of informed, local people that have inspired Greg to begin a CPR training program at APC. Greg will donate an initial $10,000 to the College, with more to come. This will hire and maintain a registered CPR Trainer, as well purchasing essential equip-ment, so all APC students have the chance to be life-savers in the future.

With three young boys, the oldest 15 at the time, Greg was so grateful that somebody knew what to do when the unthinkable happened. He wants to build a community of people who will confi-dently react to similar situations. “You might pick up a paper and it says ‘18-year-old kid collapses on the footy ground’ - he just collapses. That is a sudden cardiac arrest. They report it as a heart attack, but it’s not,” says Greg. “Why would

a young, fit footy player have a heart attack? It could happen to anybody at any time. This program is for when something happens sudden-ly, and anybody who can think quickly, and act confidently can save a life.”

Greg Hocking (right) with the man who saved his life, Dr Andrew Silvers. Greg wants to give APC students the same opportunity

5MARCH – ISSUE 2

Library News

The library is in full swing with a new librarian, a new and improved cataloguing system, and the Victorian Premier’s Challenge now open to all students from years 7-10!

First, Jess has come on board the library team and is here Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. She is super creative and has a penchant for playing music, making theatre and creative writ-ing, so come and say hi!

For the last few weeks we have been transition-ing to a new, cloud-native library management system, Infiniti Concord. Soon all students and staff will be able to log in to their own library portal, create and share reading lists, and have easier access to the library’s physical and digital resources. Stay tuned for more information!

We have registered all eligible students (years 7-10) in the 2019 Victorian Premier’s Reading Chal-lenge. It is not a competition but a challenge to encourage wide and adventurous reading. To par-ticipate you must read at least fifteen books before September 6th and keep a record of your reading on the PRC website. If you are in years 7-9, ten of these books must be selected from the Challenge list, and five from the list if you are in year 10. All successful participants receive a personalised cer-tificate from the Premier, Daniel Andrews.Simply chat to Veronica, Jess or Jake, or email library@albertparkcollege.vic.edu.au, for more information and to get your log-in details.

See you in the library!

Written by Veronica, Jess and Clive

APC Families AGM

The APC Families AGM was held on Wednesday 20th March 2019 at the Pickles Street Campus. It was a fun evening and great to meet some new parents. Thank you to Steve Cook for coming along. After a few years as President, Sharon Kuhnell chose not to continue in the role and Rebecca George was nominated and voted in as APC Families President for 2019. A huge thank you to Sharon for all her hard work as President, helping make all the APC Families events happen.

Our next committee meeting is on Thursday 4th April 6.00 -7.00pm and Friday 5th April 8.30 – 9.30am at the Pickles Street Campus Cafe (split times to suit as many parents/carers as possible). Please come along to either time if you’d like to be part of the APC Families Committee, find out more about APC Families or want to help with events. Any questions, or if you’d like to be put on the APC Families mailing list, please email Bec on apc.families@gmail.com

6MARCH – ISSUE 2

APC Parent and Student HikeLast weekend around 60 APC kids and parents met at 8:00am in Mansfield to start the annualAPC family hike. After having breakfast in Mans-field we drove to Telephone Box Junction, thestarting and finishing point of the hike into the beautiful Victorian highland. When we arrived wewere split into 2 groups of 30. One was led by Dave Burdett, the other lead by Mr. Wallace-Smith. We then began the 12km hike to Craig’s Hut. The first stretch of the hike was relatively easy formost, a 6km gradually uphill hike. The second sec-tion was much more difficult. Another 6km hike although it was all on a very steep downhill slope.

There were plenty of people slipping andsliding down the hills. Once we arrived we were greeted with the sight of the iconic Craig’s Hut.Most of us were already tired from the long hike, but we had to set up our tents and trangias sothat we could eat. As the sun began to set we started a fire, this was great during the chillynights. The next morning we were greeted with an amazing sunrise over the Victorian highlands, an amazing sight. After that the team had to fill

up the three water drums from the slow flowing stream. A slow task as there was very little water due to the hot weather. After that we packed down our tents and took one last look at Craig’s hut. We then began the six kilometres uphill hike to Bluff Spur Hut. This hike was probably the most difficult part for everyone. Six kilometres all uphill with very little flat sections. Once we fin-ished most were exhausted, but yet again we had to set up camp and start a fire. For the beautiful sunset a handful of people hiked up to the Mount Sterling Summit. We hiked onto the rocks, 500 meters away from the actual summit. The sunset was over the near Mount Buller. It was incredible. The next morning at 6:30 around fifteen people hiked up to the summit again for the sunrise. We took up a trangia and some hot chocolate powder. The hot drinks were lifesavers up at the summit. Next we took down our campsite. After this we began the six kilometers hike down to telephone box junction. This was quite easy and took us about an hour. After this we drove to Mansfield and had a much needed parma. Many thanks to Mr. Wallace-Smith and Dave Burdett for arranging such an amazing hike. I would recom-mend this to every Year 7-9.

Written by Rhys Lewis, Year 9 Student

7MARCH – ISSUE 2

Congratulations to APC Dance alumni Laure Petrie, who has been offered a contract to per-form with the prestigious Moulin Rouge in Paris! Thousands of women audition globally each year in the hopes of joining the cast, and we are so very proud that Laure has achieved her dream in her first professional job. Throughout her time at APC Laure dedicated herself to honing her craft, and took up every opportunity that came her way through the Dance program. She demonstrated resilience and a determination to succeed - so for all you aspiring dancers, keep working hard! Dreams do come true! Albert Park College wishes Laure all the very best in what we are sure is going to be a very long and successful career in Paris.

Written by Jenna Carracher,

Dance Teacher

Senior Dance students recently spent a full day watching the 2018 Top Class Dance performanc-es at the Melbourne Recital Centre. It was a fab-ulous day out, inspiring our students to strive for success in their Dance studies. Lots of interesting conversations were had about the delicate bal-ance between meeting set criteria in their solos, while still fostering creativity and individuality in their dance practise. It was wonderful to see stu-dents from multiple year levels engaging with the performances and discussing ideas for upcoming compositions. We can’t wait to see what these tal-ented young performers come up with this year!

Written by Jenna Carracher,

Dance Teacher

Dance alumni success

Top Class Dance Excursion

8MARCH – ISSUE 2

Beyond the Standard Model: Students Glimpse the Future of Particle PhysicsSenior physics students attended the Australian Institute of Physics Public Lecture to celebrate International Day for Women in Science at the University of Melbourne. Professor Elisabetta Barberio, the first female winner of the Walter Boas Medal for fundamental contributions to ex-periments and analysis, presented a talk on the Higgs Boson discovery at Large Hadron Collider. She also outlined the future of particle physics experiments in Australia which aim to test other predictions of the Standard Model. Students were inspired by her discussion of Dark Matter detec-tion and surprised to learn that “regular matter” makes up less than 5% of the universe. After the talk students had the opportunity to meet scien-tists who were involved in the study. Students will be invited to attend additional free public lectures at the University of Melbourne as part of Albert Park College’s commitment to providing a diverse enrichment program.

Written by Rachael Gore,

Mathematics and Physics Teacher

Top Class Dance Excursion

Jane Burns, parent of 2017 APC alumnus Angus Burns, is exhibiting as part of the ART + CLIMATE = CHANGE Festival presented by CLI-MARTE. Find her work at MARS Gallery, 7 James St, Windsor from Thu 18 April - Sat 18 May, Tuesday-Saturday 10am-5pm.

Like our finely balanced ecosystem, Jane’s works literally hang togeth-er by a thread, exploring the peril faced by over 25 ingenious species of Victorian fauna on the brink of extinction.

Encounter Jane’s work and that of over 30 other artists across Mel-bourne and regional Victoria as they respond to the issue of climate chaos we face. More information is available at www.artclimatechange.org

Written by Steven Stanecki,

Environmental Programme Coordinator

Art, Design and Technology Teacher

9MARCH – ISSUE 2

Environmental News

Football Academy

Environmental Programmes Leader, Eloisa Mo-ses-McMahon did our school community proud addressing students on 15th of March to raise awareness and seek action from politicians to deal effectively with the mounting climate chaos that shapes the future of our youth. Eloisa will also speak at an event on April 3rd, organised by the Australian Conservation Foundation for the seat of Macnamara on climate for the upcoming election. Inspiring stuff!

March 22nd was our biggest Ride2School Day ever! 88% of people took active, sustainable transport to school, with the majority of drivers being teachers. Hot chocolate and coffee were offered to active travellers by Brewers Coffee in Fitzroy, while the Little Projector generated in-terest with it’s pedal powered sound system and inflatable shoe.

Earth Hour was celebrated this Sunday evening. In our own way the Enviro Club has been audit-ing our energy use and tracking what gets left on when people leave rooms. Shockingly, over 76%

of classrooms had some or all fans left running, and over 54% of classes had some or all lights on. The only unused space with everything consist-ently switch off was that of the Principal’s office. Term 2 will see a focus on switching off fans, heaters, lights and powerpoints in a bid to save costs, conserve the energy we use, and move towards an energy positive, zero waste school.

On zero waste, Felix and Kira of Year 11 addressed staff on our new bin system, giving them a re-fresher on what goes in our green organics bins and what doesn’t. Any food scraps, along with BioPak containers can go in. The paper bags and wrappers from the canteen can go in, too. However, no plastics, foils or other materials will compost. You can do your bit at home to reduce our waste by switching to reusable containers, too.

https://www.acf.org.au/macnamara_candidates_forum

Written by Steve Stanecki,

Environmental Coordinator

The APC AFL Academy is running for the first time in 2019. The program will be run by the Sandring-ham Dragons and the Simon Black Academy and will cater boys and girls, senior and junior from Years 7–12, for two morning sessions per week, enabling targeted development for their experi-ence levels, whilst continuing to foster relation-ships across multiple year levels and improve their personal fitness goals. There will also be APC AFL Football Academy matches against other Acad-emies around Melbourne (at least 6 matches). It will allow them to participate in a fun and active sports program before school, with the aim of not only improving their football skills but also assist students with their mental and physical wellbeing

through a sport that they enjoy with their friends from APC. For any questions regarding the program please email James Wallace Smith on jameswallacesmith@albertparkcollege.vic.edu.au

10MARCH – ISSUE 2

McAuley Services for Women

Year 12 IB Student Anton Bennett leads the charge for a Happy Easter treat for those less fortunate.

McAuley Services for Women were thrilled re-cipients of his gesture: donating hot cross buns for the 120 women, children, staff and volunteers providing shelter and life-changing assistance to women under threat of homelessness due to in-creasingly financial and emotional abuse and the unaffordability and scarcity of housing. Anton invited three keen classmates along, including an informative tour by Director Sharon Torney of the multi-storey residential community facilities, offering insight into the history of the Sisters of Mercy Legacy created by one women support-ing others in need of a little help. Asked what students can do to help: “Just make eye contact

and say hello to someone clearly doing it tough. Ask them what they need. If they say they’re hun-gry, spend $5 on a sandwich and drink. It could mean the world to them.” Small gestures make a huge difference: like the treat of a hot cross bun!

Enormous gratitude to Craig, owner of Bakers Delight Flinders Lane, for unhesitating generos-ity, enabling Anton, Kirrily, Mariella and Mitch to enhance the lives of those who least expect yet most appreciate it!

Anton later likewise played Easter Bunny to the diverse Prahran Rotary “Homework Club” attend-ees, and plans to expand this initiative leading up to Easter and ongoing with weekly general donations.

Written by Manuela Pless-Bennett

11MARCH – ISSUE 2

Rotary International Women’s Day Breakfast

For all the progress women have made there is still a long way to go in reaching true equality and international women’s day, March 8, has always been a day to celebrate women’s achieve-ments and call to attention the work still left to be done on a global scale. On Thursday 7 March, a few members of the leadership team attended the Rotary International Women’s Day Breakfast which spoke about women’s achievements and discussed gender equity in Australia and globally. With panelists including: Kristen Hilton, human

rights and equal opportunity commissioner, Fio-na Patten, politician and founder of The Reason Party and Rob Hulls, Director of the Centre for Justice and many more - the morning was in-spiring. The morning promoted a much needed discussion of gender equity both in Australia and globally and encouraged women to put their hands up, get involved and work towards making reforms within political structures.

Written by Millie McWhirter

12MARCH – ISSUE 2

Year 11 Geography Fieldwork ExcursionThe Year 11 Geography class travelled to Kinglake National Park to examine the impact and ongoing recovery of the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires. We first visited the “Living with Fire” exhibition run by the Kinglake Historical Society, where we heard from a CFA volunteer who spoke about fire behaviour and the timeline of events which lead to one of Australia’s worst natural disasters. Students were then able to spend time viewing the displays and artefacts, and had the oppor-tunity to ask Kinglake residents some questions. Afterwards, we headed to Masons Falls and bat-tled a little wind and rain on our bushwalk while examining the evidence of the bushfires in the Kinglake National Park. Thank you to Oscar Davis and Darcy Daniels for attending.

Written by Annele Cook,

Psychology and Humanities Teacher

Senior Choir School Song RecordingThe Music Department has been busy in recent months working hard on the inaugural recording of our school song. Last year a group of instru-mental staff recorded the backing at Hot House recording studios with thanks to Craig Harnath. More recently, the Senior Choir made the trip to Allan Eaton Studios where they recorded the vocal part. This was an exciting experience for the students and we are incredibly grateful for the generosity from Ross (our engineer) at Allan Eatons. The track is currently being mixed and mastered and should be with us soon, we can’t wait to share it with you!

Written by Dean Gourley,

Music Director

13MARCH – ISSUE 2

2019 Dance Show ‘Vapour’Students of the Albert Park College Dance Com-pany have been working hard in rehearsals for the 2019 Dance Show; ‘Vapour’!

‘Vapour’ explores the potential of our Planet’s fu-ture in the face of Global Warming. It delves into the idea of what life might look like in a dystop-ic future, using a creative licence to hypothesise what harsh environments may be waiting for us. In the end, will there be nothing? Will we only be a planet’s distant memory – reduced to nothing but the vapour of our collective consciousness?

‘Vapour’ will be presented at Southbank Theatre, The Lawler, on Thursday June 6th (7:30pm) and Friday June 7th (1:30pm and 7:30pm). Tickets will be on sale from 9am on Monday, April 29th south-banktheatre. Last year sold out quickly, so set a reminder in your calendar and keep an eye out for official promotional material to be released soon!

(Behind the scenes images taken from our recent promotional shoot with APC Alumni Hugo Kohler - stay tuned for official promotional material to be released in Term 2!)

Written by Jenna Carracher,Dance Teacher

Albert Park College is welcoming Hannah as the new first aid officer. She has completed a Bachelor of Paramedicine at ACU last year and is now working 3 days a week attend-ing the sick bay for any of the students health concerns.

Any new health information, medical conditions or medical record updates related to your son or daughter should now be communicated to Hannah viahannahburchell@albertparkcollege.vic.edu.au

First Aid Information

14MARCH – ISSUE 2

ALBERT PARK COLLEGE

OPEN DAY 2019

MARCH – ISSUE 215