Secondary News

Where Did the Term Go?

Blink, and you might have missed it! This term has been a whirlwind of activity, and it’s only ramping up. Here’s a glimpse of what’s been happening:

• Year 12s: Our seniors powered through their final assessments.

• Graduation Events: Year 10s hosted a heartfelt Graduation Lunch for the Class of 2024, followed by their dazzling Graduation Celebrations.

• Wise Women Camp: A retreat full of reflection and growth.

• Lego League Competition: Innovators in action, tackling challenges with creativity.

• College Athletics Carnival: A showcase of energy, teamwork, and spirit.

• Exams Galore: Year 7-10 students wrapped up their tests, with Year 11s done and dusted on Monday.

• Albany Show & Open Night: Bringing the community together with pride and connection.

But wait—there’s more!

Next week, some Year 10 and 11 students head to Perth for the Futures Camp, while our Year 7-9 students will unleash their musical talents at Band Camp. The following week, we welcome the incoming cohort with Year 7 Orientation Day, and the term will wrap up with a spectacular Drama Presentation of Alice in Wonderland and our Secondary Presentation Event.

Lego League

On Tuesday, November 5th, our Year 8 students embarked on an exciting adventure to Mount Barker Community College to take part in the Lego League competition! This event was a fantastic chance for them to showcase our school spirit, meet students from other schools, and dive deeper into hands-on learning. From coding challenges to problem-solving, the day pushed them to step outside their comfort zones and develop new skills. We couldn’t be prouder of the incredible teamwork, encouragement, and support they showed each other throughout the day. Our Year 8 students truly made us shine!

Wise Women Camp

Murdoch University ran the Wise Women Showcase again this year. This is an opportunity for year 10 girls who are potentially interested in STEM subjects and/or careers. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. All the female students in Year 10 were given the chance to apply to come on this exciting excursion, six students applied and were accepted. Highlights of the trip were:

• A chance to try character animation using university software

• A visit to Dome in East Fremantle

• A keynote address from Dr Paola Magni - A renowned forensic specialist and innovator Dr Paola Magni uses insects and other small creatures to help solve murders, suspicious deaths and cold cases world wide.

• A murder mystery forensic breakout box ‘we had to unlock a series of locks to get inside a box by identifying footprints, fingerprints and blood type’

• A session on how butterfly wings get their colour - ‘We used microscopes to see all the scales on their wings and learnt about how they make colour using pigment and/or structure’

• Dinner at Grill’d in Fremantle was followed by an Escape Room Jail Breakout which was successful!

A visit to The Kids Research Institute at Perth Children’s Hospital - ‘we met the friendly staff, and played a card game that they are developing called Remediate (we played as little microbes whose goal was to eat all the plastic in different environments and were the first highschool students to ever test the game!) and then took a tour around the building and got to see the labs’.

College Athletics Carnival

This year's Secondary Athletics Carnival was a tremendous success, with students from years 7-11 competing in a variety of track and field events and showcasing their talent, athleticism and sportsmanship.

The morning began with field events, with year groups alternating between the disciplines of shot put, javelin, discus and long jump. It was pleasing to see the students competing to the best of their ability, as well as encouraging other athletes’ efforts. After lunch we were treated to some spectacular performances in the track events as the students ran the 400m, 200m, and 100m races, before a very competitive staff/parents 100m race where Mr. Poole was defeated for the first time in recent history by Mr. Lourens.

The level of competition across all age groups was high, with 29 records being broken on the day. There were a few students that I would like to mention who’s exceptional performances deserve to be recognised:

• Atticus Morris (u/15) who not only broke the record for the 100m sprint but also ran the fastest recorded 100m of any ACC student at an ACC carnival.

• Jazmin Unwin (u/15) who broke 3 separate records, and won 9 out of a possible 10 events to finish with the highest individual point tally of any ACC student at an ACC carnival.

• Zoe Downing (OPEN) who set 4 new records in the OPEN girls category, the most individual records set by an ACC student at an ACC carnival.

Both houses battled valiantly, with the points tally remaining close all day, however in the end the Magpies were victorious, claiming an 864 - 776 victory over the Kangaroos. Thank you to all the parents who came down to support the students, as well as the staff members for setting up and running the events during the day. A full list of the champions and runners up can be found below.

• U/13 Girls Runner Up - Ella Sephton (31 points)

• U/13 Girls Champion - Shelby Burns (44 points)

• U/13 Boys Runner Up - Arthur Bliss (27 points)

• U/13 Boys Champion - Jax Auty (35 points)

• U/14 Girls Runner Up - Annabelle Reddington & Gabriella Martin (29 points)

• U/14 Girls Champion - Georgia Power (42 points)

• U/14 Boys Runner Up - Zachary Minchin (27 points)

• U/14 Boys Champion - Oliver Burns (33 points)

• U/15 Girls Runner Up - Georgie Hart (28 Points)

• U/15 Girls Champion - Jazmin Unwin (47 points)

• U/15 Boys Runner Up - Atticus Morris (34 points)

• U/15 Boys Champion - Reuben Vanderwal (39 points)

• OPEN Girls Runner Up - Charli Sephton (28 points)

• OPEN Girls Champion - Zoe Downing (43 points)

• OPEN Boys Champions - Mark Beeck & Josiah Felton (38 points)

Albany Agricultural Show

I feel our stand was so perfectly placed in the Pavillion and it looked really inviting. We had lots of giveaways, bowls of lollies, stress balls, bouncy balls, stickers and our show bags with lots of information and gifts. The “Guess how many jellybeans” was a fabulous drawcard to our stand and I am thankful that the jar was sealed up well with tape, as we may have had to change the amount and my favourite colour would have been missing. It was a joy watching some children using their fingers to count and working out in their heads a number for them to write down; there were plots of different strategies. There were so many opportunities for wonderful conversations for us all to have. We had past and present students and their families stop by for a catch up and we had young families stop and ask about us. 

One of our giveaways was particularly popular and that was, our bouncy blue balls. They were a huge success and I am confident they have infiltrated many a playground or workplace this week. I even witnessed one of our Law Enforcers who was walking around with one in his hand squeezing it like a stress ball. At the start, Mr Meyer was encouraging people to test to see if the balls bounced well; it was such a wonderful way to interact with people and it always brought on a smile or giggle.  Our TV monitor was also a wonderful asset to showcase our ACC activities and new campus. I witnessed one young man just standing motionless and wide eyed, with his mouth open, totally enjoying what he was seeing - a beautiful moment. The experience was a wonderful one to represent our beautiful school for both our On campus and Distance Education. I know I had a fun time catching up with many people, but also time chatting with my colleagues too. I hope those of you who stopped by enjoyed your time chatting with us.

Blessings Mrs Morton

Chaplaincy

We are excited to introduce two new chaplains who have joined our team this term. 

Paul Ritchie:

Paul is married to Deb and together they have five children. Paul has 18 years of experience working in chaplaincy throughout the Great Southern.

Paul will be working on campus three days a week.

Paul has a wide variety of interests including music, song writing, laser cutting, permaculture, pets, raising livestock.

Sharon Morton:

Sharon is married to Wayne, they have 7 children between them and 11 gorgeous grandies. Sharon is an Albany girl and has worked in chaplaincy for 6 years, both in school and street chaplaincy. She has a passion for people to know they are loved and valued.

Sharon will be working with our On Campus students for one day a week and for four days a week with Distance Education students .

Sharon loves the Albany weather, the many beautiful beaches, enjoying all the beautiful surrounds we live in, time with family, baking, spending time with girlfriends crafting, quiet time, and pottering in the vegetable patch.

Summer Uniform

Term 4, our students wear their summer uniforms. For our students to take advantage of the beautiful weather, they will require a hat when they venture out to the playground. Should you need any uniform items, please remember to order through our school uniform shop. 

Secondary Presentation Event

All parents and Year 7 - 11 students are invited to join us on Friday, 29 November at 13:45 pm for a 2pm start at Living Water Church.  We should conclude our Secondary Presentation Event at 4pm.

A Final Word

We thank you for your continued support in the life of ACC.  May the festive season be a blessing to you and your family.

Regards

Di & Will