Year 9 Dominican Day

In May, our Year 9 students participated in their annual Dominican Day held at Holy Cross Centre in Templestowe. During Religious Education classes, students had been learning about the concept of prophet and what this means as part of our Catholic Christian tradition, as well as historically and in a contemporary setting. Sessions included a creative response involving building a Vessel of Hope, discovering and discussing Prophets in our time and an outdoor Dadirri experience before walking the Stations of Hope. The annual Dominican Day is an integral part of a Siena education and our commitment as members of the Dominican family – all Year 10 and 11 students will be participating in their Dominican Day next term.

Blessing of Winter by Michael Leunig

We give thanks for the blessing of Winter.
Season to cherish the heart
To make warmth and quiet for the heart
To make soups and broths for the heart
To cook for the heart and read for the heart
To curl up softly and nestle with the heart
To sleep deeply and gently at one with the heart
To dream with the heart
To spend time with the heart
A long, long time of peace with the heart
We give thanks for the blessing of winter
Season to cherish the heart

Examinations

Year 9 to 11 students have concluded their Semester 1 Examinations. It is always a challenge to ensure everything runs smoothly with students across three year levels completing exams together. Thank you to our students who arrived on time and displayed excellent behaviour, and thank you also to our parents for their support during this stressful period.

Reports will be available on Siena Central on Monday, 17 July.

VCE Holiday Home Learning

The term break provides an opportunity for senior students to consolidate their Semester 1 learning and prepare for Semester 2 classes. VCE students are encouraged to complete the set holiday home learning provided by their subject teachers during the holidays.

Term 3: Subject Selection

In Term 3, subject selection will take place for our current Years 7 to 11 students. To assist with their decision making, students will participate in Subject Selection interviews:

• Week 2: Year 11 into Year 12
• Week 4: Year 10 into Year 11
• Week 4: Year 9 into Year 10

Year 9 students will need to decide whether they wish to pursue an Accelerated subject in Year 10. It is crucial to consider the implications of this choice as an Accelerated subject requires a greater complexity of study, therefore involving a greater time commitment. A high level of literacy is invaluable to students studying an Accelerated subject.

The Unit 1 and 2 Accelerated subjects are: Biology, Drama, Physical Education, Product Design and Technology and Psychology.

Year 9 students must meet the following criteria:

• An overall result of 80% or higher in the Accelerated subject area
• An overall result of 75% or higher in all other Year 9 subjects studied in Semester 1

The Unit 3/4 Accelerated subjects are: Biology, Business Management, Drama, General Mathematics, Geography, Physical Education, Product Design and Technology, Psychology and Religion and Society.

Year 10 students must meet the following criteria:

• An overall result of 80% or higher in the Accelerated subject area
• An overall result of 75% or higher in Year 10 English
• An overall result of 75% or higher in at least two other Year 10 subjects studied in Semester 1

Further details regarding the application process, including subject handbooks and presentations will be made available to students and parents in Term 3.

Student Learning Conferences

These conversations will take place in Week 8. Parents will be notified of dates and times in Week 4.

Staff Week

The College will be open until Friday, 30 June. Teaching staff will be back on Monday, 10 July, for Staff Week. which involves Professional Practice, Faculty Meetings and a Staff Faith Day. Semester 2 commences on Monday, 17 July.

We wish you and your family a relaxing mid year break.

NAIDOC Week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is celebrated by all Australians and is a great opportunity to recognise and learn more about the history and culture of indigenous communities.

NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Its origins can be traced back to the Aboriginal rights movement, when on Australia Day 1938, protestors marched through the streets of Sydney to highlight the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Today, it is a week-long celebration held in July that consists of range of traditional and contemporary activities.

NAIDOC Week is an important event that helps build positive relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. It enables a deeper understanding of our differences and similarities. NAIDOC week is an opportunity for all Australians to eliminate bias and discrimination by reflecting and reconciling the wrongs of the past to facilitate hope and build a fairer future. Families are encouraged to join in and support young people in learning the significance of NAIDOC Week.

This Special Report offers suggestions on how families can celebrate NAIDOC Week together. We hope you take a moment to reflect on the information offered, and as always, we welcome your feedback. If this raises any concerns for you, a loved one or the wellbeing of your child, please seek medical or professional help. Here is the link to your Special Report.

Helping Teenagers to Master Their Sleep

Did you know that half of all mental illnesses start during early high school by fourteen years old? At this critical time of development, forty percent of young people will face significant sleep problems heightening their risk of anxiety or depression.

Click here to learn more about Sleep Ninja®.

Students in Years 7 to 11 have been participating in the Pillars Leadership Program, which encompasses our Dominican values, fosters a culture of leadership, and provides students with a strong foundation on which to develop their leadership skills and strive for excellence in all they do. The program is designed to equip students with the confidence and skills to pursue formal and informal leadership positions, both at the College and in the future. Staff and student led sessions focused on what it means to lead, collaboration and delegation, finding your voice, public speaking and speech writing.

After each session, students responded to questions as part of their reflection process. Below are some comments given:

• The pillar that I resonate strongly with is Community. I have always subscribed to the notion that 'it takes a village' and I believe this applies to all facets of leadership. Connections and trust form the solid foundations for leadership, which are necessary when representing and speaking for a community. With support from each other, we can only become stronger.
• Community resonates with me the most as I feel that this is the key purpose of leadership. Communities are stronger and able to create more change when they unite and work collaboratively.
• I identify with the pillar of Service as helping others brings me so much joy. When working together with others for the good of other people, it is an experience that gives back in itself.
• The key takeaway from this session was the link between a courageous leader and an authentic leader. When you lead with passion and stand up for your values, it gives you courage to have difficult conversations or lead by example.
• Something that resonated with me on the topic of courageous leadership was the link back to vulnerability. Leading with an open heart and having the courage to step forward paves the way for authenticity, and it allows a leader to be passionate about the work that they do.
• A practical strategy that I will take away from this session is the implementation of an 'interim deadline', so as to allow for buffer time when things do not happen as planned.
• I like the idea of writing my speech in a formal structure, and the little techniques taught during the session to help me connect with my audience to the overall topic.
• When writing my next speech, I will make sure to add a thread throughout and restate my key ideas multiple times. This will hopefully allow the audience to go home with a few takeaways and allow me to get my ideas across effectively.

Year 11 Chemistry

"A few weeks ago, Year 11 Chemistry students visited the REPLAS recycling headquarters to learn more about polymer chemistry. We ventured through an interactive tunnel which detailed the lifecycle of plastics and their inability to biodegrade. The excursion informed us on the importance of recycling and reusing plastics. It was unbelievable to find out that humans eat a credit card's worth of plastic each week because of the micro plastics in the environment! The process of recycling plastics was also interesting to observe. There are many benefits from creating materials from recycled plastics as it reduces landfill. REPLAS extended our knowledge about plastic recycling and ways we can improve our environmental footprint. It was a great opportunity to discover chemistry in action!" Year 11 student, Melania F

Year 12 Chemistry

The Year 12 students also headed to the University of Melbourne’s Chemistry laboratory to analyse a range of unknown organic compounds to identify what they were. Using instrumentation such as infra-red spectroscopy and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, they were able to correctly identify the unknowns, deducing their structures. These techniques are used by real chemists in a wide variety of industrial and research settings, as well as in forensics, crime scene analysis, and sports performance-enhancing drug analysis. When chemists are designing new chemicals, they also use these techniques to ‘see’ the molecules they have made to make sure it is the right compound! Students will encounter this sort of data in a range of assessments including their end of year exam, so it was great practice!

In Term 3, we will have our annual STEAM Careers breakfast at Siena College. This event will allow students to have roundtable conversations with professionals in several science and engineering fields of study so that students can be deeply informed leading into subject selection and making choices about possible career directions. The details for the event are included below.

Innovation: Powering Future Industries

This is a chance to examine the range of innovative pathways available to those pursuing STEAM careers. Innovation has links to many things around us in our day to day lives:

• Responsible innovation: Engage with ethics, impacts and benefit-sharing through the lens of responsible innovation
• Innovations in agriculture: Explore the science and technology that is enabling smarter agriculture in Australia
• Innovations in space: Find out about amazing innovations in space, including rockets, rovers and spaceplanes
• Innovations around us: Discover innovations that have enabled transport, water management and medical technologies throughout history and into the future

Are you curious about a career in a STEAM related field, but have never spoken with a scientist, engineer or someone who works with technology?

Come along and share a light breakfast with our STEAM professionals and find out how they got to where they are, what they do on a normal day and what they like most about their work. There is the opportunity to ask all the questions you might have in roundtable discussions. You will hear from a keynote speaker about pursuing a career in a STEAM related field.

With subject selection happening in Term 3, this is a chance to learn more about STEAM career options and what they are really like.

Click here to register now.

Our Year 12 Italian students, Patrice V and Isabella P recently took part in the Dante Alighieri Poetry Recitation Competition held at The University of Melbourne. Since 1961, the competition has been providing students a platform to demonstrate their ability to recite Italian poetry, both contemporary and from Dante’s Divine Comedy, therefore allowing students to gain confidence in accurate intonation and pronunciation. This year, the competition has attracted close to one and a half thousand participants across forty-two Victorian schools. Congratulations to our student finalists who will be competing for the winning title on Friday, 21 July 2023.

Year 9 Italian City Experience

The Year 9 Italian students have been to learning to describe their neighbourhood in Italian and recently, they visited two of the most renowned Italian neighbourhoods to put theory into practice, and to experience Italian culture in the city.

Students visited Sydney Road in Brunswick to explore several Italian shops, and in particular the iconic Mediterranean Wholesalers supermarket. Students learned about the different types of Italian products and engaged with some of the supermarket staff to practise their Italian, enquiring about product specifications and retail prices. Students also visited the Little Italy of Melbourne, Carlton, before concluding with lunch at Brunetti's, where once again they practised their Italian by placing meal orders and interacting with restaurant staff.

Language Photography Competition

Year 7 and Year 8 students participated in a photographic competition where they had to choose their favourite word in the language that they are studying and find an appropriate image or photograph to represent it. So many students submitted creative images and the Language Department would like to compliment all participants for their wonderful contributions. Here are the winning entries:

Chinese by Loshaya S

French by Lucie K

Italian by Scarlett N

“Art, in all its diversity, is an essential component of a comprehensive education for the full development of the individual. Today, the skills, values and behaviours promoted by arts education are more paramount than ever.” UNESCO’s International Arts Education Week

To celebrate International Arts Education week, the Arts Department organised a series of exciting activities for students, including an open canvas competition across year levels. We were also delighted to host Designer in Residence, Dorte Bell. As the founder of jewellery company, Go Do Good Australia, Dorte spoke to students about the processes involved in the design of single jewellery collections and the stages involved from brief to final product.

Thank you Dorte for your inspiring presentation and to all students who submitted artworks to the competition.

Year 12 Product Design and Technology

The Year 12 Product Design and Technology class visited the Maton Guitar Factory in Box Hill which has manufactured acoustic guitars for seventy-five years. Our guide, Sue Ellis, who is also the daughter of the founder of this highly regarded company, took the students on a comprehensive tour. This included the design room, factory floor, the custom-made shop, and the tuning and testing stations. This tour was an invaluable experience for our Year 12s to understand each stage of the product design process. It also enabled them to closely view how manual processes and emerging technologies assisted in creating a high quality musical instrument that is sold locally and globally.

Siena College is very grateful to Maton Guitars for allowing us to experience this tour over the years.

On Tuesday, 13 June, we held our VCE Drama and Music Performance Evening. It was a wonderful opportunity to come together as a community and celebrate our senior students as they showcased their talents and original performance work.

The Year 11 and 12 Drama students spent the semester learning about a range of eclectic performance styles including: Australian Gothic Theatre, Surrealism, Epic Theatre and Physical Theatre. Each class created a student devised ensemble performance exploring these styles, but using different themes and stimulus material as inspiration. Students spent time researching, brainstorming, scripting, rehearsing and building their playmaking skills.

The Year 11 Drama class used the novel, Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay and the 1975 Peter Weir film, as inspiration for performance. They created a very stylised ensemble performance capturing the dreamscapes, mystery and haunting mood of the original novel, and recreated imagery from the 1975 film.

In contrast, the Year 12 class created an energetic ensemble performance using the film, Toy Story as stimulus. Students used physical theatre to create a range of iconic toy characters, whilst also exploring themes of childhood and escapism, and how advertising and pop culture can impact on children growing up ‘too quickly’.

Throughout the playmaking process, students developed the skills to work collaboratively as a team; they negotiated, delegated and problem solved from the beginning of the process, right through to the final performance. Their confidence as performers and performance makers grew during this process. Students also had opportunity to lead their group and build capacity to direct and delegate. These are not only essential skills as a performer, but also invaluable and relevant skills beyond the classroom, and in their future endeavours.

Congratulations to all students involved in the wonderful evening, both on stage and in a backstage capacity. A special thanks to Siena College staff, family and friends in support of the incredible journey undertaken by our VCE Drama students.

Congratulations Drama Australia Legend nominee, Sandra Siapantas

As a member of the Drama teaching fraternity with over thirty years of experience, Sandra is a remarkable individual who has demonstrated commitment, perseverance, tenacity and creativity over the span of her teaching career.

Sandra will be interviewed by Drama Victoria on Sunday, 16 July at Camberwell Grammar Performing Arts Centre, which will be on permanent record as part of the Drama Australia Memories And Memorials Archive (MAMA) project. In November, she will also be formally inducted as a MAMA Legend at the Drama Victoria Conference held at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, Parkville.

Once again, congratulations Sandra on this wonderful milestone!

In Term 3, the Siena College community is looking forward to its annual Antonio de Montesinos Public Speaking Competition, when talented student speakers will compete for the highly regarded title. To compete on the evening, students must first qualify as their year level Public Speaking Champion. This involves preparing a four to five minute entry speech on the 2023 College Theme: Pay Attention. Be Astonished. Tell About It.

A video recording must be made of you delivering the speech and submitted via email to me by Monday, 17 July (first day back of Term 3).

I look forward to seeing many public speaking enthusiasts compete and showcase their articulation and communication skills!

Throughout Semester 1, we received many items which have been added to the archival collection. Some items have been donated by staff members consisting of class photos, sports pennants, and production programs and photos, just to name a few. Others have been contributed by our current families, Siena alumnae and the wider community, all have been beneficial in filling the gaps of our Siena story. Here are some of the items:

Bye Bye Birdie, 2005 school production

West Side Story, 2006 school production

The Pajama Game, 2007 school production

A letter informing a family that their daughter had been awarded a scholarship to attend Siena Dominican school in 1948.

A script written in 200 by former staff member, Sue Thompson titled “…of the people, by the people, for the people…”. It was used to introduce Year 8 Civics and Citizenship classes to the history of Democracy. As you can see with these pages, it starts in ancient Greece with Pericles, and finished with John Howard and George W Bush (and other identifiable politicians) discussing the future of Democracy.

Recently, our current Year 7s wrote letters to their future selves, which will be returned to them in 2028 when they complete their final year of study at Siena - a wonderful piece of memorabilia to make them smile and remember their first year at Siena.

Contribute to our Siena Story!

You can contribute to building the heritage collection further with photos, report cards, year books, student-led newsletters, and other items. To get in touch, email College Archivist, Marian Jenkinson: archives@siena.vic.edu.au

Click below to read the information sheet in various languages:

• English
• Chinese
• Vietnamese
• Arabic

Dress with a touch of 'Bling!' and prepare yourselves for an action-packed fun night out at the SPA Trivia Night! Invite your friends from far and wide - all are welcome (you do not have to be a Siena parent to attend).

Trivia, Auction Items and Dancing!

All in the spirit of fundraising for our students! Be 'Cashed Up' to participate in Trivia Fun. Auction items can be purchased by card, however cash is king for Trivia games.

Trivia Night Schedule

• 6.00pm: Arrival
  Get comfy with your BYO drinks and food. Determine your team’s name and meet some new parents
• 6.30pm: First Round of Trivia
  There will be three rounds in total, with some fun games in between
• 8.30pm: Trivia Concludes
  Buy a key to unlock our bucket of booze (yes nothing responsible about that, buy a key and you could take home enough alcohol to last another lockdown)
• 8.45pm: Major Auction
  No bid too small or too large! Just show us the money
• 9.00pm: Put your dancing shoes on and sparkle away with your bling!
  DJ Pino will crank up the tunes. It could be time to bust out the Nutbush or the Bus Stop. No dance is too embarrassing we will not tell your kids!

Due to our neighbours, the evening will end promptly at 10.30pm. However, there is always an after party somewhere if you wish to carry on (you are never too old for that and do not be afraid to use Uber)

Look forward to seeing you there! Book online here.

Highlights in the latest edition of Siena Career News include:

• Dates to Diarise in Term 3
• Free Year 11 and12 Workshops during the school holidays at Photographic Studies College (PSC)
• Open Day at Endeavour College
• Bachelor of Education Studies at Federation University
• RMIT Campus Tours during the school holidays
• Studying Commerce at Australian Catholic University
• A Day at Melbourne
• Art, Design and Architecture School Holiday Workshops at Monash University
• Hair, Fashion and Beauty Workshops at Masters Institute
• Career in the Australian Border Force
• Criminology and Paralegal Degrees in Victoria in 2023
• Snapshot of Box Hill Institute (BHI) in 2023

For all of the details, please visit our website.