Beaconhills College

Year 8 students from Beaconhills College’s Berwick Campus have designed and painted a striking mural for charity as part of their Certificate of Excellence.

The students spent Saturday 8 October painting a large concrete wall at the back of The Andrews Centre in Endeavour Hills in an Alice in Wonderland theme.

The centre provides services such as crisis food, clothing, financial help and legal advice. Dulux Australia kindly donated the paint for the project.

Middle School English and Humanities teacher Monique Vanderwarker said it was difficult to decide on one theme, but students had worked together over the past few months to come up with an agreed design.

“The students worked to sketch and cut stencils with intricate details,” Ms Vanderwarker said. “They worked so well as a group and the finished product was outstanding.”

Exciting news for Year 7 Beaconhills student Dylan Beaumont who is a finalist in the 2016 SAE ATOM Awards for his ebook called BallSports: an interactive guide.

The ATOM (Australian Teachers of Media) the second-longest-running film and media awards in Australia, behind the AFI/AACTA Awards.

Dylan is not a finalist in the school category, but in the tertiary and industry category of ‘best educational ebook (primary/secondary)’. The winner is announced at the awards night on 24 November.

We featured Dylan’s story back in November 2015 when he first launched BallSports, which reflects his passion for all things sport.

Available in iTunes, BallSports includes slideshows, video footage, instructional guides and ‘wow’ moments, as well as exclusive interviews with some of Australia’s leading sports commentators.

It even has Dylan’s own commentary on the St Kilda vs Collingwood Grand Final, with NBA basketball, cricket, tennis and soccer also covered.

Well-known commentator Sandy Roberts was one of the identities Dylan approached for an interview. He made a guest appearance at Berwick’s Middle School Assembly on Tuesday 17 November, when Dylan interviewed him live on stage as part of the ebook launch.

Mr Roberts praised Dylan for his achievement and said he fielded a number of interview requests, but Dylan was the “most enthusiastic”.

Dylan won first prize in the Years 5-6 category for BallSports at the Young Explorers ICT competition held on 29 August at Monash University, after working on the project for nine months.

Dylan (left) with sports commentator Sandy Roberts at the book launch last November

It was hard to tell who was prouder, the grandparents or the grandchildren, at the annual Beaconhills Junior School Grandparents’ Day yesterday.

Grandparents spent half a day at the Pakenham Campus, joining in on class activities, watching their grandchildren take part in a concert in the performing arts auditorium and enjoying some morning tea.

A Beaconhills College team has placed second in the gruelling national finals of the Hillary Challenge.

The three-day event run by The Outdoor Education Group was held last weekend at Eildon, with teams from NSW and Victoria competing.

Competitors completed a series of events including a four-hour challenge of problem-solving, teamwork and fitness, along with a multisport adventure race and three hours of rogaining.

Beaconhills team members have trained tirelessly for the Hillary Challenge since the start of term 2, running 10-12km every Thursday morning before school as well as other training.

Sports department staff Sophie Mebalds and Michael Perry, who accompanied the students to Eildon, congratulated Renae J, Kaigyn T, Brendan M, Matt T and Bryce H on their outstanding results.

Some amazing art and technology creations are on show at Beaconhills College in the month of October.

The CRE8 (Berwick Campus) and VCE Visual Arts and Technology (Pakenham Campus) exhibitions feature some inspirational student work, including sculptures, paintings, photography, fashion and product design and systems engineering projects.

Ruby L, Year 12, spent six weeks painstakingly cutting 1000 pieces of paper to create a striking lantern based on her theme of ‘connection’.

Victor B, Year 11, created a fixed wing aircraft that can transmit video to a ground station, which the operator can then view through a headset.

“It’s similar to those used in military areas for surveillance or in farming for crop analysis,” said Victor, who hopes for a career in electronics engineering.

Chris B, Year 11, is studying Production Design and Technology (Textiles) and loved creating an outfit for his ‘client’, a businessman attending a conference in far north Queensland.

“I made a hemp shirt which is very breathable, with sweat-wicking qualities and linen shorts with poly-satin lining,” said Chris. He has already got his own separate clothing label, TUYL (TURN UP YOUR LIFE) up and running, with negotiations underway to sell his products in Adelaide.

Other students focused on photography projects, such as Taylah H, Year 12, who created some beautiful images around the theme of gothic romanticism.

Taylah says she is inspired by well-known Australian photographer Jane Burton. Taylah took over 2000 shots at four locations to create her final project.

You can see the CRE8 exhibition at the Berwick Campus, 92 Kangan Drive, from 9am-4pm weekdays from 12-21 October, while the Pakenham Campus exhibition at 30-34 Toomuc Valley Rd is from 9am-5pm Thursday 13 October and 9am-midday Friday 14 October.

Year 12 Beaconhills College student Oliver Dunn has been chosen to the World Select Team to showcase his baseball skills in an 11-day USA tour starting this week.

Oliver, from the Pakenham Campus, will play in front of nearly 300 college coaches and Major League Baseball Club scouts. He will join talented players from across the word to compete against junior colleges and play in the Arizona Fall Classic, the premier fall showcase tournament in the USA. We wish him luck with this exciting opportunity.