Beaconhills College

Congratulations to Beaconhills College student Alysha Hall (pictured in striped top) who has received a La Trobe Australia Day award for her volunteer services to the community.

At Beaconhills she has been involved in many citizenship and service activities including the Solar Buddy program and the Homework Club for Sudanese students. Outside school she volunteers for Travellers Aid Australia helping people with mobility issues from Richmond station to and around the MCG.

Member for La Trobe Jason Wood presented Alysha with her award on Saturday 26 January.

Beaconhills’ Head of Visual Arts (Pakenham Campus), John Irving, has extolled the virtues of the College’s vibrant artist-in-residence program at Canberra’s National Gallery of Australia.

Mr Irving was invited to present at the recent National Visual Arts Conference, which attracted delegates from across Australia and overseas.

He told delegates that Beaconhills students benefited from a unique visual arts offering of art camps, international programs and artist-in-residence programs.

“These programs connect art practice to theory, strongly reinforcing the value of artists, artworks and art teaching,” Mr Irving said. “They expand students’ awareness of art and give them the opportunity to reflect upon the importance of art and creativity in our lives.”

Young players from the Beaconhills tennis program were thrilled at the chance play tennis in front of a crowd at Melbourne Arena during the Australian Open.

Students were taking part in a Hot Shots day, which included a half-hour warm-up for before the women’s doubles match. Ayden Hill, Year 2, had the honour of tossing the coin before the match.

The group is pictured with the College’s Head Coach, Mark Stevens.

A student campaign to help clean up rubbish at Beaconhills’ Berwick Campus gained momentum last term with more than 25kg collected from the perimeter fence.

Year 7 students Lachlan Haysom, Eden Young and Tom Stephens started the ‘change the the world’ project in their Religious and Values Education (RAVE) class. Other students and teachers soon joined the cause.

RAVE teacher and College Chaplain, Rev. Steve Terrell said the project was a great example of project-based service learning: “These students feel like they are putting the College values into action and really making a difference. It’s what RAVE is all about.”

An amazing 3D artwork has earned Beaconhills College student Brianna Burns selection in the prestigious Top Arts exhibition, part of the VCE Season of Excellence.

Brianna completed her artwork, titled Transparency, in her Studio Arts subject last year.

Choosing the theme of individuality, Brianna decided to explore the expression of one’s self through portraiture.

Her artwork is done in red and blue pencil and depicts a drag queen, with and without makeup.

“I drew the male version, Dan, in blue pencil, and the female version, Nancy Buoy, in red, both overlaying one another,” Brianna explained. “When viewed through traditional 3D glasses, and by closing one eye, one of the portraits disappears and the opposite will occur when closing the other eye.”

The talented young artist has already won a number of art awards and is this year’s Visual Arts Captain in Year 12 at Beaconhills.

Her work will be displayed in the Top Arts exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria 22 March to 14 July 2019.

The VCE Season of Excellence is a five-month annual arts festival showcasing outstanding senior secondary work from Victorian schools.

The works of four talented Beaconhills College students will feature in an upcoming art exhibition called Emergent 2018: VCE Graduate Showcase at the City of Casey’s Bunjil Place Studio.

Teagan Hogben, Bodhi White and Neha Sebastian (Berwick Campus) and Brianna Burns (Pakenham Campus) had their works chosen from a huge number of applications. The exhibition will run from 9 February to 3 March 2019.

Large subject choice prepares the path to success

Ten Beaconhills College graduates have achieved ATARs of 95 or higher, thanks to their hard work and the ability to select from a huge range of VCE subjects, according to Headmaster Tony Sheumack.

The College Dux, Olivia Acciarito from the Pakenham Campus, recorded the highest ATAR in 10 years with 99.75 and a perfect 50 in three subjects – English, Legal Studies and Visual Communication Design.

Berwick Campus Dux was Monique Scalzo with 98.2, while Berwick student Victoria Tiplady also scored a 50 in Outdoor and Environmental Studies.

A delighted Mr Sheumack attributed the College’s best VCE results in years to students following their passion, choosing from 41 different subject offerings. The College has also implemented an innovative Learning That Matters philosophy, strongly emphasising holistic learning.

“Beaconhills is a learning community, where students can choose the subjects they love and follow their interests,” Mr Sheumack said. “If students are really passionate about what they do and work hard, good results will naturally follow.”

“No matter which path students at Beaconhills take, we have the framework in place to help them achieve their personal best.

“From either scored or school-assessed VCE, our students have options to go to university or other tertiary institutions, TAFE, take a gap year or head straight to the workforce.

“I am extremely proud that as an open-entry College offering genuine diversity of choice, our students can pursue a variety of career pathways.”

Dux Olivia Acciarito is planning to do a double degree in Law and Global Studies and hopes to become a human rights lawyer. She said Year 12 had its occasional challenges, such as working out – at times – which study areas to prioritise.

“But I never really had a set study strategy,” she said. “I made a set of flash cards and didn’t use them!”

“I loved all my teachers, they were all extremely helpful and just great teachers in general.”

A total of 245 students from Beaconhills College completed their VCE this year. Forty-eight students accounted for a total of 66 subject scores above 40, including nine students in Year 11 completing Unit 3/4 subjects.

My Sheumack congratulated all students on their efforts.

OUR TOP 10

Olivia Acciarito (Pakenham Campus and College Dux) 99.75

Monique Scalzo (Berwick Campus Dux) 98.2

Isaac Cann (Pakenham Campus) 98.45

Chelsea Rabl (Berwick Campus) 97.9

Victoria Tiplady (Berwick Campus) 97.5

Wimansa Hettiarachchi (Berwick Campus) 96.15

Alexander Foot (Berwick Campus) 95.75

Caleb Fletcher (Pakenham Campus) 95.65 (not pictured)

D’Jay Croaker (Pakenham Campus) 95.5

Tom Collard (Pakenham Campus) 95.45 (not pictured)

Headmaster Tony Sheumack with College Dux Olivia Acciarito

Beaconhills has notched up its solar power again this week, switching on a new 100kW system at the Pakenham Campus Junior School. The College is one of the largest solar-powered schools in Australia, with 330kW now operating at Pakenham (on the roof of Year 9, Human Movement Centre and Junior School) and 300kW at Berwick (Senior School and Technology building).

See how much solar power we are soaking up each day! You can get live updates on the Sunny Portal, just click on this link and type ‘Beaconhills’ into the PV system name box.

Our French exchange programs are well underway now with Beaconhills students staying and studying in Laval and Chinon. The group has already enjoyed a brilliant city tour of Paris, visiting the famous Louvre museum and of course trying the local foods. Apparently some students have already forgotten they are Australian and are speaking French the entire time!