Volume 16

Year 9 students will be provided with opportunities to develop their skills and confidence in a range of areas outside of their regular learning through the popular Year 9 Camp and Duke of Edinburgh experience.

Our Year 10 students will join the workforce this week, packing their lunches each morning to head out for work experience. This program is a valuable opportunity for our students to immerse themselves in the ‘9 to 5’ and learn more about possible career paths.

The annual Year 11 Retreat is also running this week, both onsite and at offsite venues. This significant event is an opportunity for our senior students to step outside the normal busyness of life, to be still without the pressures of school and family and engage on a deeper level with self, others and God.

We wish all of our students an engaging week of diverse learning and self-discovery.

With the recent announcement around the ban of mobile phones in public high schools across NSW, I want to thank our parents for the ongoing support the College continues to receive in this area. While there are still students who are struggling to relinquish their dependency on their phones, the majority of the student body have demonstrated just how much of a positive impact this change can have on both their learning and socialising. We remind parents that if you need to contact your child during the school day, that you do so through the General Office, as the expectation is that all student mobile phones are in their lockers once they arrive on site.

Rosebank remains dedicated to academic achievement and success for all pupils. Regular school attendance is a critical part of that success. Frequent absences impact educational continuity and consistency and can impact social and emotional growth.

On occasion the College receives applications from families for extended leave for their child from school. Guidelines for Exemption from Attendance can be found on the Parent Portal. However, parents are reminded that the College cannot approve an extended period of leave for families to take a holiday. The NSW Educational Standards Authority (NESA) is very clear on what can be classified as ‘justified leave’, which includes participation in elite sports teams eg, representing Australia at an international tournament/event, and employment in the entertainment industry.

All current parents and carers are invited to join our Rosebank P&F, either as volunteers or as a member of the Advisory Committee. The Committee works directly with our College Communications and Engagement team, who provide administrative and logistical support for all P&F initiatives throughout the year. In preparation for our P&F AGM to be held at the College on Wednesday, 8 November at 6:30 pm, we are now calling on nominations for the following roles: P&F Liaison, Assistant Treasurer, and Committee Members. For information on the responsibilities of each of these roles, please click here. Parents are welcome to self-nominate. To join the P&F Advisory Committee in 2024 please submit nominations via this form by Friday, 27 October 2023.  To attend the AGM, please RSVP via this form.

Q&A Excursion : 

On 18 September, a group of 22 Rosebank students attended the ABC studio to participate in the studio audience of an episode of Q & A, related to climate change and the future of energy within Australia. The panel consisted of Chris Bowen, the Federal Minister for Climate Change & Energy, Ted O’Brien, Shadow Federal Minister for Climate Change & Energy, Allegra Spender, Independent Member for Wentworth and Nicki Hutley, Independent Economist. The panel also included the 17-year-old Will Shackel, founder of Nuclear for Australia. He is an inspiring Year 11 student striving for the implementation of nuclear energy within Australia, adding a voice of youth to the panel which resonated with our group of students. Most of the questions focused on nuclear power, specifically ‘Should the ban on nuclear energy be lifted?’, enabling the consideration for Australia to convert to a nuclear energy plan, with the panel discussing the issue of waste in detail.

The panel also answered a question relating to teenage mental health and what can be done to support young people who struggle with mental health issues and currently have difficulty accessing support services. As students we must be aware of our mental health and find strategies to cope with the stress caused especially by social media, as pointed out by Will Shackel. He conducted an important discussion about the influence of social media on the mental health of teenagers and what can be done within society to support young people who feel negatively affected by the stigma exacerbated by social media.

The excursion allowed us as students to recognise our voice, raising questions and awareness about the mounting climate crisis, that through debate and solving of problems can be aided both in Australia and internationally. Each student formulated an individual question that was submitted to the Q&A team as a possible question for the panel.

This exercise prompted the group to research areas of climate change and renewable energy extensively, in order to spark discussion and work towards answers for the community; an important action for young people to participate in. Noah Jones from Yr 9 was successful in having the opportunity to ask his question live, to the panel. Overall, the experience was one that we thoroughly enjoyed, allowing us to partake in the debate of current issues in our society, and speak up with our concerns and queries. The episode is available to view on ABC iView.

Fotini Papavramidis, Matilda Meidling and Ella Nicholas (Year 11)

Inquisitive Minds Mathematics Challenge Day

On 15 September, a group of 20 Year 8 students were offered the opportunity to participate in a critical thinking, mathematics-based day at Newington College, hosted by the Inquisitive Minds Organisation. The students from Rosebank College and other schools spent the day testing our own knowledge and problem-solving skills in a way we don’t usually experience in the classroom. Many competitions, with high stakes and prizes resulted in us incorporating strategic approaches towards what questions to answer, how long to spend on a question, and choosing between adjustments in difficulty. A distinct feature of this approach to mathematics was the extra puzzles and games dispersed throughout the main challenge booklets of the day. These were distinctly different to the standard methods practiced at school and required us to combine concepts and think creatively about how to solve them.

However, what was really valuable to us as developing mathematicians, were the lessons that the Inquisitive Minds team gave about the variety of ways to think about and solve some of these puzzles.

These lessons employed various techniques for tackling a diverse range of questions, greatly enhancing our learning experience. To grow our character, a key feature of the day was when we were required to find another student from a fellow school to become our partner in the activities ahead. The skepticism and awkwardness were forgotten as we raced to solve the questions and compete for as many points as possible and the chance to win chocolate! Overall, this was a day of development that escaped the normalities of mathematics in the classroom. Instead, it forced us to adapt and utilize our background maths skills in an engaging environment with much chocolate to win! Overall, it was an enjoyable experience, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested.

Kodi Kavanagh and Sabir Bansal (Year 8)

THINK Student Conference

On Friday, two Year 10 students went to the THINK conference at Newington College. This was a day of talks and presentations given by Oxford Professor Steven Law, who talked about a wide range of topics including the difference between the mind and the brain, whether the idea of a private mind is an illusion, whether or not we really have free will, and ending with a comparison of science, philosophy, and religion. It was a fun, thought-provoking day, and I’m very glad I attended.

The first talk of the day was about whether or not the mind is a physical part of your brain, or if it is an outside force. Prof Law discussed theories and justifications for both beliefs, including theories from Renee Descartes. It was a very interesting topic.

The second session was about the idea of our mind as a private space, and whether that was true or merely an illusion. He discussed the idea of a ‘super-barrier’, which is a theoretical force that nothing can penetrate. If the mind were truly a completely private concept, it would be surrounded by one.

After that, we had a recess break, and the discussion after that was about free will and determinism. Prof Law went over why we believe we have free will and arguments against it. He also discussed the differences between determinism and fatalism, which both involve the idea of a lack of free will, but fatalism declares that all is pre-decided, and nothing can change. Determinism believes that things are determined beforehand, but actions can still have consequences.

After that, we discussed metaethics, which means thinking about ethical discussions. Some philosophers believe that making an ethical statement is simply stating what you believe to be the case, not really making a statement at all. He covered a variety of different metaethical stances.

Finally, there was an overall discussion about science, religion, and philosophy - can they coexist? Can science and philosophy explain the supernatural? Can the three influence each other and progress the thinking in each area? This might have been my favourite talk, it was just a very interesting topic and Prof Law delivered it really well.

The THINK conference was a great opportunity to see an interesting, entertaining presenter discuss several topics that were interesting and engaging to think about. I am very glad I went.

Damian Tangye (Year 10)

RoboCup National Finals

From 6-8 October, we went to Melbourne for the RoboCup National Robotics Competition, where we had a great time. Over Term 2 we built and programmed a robot for the Rescue Line element of the competition. We entered the NSW competition and watched it in action as it followed lines, sped up ramps, and swiftly maneuvered around various obstacles to win the state competition. In Melbourne, we entered the same division and while we didn’t win, it was a great experience to watch what other teams did, learn more about coding, and generally have a lot of fun. We are very keen to put these new ideas into practice for next year when we will be moving up to the next division. If you want to join us in our journey, please consider signing up for the RoboCup during PACE next year. We hope that you will have as much fun as we did.

Oliver Marchingo and Luca Hall (Year 7)

Nude Food Challege!