2022 has been year of highlights! As our school continues to grow, the English, Humanities and Languages Faculties have grown too; welcoming Mr Shaw, Ms Marks, Ms McLeod, Ms Pertzel and Ms Wilkinson in library, as well as introducing new subjects into the Year 10 curriculum. As the year draws to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on the year that was…

We have gone global!

Our Year 7 Japanese students are getting used to the exchange lessons with Chiba University Junior High School which are now being held weekly until the March 14^th, 2023.

The next exchange will be 22nd, and in this next lesson Kawana-san’s students will give our Ripley students a gesture quiz. The answer includes some Japanese traditional sports or traditional items, such as judo, kendo, and chopsticks. If our students can answer in Japanese, that'll be great. In turn the following week, our Ripley students will create a quiz in English – they will be sharing how to make fairy bread and further planning is ‘on the table’.

We have been innovative in the classroom.

We have invited guest speakers to our classes via Microsoft Teams. We have developed our creative writing skills by writing by the ‘fireplace’, using candles in the dark to develop tension and mood. We have used greenscreen technology to transport our students to Japan. We have developed online exams in Education Perfect.

I want to sincerely thank the team of teachers who continually seek to provide enriching, engaging and innovative lessons – what an amazing team!!

We have been feeding ourselves.

We have tested some ‘foods of the future’. Sampling cheese and bacon flavoured dehydrated mealworms and sour cream and chives flavoured dehydrated crickets. Our students studying Japanese have applied their reading skills to make sushi by following a recipe to make まきずし. 

We have been out and about.

Our Year 8 Reader’s Cup team competed in the Qld Branch of the Children's Book Council of Australia’s 2022 Readers Cup Challenge at St Mary’s, Woodend and our Japanese students have been out to the Nerima gardens in Ipswich.  

We have thought about others.

Our College participated in the Write a book in Day competition raising valuable money for the Kids Cancer Project while learning valuable skills about team work and time management, as well as practicing their narrative writing skills.

We reached our goals.

Last year our Japanese faculty launched the Inaugural Paper Cranes Project with a goal to present our first 1000 cranes to a local charity or organisation in 2022. I am happy to report to that we have exceeded 1000 cranes in 2022 and Ms Wilkinson is in the process of preparing to fly our cranes in the library.

WOW!! What a successful year it has been!

In the new year, we will welcome our first Humanities Head of Department, Ms Cecilia Hall, and I will say ‘farewell’ to the management of Humanities and Languages faculties.

On behalf of the English, Humanities and Languages faculty, thank you for your support throughout the year. Have a safe and restful break – we look forward to working with you in the new year.