Academic Life and Learning
Year 12 Outdoor Education – Rottnest Island
The Year 12 Outdoor Education students of Belridge Secondary College recently embarked on an exciting adventure to Rottnest Island, where they had the opportunity to explore the island's beautiful underwater world through snorkelling. The trip, which lasted for a couple of days, was an enriching experience that enabled the students to discover the wonders of the ocean and bond with their peers.
During the snorkelling expedition, the students visited four different sites, including Parker Point, Salmon Bay, Little Salmon Bay and The Basin. At each location, they were greeted with an array of colourful marine life, from schools of fish to vibrant coral reefs. The students were thrilled to witness the diverse range of sea creatures that call Rottnest Island their home, including stingrays, nudibranch, octopuses, and starfish.
In addition to snorkelling, the students also enjoyed camping overnight at the island's campgrounds. This allowed them to soak up the island's natural beauty, take in the fresh sea breeze, and admire the stunning sunset views. The students also had the opportunity to engage in various team-building activities, such as beach soccer and frisbee, which helped them bond and develop their teamwork skills.
The snorkelling camp was a fantastic opportunity for the students of Belridge Secondary College to explore the natural beauty of Rottnest Island and to learn about the importance of preserving our marine ecosystems. When asked about their experience, they all agreed that the trip was an unforgettable adventure that they will cherish for years to come. We would like to thank the teachers and staff who made this trip possible and commend the students for their positive attitude and enthusiasm throughout the expedition. We look forward to more adventures like this in the future!
Brent Jarvis-Spinks
Health & Physical Education Teacher
Year 8 Camp, 2023
The excitement was building, the bags were packed and on Monday morning, many Year 8 students were arriving at school, ready for an adventure. The annual C8 Camp took place from Monday 15th to Wednesday 17th May at the Swan Valley Adventure Centre.
Upon arrival, students were placed into their teams and soon began their first activities. Over the following days, all groups participated in a variety of activities including the Leap of Faith, Canoeing, the Black Out Zone, Rock Climbing and Archery. They had to work collaboratively, communicate with each other and use critical thinking to help them complete the tasks. They showed courage and commitment and developed connections and confidence throughout the camp. In the evenings, we sat by campfires, went for night walks and were quite creative in ways to succeed in ‘minute to win it’ challenges. It was so wonderful to see the students working together and having a fantastic time. We were all exhausted by the end of the camp, but would most definitely do it all again!
This experience was enjoyed by all staff and students. A massive thank you to Mr Offszanka, Miss Sobey, Mr Mohammed, Mrs Ord, Mr Winch, Mr Chen, Miss Batka, Ms Grieve, Mrs Lyon and Phil the Chaplain who all came along to support the Year 8's. Thanks also to all staff who assisted in the preparation and lead up to the camp.
Rebecca Edmonds
Year 8 Coordinator
Repurposing Wood
For their major Semester 1 project, the Year 10 Woodwork classes have been learning how to create food serving platters. The students have been using 100% recycled timber from Jarrah floorboards and outdoor decking, which has been kindly donated by people from the local community. This exercise teaches the students about the importance and value of recycling, and if not for recycling, they may not have been able to work with our beautiful Western Australian timber Jarrah.
Year 11 and 12 students have also been designing and creating fold-down picnic tables. Students were tasked with designing their pieces to enable the table supports/legs to fold flat.
As can be seen from the photos, students have created some excellent pieces of regenerated woodwork. Congratulations to all on a job well done!
Lazo Njegich
Teacher of Design Technology
Year 10 Classwork
Year 12 Classwork
Year 11 General Geography
Year 11 students of General Geography recently visited some iconic natural and cultural features located in, and on, our Swan River. The two classes undertook their fieldwork on the 11th and 19th of May respectively.
First stop was Optus Stadium and Matagarup Bridge. It was here that students observed and recorded the amenities that entice families from all over Perth to use this space, and not just for the stadium. After a short history lesson on the now defunct Burswood Golf Course the students moved to the Matagarup Bridge for a field sketch. The students soaked up the superb autumn sun while completing their sketch.
Students then moved to the hospitality hub "On the Point" where they noted the positives, but also the many negatives, that human activity has had, and is having, on the natural ecosystems associated with the river. A local dolphin on the hunt for breakfast was a brief thrill for the students as they completed their field work on the riverbank.
Our next stop was a more relaxed, albeit sobering experience on Heirisson Island. A place of natural beauty but also high significance for Whadjuk Noongar people. It was here students learnt of Yagan, the legendary Noongar warrior and visited and paid respect to the statue erected in his honour. Being directly across the river from our previous study area, it provided a great contrast for the students in terms of the significance of the river to different cultures. Evidence of a new construction project on the island also helped highlight the fragility of the environment, and our continued impact on it.
The final stop for the day was Elizabeth Quay. It was here students explored the quay area, identifying the various amenities present, or in some cases, still under construction. Students also recorded the various ways in which the quay and surrounding waterfront area is used by the people of Perth, and the unfortunate evidence of physical pollutants and poor water quality.
The behaviour of the students on both days was commendable, they were fantastic ambassadors for Belridge SC.
Ryan Stevens
Teacher - HASS
Arachnophilia!
Belridge SC student, Michael Lun (Year 11) was recently interviewed live on air with ABC Great Southern Radio and ABC South-West on the morning breakfast program. Michael was interviewed by Paul Cook regarding his passion for peacock spiders and the amazing photographic work that he does capturing and recording the natural behaviours and unique appearance.
Michael Lun Photography
Student Council News
At the end of Term One, we commemorated Anzac Day with our local cadets, scouts and student council running a moving service at the front of the school by our College flags, which were held at half mast for the occasion. Thank you to everyone that participated in such an important event to the Belridge community.
We started Term Two with our first fundraiser of the year, and usually the most popular - Make-a-Wish 'Wear What you Wish Day'. There were some creative outfits and costumes and is always a lovely way to start Term 2 and fantastic way to raise funds to grant sick kids their wishes.
Welcome on board!
We were very excited to welcome our Year 7 student councillors to the leadership team in Week 3 and they are already off to a running start, participating in some controversial topics that came up right away. A warm welcome and congratulations to; Nandini Gujjar, Lois Carr, Jonathon Horlock, Lily Ireland, Emily Aspinall, Dashlen Beasley and Kaylee Perrin.
Belridge Beats 2023
Belridge Beats DJ classes have officially resumed for 2023 with some new faces, as well as students returning from previous years. On Friday 31st March, some of the students from our classes gathered to officially “unbox” some of the new DJ equipment that has been purchased for the classes from Store DJ. This includes speakers, cables and carry bags, as well as a Denon Prime 4 which is currently one of the most popular and most feature packed professional standalone DJ systems.
This equipment will be used for classes as well as for school events where our students will be putting their skills in to practice.
Coming up in this year’s classes our students will continue to learn about various aspects of professional DJing including:
- Music selection and organisation.
- Sound & lighting equipment - set up and maintenance.
- Music mixing including beat mixing and more advanced techniques such as turntablism.
In addition to the new equipment, we have secured support for our 2023 classes from some high-profile industry sponsors, who will be providing various resources for our class including free music and training resources. We will also be hosting guest presenters from the industry to visit some of our classes.
Belridge Beats DJ Classes are held weekly after school with students attending a Tuesday class or a Thursday class.
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Students who are interested in joining the program |
Business Education and Information Technology Teacher
Science & Engineering Challenge Day
AEP Coordinator and HASS Teacher
