Her first experience of the theatre was at just one week old, when her parents took her along to a show they wanted to see.

A few years later it was Alice’s turn on stage as a three-year-old in a ballet concert.

She’s since been part of the ensemble for ‘Fame Junior’ as a ten-year-old. She followed up BSE’s ‘Me and My Girl’ and ‘Annie’ with Tribe’s ‘Cats’ and ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’.

With local theatre company Nexus, Alice has appeared in ‘Oliver’, ‘Shrek’ and ‘Pirates of Penzance’ and is presently in rehearsals for ‘Cinderella’ where she has a major role.

In a perfect world Alice’s future will include a role—or roles—in West End Musicals.

The path to this dream will probably include a Bachelor of Musical Theatre at a university offering this course—even possibly one in the UK.

Alice is considering a gap year too—although chances are it would be filled with rehearsals and performances.

“I’m really proud of the person I’ve become and am becoming,” Alice says.

“My confidence has grown so much over the last few years and I feel I owe this to the ������Ƶ18 theatre community who have supported me so much.”

Yet, it hasn’t been a free ride for Alice to reach this place of relative contentment.

When she was in Grade 6 the family moved from the Mornington Peninsula to ������Ƶ18. It was a huge adjustment for her.

Alice remembers feeling lost in a huge dark storm. She says her twin brother was her ‘saving grace’ as she tried to make new friends, adjust to a new town and a new school, and make the jump from Primary School into her 7-10 years.

“You don’t realise when you are just 12 that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Alice would love to be able to go back and comfort her 12-year-old self and say, “Hold on! Everything is going to work out fine”.

No doubt the great relationship Alice enjoys with her family, who she describes as “the most supportive family in the whole world”, was critical during these difficult years.

However, it seems she was right about the light at the end of the tunnel: Alice says being at BSSC is the best and happiest time she’s had in her entire education.

The word ‘opportunity’ best describes BSSC for her and—unsurprisingly—she recommends the college “definitely and 100%”.

“When I first came here and saw the incredible array of subjects, it was almost too many to choose from. But everyone here is very supportive of the Arts as well and kept me aware of opportunities beyond the college too.”

Attending plays with her Literature class gives Alice the opportunity to see professional actors and makes her very excited about her VCE studies as she considers that, for many of them, it was only a few years ago they were also in the midst of VCE.

“It reassures me this is a legitimate pathway.”

Being able to see her friends every day at Senior is a bonus for someone as busy as Alice, who has rehearsals as well as dance and singing lessons outside of school.

Year 12 can be quite a step up from Year 11 and Alice has found the increase in workload somewhat daunting. She says being organised is essential and, for her, this involves a lot of sticky notes.

“It works really well for me to jot down things immediately and attach them to my notes or a pinboard I keep specifically for things I need to remember.”

This year she is studying Literature, Musical Theatre, Music Repertoire, Drama and Art. It’s a perfect subject blend for this talented singer and actress who is on a trajectory towards a career in musical theatre.

Her favourite subject? Well, this is in constant flux as she loves different aspects of each, and it all depends on the particular topic of the day.

“I think the biggest challenge is that I can be so self-critical—endlessly comparing myself to others. It grinds me down and makes me anxious,” she says. “even though I know at the end of the day your ATAR doesn’t really matter, this year it’s playing on my mind.”

Alice uses two methods to de-stress when the pressures of VCE get too much.

One is to sit outside in the fresh air and disappear into a great book. The other is to head out for a walk along the river with her beautiful dog—a perfect cure for ‘stuck-in-study-brain’ mode.

Alice also sets a timer and works in 45-minute blocks with breaks between each session.

Time—and managing it—might be big in Alice’s life at the present time, yet she is not oblivious to global issues that will probably increasingly impact her life.

“Climate Change is massive for me,” Alice says. “At home we try to do our best, although I feel like we are doing the minimum. I was shocked to visit someone last year who only had a rubbish bin and everything was sent to landfill.”

The post Student profile: Alice McKellar appeared first on ������Ƶ18 Senior Secondary College.

Year 11 students have been working with the myth of Pygmalion, a famous sculptor who fell in love with one of his statues, which was later brought to life by the gods. The year 12s have been exploring AI, its origins and its impacts in our lives.

Students will present their shows at Strategem Studio next week. Tickets are free, however you need to book.

𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝟏𝟐 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞:
Tuesday 21 May, 6pm
Click to book your tickets.

𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝟏𝟏 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞:
Wednesday 22 May, 6pm
Click to book your tickets.

Well done to our Drama students – we look forward to seeing each show!

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Take a tour of ������Ƶ18 Senior Secondary College with Principal, Dale Pearce.

Get a feel for the college on a normal working day with classes in progress.

Be part of a small tour group with time to ask plenty of questions about the life of the college and hear about the range of courses on offer.

To register, call the college on 5443 1222.

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John Maher returned to the college to share his powerful story with students and staff.

The Maher family’s life changed forever at 8:08am on the 18th of November 1995, when John’s youngest daughter Carmen—just 18-years-old—passed away as the result of a car accident.

Carmen fell asleep at the wheel and her car hit a tree. She died instantly.

“A car crash is not just a car crash,” John told students. “It’s a life-changer—and, far too often, it’s a life-taker.”

This happened only two years after John was involved in his own car accident, when a young driver lost control of her vehicle and rolled into his car. John suffered extensive injuries and short-term memory loss.

John urged students to drop the ‘it’ll never happen to me’ mentality and to ensure they have much more experience on the road than the required 120 hours. He also stressed the importance of your role as the driver of a vehicle, as well as making smart choices as a passenger.

“You only have one life to live,” he said. “You gift your one and only life to a driver. You will live or die, depending on what this person does.”

John encouraged students to be safe on the roads and become responsible drivers and passengers so that tragedies like this don’t occur.

“I beg you all: never do this to the people that you love,” he said. “You’re the most important person in the world to them.”

For more information visit the Facebook page Carmen’s – road safety presentations.

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“The work was quite varied,” Joel said. “We’ve been putting in a retaining wall at a residential property so it’s been a mix of landscaping and construction, which I like.”

The job involved digging post holes, putting in beams and supports, and pouring concrete.

“It’s pretty physically full-on, so I’ve been sleeping well at night,” Joel said.

Structured Workplace Learning has allowed Joel to gain real insight and hands-on experience to assist him in deciding on career and pathway possibilities.

The post Structured workplace learning: Joel Anderson appeared first on ������Ƶ18 Senior Secondary College.

However, Ruby’s dedication and commitment as a student at Federation TAFE, has shown that forging the career of your dreams is always possible.

“I found out there are a lot of pathways to higher education and TAFE is really undersold as an option. There needs to be more of an awareness in high schools about alternative ways to get into further study.”

Ruby is a Yorta Yorta woman who studied a Certificate III in Business traineeship at Federation and was motivated to progress her career quickly.

She worked hard to finish the two-year traineeship a year early and is now well on the path to further post-secondary education with plans to become a paramedic.

Ruby’s efforts were celebrated at the 2024 Federation TAFE Awards for Excellence with the Federation TAFE Growth Award.

This award recognises students from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander First Nation Peoples who have demonstrated commitment to their personal and academic growth.

After completing her traineeship, Ruby has also transitioned from student to staff member, starting a job in Federation University’s Student Equity and Inclusion Department—and she’s become an inspiration for others. Congratulations Ruby!

“I just want to make a difference. I’m in a unique position … I have worked across both the TAFE and higher education sectors of the university and, being Indigenous, I have a lot of experience that could help current students. I want to use what I’ve learned and pay it forward and make change for the better,” she said.

The post Ruby shines on her post-BSSC journey appeared first on ������Ƶ18 Senior Secondary College.

Si Blu holds lovely memories of her early years in the village surrounded by family and friends. Like most little kids she was interested in the creatures that surrounded her—monkeys, lizards, frogs and the occasional snake—as well as domestic animals such as chickens, ducks and pigs.

However, Burma/Myanmar is the setting for the world’s longest civil war—a war running since the British withdrew from the country in the late 1940s.

The Karen people are one of nine indigenous peoples who have comprised Burma/Myanmar for untold generations.

When Si Blu was around ten years old her family realised they were in danger due to the ongoing oppression of Karen people by the Myanmar government. They fled to the Mae Ra Moe Refugee Camp on the Thai/Burma border.

Nestled beside a tributary of the Yuam River in lush mountainous terrain, one Canadian visitor to the camp in 2015, Andrew Paul, described the beauty of the area and admired the comfortable traditional homes built in the style Karen have always constructed their homes.

But he says someone pointed out to him; “… refugees are like a frog in a well—once they jump in, they must stay there …” awaiting a freedom that could be years coming.

Mae Ra Moe provided relative safety for Si Blu’s family and many other Karen people trying to escape the war. But it was a long wait. Here Si Blu received her first wheelchair—one that had to be pushed by someone else.

The family finally arrived in ������Ƶ18 in 2017 when Si Blu was 14 years old, leaving grandparents and some of her aunts and uncles in Burma/Myanmar.

Her first impressions of Australia were of the weather—how very cold she found it. She was also confronted with tall buildings and busy roads she had never seen before.

The sadness about leaving the beauty and familiarity of village life has perhaps been compensated a little by some of the benefits Si Blu is now able to access—such as the NDIS.

Si Blu attended Eaglehawk Secondary College during Years 7-10 and says she has also found supportive staff and friendly students at BSSC.

Translators and ES Support Staff, Tha Lan and Mu Soe, help ease her way as she learns English and negotiates the college in her fabulously compact electric wheelchair.

Si Blu says she finds the college quite easy to get around and is enjoying all her subjects. However, she admits learning English has been a real challenge.

Her favourite teacher is her English as an Additional Language (EAL) teacher, Jenni Shelton, who Si Blu says has taught her a lot and who she insists is not only a great teacher, but cares for her and helps her beyond what she ever expected.

From Jenni’s perspective, she sees Si Blu face everyday challenges most students will never have to deal with.

“Si Blu copes so well with her disability—even on excursions—and puts in such great effort in class. She’s also one of those people happy to take advice or constructive criticism.”

Jenni is aware many of BSSC’s Karen students have stories similar to Si Blu—stories of being completely uprooted from all that is familiar and ‘home’. It’s made her realise some of our ‘first world problems’ are insignificant by comparison.

While Jenni might be Si Blu’s favourite teacher, Art is her favourite subject. Si Blu loves painting and is especially drawn to creating beautiful flowers.

As she looks to her future, Si Blu is planning to continue her studies in Art at ������Ƶ18 TAFE—working with textiles and paint are both possibilities—and she’s interested in beauty and fashion too.

Asked who impresses her, Si Blu names Paw Paw, a Karen woman who works tirelessly with new arrivals to the Karen community.

When Si Blu is not at school she enjoys relaxing with a Karen movie—she’s a big fan of comedy—and loves Tik Tok. She also enjoys photography and music, and she loves hanging out with her friends—and there are lots of those!

The post Student profile: Si Blu appeared first on ������Ƶ18 Senior Secondary College.

The interviews will be conducted face-to-face at the college.

Bookings can now be made via Compass – please contact the college on 5443 1222 if you need any assistance.

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Today’s introductory session focussed on learning push/pull bases and a range of grip breaks to help escape unwanted situations.

The training—both through physical techniques and situational awareness—aims to decrease fear and anxiety and increase confidence, self-efficacy, and self-esteem.

“Trust your instincts,” says Tracey. “If you get a gut feeling that something isn’t right, get out of there.”

ATSC offers a range of program and services to support overall wellbeing, including Women’s only Self Defence and Situational Awareness training.

A huge thanks to Tracey for giving up her time and sharing her expertise with the group today. Students can stay tuned for more lunchtime activities that will be held at BSSC this year.

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