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Year 9 Commerce Stall
From tutoring, dog treats and bubble tea, the senior school has been bustling the past few weeks with Year 9 business minds selling their items or providing their services as a part of the Year 9 Commerce assessment task, running a business. Year 9 Commerce students have been given the opportunity to choose and run a business whether that is having an item to sell, a game, or even providing their services. There have been a myriad of different business ideas that they have come up with such as tutoring, dog treats, bubble tea packs, games, and many more.
Normally, Year 9 Commerce students have the opportunity to sell anything that they want but this year, they said that their opportunities were limited due to COVID restrictions. However, despite this they still managed to make their stalls as enjoyable, yummy, beneficial, and safe as possible.
People thought of their ideas through identifying needs in the community. One business found that many people owned dogs, and therefore decided to sell homemade dog treats.
Some challenges faced by businesses were groups not working together as a team, and the restrictions. One group found that this meant they could not sell outside of school, which was difficult. People enjoyed working as a team to make profits and gain valuable experience in running a business. The teams were able to turn a profit through buying the ingredients or items needed at a low price, so that it was easier to make money. Most businesses said that they performed well, with answers ranging from ‘great’ to ‘average’. Everyone seemed to enjoy the task.
Overall, despite the COVID restrictions, the Year 9 commerce students have had lots of fun participating in this business task.
- Yarra Jackson and Sophie Slavkovski
Vietnam War Veteran Incursion
Last Thursday on the 27th of May a Vietnam War veteran Vin Cosgrove and his wife Nancy came to Pittwater House. They are from the Vietnam Veterans’ Association of Australia.
The Vietnam Veterans’ Association of Australia is a community and support network for Vietnam veterans in which the school donated to. This ensures the continuation of engaging education talks such as this one and the support of the veterans.
During a 2-hour session, Vin and Nancy educated the year 10 cohort about the history of the Vietnam War including how Australia was involved and why, the harsh conditions of Vietnam and its impact on the soldiers and more importantly how the war is impacting and impacted veterans from the war. Additionally, Vin and Nancy allowed a handful of students to put on gear from the Vietnam War to explain the equipment used during the war and to provide students with an engaging experience.
At the start of the session, the year 10s were greeted with music which was popular during the war. This was very engaging for the students and hinted to the level of engagement which would continue throughout the 2 hours.
Vin introduced the context behind the war and the events through an in-depth explanation and presentation which included photographs from the war. This taught the students about the causes of the war, Australia’s involvement and gave them an insight into the conditions the soldiers faced. A memorable segment of the session is Vin’s explanation of the Battle of Long Tan. The battle was fought in a rubber plantation between 108 Australians and approximately 2,500 Viet Cong. Vin highlighted the heroism of the Australian’s whose teamwork allowed them to successfully repel a massive scale Viet Cong attack.
The most engaging part of Vin and Nancy’s presentation was getting a handful of students to put on the Vietnam War gear. I was one of the students involved and thus felt immersed in the presentation, making it a fantastic experience. The students wore a range of uniforms representing various roles soldiers had, ranging from radio-operator to combat engineer, one of the most dangerous jobs. The engineer wore a flak jacket and worked with de-arming explosive devices such as the jumping jack mine, a fatal weapon. This aspect of the presentation showed students the extensive gear used and provided another layer of engagement.
Most importantly, Vin explained how the war impacted him and other veterans. Vin explained how he was lucky to have Nancy as that helped him reintegrate back from the war. He explained how other veterans were impacted by PTSD due to the high levels of conflict in the war, influencing their lives dramatically. He also told the cohort how their exposure to Agent Orange during the war has impacted their health causing a 23% higher death rate in Vietnam War veterans. Vin himself has to take 4 needles each day to subside harmful effects from the chemical substance.
The year 10s were very grateful for the engaging presentation by Vin and Nancy. They not only gained further information about the war which only a war veteran can provide but also got an immersive and interactive experience.
- Kael Borrello
HICES Debating
Last week the HICES debating teams competed in the third heats of the HICES Debating competition. Well done to all the teams who debated. Special congratulations to the following teams who won. In the middle division, TPHS B (Imogen, Pip, Ava, Freddy). In the senior division, TPHS B (Jaime, Rory, Maya, Isla). In the open division (Bridget, Ciara, Aiyla, and Ruby C). Well done to all debating teams!
- Yarra Jackson
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