From Year 8
St Aloysius College has proven to be a hub of talent and excellence, as showcased by its students' recent achievements. In the competitive world of chess, four exceptional students, Nina Cutuli, Maple Horne, Zoe Mc Donald, and Josephine Wake, proudly represented St Aloysius at the 2023 Northern Star Victorian Schools Chess State Finals. Despite the challenging competition, the school secured an impressive 4th position overall, underscoring the dedication and skill of these young chess enthusiasts.
A few weeks ago, 4 students from 8B represented our school at the Victorian Schools Chess State at Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School. Everyone had an amazing time and even made a few friends. Although we tried our very best and even though it was the first time for some of us, St Aloysius still placed 4th against all the schools competing.
Mable B, 8B
In a different arena, the CIS Junior Italian Poetry Competition in 2023 bore witness to the linguistic prowess of St Aloysius students. Memorising and reciting a poem in a foreign language before a judge is an invaluable experience, one that fosters confidence and deepens cultural understanding. This year 23 regional schools participated, and notable accolades were bestowed upon two outstanding participants: Nina Cutuli, who claimed the Second-Place title for Year 8 Italian and Gemma Lehane, who secured the second Place in Year 8 Non-Italian. Mya Borg, also, demonstrated her linguistic prowess and was awarded a Certificate of Distinction.
Competing in the Italian poetry competition was a great way to learn more about the Italian language and reinforce our speaking skills. It improved our pronunciation and helped our understanding and expression. Although speaking in front of a judge was scary, it was also really exciting, and all of the competitors from our school put so much effort into learning their poems.
Gemma L 8A – 2nd place winner Non-Italian
The CIS poetry competition was an amazing experience were Italian students across years 7 and 8 had the opportunity to learn and perform an Italian poem of varying difficulty in front of an examiner. It was very challenging and lots of hard work but overall very fun. Congratulations to all of the participants.
Nina Cutuli 8B -2nd place winner Italian Background
For the other Year 8 Italian students who participated, their efforts were equally commendable, earning them Certificates of Merit or Certificates of Participation. These outstanding results reflect the school's commitment to nurturing talent and fostering a culture of achievement in various disciplines.
In these last few weeks, as our Year 8 students diligently complete their assessment tasks and preparing for their first exams, we encourage everyone to continue fostering a spirit of positivity and resilience and remember that each day is an opportunity for growth and learning.
Rita Stangherlin
Year 8 Team Leader
Food Technology
Year 8 entered the Royal Melbourne show cookery competition. They prepared gingerbread dough, shaped, and decorated into Gingerbread people, which is fitting as the holiday season is almost already around the corner. Whether the students were a seasoned baker or a novice in the kitchen, the class was a delightful and delicious experience. The students baked the gingerbread to perfection and enjoyed the aroma of ginger and spices.
The most enchanting part of the process is shaping the gingerbread dough into charming little people. The students used gingerbread person-shaped cookie cutters and created detailed features, giving the cookies personality and character.
After their gingerbread people cooled the next lesson, the students began decorating! Provided was a selection of colourful icings, edible decorations, and sprinkles, allowing the students to unleash their creativity. There was an array of classic gingerbread figures, fashionable gingerbread fashionistas and whimsical gingerbread characters.
We were lucky to have many students achieve awards!
- Very Highly commended to Natalie Lu.
- Highly Commended to Annabelle Harper, Madeline Barnabas and Millie Delaney
- Commendation to Mya Borg and Maisie McKenzie
In Food Studies this year we have learned so many skills in the kitchen that we will be able to use in our whole lives. One of our tasks was to make gingerbread and decorate them. This was so much fun as we got to experiment with using different techniques with both the fondant and the icing. Doing this was so much fun I cannot wait for the upcoming years in Food Studies.
Millie D, 8C
Margot Chauncy
Food Technology Teacher