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2020 VCE Highlights and Results

THE HIGHLIGHTS

The Salesian College Chadstone community commends all students from the Class of 2020 on the completion of their VCE and VCAL studies and acknowledges the dedication, commitment and support that staff and families have provided to ensure students reach their potential during the unprecedented 2020 academic year.

2020 DUX

Salesian College Chadstone congratulates 2020 Dux, Jordan Dam who achieved an ATAR of 99.7, putting him in the top 0.3% of all Year 12 students in the state. Jordan achieved a study score of 49 in both Chemistry, Mathematical Methods, 46 in Physics and Specialist Mathematics and 40 in English.

Jordan takes a moment to reflect with Acting Principal Neil Carter on how he remained focused and motivated throughout remote learning. Acknowledging the importance of learning structures and a positive support network, Jordan recognises his relationships with teachers, classmates and his inner self courage and belief as essential factors to his success.

Read Jordan’s interview below.

Interview with 2020 Dux
Study Scores Over 40
Staying Balanced in a Year Like No Other
“Integrity, respect, belonging, joy and dynamism are not only our College values, they are at the root of our identity. These values are the touchstone that we look to in times of uncertainty.”
- 2020 College Captain, Robert Amendola

Educating Great Men

The COVID-19 crisis demonstrated the power of a community driven by a common purpose. In the face of many challenges, Salesian staff and parents remained committed to the same goal; of ensuring our students were equipped with the tools they needed to succeed.

College Captain, Robert Amendola acknowledges a positive College culture as critical to his Year 12 success. Robert reflects, “The unwavering support, joyfulness and fortitude present in the corridors, in the classroom and over the countless online calls and facetime chats has been something that gets me quite emotional. It has been an absolute honour to represent Salesian. ”

“Integrity, respect, belonging, joy and dynamism are not only our College values, they are at the root of our identity. These values are the touchstone that we look to in times of uncertainty.”

At the Oakleigh Chargers Football Club, Rob is an U18 midfield and half back player. “It has been my dream to play AFL ever since I was a kid. I just want to give it my all. If in the end I don’t make it, so be it. I am pursuing this dream while also remaining invested in my career.”
Robert earned an ATAR of 88.05 and is set to pursue a double degree of Law and Commerce at Deakin University.

Vice-Captain, Adam Stone

Adam Stone executed his Vice-Captain role brilliantly, balancing his student leadership responsibilities with his studies. On developing lifelong study skills, Adam encouraged students to consider remote schooling as a valuable learning opportunity. “Your work rate and determination through remote learning will say a lot about how much you want to do well when you get to Year 12. The amount of effort you put into a school year determines how much success you get out of it.” With an ATAR of 82.4, Adam earned entry into the Richmond Institute of Leadership as well as Exercise and Sports Science at Deakin University, ranked number one in the world for Sports Science.

Vice-Captain, Jacob Curry

College Vice-Captain Jacob Curry reflects, I am so grateful that, at Salesian, I was able to jump on a call with my teachers every day, and have their brilliant support from home. The stand out [experience] for me was the willingness of our teachers to go out of their way in their own time, and talk to us boys. At 2:00pm on a Friday at the end of a long week of home-schooling, a much-loved teacher happily sat on a Zoom call with some of us boys who were feeling a little overwhelmed. At the end of the call, my teacher said something to me that I will always remember. She said, “Teachers who put relationships first don’t just have students for one year; they have students who view them as their teacher for life,” and I can honestly say that this is reflected in the dedication and generosity of all the staff at Salesian.” Jacob earned a study score of 40 in Physical Education and an ATAR of 88.05 and is set to pursue Paramedicine at Monash University.

Excelling far beyond their formal student leadership roles in 2020, College Captain Robert Amendola (centre) and Vice-Captains Jacob Curry (right) and Adam Stone (left) balanced their academic responsibilities while remaining committed to supporting the student cohort through remote learning.

 

“Teachers who put relationships first don’t just have students for one year; they have students who view them as their teacher for life.”
- 2020 College Vice-Captain, Jacob Curry
Workforce Ready

FUTURE FOCUSED

“Now more than ever, I understand how I truly learn.”

Independent learning skills have been widely recognised as one of the “secrets to success” for tertiary level learning (Field, Duffy and Higgins 2015). Independent students can manage their “studies, time and themselves” (University of New South Wales, 2013), while also being able to identify when they need to seek the assistance of others to support their learning (Ashford & Cummings, 1983; Damon & Phelps, 1989). 

For Year 12 student Scott Fisher (Academic Ambassador), the challenges of 2020 provided a valuable opportunity to develop these critically important study skills. 

“COVID-19 has ultimately taught me about myself and my needs as a student. Now, more than ever, I understand how I truly learn. This is a skill which for many people surfaces much later in life, and something that the graduates of this year should cherish, and employ beyond Year 12 as they continue to grow. Understanding how you learn as an individual is a fabulous skill that will assist you in tackling potential challenges in your future endeavours.” 

“Alongside other students, I have learnt about the importance of self-motivation, as we were all required to take responsibility for our own studies during remote learning. The motivation to wake up early for each class, submit work on time and participate during class discussions are all factors which demonstrate the hard work and resilience of each and every Year 12 student.”

Scott earned an ATAR of 87.2 and is set to pursue Science at Monash University.  Read Scott’s full ‘Staying Resilient in 2020’ reflection here.

"Now more than ever, I understand how I truly learn."
- Scott Fisher, 2020 Academic Ambassador

Community Connection

The unchartered waters that we navigated together in 2020 have demonstrated how interconnected we really are. We turned to our community to share their experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From our Parents

From our Students

From our Staff