A RECORD number of Victorian students completed their Victorian Certificate of Education this year. Results were officially released on Monday (12 December) after a technical glitch sent results to some students earlier than anticipated last week. A total of 49,765 students have now completed the final chapter in their school lives and obtained their VCE, a record completion rate of 97.9 per cent of students. Of these students, 3804 will be awarded the VCE (Baccalaureate) and a further 13,050 students will receive their Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL). 14,649 high achieving students received a study score of 40 or…
Author: Bayside News
BONBEACH student Frazer Kemp, 18, was among 73 people awarded the Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award at a gala event at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne this month. Victorian Governor Linda Dessau presented the awards on Saturday 3 December. The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award is reportedly the world’s leading achievement award for young people. Since it was established in 1963, it has challenged and enriched the lives of thousands of young Victorians giving them the opportunity to become confident in their abilities, build connections and tap into their potential, its promoters say. Frazer, who attends Mentone Grammar School, says he…
CHRISTMAS is looming and the tireless volunteers at Peninsula Mums for Families in Need are bracing themselves for high demand. The charity service, established by mother-of-three Jodie Harris, makes Christmas special for disadvantaged people living in the Frankston/Mornington Peninsula region. In four years, demand for food, clothing and essential goods has grown to such an extent, the charity has been forced to find a new home and now works out of warehouse in Seaford that comes with a large rent bill each month. The volunteers now wrap about 2000 presents and 300 food hampers for families in need every Christmas,…
VISITORS to Frankston and the peninsula’s bay and ocean beaches may have noticed the prevalence of bluebottle jellyfish. The common bluebottle, Physalia utriculus, is smaller and less venomous than its Atlantic cousin Physalia physalis – or Portuguese man o’war – but it can still produce a painful sting. While they may look like a single marine creature they are actually colonial organisms known as siphonophores, with separate animals specialised for food capture, digestion, reproduction, and one that makes up the gas-filled float. The animals cannot function alone and the whole can only survive as a colony. The floats can grow…
A BRICK veneer house in Frankston North was destroyed by fire late Wednesday night. Police have deemed the fire, in Mallee St, 10pm, Wednesday 7 December, as “suspicious”. Arson chemists were expected to attend Thursday. Four fire trucks from Frankston, Patterson River and Carrum Downs CFA brigades fought the blaze which is believed to have begun in the kitchen. Frankston senior station officer Doug Broom said the Housing Commission house had suffered “significant structural collapse and was 70 per cent involved in the fire” when crews arrived. He said crews initially thought three people may have been inside and searched…