The contents on the notice board in the staff room is designed to inspire teachers and present ideas, topics or inspiration for local links into agriculture and our community. Recents topics and examples of ideas that  "We Can TAP Into This" include Greatopia, career options, a vet shortage, IT innovations, FMDs, automation and robotics in farm machinery, the state of the Curdies River, new tourism developments, marketing alpacas and chocolate, asparagopsis, varroa mite, biosecurity, labour shortages and agribusiness success. 

​To help contextualise their understanding of disease and immunity, Zoe Vogels from Scotts Creek Dairies, explained to our Year 9 students about how cows fight disease and how dairy farmers can help them do so. Zoe described how white blood cells combat disease and likened them to microscopic soldiers fighting in a war defending the body, not unlike the Ukrainian troops. Students learnt that pus is dead white blood cells that the body has sent to fight infection and that infections can occur all over the body. The ABCDE of colostrum management for calves was discussed as calves are born with no antibodies; A - assess the levels of antibodies in the calves, B - use a Brix Refractometer to measure the quality of colostrum, C - ‘chop, chop’, give colostrum quickly, D - make it dirt free and E - ensure there is enough. The role of vaccinations was considered and their importance to help cows develop antibodies, almost like extra soldiers called in to prevent a disaster. Biosecurity was addressed and it’s importance in keeping animals safe, especially in light of the recent Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak in Indonesia and it’s potential threat to Australian livestock and agribusinesses. 

It may have looked like a witches' coven but the culmination of their term long food science investigation of dairy and cheese making saw our Year 8 science students celebrate by making ice cream. After combining sugar, milk and cream in a metal bowl, liquid nitrogen was added to the mixture. The students, wearing safety glasses, then carefully stirred the mixture until a frozen slurry was formed. The resulting ice cream was scooped into cones to be shared and enjoyed. Science wasn’t like this when I was at school!

​Challenged by their investigations about ‘Caring for country’, learning about Indigenous fishing methods, and observing and asking questions of Zac Taylor about trapping and catching eels, our Year 1/2 students have now evolved into design engineers. The design challenge was ‘How could I trap and catch eels?’ The design brief then invited students to imagine - brain storm ideas, plan - produce a labelled diagram, improve - reflect what could work better on their model then, create - build and test their plan with a model. The models were made from plastic cups, netting, cardboard, string and a variety of other materials and tested with lolly snakes as eels. What an 'eely' interesting and fun STEM activity!

​After a scoping session with members of the Power Creek Reserve Committee and an initial visit to inspect the site, our Year 7/8 Community Project students met with Committee members, Peter Pope and Ray Smith, at the Power Creek Reserve in Timboon. Peter and Ray explained that they would like the students to take ownership of an area of the creek and develop some ideas to help community members make better use the space available. The group discussed ideas including seating made of recycled materials, revegetation of the slope, a sandy beach section, stepping stones for access, a retaining wall, bird hides or boxes, a water fountain and history information boards. The next stage of the project is to develop a plan and get costings for materials before submitting their more formalized ideas to the Committee. A great community project!

Our term of Camembert cheese making has been a regular feature of the Year 8 science classes with the Cheese Appreciation night a real highlight showcasing the learnings undertaken by the students. Students and parents viewed the advertisements produced by students while their cheese was judged in a blind taste test by Simon Schulz from Schulz Organic Dairy and Mr Mottram. Media judges, Caz Woods and Robyn Vale had a difficult time determining the winner of the advertisement challenge as there were many ads which delivered clear and concise messages about dairy. The winning 8A ad was produced by Jarrod and Evie with Cooper and Brock as runners up while 8B’s Kaylee and Leah won the competition for their class with Caius and Rileigh as runners up. After the cheese judging Simon Schulz commended the students on the quality of their cheese and the cheese making process. ‘A vegetable’ was the name of the winning cheese by Cooper and Brock from 8A, with Lachlan and Blake’s ‘Chezza Cheese’ pronounced the runner up. ‘Brad’ was the best cheese in 8B produced by Finn and Patrick with Toby and Zane’s cheese, ‘ Lactos’ the second best cheese produced. Thank you to Rowan Ault from Saputo for the cheese sample packs and bucket hats and Timboon Fine Ice Cream for ice cream vouchers as prizes for our winners. Thanks also to the parents and students who participated in the event, our judges and Mr Mottram, Mrs Maxwell and Ms Allan for this great opportunity.  ​

The Year 1/2 students’ geography focus this term is on ‘Caring for country' that centres that on the relationships between Indigenous peoples and their country, and includes their lands, waters, plants, animals and our responsibility to do the same. Students have been discussing ways we can care for country including respecting the environment, not rubbishing, using bins, keeping waterways clean and planting trees and vegetation. To help appreciate how Indigenous people lived and worked in this area the teachers invited local eel fisherman, Zac Taylor from the Paaratte Eel Company, into the classroom to learn how he traps and catches eels in in the Gellibrand and Curdies Rivers. Showcasing the eel nets that he makes himself, and describing the oily taste of eels, Zac outlined how eels are trapped, caught and later smoked. Students learnt that the eel traps at Budj Bim are one of the world’s finest examples of early aquaculture and engineering and were then issued a STEM challenge to design and build their own eel net catching models. 

​The Year 8 Science classes’ term long investigation of cheese and dairy has almost concluded but to truly conclude their studies the students just HAD to sample a delicious delight from Timboon Fine Ice Cream. The TAP was able to provide a cone or flavoured cup of ice cream for the students who then heard from owner, Caroline Simmons, about the evolution of the business and the flavour range. Caroline shared business, marketing and product development tips with the students before she invited them to apply for a job in the business with a great pitch, “Who likes free ice cream?” Thanks Caroline.