A feature of the TAP is the inclusion of real life applied learning opportunities and we took our Year 9/10 Aerodynamics and Flight Science elective students to the Cobden airfield to meet pilot, Peter Rohan, from Rohan Flying Services to help our students better understand the principles of flight. Peter explained the features and controls used to fly a plane and he demonstrated the cockpit instruments used to inform the flight path, control the pitch, roll and yaw of the aircraft. The importance of an aerodynamic design, the need to reduce drag and use of materials that made the aircraft as light, yet strong as possible in order to make gains in either payload or passengers in flight were also discussed. Students could compare and contrast the differences in a G.A. Fatman crop duster, a twin engine aircraft Comanche and a single engine Piper Arrow. Peter encouraged students who were interested in flying to learn as much as they could and get practical experience around airfields or working with or talking to pilots. We are so fortunate that we live in such a supportive environment with industry and community people prepared to share their expertise and experience with us to help our students learn. Thanks Peter To conclude their studies about the importance of bees in an ecosystem and the fragility of their environment, our Year 9 students were given the opportunity to harvest honey contained in the frames from our school’s beehive. The hive had been located at Mr Mottram’s house so our bees were foraging from around gardens in Timboon and surrounds – potentially up to 5km away from their hive. Students could see how the bees had built combs on the hive frames and they uncapped the wax with hot knives to gain access to the honey.The honeycombs were then placed in a honey spinner where centrifugal force was created to release the honey from the waxy honeycombs. After draining through a sieve twice to remove any wax or impurities the golden honey was poured into containers. The hive produced 73 containers of honey, that’s almost 7 litres! What a delicious way to learn about ecosystems. Once again the TAP was a part of our Taste of Timboon, transition event. The evening was targeted at new Year Prep parents and students and families of students in Year 6 as they are invited to transition to the Year 7-12 Senior campus. School tours introduced students and their families to the junior and senior classrooms with students and teachers outlining what is covered in their respective year levels and curriculum areas. We are proud of our 10 year involvement of the TAP across our P-12 School and we used this opportunity to share that the TAP was showcased at Crayfest with it’s demonstrated curriculum links to community with a marine environment, sustainability focus and appreciation of our volunteers with creative, innovative, applied learning opportunities. Crayfest is a celebration of Port Campbell and surrounds – the coast, community, volunteers, primary producers, local produce and sustainability! Over sixty of our students, accompanied by teachers and parents, were part of the Crayfest Parade and carried marine creations they had crafted under the guidance of their classroom teachers with Ms Fox and Ms Podbury. A highlight in the festival space was our “In an Octopus’s Garden” mural that Mrs Mackieson and her team had created from recycled materials. We thank the South West Community Foundation for their support of our festival involvement and mural creation. Amongst other community groups, the TAP was on display with demonstrated curriculum links to our marine environment, sustainability and our volunteers while senior art was on show in the Hall. The 2021 Timboon School for Student Leadership group sold pancakes to raise money for more undercover seating at school and the Year 12 class hosted a BBQ with proceeds going towards their valedictory dinner. Thank you to the numerous people who contributed to Timboon P-12 School's involvement in our local festival. Things have been CRAYZE this week at Timboon P-12 School with several students and staff preparing for Crayfest and it's celebration of community and our local marine environment. The Primary students have been working on an art piece to carry in the parade and these will be handed out on the day. All Timboon P-12 students, wearing blue and/or green, the colours of the ocean, are invited to walk in the Crayfest parade on behalf of our School. Miss Ellen Podbury will meet students near the surf club from 11am - 11:15am with the parade starting at 11:30am. Please collect your child after the parade from the drop-off spot. Don't forget to check our marvellous mural, ‘In an Octopus’s Garden’ hanging in the tennis court area, created using the plastic lids donated sometime ago. Mrs Mackieson and her many helpers across Years 3-6 have done an outstanding job. There will also be TAP stand with a focus on our marine environment, sustainability and volunteers as we celebrate 10 Years of TAPping into our wonderful community. The Senior School students are running a pancake store and a BBQ. We invite you to support these fundraisers by grabbing a quick bite for lunch after the parade. If you have any questions, please contact the School office. A biological focus of the Year 7 Science program is on soil food webs and students learn they are groups of organisms that range in size from bacteria to fungi and includes protozoa, nematodes, micro – arthropods, worms and beetles. Students’ task was to design a food web that demonstrated how a food web improves soil structure and is impacted by larger organisms such as plants, larger animals and humans. This task is often included in the Hermitage Plant Science competition but it is very useful on it's own as the organism cards make great visual learning tools. Circle of Life indeed... After Parks Victoria Ranger, Megan Hammond, acknowledged the traditional owners, our Year 8 science students were welcomed into an amazing and dynamic, ever evolving coastal environment at Murnane’s Bay, Childers Cove to learn about our region’s geology. Retired Deakin lecturer and environmental scientist, Dr John Sherwood, challenged the students to become geologists and to use their senses to study the differences in rocks and sediment to investigate the fossil rich layers of the Port Campbell limestone that was an old sea floor, originally stretching inland as far as Hamilton. John explained that the beach sand was biogenic, meaning that had a living origin and used hydrochloric acid to produce carbon dioxide gas to determine that the parts of the cliff were made of limestone, a rock made of calcium carbonate. Megan described the role of a Ranger; managing the coastal reserve, monitoring wildlife and the environment, protecting and repairing the park’s assets and educating visitors in what was an ever changing, fragile coastline. Travelling to Moyjil, Point Ritchie, John explained that indigenous people had camped at the mouth of the Hopkins River on old sand dunes as evidenced by middens and emphasized that it was one of Australia’s most precious sites due to an incredible dynamic of culture and natural history with it’s sequences of environmental, climatic, sea level and seismic changes, shifting coastline, volcano activity and cultural connection to country. At the Hopkins River mouth, Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority (GHCMA) Waterways Officer, Jarred Obst, described his role in protecting estuaries, where the river meets the sea, by managing the health and ecology of regional waterways for fish and vegetation. He discussed the sometimes controversial decision making process when beach berms, sand deposited from wave action on one of the highest energy coastlines in Australia, closes river mouths with artificial openings now occurring rarely, only when they are safe, appropriate and absolutely ecologically necessary. Concluding at the Hopkins Falls, Bryce Morden, the Manager of Groundwaters and Rivers, Southern Rural Water (SRW) told our young scientists that the falls were created when basalt lava flowed and the liquid rocks cooled and it is a midway point between two ecosystems that can be bridged when the falls are flooded or when eels migrate up and down the river. Bryce outlined the role of SRW in protecting waterways and the importance of rivers to the environment and the vital balance between using or taking and saving water in our region. Thank you to all our wonderful hosts – what a great day! Our Lid to Art aquatic scene is nearing completion! Hours of collection, cleaning, designing, painting and gluing are coming to fruition in time for Crayfest this weekend. We are grateful to our school families who collected lids, and our school team of students, teachers and community members who have helped Mrs Mackieson's team assemble our mural. The mural, bought to life by a South West Community Foundation grant, has been inspired by a focus on sustainability, recycling and promoting the importance of protecting our oceans. The junior classes have also been creating underwater creatures to join in the parade festivities from art packs developed by Ms Fox and Ms Podbury, can't wait to see them in the procession. Watch this space to see our mural on site in Port Campbell and later in a school outdoor education space. Students in the Year 7/8 Food Technology Elective, Slice of Life, have been learning about the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (AGHE) food model. As an assessment task, students were challenged to design, create and produce a pizza dish with ingredients from 4 of the 5 food groups using the AGHE model as their template. The pizzas were divided into the food groups: 1) Cereals and Grains, 2) Vegetables, legumes and Beans, 3) Fruit, 4) Meat, Eggs, Fish and Nuts, 5) Milk and Dairy. Students had to choose their ingredients and justify their recipe choices. What a great hands on learning, with positive, yummy, outcomes for all students. Once again our Year 12 Biology students were fortunate enough to visit Ecolinc in Bacchus Marsh. This visit was linked to their investigation of DNA manipulation and bioethics. In Australia, we cannot grow or sell genetically modified organisms GMOs for human consumption in fresh, organic products apart from the legally grown and regulated GMO positive canola, safflower, blue carnations or cotton. Imported processed food like corn chips, for example can be produced from GMOs. The students were tasked with extracting the DNA of various foods, amplifying the DNA using PCR and then separating that DNA using gel and electrophoresis. If a GMO was present, they could then detect it. These practical tasks were a great preparation for an upcoming SAC on the use of GMO tools such as CRISPR on agriculture. |
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March 2024
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