The Year 3/4 students have recently been learning about the structure of the soil and ground ‘Beneath our Feet’. Their investigations have included studies of the five layers of soil; the organic layer, top soil, subsoil, parent material and bedrock and collecting examples of the three main types of rock; igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary. It’s a down and dirty but fun science topic! As a creative and fun way to assess their understanding of the range and potential of lavender products, our Year 7/8 Purple Power students were tasked to produce a gift basket as a CAT (Common Assessment Task). After researching various potential products such as soap, hand cream, air freshener, spritz, cookies, heat packs, candles and sachets, students had to design an appropriate logo for their collection. The resulting gift baskets created contained a range of products including a heat pack, bath salts, playdough, iced cookies, a bunch of lavender and information on the lavender products. To help introduce microbes and bacteria to the Year 8 Science students we invited Kurt Stein from Lallemand Animal Nutrition to Timboon P-12 School to describe silage making and the vital role that microbes play in this process. Students learnt that silage making is the anaerobic, without oxygen, preservation of forage and that silage can be preserved in individual rolls, sausages or bunkers. Kurt explained that bacteria are used to convert sugars in the grass into organic acids and these lower the pH in the forage which inhibits the growth of bad bacteria in the resulting silage. Ensiling is a 4 stage process which involves the aerobic stage which lasts a few hours, the fermentation stage which begins when the silage becomes anaerobic, the stable period when it is in storage and the feeding out stage when aerobic spoilage occurs on exposure to air when the stack or bale is opened. Kurt stressed the importance of making good silage to avoid bad bacteria in action as forage without air meant quality silage with high energy value and that silage with oxygen degraded energy value and ultimately became compost! Usually, it’s just our Year 7/8 Science students who enter the Hermitage Plant Science Schools Competition, but this year, with the brilliant topic, Native Foods, we invited our Food Tech students to be involved as well. Students have been taste testing a range of native flavours to inspire ideas for their baking. On Monday students cooked their creations using native flavours such as honey, wattle seed, mountain pepper berry, saltbush, and ground cricket powder. Working in groups, the students used a wide range of skills and equipment to demonstrate their understanding of the nuances of combining flavours. The students’ recipes and native flavour tasting evaluations will be submitted as part of our school’s entry in this year’s competition. What a great opportunity for a scientific / foodie exploration of native flavours. Our Year 10 students have been learning about electricity and to make it come alive, excuse the pun, we invited Gallagher Animal Management representatives Jack Linn and Justin Brown into our classroom so the students can learn about electric fencing options using the Gallagher fencing system. Students learnt that the system was developed by Sir William Gallagher, a New Zealand inventor, manufacturing engineer and businessman who popularised electric fences and whose products have had global success. Jack and Justin provided practical examples of currents, induction, electric fencing units, fence testers and solar fence energizers. As the TAP is all about hands on learning, we set up an electric fence on the top oval with fence pegs and ran a fence line with students learning how to establish an electric circuit, how to find a fault using a fence tester to determine where the fault is and then how to fix it. We are very fortunate to have industry support to help our students learn how to problem solve and innovate with real world solutions. Our Year 7/8 ‘Slice of Heaven’ Food Tech students recently completed a Design Brief Task to demonstrate their learning and showcase their newly acquired skills. The students had to design a recipe which included foods from 4 of the 5 groups of the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating. Working in groups, the students were tasked with designing, planning, producing and evaluating both the recipes and food created. Recipes included hamburgers, steak sandwiches, beef tacos with homemade tortillas, three-bean tacos, chicken wraps, lamb kebabs and sausage rolls. Most recipes were able to include foods from all parts of the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, fulfilling the Design Brief. It was wonderful to see the students proud of the knowledge and skills they had gained through the semester. A cornerstone of the TAP is linking and demonstrating the application of various maths and science principles to create opportunities and solve problems that can evolve into careers and pathways in the real world. Providing applied learning opportunities, examples of actual problems and creating space for that “aha” moment is the rationale behind the reintroduction of the Maths & Science @ Work expo. Working with facilitator, Matt Porter from the Neil Porter Legacy, teachers from Timboon P-12 School, Terang College and Cobden Technical School are delving into the current Year 7 maths and Science curriculum to find potential learning areas to build workshop activities that can be included as topics in the Maths / Science expo in Term 3. Originally developed by WestVic Dairy to promote careers in the dairy industry in 2013 - 2015, Maths & Science @ Work 2022 is being funded by DemoDAIRY Foundation and the Neil Porter Legacy. Watch this space It’s easier to understand the complexities and principles of flight when you can actual see and investigate the controls and features of a real aircraft so we took our Year 9/10 Aerodynamics and Flight students to meet with Richard Nesseler, the chief pilot and owner of 12 Apostles Helicopters, as part of our flight investigations. Students had previously visited plane pilot, Peter Rohan, and students could see that despite the obvious differences there were many similarities including the cockpit instruments to inform the flight path, and the need to control the pitch, roll and yaw of the aircraft, the 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. Demonstrating with the aircraft in his fleet including the Airbus H130, Bell 505 and Robinson R44 Richard described the way the instruments control the aircraft and the suitability for various roles. Richard 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. What a great way to reinforce their learning, thanks Richard! Three students from Timboon P-12 accepted an invitation issued by Matt Porter from the Neil Porter Legacy to explore the exciting world for young women in trades and tech industries recently attending the Trade Fit Expo at the Convention Centre in Melbourne. Molly, Stevie and Ava were amongst 31 female students from the Warrnambool region who experienced hands on activities, tech displays and learnt about well paid careers in traditionally male dominated areas. The students learnt about career pathways in industries including building, electrical, automotive, aviation, plumbing, marine, robotics, gaming, cyber security and more. Many generous businesses contributed to provide a goodie bag, gifts and vouchers and also covered the cost of the bus meaning there was no cost to the students. K9000 Dog Wash shouted the girls a pizza dinner, movie tickets, ice cream vouchers and treats. The Midfield Meat Group, The Meat Barn, NAB, Carter Group, Tasweld, WestVic Staffing Solutions, Pacific Materials and Handling, Wannon Water's Ripple Effect grants all generously covered transport costs. Thanks to NPL and Matt Porter for this wonderful opportunity for our students. As a TAP applied learning opportunity, the Year 1/2 students are currently investigating narratives and how to come up with ideas for stories. Students were introduced to Great Ocean Ducks via a clip about ‘Australia’s Best Drives’ featuring Great Ocean Ducks and owners, Greg and Jodi Clarke. The Year 1/2 students then hosted Greg who described his background, the business, journalism and how to write a story around a problem with the aim of writing their own duck-based or farming community stories. Students learnt that Greg and Jodi started out with 30 ducks and now farm 2,000 Pekin and Aylesbery ducks aided by their Kelpie and Maremma dogs that keep the birds safe from predators including foxes. Greg explained that their goal was to rear happy, free range ducks that could eat grass, snails, worms, wheat, apples and strawberries whilst walking from the paddocks as that helps build flavor in the birds. The business has been profiled in the ‘Just Duck’ cook book and the birds are sold to top end restaurants in Melbourne. Greg explained that he always loved writing which lead to his role as a journalist in the Weekly Times and other publications whilst challenging students to write about what they know and to do lots of drafts of their work. Students got the message that the best stories are those that are different and interesting to an audience. Inspiring stories, thanks Greg! |
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March 2024
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