Once again our Year 8 science students have studied the science of caseiculture, which is the craft of making cheese while culturing their own Camembert cheese under the watchful eye of Mr Mottram. Students learnt about the importance of hygiene in cheese making, the types of milk used, the various cultures required to make cheese, the time and precision it takes for the cheese to cure and the unit gave students the opportunity to be involved in a real-life, hands-on science project. Milk provided by Apostle Whey Full Cream Milk was used for two big cheese making days and students have produced cheeses that have been brined and turned in preparation for our family Cheese Appreciation evening on 26th November- can't wait! Not happy with just collecting examples of living things, our Prep students have decided to grow their own living things and looked to fairytales for inspiration. After learning about the bean seeds in Jack and the Beanstalk, students planted bean seeds with giant’s castles already built in the clouds. Let’s see how long it takes for the beans to reach the clouds! Situated in a school catchment that includes the 12 Apostles and Hinterland, the Great Ocean Road, innovative producers and makers in creative food and fibre businesses it is understandable why our region features on the Bucket List of many Australian and international visitors. The Year 5/6 TAP into Tourism maths unit is based on the energy and excitement in our area as it punches well above it's weight with award winning produce, gourmet treats and unforgettable experiences for the most discerning traveler. Mark Cuthell from Port Campbell Visitor Information Centre introduced the Year 5/6 teachers to the maths potential behind this data and the chance to apply real life maths skills. Our students will be challenged to investigate the opportunities in our region as they budget for a family holiday in the South West and then collate data to determine what opportunities there may be for them and our region in the future based on the spending habits of tourists. Can't wait to see the results! The Year Prep students have continued their scientific exploration of how things grow by exploring the school environment to learn about the structure of plants. Dressed in their lab coats and armed with their leaf clipboards, students carefully collected parts of plants including leaves, stems, roots, branches and flowers. These were taken back into the classroom where they were recorded in the students’ workbooks and labelled accordingly. Brilliant botanists in the making! Once again our Year 7/8 students were fortunate enough to host ex Timboon P12 student, Sean Lenehan, and Dr Blake Allan, the Chief Remote Pilot for Deakin University into the classroom as part of their Science elective, Collaborative Coding. Sean outlined the different categories applied to drone licences such as recreational, excluded and commercial with different restrictions and requirements involved in operating drones in various regions. Sean provided examples of his photography and videos including landscapes as evidenced in his Sean Lenehan Photography business. Blake explained that his career path began with an interest in environmental science and that he was now able to partner that with drone technology. Students learnt about Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in aerial mapping and the citizen science monitoring project to record changes in our coastline. Drones are used in agriculture to provide orthomosaicas,3D volumetrics, time-series analysis based on high-accuracy UAV data, and multispec with thermal imaging in vegetation analysis, agriculture, wildlife monitoring and arboriculture. Blake and Sean then introduced students to mini indoor Tello drones that students could pilot in the classroom as they investigate the potential coding opportunities with this technology. More than 250 “Grey Nomads” have descended on Warrnambool and surrounds as part of the Australian Caravan Club National Muster. Hosts, Pam and Terry Hawkins, invited 50 members of the Caravan Club to visit Timboon where they were welcomed to Timboon P-12 School by Principal, Davin Reid. The TAP (Timboon Agriculture Project) was showcased and visitors learnt that this industry and community engagement model had over 400 people being involved with curriculum development since it’s inception in 2012. Students described their studies of natural disasters, bushfires, local volcanoes, farm safety, the Pillowcase Project, duck stories featuring Greg Clarke, Healthy Bones, Healthy Body, Week of Tastes and visitors toured the TAP lavender farm where they were able to purchase goods produced by the students. “I wish we had something like this when I was at school!” was a common exclamation by the caravanners. Thanks for visiting and safe travels At Timboon P-12 School we are fortunate enough to have access to two PAWS champions, Sasha and Tank, who enable students to experience safe and enjoyable pet-assisted therapy for people with a range of needs, and to promote the benefits and magic of pet-assisted therapy. Sasha, the golden Labrador works with Librarian, Jenny Evans, and her role is to meet and greet people and make them feel welcome in the library. Sasha wears a bandana while working at school; this tells students that she is a safe dog to pat. She sits with students while they are reading, and is a very perceptive dog who often identifies people who are feeling a little sad or upset; she will independently go and sit with these people. She loves preschool story time with all the little children and is always very gentle with toddlers and babies. A new role for Sasha this year has been working as a therapy dog at the Timboon Hospital, she visits patients and staff regularly. Michelle Fowler’s horse, Tank, and his mate, Tiger, are also part of our PAWS program that aims to educate students about handling animals as well as allowing them to experience the joy animals can bring into our lives by providing an alternative form of emotional support. Students learn how to responsibly care for Tank including brushing, feeding and caring for him in a positive, meaningful manner which can engender a real sense of purpose and pride in the student. A definite reason to PAWS for thought Our Year 8 Science students were challenged with the question, “What is a great advertisement?” during an inspiration session to help them create effective ads as part of their TAP Camembert in the Classroom challenge. Students learnt that familiar phrases like google, velcro, jet ski, bandaid, bubble wrap, frisbee and onesies aren’t objects but rather successful brand names. We encouraged students to tell a story, build a brand, understand the personality of their product and to showcase the benefits of their product before the features. Advertisements were presented which demonstrated how psychology is used to by advertisers to make potential customers think that a product could meet a need, solve a problem or make a dream come true and that good ads establish a very clear ‘Call to Action’. We can’t wait to see the results at our Cheese Appreciation night in November this year Our Preps are great thinkers and very good at Maths...did you know that? This Maths lesson started with the Pamela Allen story, “Who sank the Boat?” with students challenged to work out which farm animals, and dinosaurs, would cause their boats to sink. They had lots of fun ordering the animals, swapping animals with others to make their boat float. Students learnt that large doesn’t mean heavy and that small things, like the mouse, can make a big difference to sink the boat. Some clever people even figured out that if they turned the animals around in opposite directions that it balanced the boat. |
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