The Cities Division of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet hosted an Education Workshop in Launceston to identify opportunities to improve employment pathways in Launceston through improved early childhood/primary school and high school/college attendance, retention and attainment. Tasmanian case studies presented by the Beacon Foundation, TasCoss and Burnie Works were outlined and the TAP was showcased as a model of a successful approach to improved education attainment and retention.
Inspired after their Skype session with “George the Farmer” author, Simone Kain, the Year 3 students were challenged to create their own farm stories as part of their studies on author’s intent and creating a narrative. Part of their research included researching information on the type of farm they were portraying and was followed by numerous drafts and edits as Simone had advised. Students then published pop-up books or ebooks which were shared with the Year Prep/1 classes as part of buddy reading in their literacy block. A diverse range of farms were represented which included orchards, dairies, bees, chickens, horses, cropping, fish and pigs with an intriguing collection of titles such as “You gotta be kidding me”, “The naughty chicken”, “Missing pigs”, “Incoming croc”, “Apple accident” and “Chicken trouble”. The Year 8 Science class was fortunate to host veterinarian Tom Westmore from TVG who outlined the physics and forces employed in the equipment and tools vets use on a daily basis. Students were able to observe the forces that were used in simple machines such as stomach pumps, calving chains or pulleys and snares etc. As part of their Science investigation into genetics and genomics Year 10 students were once again fortunate enough to visit Garry and Lee Hibberd’s Cooriemungle Holsteins dairy farm. Garry outlined the importance of world class genetics to their business and explained how their enterprise uses embryo flushing to maximize genetic gain in their herd. Peter Younis from The Vet Group explained the procedure and students were able to see how an ultrasound is used to guide the placement of the catheter to flush and retrieve the embryos from donor cows. A group of Timboon P-12 School Year 6 students were delighted to introduce their feathered friends to Timboon and District Healthcare Service Planned Activity Group members recently and welcomed the chance to compare chicken stories with the participants. These chicken wranglers extraordinaire, skilfully explained how they raise a variety of chickens and ducks at school as part of the TAP curriculum. As well as investigating chicken science, students have incubated eggs to rear chickens as part of their community connections unit. This project is designed to encourage students to engage with other members of our community, stimulate discussions and hopefully, make new friends whilst sharing chook cuddles! A fantastic opportunity, thank you Mrs McMeel, Mr Haugh and Kim White. It's not often you see an alpaca, next to a tram conductor, opposite a flooded fences workshop, around the corner from a student designed robotic dairy game, near a bee hive, in the proximity of a farm safety ap development workshop or juxtaposed with a Zombie disease out break simulation. That doesn’t even include the sunflowers, tractor & hay rake, recycling challenge, dairy taste test, “What’s for breakfast” encounter, pulse mandalas or the Preloved, Reloved market. The annual TAP's On! curriculum expo had it all, & even more. Five hundred students from Timboon P-12 School, Simpson Primary School & Nullawarre Primary School participated in the series of peer lead workshops & displays held at Timboon on Thursday in a celebration of the exciting agriculture based curriculum. The Red Carpet screening of the Heywire TRACTA films showcasing 5 local agribusiness people and their respective career paths was a feature. A new addition this year was the inclusion of Pop Up markets featuring local foodies as way of showcasing the magnificent produce & businesses in our region including Simpson Snails, Apostle Whey Cheese, Timboon Peanut Butter, Timboon Fine Ice Cream, The Wholesome Pantry, Timboon Berry World, Lavender on TAP. We are very grateful to the Gall Family Foundation for their support of TAP's On! 2016. TAP's On! was followed by Tough Udder (Years 7-10) & Ag Adventures (Years Prep - 6) challenge events based on obstacles or contests in agriculture. In the Tough Udder event, students had to work in teams of 4 to complete a tabloid of games including eating a dry weetbix, jumping over large haybales, a gum boot toss, bandaging a snake bite, crawling under netting, running out a fence reel and transferring water.. Students competed in classes during the Ag Adventures series competing tasks like a gumboot throw & relay, silage roll caber toss, an evolution game, egg & spoon relay, a tyre drag, a milk bottle relay. Roberto from The Connies also stayed and shared some more environmental tips with students and staff. Thanks to everyone who devised games, marshaled or participated as it was a great way to conclude our TAP expo. Come and celebrate TAP’s On! curriculum showcase on Thursday 10th November from 10.00am – 1.00pm. We’ve got drones, cheese, piglets, a Pop Up Market featuring local foodies/craftspeople, flooded maths, zombies, ap game development, bees, pulses, a goat, sunflowers, exploded drawings, The Connies, careers and recycled goodies…did I mention the alpaca? Come and check it out! In recognition of our WorkSafe OHS award winning TAP into Farm Safety program, Dairy Australia and Portable are working with the Year 4/5 teachers and students to design a Farm Safety game to help keep kids safe on Australian farms. Students were introduced to Eloise Burge and Nicole Dolan from Portable via a skype session where they outlined their roles as Service and Experience Designers tasked with creating the game and module of work for distribution via the Dairy Australia website. The Year 4/5 students will be trialing the game and options during TAP’s On! 2016 and their input will shape the creation of the games and the curriculum activities- watch this space! Shhhhhh... Don't tell the TAP Year 4/5 students, but guess who is waiting for them tomorrow at school?? Thanks to Anne McMeel, Damian Teal & Jordy Vallance we are proud parents to Pekin, Indian Runner and Cayuga ducklings. The eggs were sexed prior to incubating so students could learn about probability as well as measurement, mean, mode and average as they compare the weight of the eggs and ducklings. |
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February 2024
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