KLA News 

Design and Technology

Year 9 Food Technology

Mrs Anne Healy

On Tuesday Year 9 enjoyed making three different meals based upon a common amount of ingredients. Slight variations made meals of Italian Beef, Butter Chicken and Mexican Bean.

HSIE

Year 8 students have been learning about Central American societies prior to the colonization of the Americas by the Spanish.  

Taran, Maya and Ben shared their knowledge about some aspects of the Mezoamerican world:

The Aztecs believed that human sacrifice was necessary to please and serve their gods. They generally sacrificed war captives and occasionally slaves and criminals. They sacrificed victims through removal of the heart or decapitation. For the first method, the victim was laid down over a small stone table where the heart was removed by an obsidian or flint knife. For the second method, victims were decapitated and then subsequently dismembered. The hearts were then placed in a small stone box and burned as an offering to the gods. 

We have also learned about punishments that the Aztecs were given if they were disobedient, disrespectful or just went out of line. Some of the punishments were harsh and brutal, and would be seen as abusive in today’s societies. Aztecs believed that these punishments were necessary to keep order in their society, therefore they made these harsh and brutal punishments that were torturous to stop people from reoffending. Some of these punishments would include: being forced to inhale chilli smoke, being bound and laid on a damp floor, shaving their head and destroying their house. Often if the law was broken in the Aztec society, the offender would be sent into slavery as a punishment in order to teach them that they did something wrong.

We have also been learning about the difference between the gender, and how your gender changes what you can do. In this community when you are born depending on your gender you are told different things, boys are told that they will go to war and that is their job to go to war, and that perhaps they will die as a sacrifice to the Gods. While girls are told they will be the heart of the home and they will stay at home and do all the household jobs. When it comes to contributing to life outside the boys would do the harder jobs while women were kept to just the domestic jobs. When it came to marriage girls were considered old enough to be able to be married when they started menstruating so in their tweens to early teens. While men got married in their late teens-early 20s .

Mathematics

Mr Mark Harris

As we get closer to the end of Term we have been focussing on the completion of our final units across all stages of learning in the Mathematics KLA.

It is so important for all students to work closely with their teachers and peers to glean as much as they can in these last few weeks of Term 4. All the skills and knowledge they learn this year will continue to add to the foundation layer of knowledge they will rely on to move their learning forward in Mathematics in 2022.

We look forward to presentation day next week and the chance to celebrate the success of students who have received achievement and merit awards for all of the Mathematics courses across years 7 to 11.

Here are some examples of the digital Tessellations Year 8 Mathematics students have been creating as part of their current Transformations unit.

PDHPE

Ms Natalie Mellowship & Ms Camilla Clydsdale

Wet Weather PDHPE Lessons

The wet weather hasn't stopped our students working hard and having fun in practical PDHPE lessons this week. Some of our Year 8 students were working on their strategic thinking skills whilst playing Giant Jenga. 

Strategic Thinking Skills are any skills that enable you to use critical thinking to solve complex problems and plan for the future. These skills are essential to accomplish business objectives, overcome obstacles, and address challenges. 

KEEPING DRY: Year 8 PDHPE playing table tennis during the wet weather this week at the Armidale Showground. 

Lifesaving

Over the past week, our Year 9 and Year 10 student Lifesavers have been busy preparing for next week's Lifesaving Program at the pool. The Lifesaving Program consists of the student instructors teaching skills in rescue, accident prevention and emergency care that may help save lives. Our instructors have been refreshing their knowledge and understanding of Lifesaving, Entries into the Water, Water Safety, Rescue Techniques and CPR, all in preparation to instruct our Year 7 and 8 students during Week 9. 

HS

Yr 7 & 8 Lifesaving Program

As part of the Physical Education / Health / Personal Development swimming program, students from Year 7 and 8 will be involved in the College Lifesaving Program in Week 9 of Term 4. It is important that all students attend (non-swimmers included) as the college will be able to record students’ ability for future excursions that involve swimming.

The program will run on the following afternoons at the Armidale Aquatic Centre from; 12noon to 3:20pm Monday 29th November to Thursday 2nd December. 

All standards of swimming are catered for, ranging from learn to swim to the Bronze Star Award. All staff members accompanying the students are trained RLSSA instructors and have CPR qualifications.

The cost of the program is $4.00 entry each day to the pool. Other costs have been included in the Sports Levy paid earlier this year. If your child gains a bronze star award, an additional fee (of $5) will be required to cover the award.

Students will go to school each morning for a normal period 1 and 2 and Break A and walk to the pool at 11.40 am to complete their lifesaving skills sessions until 3:20 pm. Students will be dismissed from the pool. Could you please fill in the swimming ability of your child and any medical conditions the school needs to be aware of? 

Students need to wear their full O’Connor Sports Uniform to and from school and the pool, modest swimwear, a rashie, a towel, sunscreen, a hat, drinks, recess and lunch and a plastic bag or similar for wet clothing. For some swimming awards students will also require a long sleeve top and pants to swim in. 

If you have any enquiries or problems with the arrangements for this valuable program do not hesitate to contact the College.

Parents need to scan this QR code or go to Compass to complete the permission note for your child to participate in the lifesaving program this year.

Both the QR code and the link on compass will take you to the same form to complete.

Orientation Day

Last Thursday Year 6 students from across the region visited O’Connor for our annual STEP Day. As part of the program the College PDHPE Department provided a practical experience session. Pictured below are students enjoying a range of warm up and cool down exercises and games commonly found in PDHPE lessons. Some of these included: Bullrush, Noodle Tag, Pacman, Bump Tag, Tic Tac Toe, Rob Nest, Stretching Sessions and Muscle Terminology.  

Year 9 PASS

Year 9 PASS are currently studying the unit Leisure, Lifestyle and Recreation. This week they explored traditional carnival games and participated in captain ball, tunnel ball, three legged races, overs and unders, tug o war and below is some footage of our sack race!!

JUMPING JACKS: Year 9 trying out the traditional sack race.