TAS & STEM News
TAS/VET Faculty
Term 4 has been an incredibly busy term for the TAS/VET faculty. Our classrooms have been an absolute hive of activity and the learning experiences provided to our students by their teachers have been nothing short of amazing. I must thank all of the TAS/VET and STEM teachers for their hard work, dedication and support throughout the year and for the wonderful and meaningful lessons delivered each and every day.
The HSC Society & Culture class are now in the process of refining their PIP (personal interest project) topics ready to start their research journey early next year. I must congratulate the students on their diligence and the way they have embraced their PIP journey so far.
The Year 12 IT Timber class has now started the planning for major projects for the HSC next year and they will also be ready to start these projects in earnest early next year.
The Year 12 SDD (software design & development) class has just completed their first assessment task. This term they have studied the Social & Ethical Issues in Software Design and their first assessment was looking at different case studies related to the social and ethical issues they have studied in class. The class has also been learning to code in Python - Graphical User Interfaces (GUI).
Year 12 SDD GUI
(Graphical User Interfaces
Year 12 Engineering Studies
The Year 12 Engineering Studies class have been working through the Civil Structures unit. During this unit the students had to create a bridge pylon and conduct a destructive test to analyse the forces within the structure. Students had great fun building and destroying their pylons!
All Year 12 students in TAS faculty courses that include a major project have a Major Work Certification Book or a time management plan in place. Their book or plan is signed at regular intervals by the student, teacher and parents. All PIP certification books should have been signed by parents/caregivers in Week 6 and returned to school. These booklets help students to stay on track with their projects and are a form of communication for parents if they wish to contact the course teacher.
Courses that have Major Work Certification books are Society and Culture and ITT Timber. The Year 12 SDD class will need to complete a log book throughout the process of their major project. The major project for SDD will be split into two assessments - Part 1 is the planning and defining for their software development and Part 2 is the design and creation of their software game.
Our Year 12 students from the 2020 cohort will be celebrating the success of their HSC results and they should all be very proud of their effort and hard work, diligence and resilience during such a challenging year. I am confident they will be rewarded with good results and we wish them the very best for their future endeavours.
Stage 5 Hospitality class has worked towards achieving their Certificate I in Hospitality this year; this has proven to be a very successful and extremely popular course with most of the students continuing into Stage 6 to complete their Certificate II in Hospitality Food & Beverage. Most of the students in the two 2020 Year 12 Hospitality classes have been successful in achieving their Certificate II in Hospitality Food and Beverage.
The two Year 12 Hospitality classes and the Retail Services class have now all finished their external Work Placement hours and congratulations must be given to our Year 12 students who successfully gained part-time employment through their work placement experience.
Year 12 Hospitality are finishing up for the year by completing the latest Cluster task which covers: Use Food Preparation Equipment and Participate in Safe Food Handling Practices. For these units of competencies, Year 12 had three compulsory practicals where they showcased their preparation, cooking and presentation skills. This Term we purchased some new and more contemporary serving plates and boards for students to display their finished food products. Much more in keeping with current industry trends. The students also prepared and served tea as part of the unit Prepare and Serve Non-Alcoholic Beverages.
Tea would not be complete without the accompanying sweet treats; meringues, Chinese custard tarts and little lemon tarts were a great addition. Year 12 Hospitality students should be very proud of their achievements this year. Most students completed 35 hours of work placement (despite COVID 19 restrictions), three Cluster tasks and prepared and served a beautiful Graduation Morning Tea to our outgoing Year 12 students and staff in Term 3. These were all individually boxed and served.
Examples of the practical application Year 12 Hospitality classes have completed this term included a summer salad, steak sandwiches and fruit smoothies; this was an assessment task for Cluster D and the students had to prepare their salad using precision cuts.
Year 11 Retail Services
Year 11 Retail Services students and Mrs Julia Kostalas have had a great year completing their Cluster tasks and work placements. At school, the students practiced their WHS (Work Health & Safety) lifting skills by lifting boxes and assessing each other's alignment to the safety standards.
The students have been creating visual merchandising and window displays outside the library, and have been focusing on issues such as Men’s Mental Health, White Ribbon Day and a Christmas display to finish the year. The Retail students learnt how to handle mannequins by setting them up and dressing them at school, which is a vital skill in today's retail environment.
Students completed their work placements this Term at either the Reject Shop, Chemist Warehouse, Anaconda or Bohemian Traders, gaining vital experience to make them work- ready and enhance their retail knowledge. Overall, it's been a very productive year for Retail Services at HKHS!
This year we have continued to embed STEM into the Year 8 classes. The classes have been buzzing with excitement and the students have been working on a variety of hands-on projects. One of the projects was to design, construct and test a paper roller coaster! Miss Natalie Hammond and her Year 8 STEM classes have been learning about kinetic energy and have been focusing on constructing their own roller coasters using cardboard. They have been working in small groups and some very creative rollercoasters have been produced! The initial test runs, using a marble, have been very successful! Well done to all students on demonstrating their exceptional collaborative and creative skills!
Mr Steve Guyot and his Year 8 STEM classes have been engaged in the design and development of a propeller powered car. Each team has been in a competition for the prize for the fastest car to travel around our Power Anchor. The car could not leave the ground which meant the aerodynamics of the car must be arranged opposite to the aerodynamics we studied for our aircraft. Mr Guyot and his classes have been testing and racing in the last weeks of the term.
A huge thank you must be given to the Year 8 STEM teachers, Miss Hammond and Mr Guyot for the fantastic and engaging work they have done with their classes. Our iSTEM classes this year in Stage 5 have been extremely popular with our students and in 2021 we have three iSTEM classes up and running in Stage 5!
A huge thanks must go to Miss Crystal Reynen and Mr Guyot who taught the classes this year and I know they have some very exciting projects planned for their 2021 students - including drones, robotic arms and a rocket launcher!
This year the 200-hour iSTEM class had the opportunity to be involved with P-TECH. This proved to be such an exciting program and the students had the opportunity to be linked with IBM and have been mentored by people in various businesses. This is a wonderful pathway for our students and this will continue into next year and beyond. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Jay Blue, Miss Reynen and Mrs Leanne Cortaville-Smith for running the program.
The 200-hour Stage 5 class and Mr Guyot have embarked upon a 10-hour Electronics Engineering course. The program is intended to help students develop an understanding of how the devices we now depend on operate. It also allows them to engage in learning skills that are common in the electronics industry, in particular, soldering, understanding various components and their functions and circuit board assembly and testing.
The students have built a simple audio amplifier, tested its function and measured its performance. If they want to take it further, the device they built can be used in a home audio system for their bedroom or study. The students and Miss Reynen have worked really hard to complete their 'Adapt or Abandon' project with some very creative results. The class has also been working on small STEM projects throughout the term.
Stage 4 Technology
The Stage 4 students studied Technology Mandatory this year. They have experienced a range of activities and the classes have rotated around the various strands:-
- Digital Technologies
- Agriculture and Food Technologies
- Engineered Systems
- Material Technologies
The classes experienced the different strands of the new syllabus and produced some great projects. The Year 7 classes will continue to rotate in 2021 so they are able to have as much exposure as possible to the different strands. 7Tech7 have finished creating games in Scratch or App Lab. Elena Leseberg has produced an outstanding Scratch Game based on how to make Bubble Tea! This was so professional!!
The class have also completed coding in Minecraft and have had mini Minecraft competitions.
Mrs Martin’s 7 Tech 9 class have worked on developing game application design and also work through the design folio along with the work booklet Digital Technology. They developed the game app by coding, implementing and modifying programming techniques.
Textiles
8 Textiles (8 Tec3) and Mrs Hogan have finished their sewing projects. They have been making bunting - all are so beautiful and very creative!
Mrs Pratt and her classes 8 Tec5, 7 Tec7 and 7 Tec9 have also been very busy learning how to use the sewing machine! They have also made some beautiful bunting that they will be able to hang in their rooms!
Woodwork
In Mr Peek’s & Miss Reynen’s Year 8TEC Timber classes the students made a small carry box and also some fantastic wind chimes. I am sure that they will make someone a great Christmas present! Mr Peek and his 7TEC4 and 7TEC have been studying the strand Materials-Timber and have made utensil boxes. His 7TEC3 and 8TEC2 have been making these amazing wind chimes!
Miss Reynen and her Year 9/10 Spec Ed class have been working very hard to complete their utensil boxes. All students have shown great skill within the timber workshop and have produced some exciting products!
Mr Peek and his Stage 5 Timber class has been very busy and have just completed their step stools. After completing construction students applied a coat of polyurethane finish to their stools. Another very handy Christmas present!
Food Technology
Mr Allen’s Year 9 200-hour Food Technology class have studied the unit Food Product Development and made an ice cream product to be sold at movies.
The Year 10 200-hour Food technology class have been working on food trends and as part of this they made grazing platters for an assessment task.
This term The Stage 5 100-hour Food Technology class and Mrs Pratt were looking at the unit Foods for Special Occasions. The students investigated food throughout history and focused on New Year's Eve celebrations around the world. As the end of Term approached, it was time to dust off the food product development skills and apply it to making a trifle to mark a long held Australian Christmas dessert tradition. Each student had to research different flavours, textures and tastes to design a trifle, uniquely their own. Well done for the individuality and creativity shown. They looked delicious!
Information Software Technology (IST)
Year 9 IST and Mrs Hogan have been having so much fun in their lessons - they have finished coding chat bots using Python. The students have also worked on making animal voice-over videos!
Year 10IST and Mrs Hogan finished the year making short films on a range of themes. They have also completed their unit on Digital Media and part of their assessment was to create a short film clip.
On behalf of the TAS/VET faculty we wish our students and their families a wonderful and relaxing Christmas and New Year and we are really looking forward to working with you in 2021.
Mrs Caroline McTeigue
Head Teacher - TAS/VET