Technologies News

Digital Technologies 

Alongside Mr Rose, it’s been a fantastic term working with our Year Seven students on their Minecraft coding projects. Students have taken genuinely impressive, iterative approaches to problem-solving: debugging their code, refining their ideas, and building some truly incredible structures. I’ve seen everything from serene Japanese-style temples to ultra-modern mansions with fully customisable materials.

It’s also been great working with another group of Year Eight students as we wrapped up our role-playing video-game design project and moved into home-network design. Their growing understanding of how networks operate, and how to design one from scratch, has been excellent to see.

Over the past week, I was also fortunate enough to team up with Miss van der List to deliver a Digital Technologies session for our incoming Year Seven cohort for 2026. Students explored algorithmic thinking by writing step-by-step instructions on how to make a jam sandwich for their group’s “robot”, a very committed volunteer who had their “brain wiped” to follow instructions literally. It was a brilliant way to connect with our current Year Six students and to meet the students who’ll be joining us next year.

Mr Kieran Bailey | Head of IT and Innovation

Year Seven Digital Technologies 

The finish line is here for Year Seven students. The past few weeks have been all about managing time and keeping the coding momentum as we finalise some very impressive projects. Students have been applying their coding mindsets, checking their algorithms, and hunting down the one small (and usually annoying) section of code that is stopping everything from working. 

When they finally find it and their program runs the way they hoped, the reaction is always one I enjoy. A moment of shock and surprise, then the grin, then the big sigh of relief. De-bugging complex long-term coding projects is one of the best parts of this stage of the year. It has been great watching the students finish strong! 

Mr Bailey and I have thoroughly enjoyed the Year Seven classes this year, and thank each student for their commitment, curiosity and engagement throughout the year.  

Mr Kyal Rose | Design and Technology Teacher

Hospitality

Year Seven

During the past few weeks, our Wilson group put their new kitchen skills to the test! Students prepared fruit crumble andnasi goreng, using ingredients on hand to reduce food waste. With limited guidance, they showcased creativity and confidence. 

Working together, they used fresh vegetables, herbs, and eggs from our garden to make a colourful frittata. We also discussed the importance of healthy fats before creating a variety of sausage rolls using different meats. 

Next week, we’ll finish the term on a sweet note with festive Christmas cookies!

Year Eight

After exploring the nutrition of fast food—especially burgers—students took on the challenge of replicating a Zinger-style burger, using the air fryer to cook chicken coated in 13 herbs and spices for that classic KFC flavour. Following a design brief, they then created their own burgers guided by the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, learning clever tricks to stage their creations for food photography. The results? Lots of creative and delicious burgers! 

Recently, students have shifted to festive preparations, crafting a take-home Christmas pack featuring almond biscotti and gingerbread shapes—perfect for the holiday season.

Year Nine

This term, students worked to a design brief focused on pasta. They mastered making fresh pasta sheets, learned to prepare ragu and béchamel sauce, and combined these elements into a delicious lasagne enjoyed for lunch. 

Next, students designed their own fettuccine or ravioli, pairing them with a sauce of their choice. The kitchen smelled like an Italian restaurant—lots of garlic! 

To finish the term, students baked gingerbread, cutting festive shapes to assemble into gingerbread houses to take home for a Christmas treat.

Year Ten

Students learned how to pre-prepare components for a morning tea, store them correctly, and finish dishes for presentation. Teachers were invited to enjoy a delicious spread of sweet and savoury treats, while students discovered the importance of hosting guests. 

As we enter the Christmas season, the class created star-shaped sugar biscuits, assembling them into festive trees with homemade royal icing. This week, they made honeycomb drizzled with dark chocolate, packaged as a Christmas gift.

Year Ten - An Unforgettable Culinary Adventure at Pepper & Salt! 

What an incredible highlight to wrap up the term! Our students enjoyed an unforgettable trip to Pepper & Salt Restaurant in Denmark, joined by the Sustainable Production class who harvested fresh herbs and vegetables for the occasion—loaded straight onto the bus as we left! 

Upon arrival, students were warmly greeted by Chef Silas Masih, who was impressed with our Grammar Grown produce. In the bustling kitchen for the restaurant’s busy week ahead, students rolled up their sleeves to help prepare their own lunch —sorting, washing, peeling, and chopping vegetables that featured in a vibrant salad and a mouthwatering paella. Chef Silas even invited students to assist with the paella, sharing the story behind its unique burner base—made from a drum donated by our school’s music department! 

The experience did not stop there. Several students plated up a decadent chocolate dessert, topped with rhubarb cooked beautifully with raspberries and blackberries, served with chocolate soil and ice cream. Chef Max Sounness (2023, Baudin) shared his inspiring journey from discovering a love for food in Year Ten Hospitality at GSG to completing his chef apprenticeship at Pepper & Salt under Chef Silas’s guidance.  To thank Chef Silas, Isla presented a framed bespoke recipe—a humorous creation inspired by the students’ participation and their WA State win in the Flavour Forecast Student Recipe Challenge. Each student added a personal note around the recipe, now proudly displayed in the restaurant. 

How lucky were these students? What a treat! 

Mrs Teresa McAllister | Head of Technologies/Teacher 

Sustainable Production 

It’s been an exciting few weeks in the garden! We welcomed 21 fluffy new chicks, much to the delight of students who eagerly visited the classroom to watch them hatch and even have a cuddle. 

The warm weather has been perfect for rapid plant growth, and the garden is bursting with juicy strawberries and crisp snow peas. Seeing students’ faces light up as they discover and taste fresh produce has been a real highlight. 

This year marked our first entry into the vegetable section at the Albany Agricultural Show, and we’re proud to share that several students received awards for their efforts. Congratulations to all involved! 

We’ve also harvested a fantastic crop of Grammar Grown garlic, which is now stored and ready for our 2026 Hospitality students to use in their culinary creations. 

Our Year Ten students were excited for their excursion to Pepper and Salt Restaurant. They harvested fresh herbs and vegetables in the morning, then Chef Silas demonstrated how to transform homegrown produce into a delicious meal which they shared with the hospitality students. 

Ms Diane Thomas | Teacher

Wood Technologies

It was a fantastic finish to the term in Wood and Materials Technologies. The Year Nine Wood Technologies class successfully completed their toolboxes and then moved on to finishing other projects or making sandboards. 

The Year Ten class have now completed their coffee tables, with several looking truly impressive. 

A particular highlight over the past couple of weeks was the Year Nine Materials class travelling off-site to the Albany Men’s Shed, where they had the opportunity to try their hand at welding. The boys were able to use both the MIG and stick welders during the two visits. 

A huge thank you goes to John and Paul at the Men’s Shed for their support and guidance. The boys thoroughly enjoyed the experience and had a great time learning new skills in welding. 

Mr Brodie Sarre | Design and Technology – Woodwork Teacher 

In Semester Two, lower school Wood Technologies has been packed with learning fundamentals in wood design, workshop conduct, safety and finding independence in developing creative, functional projects. Wood Technologies provides a fantastic opportunity for students to realise what their potential is when given a higher sense of responsibility, especially our young Year Seven and Eight students. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with my students this Semester in creating their tealight candle holders, building contemporary boxes, conceptualising mobile phone docks and getting all the goss’ along the way! 

A big thank you to Mrs. Teresa McAllister, Mr. Brodie Sarre, the Design & Technology team and all of my wonderful students for welcoming me this semester and generously sharing their talents. 

Wishing you all a very happy holiday! 

Miss Madi van der List | Woodwork Teacher