Digital Technologies

Year Seven

The end is within arm's reach for students in Year Seven. Navigating time pressures have been our main focus in the past few weeks as we finish off our very hands-on projects. Students are focused on coding their structures in Minecraft - the classroom atmosphere can only be described as electric. Applying their coding mindsets, weeks of debugging algorithms are met with instant success as students troubleshoot to find and squish the tiny (pesky!) areas of code that are causing their algorithms to break. The moment this is overcome, and their algorithm executes as they had only dreamed about in the moments prior, is an eruption of sheer joy and relief. It has been an excellent way to end the year.

Below are some screenshots of student prototypes for this project, selected to give a glimpse of potential metaverse architects in the making (Yes! A metaverse architect is a real job—read more about it here).

CyberSET

Year Nine

Congratulations to Year Nine students, Saleem McNaught, Kaie Dwyer-Adams, Elliot Ruggera, and Leo Payne, who have successfully completed the micro-credential Introduction to Cybersecurity by Cisco Networking Academy, in partnership with Curtin University. This was the first time that the program has been offered to students at GSG. These students gained introductory knowledge of cybersecurity, including the global implications of cyber threats on industries and why cybersecurity is a growing profession. They understand vulnerabilities and threat detection and defence. They also have insight into opportunities available with pursuing cybersecurity certifications.

Hospitality - Certificate II

Year Eleven Mocktail Party Highlights

We are incredibly proud of our Year Eleven students, who recently showcased their creativity and hard work at the Mocktail Party! They designed, prepared and presented a delightful array of mocktails that were not only visually stunning but also delicious. Choosing the tastiest mocktail was no easy feat, as each one was a treat for the eyes and the palate.

The Year Eleven cohort truly embraced the spirit of the evening, arriving in their most colorful Op-Shop outfits and dancing the night away under the enthusiastic guidance of Mrs Renae O’Donnell. A big thank you to the many teachers who joined in the fun, donning their own Op-Shop attire and supporting the event behind the scenes. It was a night to remember!

Year Eleven Students Shine at the Albany Show

A huge thank you and congratulations to our Year Eleven students who worked tirelessly at the GSG stand during the Albany Show this past weekend! They served complimentary affogatos to showgoers, who eagerly sought out this annual treat to kickstart their day.

Over the course of two days, our dedicated students made an impressive 1,600 affogatos— a remarkable achievement as they embark on their journey to becoming baristas. This hands-on experience is part of their Certificate II Hospitality qualification, which they will complete in Year Twelve next year. Well done, Year Eleven! Your hard work and enthusiasm truly made a difference!

Hospitality Electives

Year Seven

It has been wonderful to see our students arriving early and eager to cook! Recently, the class has been exploring the five food groups and learning various cooking methods, including boiling, microwaving, frying, and baking.

The students are demonstrating excellent kitchen procedures and their knife skills and preparation techniques are steadily improving. The delicious pizzas, muffins and chicken tacos they created are a testament to their quick learning and enthusiasm to participate —and, of course, to enjoy eating their tasty creations!

Year Eight

It has been a busy and exciting few weeks for our creative Year Eight class! They recently completed a burger design challenge, where they crafted a variety of flavourful burgers and presented them beautifully for food photography. It was heartwarming to see the care they took in maintaining tidy kitchens and striving for their best. Their pride in their work was evident!

In addition to the burger challenge, the students were tasked with selecting a recipe to trial and bake as an entry into the Junior Cooking Section at the Albany Show this past weekend. They learned about the rules of show cooking and received valuable tips on what judges look for in entries.

Congratulations to all the students for their impressive submissions! A special mention goes to Alira Savage, who won first prize for her scones and also received the award for Best Exhibit in that section.

Well done to our other prize winners:

Grace Gors – 1st for her chocolate biscuits

Grace Outhwaite – 1st for her lemon slice

Ivy Hitsert – 2nd for her melting moments

Year Nine

Over the past few weeks, our Year Nine class has been guided by Miss van Burgel in an exciting baking journey, where they crafted a delightful selection of vanilla and chocolate cupcakes. Students were treated to her expert demonstration on making buttercream icing, including tips on colouring it and using different piping nozzles to create unique effects.

Each student then chose a theme to decorate six cupcakes, which were entered into the Open Section of the cooking competition at the recent Albany Show. Congratulations to all the students for showcasing their creativity and dedication in submitting their best work! The judges were truly impressed by their piping and decorating skills.

A special congratulations goes to Lucy Mackenzie, who was awarded Best Exhibit in the Open Section across all classes for her beautifully crafted Christmas-themed cupcakes, which were technically outstanding.

Here’s a shout-out to our other prize winners:

Koopa Chambers – 1st place for her impressive, decorated cupcakes
Stella Foxley – equal 2nd for her ‘Keep the Sheep’ themed cupcakes
Elliott Ruggera – equal 2nd for his elegant, decorated cupcakes
Adalyn Sharp – equal 2nd for her pink and gold leaf decorated cupcakes

During this term, our students have also been busy crafting delicious and sustainable snacks! They made and stored cheese crackers infused with complementary Indigenous spices, as well as focaccia bread made from ancient grains, beautifully decorated with fresh vegetables and herbs—a delightful practice known as focaccia art. To keep their creations fresh, the focaccia was wrapped in homemade beeswax wraps.

These tasty items formed the major components of a grazing box for two, which the students designed, produced, and photographed. Their creativity was truly impressive, especially considering the design brief focused on sustainability.

Well done to all the students for their innovative approaches and dedication to creating delicious, eco-friendly treats!

Year Ten

National Winners!

Big congratulations to our Year Ten Hospitality class! They've been crowned WA State AND National winners of the McCormick Flavour Forecast Student Recipe Challenge!

In Term Three, our talented students tackled three design briefs, working together to experiment with flavours and recipes, presenting their culinary creations for food photography, costing out their recipes, and justifying their flavour and ingredient profiles. The judges were absolutely blown away by their flavour profiles and attention to detail.

Special thanks to Mrs Colleen Cherry (Hospitality Assistant) for her support, to Chef Silas Masih for his guidance and to Mrs Renae O’Donnell for her advice on food photography.

Read about the students' recipe developments, taken from the reflections they wrote as part of their judging criteria:

SOUR POWER – by Genesis, Maya, Lani, and Nana

Drink – “Ruby Sour”Ceviche – “Kendenup Yabbie Ceviche”

Our final recipes were inspired by the Great Southern region and our passion for using natural ingredients from Western Australia. Special thanks to our classmate, Harrison, for suggesting yabbies from his dam for our ceviche. We had a blast experimenting with various drink prototypes, ultimately selecting our favourite flavours that highlighted tamarind’s delicious sour notes, realising tamarind is available in many different forms. Through this process, we discovered that seemingly mild fruits and vegetables, like cucumber and pineapple, can be surprisingly overpowering, and learned that ceviche can taste too acidic when ingredients aren’t balanced. Besides balancing the acidity, our biggest challenge was the plating. It was tricky to arrange the multiple components without it looking like a typical ‘salsa.’ We wanted the plating to be unique to showcase the yabby tails. In the end, we succeeded. Something to improve on next time, would be to research ingredient combinations that complement each other and explore more contemporary plating techniques.

THOUGHTFULLY BORROWED – by Audrey, Ella, Taylah, Paige, and Willow

“Menang pork skewers with banana ketchup, ube & lillypilly dipping sauce, and bloodroot”

For the ‘Thoughtfully Borrowed’ design brief, we drew inspiration from Filipino street food, influenced by Mrs. McAllister’s connection to a friend in the Philippines. Initially considering crocodile and emu, we chose pork paired with coconut, a Filipino staple. We explored unique flavours like pork crackle with coconut vinegar and used indigenous Australian ingredients: lemon myrtle for citrus, mountain pepper leaf for spice, saltbush for savoriness, and blood root for vibrant colour and heat, representing Filipino chili. Samphire from our school’s land and tart lillypilly added local flair. Highlights included cracking coconuts, perfecting pork crackle, and creating dipping sauces. Challenges involved selecting the ideal marinade and balancing ideas within our 100-minute timeframe. In hindsight, an outdoor BBQ for street food smokiness and more creativity with the crumbed pork could have enhanced the experience.

INDULGENCE, REDEFINED – by Harrison, Charlie, Madi, Camdyn, Milou, McKayla and Tilly

“South Coast Surprise”

Our dish, inspired by nostalgic childhood breakfasts, features a wellness-focused breakfast board with a ‘newstalgic’ twist. Memories of beach trips led us to include sea water, while family garden experiences inspired the use of local cherry tomatoes and heirloom baby carrots from the Farmers Market. The recipe’s journey was chaotic yet rewarding, with Milou overcooking eggs and Tilly experimenting with pancake ingredients. We discovered that carrots can mimic bacon, offering a smoky flavour with less fat and salt. The biggest challenge was incorporating the ritual component, ensuring the dome was crispy and cracked for a fun tableside experience. Next time, we’d experiment with different ingredients and cooking methods to improve the dome’s crackability. Overall, we were proud of the final product, and taste testers enjoyed the flavour combinations.

Read the full article via the link below.

🏆 Great Southern Grammar declared the NATIONAL and WA State Winner

Albany Show Success

This term, our Year Ten class delved into the intricacies of baking cakes suitable for decorating. Under the expert guidance of the Hospitality team, each student created a mood board to showcase their unique design ideas. Many students dedicated extra time after school to perfect their creations, and the results were nothing short of spectacular!

Each cake was a true masterpiece, reflecting the hard work and creativity of the students, especially since for most, this was their first attempt at cake decorating. The feedback from the judges from the Cake Decorators’ Association of WA Inc. was incredibly insightful. They evaluated each cake based on a matrix that focused on overall impression, presentation, coverage, feature decoration, degree of difficulty, and attention to detail.

A huge congratulations to our prize winners:

1st Place: Camdyn Tapscott
2nd Place: Paige Tapscott
3rd Place: Willow Sugg
Highly Commended: Genesis Amisi

Well done to all the students for their impressive efforts and creativity!

Mrs Teresa McAllister | Head of Technologies/Teacher

Sustainability Production

It has been an eventful couple of weeks in the garden with the arrival of a new team member named Nugget. We have been fascinated by his dedication to looking after his flock of hens. Nugget has refused to eat any meal worms or treats from the students; instead, he makes a special noise to get the hens to come and eat them, ensuring that they get lots of protein in their diet.

It is rapid-growing weather. I really enjoyed seeing the look of surprise on the Camfield Year Sevens' faces when they arrived to see small zucchini on their plants this week. They will be going home with some of them next week!

The Year Nine students are excited about their excursion to Pepper and Salt Restaurant in week eight. They will harvest a selection of herbs and vegetables to take to Silas so he can work his magic and show them how to create a meal from homegrown produce.

Zahra Gersbach - Student, Year Nine

Over the past Semester in Sustainable Production, I have enjoyed growing and harvesting things from our garden which includes snow peas, carrots and lettuce, and getting to know the newest edition to out garden, Nugget the roster, who is a polite, handsome young fella. I have also enjoyed just being able to chill out with my classmates while weeding the garden and when it gets too hot spraying people with the hose while Mrs Thomas isn’t looking.

Elina Caelli - Student, Year Nine

During the last Semester, my Sustainable Production class have been working in the garden on our garden projects. My project is on strawberries and tomatoes and the height difference between varieties. However, the Strawberry experiment will probably be quite inaccurate. We have also spent our time working with the chickens and helping move them around. One of my highlights of Sustainable Production class is our teacher Ms Thomas, she is always there to help and give advice. Overall, Sustainable Production is a very practical and fun class, especially for those who like to be out in the garden.

Woodwork

Year Nine

As the term and year draw to a close, the final products for this year’s woodworkers are coming together beautifully.

The Year Nine group is busy completing their stool toolboxes or toolboxes. This project focused on using plywood, exploring its pros and cons, and how it can be effectively utilised in projects. The students planned their projects, marked out their wood, and completed most of the cutting and shaping on the band saws. They also had the option to stain their projects for a different finish. Additionally, the group has started making boomerangs, which they will shape, paint, and then test out.

Year Ten

The Year Ten group is working on their major project for the year: coffee tables. This project showcases their hand skills and design abilities as they create unique coffee tables. It’s been wonderful to see the variety in shapes, styles, and design inspirations. Using jarrah as their primary timber, the students have created durable and appealing products, demonstrating their engagement and drive for excellence.

Mr Brodie Sarre | Materials Design and Technology Teacher

Technology Composite Materials

Year Nine

Our Year Nine Technology - Composite Materials Class had an exciting visit to the Albany MenShed, where they crafted their very own ‘Floris Hoovers Arche’ Metal Toy Vehicles in the metal workshop. This hands-on initiative not only fosters community connections but also enhances the technological learning journey for our GSG students.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone at the Albany MenShed for making this enriching experience possible!

Mr Ashley Keatch | Technology Woodwork Teacher

P&F News

Dads in the Great Southern (DIGS)