Around the Senior School
Year 7 Technology
Elastic band Powered Car Design Project
What it was like?
Year 7 has been working on our own rubber band powered cars for the whole of Term 2. The unit of work started with us learning a lot of different parts of the design process. This included planning, designing and how to understand the different concepts included. The steps include finding the right proportional pieces to bring our designs alive and figuring out how to construct our cars. We have worked very hard and have used all the time we have had in lessons to work and test our cars. We have used different tools such as the portable drill for our axles, the disk sander to make curves and other shapes, mallets and chisels and various other tools. Once our cars were finished, we tested and raced them on different surfaces (carpet, smooth concrete, and rough cement).
What people in Year 7 have learnt
We interviewed three students about their experience in the workshop.
Jessica Ker
What was your experience building your car?
My experience was fun. It was easy because I built a basic car and I quite enjoyed it and I am very happy with the outcome.
What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?
I found it difficult to decide on a design. I had so many designs to choose from and each time I made one, I thought, "yes, this will be the one," and then I would be happy but change it. Then my teacher helped me with a simple design, so I went with that.
What did you learn from this experience?
That even when you doubt yourself you can overcome that doubt. That my car is a boomerang because it always comes back.
Hamish Leader
What was your experience building your car?
It was an easy experience but some aspects were more difficult.
What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?
When making the propeller, it was hard to make the slots into the wood to put the propeller in. I used the scroll saw to cut and then hot glued it in.
What did learn from this experience?
I learnt how to use a scroll saw.
Vivaan Desai
What was your experience building your car?
I thought of monkeys and a plane as an inspiration for my design. I made my design happen and overall, it was a good experience.
What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?
I lost my original design, and I didn’t give up and I made it again.
What did learn from this experience?
I learnt not to give up and to keep trying.
By Alexandra Whitehead and Olivia McBeath.
Year 9 & 10 Visual Arts
Year 9 and 10 Visual Arts students were lucky to attend a productive and fun visit to Bundanon Museum near Nowra. This 2 night excursion had a strong focus on artmaking and developing skills both new and familiar.
The effort of an early start and a long bus ride was rewarded by a spectacle on arrival. In a naturally stunning valley opening out onto the broad Shoalhaven River, the award-winning architecture shone. The original Victorian cottages are juxtaposed by a Sulman Award for Public Architecture winning building by Glen Murcutt with soaring roof and huge glass walls looking to the view. The second building, suitably called “The Bridge”, also received the Sulman Award on its completion last year. It spans a small valley in a way that is both spectacular and practical while somehow also subtle! Harder to make out initially, is the brand-new underground gallery and vault for valuable art. This was the initial focus after a quick lunch. It was showing an intriguing exhibition of Merrick Boyd’s drawings. In response to these prolific artworks, three contemporary artists had produced bodies of work. This was to provide rich inspiration for three major workshops throughout the visit.
The workshops were run by the artists employed by the centre and focused on three areas: drawing, sculpture and mixed-media storyboarding for digital works. Additional workshops were delivered by our school staff, with Beck Wansey running the wildly popular night-time photography, and Andrew Orme-Smith instructing on landscape painting en plein air.
The students had a great time, were very well-fed, and elicited much praise from the staff for their manners and positive approach to all the activities. Having so many boarders definitely helped with all the mealtime cleanups!
Overall this was a very successful excursion and I would like to thank all the parents for their assistance in readying kids, as well as the staff who put so much work into making it happen. It was well-worth the long drive and plans are afoot to run this again in 2025!
Andrew Orme‑Smith
Head of Department Visual Arts
Brown House Fundraising Success
During the most recent 'Gatho', hosted by the School Prefects, Brown House leaders Heidi, Lilla, Elle and Will presented Mr Liam Finnane from the Torie Finnane Foundation with a cheque for $3,948 as a result of the House raffle run in Term 1. This money will go towards supporting maternity services in rural and regional areas and improve outcomes for newborn babies and their mothers.
Bell Shakespeare Visit
Just a very big thank you from the English Faculty for your support and assistance with facilitating the Bell Shakespeare visit at the end of last term for Years 7-10. The feedback from students was overwhelmingly positive and thanks to all staff who supervised and were understanding of the disruption caused to classes.
Cadet Leadership Camp
The Cadet Promotions Camp, otherwise known as 'Promos', took place from Friday 23 June until Tuesday 27 June. There were 104 Cadets and eight staff who stayed at school to go through a rigorous training program designed to prepare the students for new rank and leadership roles for the year ahead.
The 2023 Promotions Camp involved lots of learning, teaching, and instruction. It was a great success, and everyone involved had an outstanding time. The courses taught exciting and challenging aspects of leadership and aspects of the Cadet Unit operations. The CUO’s Course learned Sword Drill with Lieutenant Colonel Reynolds from ADFA. It was a great opportunity for all of us who took part to learn a new skill, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity. Leadership is a vital part of Cadets, and the four days of intense leadership training has prepared us well to be leaders of Cadets and many other future endeavours.
Ava Petersen
On camp we had the opportunity to stay in the Kinross Wolaroi boarding houses, with girls in Wolaroi and Weymouth and boys in Tower. This allowed us to make new friends in different years and created a great atmosphere. Each House had supper each night and over the week we had Hard Rock ice cream, cheese platters, burgers in the boys’ house, pizza, hot Milo and more. I personally stayed in Wol, and over the five days we had heaps of fun. Shower raves, Shrek Kahoots, Love Island, and midnight interviews were just a tiny part of what we got up to. The best part was that we didn’t have to live in hootchies or survive on rat packs! I, and many others, had the best time on Promos Camp, and staying in the boarding houses was a huge part of that.
Lucy Ashton
At the end of Promotions Camp, everyone was broken into groups and participated in a field activity. This was completed at Macquarie Woods and simulated the trekking that we would do during an Annual Cadet Camp. Each course, using all the knowledge that they learned over the previous three days, was tasked with navigating around the woods. This was a great way for everyone to demonstrate the skills they learned, putting them to the test in the field.
George Wakem
The leadership skills learned throughout the Promotions courses prepare you for not only leadership in Cadets, but also for future activities. I felt this course equipped us with tools to deal with adversities, whilst also provoking reflection, forcing us to review our own leadership skills. This helped us to adapt, and to become better leaders. As someone who has completed the CUO’s Course, I look forward to the opportunity ahead of me to teach and guide the Cadets in my charge. I also look forward to the opportunity to learn, taking on feedback so my leadership skills can continue to improve.
Ed Southwell