Technologies News
Technologies Showcase
Students across the Technologies subjects are working towards displaying a creative selection of works at the annual Technologies Showcase. Supporters of Great Southern Grammar’s Technologies Programmes are invited to join us for canapes showcasing produce grown by GSG Sustainable Production students here at GSG as well as the skills of Hospitality, Digital Technology, STEAM and STEM, and Design and Technology students.
Mark your diaries now!
Technologies Showcase
Term Three, Week Nine
Wednesday 13 September
6.00pm to 8.00pm
Designing for Innovation
Year Nine
The retro video arcade game is in the 'create' phase of construction. Our group of Retro Warriors is well underway in the workshop putting together what will be a throwback to the '80s era by designing a modern game with an '80s feel to it, housed in a wooden arcade cabinet complete with a control panel using push buttons and a joystick. The class presented and voted on the game to be used at the start of this term and all teams did a great job in collaborating and presenting their ideas. Students are using Microbit block editor and MakeCode Arcade game along with Raspberry Pi to create a control panel. Our teams continue to use a Design Thinking approach where each group needs to collaborate, share ideas, and problem-solve as a small group to see success. We are aiming to have this cabinet completed in the next few weeks.
Mr Ashley Keatch | Teacher
Digi Tech
Year Seven Digital Technologies
Students are beginning to understand how they work, play and learn online. Last term we watched an important documentary The Social Dilemma which introduced us to the importance of how our data is captured, stored and used to shape our experiences online.
Throughout Term Two, we will engage with authentic data that represents our student body, identify issues, understand and prepare for change, and develop the appropriate behaviours to empower us to self-manage our digital safety and wellbeing. It is an important time for families to check if their household digital habits support safe experiences: students may ask you what you are doing to help protect them, or they may suggest safer practices to improve the digital wellbeing for the people in your home. Some conversation starters could be:
- posting permanently - digital footprints and reputation
- cyberbullying - could I be the bully? / am I being bullied?
- app privacy settings
- steps to take when we see harmful or inappropriate content
If you would like supporting resources to assist in your own learning and household digital wellbeing which are up-to-date with specifics about the most popular games, devices and apps, check out the family resources on the Cyber Safety Project website.
Mr Kyal Rose | Teacher
Year Eleven Computer Science
Students in both ATAR and General Computer Science have been busily learning about network communications to start the term. We have been exploring network hardware found in homes and workplaces. As part of this, we are exploring the TCP/IP Model – this is a model made up of a series of protocols on which the Internet is built. We’ve delved into application protocols and port numbers, and now we are getting hands-on with setting up our own small networks. This has involved some hardware repairs to our test-bench PCs, installations of Windows, setting up routers, and lots and lots of cables! From there we start applying our knowledge of IP addressing and application protocols to get the computers communicating with each other and sharing content across our networks. From here we will be concentrating on network security and network performance.
Mr Kieran Bailey | Teacher
Hospitality
Electives
Year Seven
This term, the Baudin students are novices in the kitchen and have quickly adapted to the kitchen procedures after only two lessons. They are gaining new knife skills, learning about oven safety, and discovering the significance of incorporating the five food groups into their daily diet. As a fun activity this week, each student prepared their own pizza – a speedy and nutritious snack made using ingredients commonly found in household pantries, freezers, and refrigerators.
Year Eight
Following a group task to prepare ingredients for a portable breakfast and research about the importance of breakfast, the students hit the ground running in the first lesson back to the kitchen this term. Brilliant breakfasts were produced that students designed, adhering to a design brief requiring the five food groups, keeping the meal low in fat, sugar, and salt, as well as being high in fibre. Terrific plating up and food photography saw a group of very proud cooks! Students have also been learning the nutritional value and types of pastry. Mini bacon and egg pies were produced to experiment with the properties of short and puff pastry.
Year Nine
To appreciate the fresh produce students used from the kitchen garden last term, the students spent a lesson weeding, harvesting seeds, planting seedlings, and contributing to a general garden tidy-up at the end of last term – it was all hands on deck!
This term, we have used tortilla presses to make homemade flatbread that was used to carry a delicious BBQ butterbean filling accompanied with colourful, crisp, fresh vegetables. Students analysed the dish to determine the main macro and micronutrients it contained. The students researched why sugar is not essential in our diets, and the reasons why water is. After realising the huge amount of sugar contained in soft drinks, fruit juice, and flavoured milks, the students had fun designing a high water, tasty mocktail.
Year Ten
What a treat it was to visit Pepper and Salt restaurant in Denmark at the end of last term. Huge thanks to Chef Silas and past Hospitality student and apprentice chef, Max Sounness, for hosting our Year Ten class. We gifted the restaurant a box of Grammar Grown jalapenos, then enjoyed a spice master class, followed by a delicious meal of chicken curry made by Chef Silas and a special chocolatey sweet treat made by Chef Max.
This term the class utilised the assortment of preserves produced last term to produce a Ploughman’s Platter served with homemade soda bread that was shared with invited teachers to assist the students to evaluate the meal. After a spicy, homemade curry powder and a hoop of ricotta cheese were mastered, students produced a tasty ricotta curry with potatoes from the school market garden, and some homegrown chokos, which was served with steamed rice and the mango chutney that Colin made last term.
Certificate II Hospitality
Year Eleven
Our class continues to learn new knife skills, as well as cooking and production techniques to prepare and present appetisers. A range of antipasto recipes were produced that were used on a typical antipasto platter. They also made lamb kofta served with raita, and homemade sushi presented with kecap manis. The group are learning about the importance of teamwork in a professional workplace and had fun using skills needed by a team for success to dress up Wayahpo as a chef using butchers’ paper and sticky tape!
Year Twelve
Our talented baristas continue to refine their espresso coffee making skills with weekly coffee service to staff across the campus. Congratulations to the students for completing their Prepare and serve non-alcoholic drinks unit of competency, finishing with a ‘Milkshake Madness’ service period during recess in Week One. We are now launching into ways to prepare a selection of simple, compound, classical, and contemporary salads, as well as dressings to accompany them.
Mrs Teresa McAllister | Head of Technologies & Hospitality teacher
STEAM
Year Eight
What an exciting beginning to Term Two - we are underway in our next topic of cloning. We have been undertaking inquiry as to what the scientific process of cloning is, its history, the components and the scope. Topics that we have covered include biomedical research, stem cell therapy, and animal breeding. Our classes are imaginative and have widely encapsulated that there is a recurring theme when discussing cloning. Ethical considerations. Just because we can, does it mean we should? With this in mind, students will prepare to demonstrate their knowledge in their next assessment task. Besides attempting to clone themselves (again, just because we can, does it mean that we should?), they can demonstrate their knowledge of the topic in a way that is uniquely theirs. I look forward to learning more as they submit an articulation of their new knowledge.
Mr Kyal Rose | Teacher
STEM
Year Seven
This term we have continued with our teamwork approach to our design thinking project in STEM, based around our major project the Dragster. Teams have been collaborating, sharing ideas, and in all cases problem solving in small groups. They have completed designing their platform using Adobe Illustrator and have cut them out using our Trotec Laser machine through the CAD/CAM process. Each team is racing against the clock to construct their vehicles and by looking at the images they have worked really well to adapt to using basic hand tools to create their Dragsters. We are aiming to test and race in the next few weeks.
Mr Ashley Keatch | Teacher
Sustainable Production
Year Seven
We have welcomed the Camfield Year Sevens into the Market Garden this term and they have got off to a great start. Firstly, they prepared the soil and constructed walkways. The walkways will be important this term as we are growing many of our vegetables from seed which we don’t want trodden on. Next, they planted vegetable seedlings and seeds including seeds that previous groups have grown and harvested. The area we planted this term previously had the chickens in it so we are looking forward to seeing how well the plants grow in the “chooked-up” soil.
Probably the most exciting thing was seeing how many brave Camfield students tried eating a fresh chilli out of the garden in the first lesson.
Year Eight
The chickens now all have beautiful fluffy feathers and are laying eggs again. The students are really enjoying seeing them turn over a new patch with enthusiasm.
The students have planted some succulent bowls using the succulents that they have propagated in previous weeks. The large wine barrel succulent gardens that students planted in Term One look fabulous.
They also made some wire surrounds to protect the new olive trees from rabbits and kangaroos. Several varieties of olive will be planted on the west side of the Market Garden to act as a windbreak. In time we hope the Hospitality students will have Grammar grown olives to preserve.
Ms Diane Thomas | Sustainable Production Teacher
Woodwork
The Years Eleven and Twelve classes are nearing the completion of their first two major projects with the Year Eleven students completing their upholstered footstools and the Year Twelve students completing their bedside tables.
Pictured here are some of the Year Ten students working on their two-way bandsaw project which is a bird and base design as well as their step ladders.
A very enthusiastic group of Year Seven students completed acrylic wind spinners as their first project. This project allows students to explore how heat can be used to manipulate the shape of acrylic. Next, they will be moving on to creating spatulas.
Mr Brodie Sarre | Materials Design and Technologies Woodwork Teacher