Curriculum and Learning

Reminder: Year 12 Semester - 1 Student Academic Reports and Parent/Teacher Interviews

As mentioned in last week’s issue of the Especean, Year 12 Semester 1 reports will be available online to parents/carers via the TASS Parent Lounge/Parent Orbit App on Tuesday 31 March and Year 12 Parent/Teacher Interviews will take place on Wednesday 1 April from 3:40 PM to 9:00 PM.

All interviews will be conducted on site in the Coghlan rooms. Interviews are for seven minutes only. There is a two-minute break between each interview to allow the interviews to run smoothly. Please note that parents/carers cannot double book a teacher for a longer interview. Should more interview time be required, parents may arrange with the teacher another mutually suitable time.

There is an expectation that parents/carers will book interviews with all of their sons’ teachers. There is also an expectation that students are present for the interviews in full College summer uniform.

For parents/carers encountering difficulties logging on to the TASS Parent Lounge, please contact the College’s IT Department via College Reception on 02 9763 1000.

Mr Jonny Menck - Finalist for VET Teacher/Trainer of the Year         

We are delighted to congratulate Mr Jonny Menck on being named a Finalist for VET Teacher/Trainer of the Year in the 2026 NSW Training Awards in the Southern and Southwestern Sydney region. This outstanding achievement recognises Mr Menck’s dedication to high-quality teaching, deep industry expertise and lasting impact on student learning and pathways. To be selected as a finalist following a competitive interview process is a significant honour and reflects Mr Menck’s commitment to excellence in vocational education and training. We wish him every success at the Southern and Southwestern Training Awards presentation in May and look forward to celebrating this well-deserved recognition with our school community.

James Martin

Director of Curriculum

Year 11 Biology Field Trip

On Monday 16 March, we started the day early, with everyone arriving at school around 7:30 AM. We then hopped on the bus for an hour-long ride to Kurnell. When we stepped off the bus, a plane was flying over the top of us. Little did we know that this would become a recurring feature of our stay, with planes constantly travelling overhead.

We learnt about how the noise pollution from the planes had negative effects on the wildlife in the area, with birds being forced to move further away from the airport. Our educator explained the human impacts over the last 100 years and how they have negatively affected Botany Bay. One clear example is the dredging of the channel to make it wider so that larger ships could dock and unload their goods, mainly crude oil. This damaged the environment by destroying seagrass beds and increasing the amount of sediment in the water, which removed shelter for fish.

We also had the opportunity to engage with the native wildlife of the area, especially within the muddy mangroves. We used quadrats and transect lines to measure the abundance and distribution of organisms in the ecosystem such as crabs and barnacles.

The day closed off with us walking into the ocean with large nets to attempt to capture some marine wildlife to observe.

Overall, we found the day very interesting because we learned about what has happened in Botany Bay and how it has affected the local ecosystems as well as the area’s native wildlife.

Samuel Naccarella | Year 11