Paddock to Plate

Paddock to Plate

We are planning on encouraging more bees near the fruit trees so that we have fruit in the coming season. Week 5 in Paddock 2 Plate Alvie juniors watched the process of propagating lavender then wrote about how we do this using honey. Students cut off a piece of lavender that needed to be 15 centimetres long, removed the lower leaves, cut off flowers, dipped in honey and pushed into the prepared pots with soil.  

Junior students completed weeding in the top vegie gardens near the multipurpose room and spread sugar cane to prevent weeding. We had a little bit of time to collect some bark chips to place around the newly planted passionfruit vines the juniors planted in week 4. We are all looking forward to some deliciously ripe fruit this coming season! Rupert and Orlando were standout leaders in sharing the process of propagation with others in the class. Always willing to share their skills. Well done!  

In the P2P Alvie senior students worked together to clean out the chicken coupe and place hay and wood chips to have our chickens happy and well. We are going to do a comparison with how happy the hens are in the coming weeks, counting how many eggs they lay in this time and noticing them moving happily in their yard. P2P Champion goes to Levi Baulch for their willingness to get the job done with enthusiasm and Phoebe Beale working well with her group and being enthusiastic in all opportunities to give best care to our hens. 

So glad the hens are back laying, showing us all that they are happy and well cared for. Biggest thank you to Tom for bringing in the hay and for the continued efforts of our Chicken Captains Lily McBroom and Pearl Armistead.  

As a byproduct of week 6 falling on National Science week, students had fun working through Kitchen Science Experiments with Mrs Hutson during Paddock to Plate (P2P) sessions whilst teachers completed ‘Bike Education’ training.  

The Juniors worked in teams following instructions to do Fizzy Water using lemon juice and bicarb soda and ‘Magic Milk’ experiment using milk, food dye and detergent. Students worked exceptionally well in their teams with each person playing their role in the writing and the experiment. 

Seniors completed ‘Dancing Raisins’ experiment using soda water and sultanas and made Oobleck using water, flour and food dye, an opportunity to look at solid, liquid and gas states with our food and the impact and curiosity that Science engages with us. Students played with friction and heat with their hands and were encouraged to become curious to the observable features of the edible mixtures.