WELCOME TO SECONDARY 9/10

Year 9 and 10 Students have had a great start to the year, settling in well to the routine and expectations. On Friday’s , students participate in the STEAM program. STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. Students participate in two of the eight subjects on offer. Here’s a glance at what the groups have done so far;

VISUAL INSTALLATION – Jess Greenway

The STEAM program Visual Installations looks at researching, designing and constructing a variety of in-class art installations with a variety of mediums. During this term, the students have worked co-operatively to design a wall installation, constructed using paper. The students have created a sculpture installation using a variety of art materials, which they strategically hung around the classroom, to illustrate depth and different levels. The students have researched artists Sara Dudman and Debbie Locke, two artists who worked together on an exhibition using sketches and film footage. Using these artists as inspiration, the students worked on line drawings and traced a variety of still images from video footage of farm animals. The images were projected and the students worked together in unison to create this piece.

STOP MOTION – Megan Prenc

The group of young people engaging in Stop Motion Animation have been progressing very well. We began by breaking into groups of three and coming up with a very short story. We then made a story board so that we would could break the story into blocks so that we could create sets and make sure the movie made sense. We have spent the last 2 weeks creating our sets and last week the first group filmed their story. After viewing it we have decided there are some things we need to address, but editing a short story is all part of the process and we are enjoying learning from our mistakes and making things better. We will be making some changes and then this group will get a chance to film again and the rest of us have learned from their hiccups and are making alterations to our own sets and story boards. Because we are learning by doing, each week we get new ideas to add. We are all looking forward to seeing our finished projects and sharing them with others.

TEXTILES - Marcella Boca

So far in Textiles, students have had the opportunity to design and create a few small pieces of art using mostly wool and garbage bags! Together we have learnt how to create friendship bracelets using different coloured wool and students have even had the chance to pass them onto to friends. Each member of the Textiles team has designed and made their first initial of their name using cardboard and wool. Students have been taught about where Silk/Cotton/Wool come from and how they become the things we all use. Most recently, we have designed outfits and created them using garbage bags. Needless to say that these designs are quite unique and very colourful! As a group, we are looking forward to collaborating with Special Effects and possibly even another group to create magnificent costumes. All of the Textiles team is looking forward to perfecting their garbage bag outfits!

SPECIAL EFFECTS – Gwenda Johnstone

Over the past three weeks students in the Special Effects class have explored how special effects is used by the movie industry and how special effects has dramatically changed since the 1930s. Now with computer generated imagery, stop motion, animatronics and morphing some members of the class argued that special effects are over used; particularly in actions movies, resulting in the plot of a movie becoming secondary. I am pleased to report that the students in the SFX class are interested in animations and plan to produce a trailer based on Anime characters. As a group, the students will be expected to work collaboratively to produce a short trailer, using special effects apps, IMovie, props and SFX make up. They will also have the opportunity to learn about lighting techniques, props, camera angles and graphic design apps to enhance the mood of a scene. The students are currently in the planning stage of their project, the characters are being developed and hopefully the costumes will be designed by the end of the term. We plan to start filming early next term once the costumes have been sourced or made and the script has been ratified by all the class. I look forward to working with such a talented group of young adults and helping them to become 21st Century Learners.

ELECTRONICS AND ROBOTICS – Caroline Inglis

Students in Electronics and Robotics have shown curiosity and a willingness to learn. To date students have learnt about circuits and what is required to make a circuit work. Students have been practicing how to draw circuits using scientific symbols and can now draw the symbols for wire, bulb, batteries and switch. For the hands on component students have used a kit called littlebits, this is a magnetic set which helps students build circuits without the need to solder things together. Students have followed instructions and assembled circuits using LED lights, fans, buzzers and digital counters. The program also involves Robotics and students have talked about the importance of robots in our society today and looked at how things have changed in the workplace as a result of Robotics. Next term students will have the opportunity to use, control and code our robots called DASH and DOT, students are very much looking forward to this!

PHOTOGRAPHY - Kris Lord

During photography sessions this term the students have participated in a series of learning experiences that allowed opportunities to make photographic and digital works. We have covered safe work practices and occupational and health and safety procedures including safe handling of all equipment and tools. The students are completing hands activities learning to operate the Fuji SL camera, load and charge batteries, download photos from a SD card and store photos onto his/her personal drives. The students have studied the history of photography, from the very first camera obscura to the latest digital camera technology. They have practised taking focused and unfocused photographs, and identifying these shots. The students have learnt the difference between taking long, medium and close-up shots. They have learnt to insert photos into a table within a word document, and label their pictures appropriately. They are learning to critique and give feedback about their work. I have introduced concepts of photography as a potential hobby, or as a career and how it has many uses within our current society. We studied the use of thermal photography as used by the police for safety and law enforcement such as searching for people. Other uses include wildlife, healthcare & veterinary, electrical, mechanical & maintenance, energy efficiency, fun & creative artworks. Our photographic models have been ourselves and objects around the school. We are building a portfolio, to display on STEAM night and show case our work.

3D PRINTING AND MATERIAL DESIGN – Thom Irwin

The class has been enjoying getting their hands dirty and trying some new technology on for size. The 3D Printer has been a huge hit since being acquired last year and the students have been designing and building some seriously exciting things. This new technology has become increasingly relevant in the design industry and many of the skills our students will be learning this semester, will aim to do the same. Developing open-ended and real-world problems to solve, students cannot get enough of this crazy new gadget we have in the classroom. Thus far, we have looked at drag-race car design- as student have shaped, drawn up, painted and raced their Co2 powered cars down the track against one another. We have studied what it takes for a bridge to hold up the heaviest load with limited materials and at other structures and how we can replicate them using balsa wood and hand tools. As the semester rolls on, students will get a more in depth look at what goes into designing and building many of the things that are most relevant to them in today’s world. They will be covering the design and manufacture of phone cases, boom-box speakers and other engineering plans to things around them. 3D Printing and Material Design has continued to be a hit this year and we look forward to what each of the students can being to the table to kick off the year!

CONSTRUCTION – Sharon Black

What a fantastic start to the year the students in the construction group have had. The students collectively selected a wooden storage box to construct. We purchased dressed pine as it is easy to work with. The students have learnt to select the correct tools and timber, they have measured twice and cut once to ensure they have the correct length for the base and sides of their boxes. We used old wooden rulers to make the front and back of our boxes that meant we had to use the drill to make small holes for the nails preventing the wood from splitting. The students that wished to paint their boxes are putting their first coat on, and they look amazing. The students that have previously worked with wood have been fantastic with their effort to assist others to measure and cut. We have been fortunate to have purchased two mew work benches and some extra tools this week to enable the group more workspace to finish their product. Bree and I are very proud of the students’ team work and attitude.

Colin Simpson,

Assistant Principal

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