Year Eight 

Physical Education 

Over the course of Term Four for Health and Physical Education, Year Eight students have been developing their skills and game sense in the sports of Cricket and Softball. Students enjoyed participating in their Baseball/ Softball Clinics with Baseball Victoria, learning the basic skills of the games and applying them in fun modified games and gameplay situations. Year Eight's have also enhanced their skills in Cricket by practicing the fundamental skills and applying them to inclusive games and skill-based sessions. In the remaining weeks of the Term, the Year Eight's will have the opportunity to participate in various minor games such as Dodgeball, Multisport and Flag Football. 

It has been a fantastic year in Health and Physical Education with many students displaying improvement not only in their physical abilities but also in their resilience, teamwork, collaboration and fair play.

Food Technology

Over the past month, Year Eight Food Technology students diligently applied the design cycle to explore café-style meals—both savory and sweet. The results were impressive, with students showcasing their creativity by crafting original dishes and elevating recipes they've learned in class or enjoy cooking at home.

The array of culinary creations included burgers, nasi goreng, pizza twists, pasta, and Mexican-inspired delights. Each student demonstrated culinary prowess, and they should take pride in their remarkable achievements.

Our cooking adventures also featured Cornish pasties, relished by students as part of their lunch. Whether these delectable pasties made it home to family members remains uncertain. To conclude our culinary journey, students crafted and decorated biscuits with unique designs using icing.

It's been a pleasure working with all the students this year. Wishing everyone a fantastic holiday, and I look forward to seeing you all back next year.

Science

In term Four, our Year Eight students have been diving deep into Earth Science. They've been exploring the fascinating world of tectonic plates and plate boundaries, understanding how our planet's surface is always on the move. Rock types became their forte as they discovered igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks, unraveling the secrets of how these rocks transform from one type to another. 

And that's not all! Their creative minds soared as they delved into earthquake studies, culminating in an exciting project where they designed earthquake-proof houses using recycled materials. Learning about earthquakes became hands-on and inventive!

Robotics and Coding

Year Eight students have been finalising their combat simulator programs. This semester, some students have experimented with techniques for adding pixel art to enhance the visual appeal of their games, with impressive results! We have never seen Python games look better!

Students have also been experimenting with the Lego robotics kits, building and coding various projects including autonomous vehicles. This model motorbike is programmed to move with a motor, with ultrasonic sensors that adjust the speed.

Financial Literacy

For the final term, Year Eight Students explored an introduction to marketing principles while producing a simple business plan. They further developed their communication skills by pitching a business idea to an audience.

Students were also introduced to the concepts of supply and demand and how it affects the economic cycle. Following that, students built on their knowledge of credit and debts and how they affect family finances.

To conclude the semester, Students were exposed to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and other motivation theories.

Visual Art

As we end another successful Term in Visual Art, the Year Eight students have been busily completing their inquiry cycle by working on their final product for the term.  Students were able to express their voice and agency through their work by choosing to focus on their choice of social issue that either impacts them, or a character from the Term's English novel study 'Romeo and Juliet'.  They also chose the surface and medium they used to create their final piece of work, as shown in the variety of works in progress below.  Overall, students have been deeply immersed in their creative process and I look forward to seeing their finished products by the year's end.