Class

As always, it has been a busy start to the term. Students are now getting into the routine and the expectations of the Class area. Remember: be on time, be respectful and try your best.

The first round of assessments is upcoming in most subject areas. As much as we try to avoid assessments on the same day, this can happen. Getting into good study habits, such as keeping on top of homework and class tasks, as well as scheduling your revision to upcoming assessments, will help you in managing these busy times. Attending prep on a regular basis will support you to build these essential study skills. Staff in prep and the Class team are always here to help, so do not be afraid to reach out for support. 

Annette Wells

Head of Curriculum

TERM 1 – key dates

OLNA writing:

Year 12 - 26 February 2025

Year 11 - 27 February 2025

OLNA reading and numeracy:

Year 12 - 11 March 2025

Year 11 - 13 March 2025

Animal Production Systems - Kateland Jury

It’s been a busy start to the term with both our Year 11 and 12 students witnessing and participating in the artificial insemination and embryo transfers of our Poll Dorset Stud. On Friday Week one, the students witnessed the semen collection from our stud ram and the surgical artificial insemination of eight of our stud ewes. The following Thursday, they helped prep the ewes so their embryos could be flushed and transferred to our recipient SAMM ewes. They helped with the cleaning of the surgical site, looked at the embryos under a microscope to assess viability and provided after surgery care to the ewes. 

In week three, the ATAR students started their lamb feed trial by separating cross breed lambs into three groups and recording their initial weight, fat depth and eye muscle depth, before putting them in their designated paddocks. One group will be fed easy one pellets; the next group is on oaten hay and lupins and the final group has been placed in a paddock with old man saltbush. Each group has access to a mineral lick block, and to track their progress the students will weigh them every week and scan their fat and eye muscle depth every fortnight. 

Plant Production Systems - Kateland Jury

In week two, the Year 12 plant students studied plant structure and function. They have grown their own wheat and lupin seedlings to identify the differences between Monocots and Dicots. They performed dissections on hibiscus flowers to learn the male and female reproductive parts of plants and looked through a microscope at dye-stained celery to see a visual representation of the vascular bundles of dicot plants.

In week four, the 12 ATAR class started their crop trial science inquiry by soil testing paddock 25. Precision Agriculture visited the College with their hydraulic core sampler to take samples from the soil management zones in the paddock that had been mapped out using an EM38 and gamma data. The soil tests will be used to identify soil constraints for the school's variable rate program. Each student had the opportunity to use the hydraulic core sampler to take samples from the soil profile at depth (up to 60cm), so that the results can be sent away to the lab for testing and utilised in the implementation of our variable rate program on the farm for their Ag Science assessment.