Secondary School
Secondary Art Exhibition
The Secondary Art Exhibition has seen a wide variety of students from years 7 - 12 submitting work they have created throughout the year. There are examples of still life, portraits, landscapes, watercolour, acrylic painting, spray painting, wearable art, Op art, photography, design, ceramics and more. It has been fantastic to see the enthusiasm of students in making and celebrating each other's work. Our Closing Ceremony on Friday will celebrate a number of artists in the following categories: Best Composition, Best Portrait, Best Use of Colour, Best 3D Art, Most Original and more. Award recipients will receive a voucher to the Art Shed and names will be published soon. Big thank you to our art and design teachers for assisting students with their entries: Mrs Paterson, Mrs Quill and Mr Hindson.
The Teacher Exhibition has puzzled many students and teachers alike as they attempt to match the artwork with the teacher artist. Thank you to all teachers involved in submitting work including Cindy Pedrana, Jenna Hildebrand, Vanessa Bush, Lauren Douglas, Danny Hindson, Rosalind Paterson, Chandra Hale, Bronwen Quill, Kathleen Kemp, Justin Wilhelm, Emma Delmenico and Sian Turner. It has been wonderful for the students to see the range of talents that we have.
Year 7
2024 Orientation
Our Welcome to Year 7 Day, held on Tuesday was an informal gathering for our incoming students where they had the opportunity to connect with their cohort through a range of activities and presentations. The students reflected on their learning journey so far through our Learning Profiles which are given to the 2024 Year 7 teachers to help them understand how the students learn, their interests, hobbies and goals for Year 7.
The students also wrote a letter to their Year 12 self, creating a time capsule for them to enjoy when they graduate. They will use this to look back on who they were, what their life looked like and changes that have happened over the years which was an exciting prospect.. until they realised how far away Year 12 really was, and then it was a scary thought!
At the start of the day, my goal for the students was to become more connected as a group and more comfortable around each other in a School setting. In my opinion, this was certainly achieved by the students signing each others downballs at the end of the day and a Year 7 group photo to go with their Year 12 letter.
Although starting High School can be nerve-racking, daunting and scary, we have been able to reduce the anxiety and stress on the students through building peer relationships prior to day one in 2024. I would like to thank all students who attended and all parents for their encouragement and positivity around this transition. See you all in the New Year!
Mr Darcy Hall
Year 9
Science
On Wednesday, our Year 9 Forensic Science class presented and solved their crime scene simulations.
Food Technology
Mrs Pinson's Year 9 class have been decorating gingerbread houses and preparing cookies in a jar as gifts around the School as we come to the end of 2023.
Agriculture
This week, our Year 9 Agriculture students were hosted by Mr Mark Bazeley at Riverina Wool where they learned about sampling wool for testing, wool classing and the sale of wool.
Year 10
Love Bites Program
Last week, our Year 10 students participated in the highly regarded Love Bites program. The program formed a safe environment for our students to discuss and learn about their rights and responsibilities in relationships and look at ways to access support when needed. During the sessions, students were introduced to several services in the community and encouraged to support their friends by utilising safe, healthy and proactive strategies.
A big thank you to our school Wellbeing Team, Emily and Liz who facilitated the program.
PDHPE / PASS Excursion to Lorne
On Wednesday of last week, 18 eager Year 10 students left the gloomy weather in Moama, hoping for brighter skies and warmer weather in Lorne for our surf camp. Unfortunately, this was not the case, and we were greeted by steady rain and strong winds. With the beach closed by lifeguards, our surfing lesson was cancelled. Instead, we jogged along the beach, stopping at different points to learn about rips, erosion, the surf lifesaving club, and the history of Lorne. Mr. Townrow kept us entertained with the world’s greatest games night, which included physical challenges, spelling bees, drawing challenges, and trivia questions.
We woke up early on Thursday and hit the pavement for a 4km jog, followed by a kayaking session on Erskine River. Our skills were so top-notch that we graduated from the river to the beach. This proved challenging with many roll-overs but also brought lots of fun. Not satisfied with our physical activity for the day, Mr. Townrow then led us on a 4.5km hike to Teddy’s lookout and the Lorne Pier. Then it was finally time for what we all came here for - surfing. With the beach open and the wind dropping, we finally got on the boards for our first lesson. This 2-hour session was exhausting but awesome, with many of us being able to ‘hang ten.’
We had a quieter evening with a bit of beach cricket and a walk to the supermarket to buy some snacks to keep us fuelled for our final day. Again, we woke up to gloomy skies and hit the pavement for a 3km run, followed by a quick pack-up and breakfast. We then got back in the cold and damp wetsuits for the final surfing session of the trip. With conditions slightly better than yesterday, we had some better rolling waves for us to catch. We spent 1.5 hours out in the surf before boarding the bus for the trip back home. With fatigue levels high from all the activities, most of us had a good nap on the way home. Thanks to Mr. Townrow, Ms. Thompson, and Dylan for accompanying us on the trip.
Year 11
Agricultural Engineering - More than Mud and Manure
HSC Agriculture students recently welcomed a guest speaker to the school. Mr Nathan Heinrich, the Principal Engineer and a founding Director of Fifteen50 Consulting, delivered an interactive presentation. Based in Echuca and now also Melbourne, “Fifteen50 Consulting” takes its name from the mighty Murray River which is 1550 miles long. Mr Heinrich’s stepped the students through several current projects that are enhancing sustainability. These included the design of a livestock saleyards truck washdown facility, the supply of piped livestock drinking water across an outback station, the response to concerns about the integrity of a dam bank structure in Gippsland and management of effluent at a piggery. Students learned about the energy requirements of moving water including the use of gravity and pumps and the ways to increase water use efficiency.
