VCE -Vocational Major

VCE-VM Numeracy

Students in VCE-VM have spent the last few weeks looking at two areas of study, Shape and Quantity and Measure. As part of these areas of study students were required to design packaging for a new product, construct and test the strength of an icy pole stick bridge and budget and prepare a class lunch based on family recipes. 

Students identify the maths required to solve the problem, practise the maths and undertake the application in a process they decide. Students work with independent ideas but support and learn from each other throughout their different approaches to learning. 

From the students...

Travis... In Numeracy we were required to make a bridge out of Popsicle sticks and glue based on real world methods in Bridge building. When it was tested by placing weights on it, it held strong and passed the test. It was enjoyable to make due to the satisfying nature of seeing it come together over time and the enjoyability to do something with your peers that make you work together collaboratively. It was valuable due to the importance of learning to plan something and then acting on that plan in an organised and efficient manner, and the skill to take other people's ideas and apply that into a collaborative plan to allow everyone to participate fairly.

Angela... In Numeracy, the VM class had to get into groups and build a bridge out of popsicle sticks and glue. The end goal was for the bridge to withstand some weights. I enjoyed this activity since this gave us an opportunity to work with our friends. The bridge my group made did really well and withstanded all the weights without bending.

Thomas... My group consisted of Jarrah, Tom.H and Ethan. We constructed a bridge from paddle pop sticks. This helped us learn the general understanding of bridge building and how bridges are built in real cities taking into account different shapes and their strength. Our bridge was very strong because of the two pillars we designed for even distribution.

VCE-VM Integrated Days

Integrated VM days are days where the learning in all VM subjects can be undertaken at one time. This opportunity allows VM students to link and solidify their individual subject learning.

Museum Trip

The VM class had our first Melbourne Trip to the Museum where we looked at the VCE and VET Top Designs Presentations. Students were required to catch the train, lead each other to required destinations, interact with the public and fit into the hustle and bustle of the city with time schedules and deadlines.

Class Sharing Day

On Monday 27th May, VM students put their skills and family traditions on show to prepare a class lunch. In the lead up to the day students collected family recipes to share with each other the history and traditions of their families, creating a class recipe book. Students then used these recipes to create a budget based on adapting the recipe to a suitable quantity for the class. Students identified and catered for the class group based on food allergies and intolerances and learnt about alternative options for different products and their availability. The cook up was huge, the lunch was delicious and the VM students enjoyed sharing their lunch and stories with each other. Well done to all of you for such an amazing effort!!

Ashlee... On the 27/5/2024 our VM class cooked a few Main, Dessert and Starter Meals and then later on we all gathered in a room with tables and enjoyed a nice yummy meal as a class. This activity we have been working on and planning for a few weeks. When planning this activity we had to take into thought different cultures, experiences, and bits of each person from our class. To make this possible we made budgets, we selected recipes, we found recipes and we voted on which recipe. This day would not have been possible if it wasn't for our two lovely teachers Miss Wood and Miss Hard.

Jackson... On our VM Cooking Sharing day we all got together as a group and cooked some very good food. I ended up cooking the Garlic Bread which was the best dish out of all of them. The best thing I enjoyed on the day was getting together as a group and eating some wonderful food that was all very good. The dishes that stood out to me were my garlic bread, the roast potatoes and the chocolate cake but all the other dishes were pretty good as well.

Olivia... To begin the whole process, each individual found a recipe online. We were given the choice between deciding on a family recipe or finding one online. Natalie and Angela chose a family recipe. 

Taking allergies into account, I found a nice recipe to make an all-time favourite: Chocolate Mousse. I budgeted the recipe and then doubled it to make sure it’d serve 10 (considering it was a sweet dessert). The total made my jaw drop at a surprising $287. Despite the total (all thanks to inflation and Cadbury’s dark chocolate), I had found the task fun so far. Then I came across the first fork in the road. We were supposed to create a recipe for an entree, main and desert which the class would vote on. 

Researching, deciding and budgeting Bruschetta as an entree, Chocolate Mousse as a desert and Garlic Pasta as a main, I added them to the class folder. 

 Mrs. Wood was away on the planned voting day so Ethan took charge and got the class's attention. We raised our hands once for a desired recipe in each category (dessert, entree and main meal). Ultimately, the recipes with the most votes were: gluten free chocolate cake, bruschetta, garlic bread and gluten/lactose free lasagna.

Then Mrs. Hard and Mrs. Wood presented a few issues worth addressing which were:

..No salad recipes.

..Garlic bread wasn’t a main (even when argued by Natalie that it was).

So to resolve these issues, as a class we added in recipes to meet the criteria and set standards. The recipes we finally decided on were: gluten/lactose free lasagna (main meal), gluten free chocolate cake (dessert), bruschetta (entree), garlic bread (entree), oliebollen (Natalie’s family recipe and desert) and pirozhki (Angela’s family recipe and main). 

To order the necessary ingredients for every recipe, each group read out their ingredients to Mrs. Hard who placed an order on the Woolworths website. Mrs. Wood and Mrs. Hard had to assess and reduce the amount of ingredients as everyone had five times the normal amount with the intention of feeding 20 or so people.

With a combination of recipes, the kitchen came alive with different cultures. Ashlee and I decided to bake the gluten free chocolate cake. To say it was fun would be an understatement. As the majority of our ingredients were dry, when it came to sifting them together, clouds of cocoa and flour hung in the air. Ashlee and I hadn’t taken into account that we’d be covered in cocoa powder and flour from head to toe but it sure made us laugh. Mrs. Wood called it ‘The Great Flour Poof!’ 

Despite having half the ingredients settled on our uniform, Ashlee and myself accurately measured the amounts of each ingredient needed. We didn't need to double the recipe as it was a dessert but the cake mixture turned out to be 3 cakes instead of one. Once in the oven, these cakes rose to twice the height they were when we’d put them in. 

Upon serving them, we got lots of comments like ‘the cake was so moist it was great’. Tom, a head chef to us all, even explained why the cake was so moist by briefly stating “it’s because of the protein links. Gluten makes things harder to stretch whereas things without gluten tend to stretch and rise easier.”

Overall, the whole task was really fun, especially cooking. I would love to do it again, but maybe leave the cake recipe to another group.

Mrs Hard 

Mrs Wood