Around the School

English

Year 9 Advanced English

Visit from the Hamilton Field Naturalists – ‘Eucalyptus’ by Murray Bail.

The Year 9 Advanced English class is tackling the Australian novel ‘Eucalyptus’ by Murray Bail. When you think of things that are truly Australian, you might think of places like Uluru, animals such as Koalas or landmarks like the Sydney Harbor Bridge. But, undeniably, one of the purest of Australian icons is the Eucalypt. It’s said that soldiers returning from WWI knew they were almost home when they could smell the distinct fragrance of bushfire and Eucalyptus on the breeze whilst out on deck.

In the novel, the main protagonist Holland finds himself as the owner of a considerably large piece of Australian farmland in central NSW and becomes a collector and propagator of as many different varieties of Eucalyptus as he can. This pursuit becomes his life’s obsession. As his daughter Ellen grows older it becomes clear, much like Helen of Troy, that Ellen’s unique beauty is so exquisite that word travels fast across the land like bushfire. And so arrives a steady stream of hopeful suitors to Holland’s property. Holland then declares, much to his daughter’s chagrin, that the first man capable of identifying each and every specific type of Eucalypt shall win Ellen’s hand in marriage. This is a task bordering on the impossible.

Given the novel focuses on and champions a topic of considerable depth and scientific knowledge, the class was very grateful and appreciative to welcome Diane Luhrs and Rod Bird from the Hamilton Field Naturalists to help us learn more about the distinctive features of Eucalypts and how one would actually go about identifying and naming Eucalyptus trees. Diane and Rod worked with the class for an afternoon double lesson and delivered an extremely informative, well-planned crash course in the identifying of Eucalyptus trees. Many students had brought in samples from home or around the school. Diane helped guide the students through the distinguishing features used to classify trees and collaboratively the students build herbariums, some of which are on display in the classroom.

We had many conversations about Eucalypts and it was clear that, once thought about and focused on, most of us had favourite varieties (the River Red Gum was very popular, Ghost Gums might be the most beautiful tree on the planet and I have a real fondness for the Snow Gums). Towards the end of the session Rod took us out into the yard and helped us to put the classroom skills into action in the field. He pointed out the differences between our Yellow Gums and Yellow Boxes (very easy to get mixed up). Diane explained that many of the Eucalyptus trees our students shelter under at lunch on hot days were planted in the 1980s by past Hamilton Field Naturalist President Sue McInnes.

We thank both Diane and Rod for their visit and their excellent support of our students’ learning. As you can see from the pictures, it was an engaging and enjoyable afternoon.

Ewan Macdonald

Breakfast Club

Baimbridge College Breakfast Club – Sponsored by Food Bank Victoria

The Baimbridge College Breakfast Club is dedicated to providing students with a healthy and nourishing breakfast in a welcoming and supportive environment. Held every Thursday morning from 8:00 AM to 8:45 AM in the HDSC dining area, Breakfast Club ensures that students start their day feeling refreshed, focused, and ready to learn.

Over the past two weeks, our student-led Breakfast Club team has proudly served 145 students, providing:

110 cheese toasties
92 apple juices and 50 orange juices
80 cups of Milo
9 packets of strawberries, 25 plums and 18 bananas
2 boxes of multigrain cereal

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the supporting staff and dedicated students who organise, prepare, and serve our school community each Thursday morning. Their ongoing commitment reflects the highest standards of dedication and care. Beyond providing nourishment, they build a culture of kindness and inclusion, embodying the core values of pride and respect in every interaction.

Additionally, I extend my gratitude to Officer Keleigh Flavel (Vic Pol) and Community Officer Michelle Ellis (Vic Pol) for their continued support. Their presence and engagement with students have been invaluable in strengthening our sense of community.

Through these meaningful partnerships, we continue to cultivate empathy, responsibility, and service, demonstrating that education extends beyond academics to address real-world challenges such as food insecurity. The success of Breakfast Club enhances student well-being and strengthens our school community, and for this, I am truly grateful.

Thank you to everyone who contributes to making Breakfast Club a success. Your kindness, generosity, and dedication make a lasting impact.

Mr C

Vocational Major

Year 12 VM students – feature wall.

The Year 12 VM students were challenged last year to transform their classroom into an office space. The VM program focuses on connections to vocational pathways, and since students spend Tuesdays and Wednesdays at their work sites with employers, they needed a dedicated office space to complete their theory-based work requirements at school.

Students were also challenged to collaborate, manage projects, demonstrate leadership, problem-solve, and communicate effectively—skills essential for meeting their PDS course requirements.

The students have successfully completed Stage 1 of the project, which involved painting the walls and door and creating a feature wall to enhance the office space. We were privileged to receive support from Holly’s dad, Colin Millard, Regional Business Manager at Haymes Paint. In collaboration with Hammond’s Paint in Hamilton, the students have created a welcoming office space to work in.

On behalf of the students and Baimbridge College, we would like to sincerely thank Colin and the staff at Hammond’s Paint for their generous support of our project.

Year 11 VM Swimming BBQ

Year 11 VM students and Foundation Maths students took on the challenge of catering for the swimming carnival. Their focus was to demonstrate their math skills in estimation, costing, pricing, handling money, and ensuring they made a profit. The students aimed to fundraise for the CFA as a way to support and thank them for their hard work over the summer in battling fires in our region.

Additionally, students developed skills in problem-solving, teamwork, collaboration, money handling, customer service, and showing initiative, while also ensuring the meat was cooked evenly.

Overall, the students were successful in raising money for the CFA and plan to combine the funds raised at the Athletics BBQ, where the total amount will be shared.

Yr 11 Foundation Maths

Year 11 Foundation Maths students tested their skills in scaling, ratios, and calculations with fractions and decimals to adjust a recipe and cook it. They self-assessed the accuracy of their calculations by tasting their own cooking and were able to identify areas where they had made errors.

Foundation Maths is an applied learning program that provides students with the opportunity to use mathematics in a practical, real-life way. Students enjoyed this activity and were surprised by the amount of mathematics involved.

Cert II Sport Coaching

As part of a unit called 'How to be an effective volunteer" in the Cert II Sport Coaching course being conducted at Baimbridge College students have been working at the local Hamilton Golf Course helping with a variety of tasks under the supervision of the course Superintendent Mr Warren Hall and Community Liaison officer Mr Graeme Trounce completing drain and weed clearing, stick and branch pick up, bunker edging and raking and sand bucket and divot repair.

Students have enjoyed these sessions and it has helped them bond together whilst helping a local community sport club. Students come from schools such as Good Shepherd, Balmoral and Heywood along with Baimbridge to complete these studies.

We thank the golf club and their staff for these opportunities to allow students to gain these competencies.

From Dr Hill