Senior School
Year 7 Zoos Victoria Incursion
Our Year 7 students recently enjoyed a fascinating visit from Zoos Victoria, who delivered an engaging presentation about the Southern Bent-wing Bat, an endangered species found in the Warrnambool region.
During the session, students discovered the unique adaptations of these remarkable mammals, including their ability to use echolocation to navigate and hunt insects in the dark. They also explored the challenges facing the species, such as habitat loss, introduced predators including cats and foxes, and disturbance to their cave roosts.
The presentation highlighted the important role everyone can play in conservation. Students learnt practical ways they can help protect the Southern Bent-wing Bat, both at school and at home. Families can make a positive difference by planting native trees to provide future roosting habitat for bats, as well as native flowering plants and other species that support moths and other insects, which are an important food source for bats. Keeping cats indoors, particularly at night, helps reduce predation on native wildlife, while picking up rubbish and recycling items such as aluminium cans helps protect local habitats and reduce environmental impacts.
This valuable incursion provided students with an opportunity to connect their classroom learning to a real-world conservation issue in our local area. It inspired them to think critically about biodiversity and their role as informed and active environmental stewards, showing that even small actions at home can contribute to protecting our unique local wildlife.
Ally Robinson
Teacher
Year 8 Food Tech
Food Technology students have been whipping up more than cream lately. Here are some photos of students trying their hand at making authentic Italian Carbonara. The results were very impressive and tasty!
Rose Pritchard
Senior School Teacher
Year 10 Humanities
Year 10 have been working through a unit on Coastal Management and Adaptation in their Humanities class.
Andy Bell from Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority got us started by coming to speak with the class a couple of weeks ago. This information session helped frame our field observations as we visited the Twelve Apostles and Port Campbell to record observations about natural and human processes at these sites and how they are being managed.
Back in class, we have been using the information Andy shared with us, along with our field observations to consider the strengths and weaknesses of management strategies we observed and to make some recommendations moving forward.
We thank Mr Emeny for safely transporting us and for helping with our observations. We were blessed by a beautiful day, which made hot chips by the beach at Port Campbell even more enjoyable.
Kath Haworth
Senior School Teacher
VCE VM Work Related Skills
This week in VM Work Related Skills, we worked together in the kitchen to prepare a variety of dishes using the ingredients provided. Everyone had the opportunity to try different cooking tasks and work as a team to create delicious meals.
As we cooked, we discussed different kitchen methods and techniques, including preparing ingredients, measuring accurately, safe food handling, and the best ways to cook different foods. We also shared ideas and learned from each other's experiences.
It was a great session that helped us build our cooking skills, teamwork, and confidence in the kitchen. We are looking forward to trying even more recipes and learning new techniques in the coming weeks.
Students also explored careers in gardening and landscaping. We discussed the different career pathways available, along with the skills, knowledge and safety practices needed to work in these industries.
Students then headed out to the school garden to assess what jobs need to be completed before our spring planting begins. During our inspection, we discovered that our compost bin is broken, which led to a great discussion about designing and building a new one.
To finish the week, students visited the library where they helped Mrs Nield put away books, demonstrating teamwork, responsibility and a willingness to contribute to our school community.
Ally Robinson
Teacher