What's Happening In Secondary

If Clay Could Talk...

Oh, the stories I could tell!

At the beginning of the term, I arrived in the art room as a humble block of clay—cool, smooth, and full of possibilities. Before long, eager hands gathered around me. Some squeezed me, some rolled me, and some accidentally dropped me on the table with a satisfying thud! It was clear that another busy sculpture class had begun.

Every lesson has been an adventure. I have been pinched, coiled, flattened, scored, slipped, joined, carved, and carefully shaped into all kinds of wonderful creations. Some of my clay friends became curious creatures with enormous eyes. Others transformed into bowls, dishes, lanterns, and imaginative sculptures that seemed ready to leap off the shelves.

The art room is never quiet. There is the gentle scrape of tools, the laughter of students solving design challenges, and the constant conversation about how to make a sculpture stronger, smoother, or more expressive. Sometimes I hear students discussing balance and proportion. Other times they are carefully adding texture, carving details, or repairing a crack before it becomes a problem.

One of my favourite moments is watching students discover that mistakes are often the beginning of something even better. A collapsed wall becomes a new design feature. An unexpected mark inspires a creative solution. Each sculpture grows through patience, perseverance, and imagination.

As the weeks pass, I begin to change. My soft, workable form slowly dries and prepares for the kiln. Soon I will emerge stronger and more permanent, ready for colour and glaze to bring even more character to the artwork.

The photographs on this page capture only a small glimpse of the creativity taking place in our sculpture classes. Behind every finished piece is a student who has experimented, problem-solved, refined ideas, and developed new artistic skills.

From one very grateful lump of clay, well done to all the students involved in sculpture classes.  Let's see what you make next! 

Math Methods

This year, seven of our extending Year 10 mathematics students have been hard at work progressing through the Math Methods Foundations 3 pre-tertiary course. Each week they have been logging into scheduled online lessons with a teacher through Virtual Learning Tasmania, alongside students from around the state. 

Recently, they have been hard at work preparing for their mid-year exam where they will showcase everything they have learnt this year. In Term 1, we studied extended algebra and learned how to graph and apply linear, quadratic, and cubic functions in a variety of forms. This term, our students have been introduced to some entirely new concepts; firstly, logarithms and exponential functions, followed by our current unit, trigonometry and the unit circle. 

Enrolling our students in this course has allowed them to stretch themselves and expand their knowledge by providing them with a taste of Year 11/12 pre-tertiary subjects. They have been unexpectedly challenged and pushed academically as they have adapted to this new form of learning and demanding course work, and our hope and prayer is that they continue to grow.