Technologies News
Year Seven Digital Technologies
Students have been busy initiating their DigiTech Detectives Inquiry Project, we have explored some of the cyber safety issues that students at our school experience, and we are innovating how we change our behaviours to lower the impact and prevalence of the issues. Their creative ideas about how to spread awareness about cyber safety have included campaigns for positing positively online, mock chat logs that demonstrate strategies to disarm keyboard warriors, how-to-videos that show the different ways to report content on Snapchat and TikTok, and new podcasts that aim to strike a balance for a digital life.
I look forward to finalising these projects in the coming week and showcasing their work at the Technologies Showcase next term.
Mr Kyal Rose | Teacher
Year Eight Digital Technologies
Students in Year Eight have wrapped up our game design unit with an evaluation of each other's games across both Mr Bailey’s and Mr Rose’s classes. The work completed by students has been fantastic, with exciting action role-playing games, text-based story adventures, and puzzle-solving challenges aplenty. It was such a thrill for students to demonstrate and share their games with each other. Much of the fun came from seeing who could complete games and achieve the highest scores.
To round out the course, we are now exploring the impact of computer networks on everyday life – exploring what components go into making the Internet function, from deep-sea fibre cables to Wi-Fi frequencies.fibre cables to Wi-Fi frequencies. We are exploring the representation of data as binary and how the flashes of light, pulses of electricity, and modulating radio waves can take an image and break it down into binary signals to be sent around the world in milliseconds.
Year Eleven and Twelve Computer Science
Our Year Eleven ATAR Computer Science and General Computer Science students have worked to build small physical networks this week. We commenced with a tour of the school network, peering into communications cupboards, following fibre-optic cables, and looking at the school routers and switching infrastructure. From there, students have worked to create network diagrams using industry standard diagramming conventions to represent networks. Our students then ran up computer hardware, ensuring that the hardware was functional, and then installed operating systems before connecting UTP cables to test their networks out.
Year Twelve ATAR Computer Science students have explored the fundamental concepts behind IP addresses and subnets and how we can use network segmentation in our network designs. They have also looked at the use of network diagnostic tools in understanding a network and resolving potential issues. Their heads are down as they now focus and prepare for exam season! After coming off their Externally Set Tasks, Year Twelve General Computer Science are building upon their understanding of managing data through creating databases using structured query language (SQL) and thinking about how to take a scenario and apply what they’ve learned and address problems and answer questions using data and databases.
Mr Kieran Bailey | Head of IT Services/Teacher
Hospitality Electives
Year Seven
As the term advances, our students are not only enjoying their time in hospitality but also mastering procedures and safety in the kitchen. They've been identifying various fruits suitable in their quick and easy apple muffin recipe, with their muffins being a standout hit!
Students also baked a light and fluffy pear cake, learning about ingredient adjustments and alternative fruits. While these sweet treats are considered discretionary due to their high sugar and fat content, the students also prepared a nutritious, high-fibre mini pizza, highlighting ingredients from all five food groups.
Year Eight
Our students have been exploring the world of citrus fruits, using lemons and lemon myrtle to create a flavourful jar of lemon curd, while learning about the thickening properties of egg yolks. They’ve also whipped up sweet meringues using the leftover egg whites. These creations were then beautifully presented on a grazing board, complete with whipped cream, seasonal fruits including indigenous Lilly Pilly, and garnishes, which they shared with a teacher while discussing the dish’s sensory properties.
Currently, they’re learning about the nutrition of junk food and ‘fakeaways’, comparing homemade and takeaway burgers, creating a KFC Zinger burger in the air fryer, and making ‘fakeaway’ vegan mayonnaise. They’ve also been involved in a Burger Masterclass to learn about different burger styles and presentation techniques for food photography and are now working on designing their own burger recipe to make and photograph.
Year Nine
Our students have completed their study of macro and micro-nutrients, essential for optimal health. They demonstrated their understanding by creating high-water-content mocktails as a healthier alternative to sugary drinks, resulting in some creative concoctions. A highlight was their learning pastry making, where they crafted sweet short crust pastry filled with vanilla custard and topped with an array of fruits to create fruit flans. Now, they’re exploring indigenous flavours, conducting sensory analyses of various bush tucker fruits, herbs, and spices, and have selected two favourites to incorporate into a homemade dukkah.
Year Ten
I am pleased to share some of the creative Native Trail Desserts our students crafted last week, following a rigorous design brief that required research, recipe development, and meticulous time management. Their culinary journey continues as they delve into the rich world of Asian flavours. They’ve recently explored the aromatic flavours of India, creating delicious butter chicken and aloo paratha, a flat bread filled with spiced potatoes. Their exploration of Chinese cuisine resulted in the creation of simple yet flavourful pork wontons.
Certificate II Hospitality
Year Eleven
Our students are perfecting their precision knife skills and cookery techniques, creating a variety of tasty appetisers. Recent creations include savoury blinis, spinach and feta triangles, and barbecued chicken satay sticks served with a homemade satay sauce. A key aspect of this course is fostering teamwork and communication skills, essential for any workplace.
This week, they demonstrated their team spirit and creativity by fashioning a chef’s outfit from butcher paper, scissors, and sticky tape. It was a fun and memorable lesson, and I’m excited to continue working with this fantastic team.
Year Eleven – Taste Great Southern
Year Eleven Hospitality students shone at the Taste Great Southern Djeran Celebration with Fervor, working alongside Chef Paul Iskov to serve a bush tucker inspired menu.
Embracing the challenge, they plated up indigenous appetisers and a three-course meal, all while representing our school with professionalism. The day, filled with sunshine on Mount Clarence, was made even more special by their participation in a welcome to country smoking ceremony.
Year Twelve
Our skilled baristas were a hit at the GSG Field Day last week for National Boarding Week, serving up espresso coffee and hot chocolates from their pop-up coffee shop to the delight of staff and students. They’re also perfecting their salad-making skills, mastering a variety of knife techniques, ingredients, and cooking methods. Recently, they’ve produced an array of warm salads, including a succulent lamb salad, a couscous and roasted vegetable salad, and a ginger sesame steamed vegetable salad.
Mrs Teresa McAllister | Head of Technologies/Teacher
STEAM
Take a look at the progress the Year Nine group have made so far in designing and coding Lego robots to complete missions.
Mr Kyal Rose | Teacher
Year Seven Sustainable Production
In Week Five, some of the Wilson Year Seven students were keen to try rotary hoeing the area that our industrious chickens had been digging over so that we could plant it out. They did a great job, and this week, the students planted our garlic crop, which was put aside from last year's harvest.
We harvested the last of the watermelons and discovered that most of them were no longer any good to eat as they had started to decay a little bit in the colder weather. Students were able to collect a lot of chokos for the produce sharing stand. The students’ vegetables are growing fast, and our onion seed is starting to germinate.
The most exciting news is that we have some beautiful new chickens from Taleah and Luke at The Chicken Man. The are loving their new home at Great Southern Grammar and already providing some eggs to Hospitality. However, there is always one in every crowd.
Ruby Red as she has become affectionately known has given more than one staff member some early morning exercise. She prefers to escape at dusk and roost in the propagation lean-to and then wants to be put back in the pen in the morning but not without a chase. Ruby and I will be having some discussions at dusk this week!
Ms Diane Thomas | Teacher
Woodwork
Year Twelve
There has been a lot of progress throughout the classes during recent weeks, the Year Twelve group has started completing their bedside tables. The designs for these have varied from round to square tops with the inclusion of both drawers and shelves. Every project has its own point of difference which is a fantastic example of the creativity from the students.
Year Eleven
The Year Eleven class has recently been working on the design for the next major project which will be a hall table with at least one drawer included. During the research stage of the project some of the students have developed a keen interest in including some resin to add some more appeal to their table which will be fantastic to see the finished products.
Year Ten
The Year Ten group has almost finished completing their Lazy Susan serving boards which they will then display and be used by the Year Ten Hospitality class for one of their assessments. Some great design ideas here ranging from hard woods to soft wood and some coloured resin to mimic the look of a bird’s eye view of the ocean.
Year Nine
In Year Nine the students have started work on their stool project which has a compartment build in that they can use for storage. This involves some basic drawings, measurements, accurate cutting, and a touch of creativity when designing the storage space underneath. Over recent weeks the group has been cutting and shaping some boomerangs and were challenged to paint them using an Aboriginal inspired dot paining method. This is an awesome project and gives the students an opportunity to learn some more about Aboriginal cultures and where some of the different types of artworks originate from.
Mr Brodie Sarre | Materials Design and Technology Woodwork Teacher.