TAS/VET News
This term started off with us all working form home. I must congratulate the teachers of the TAS/VET faculty for their organisation and the work set for the period of online learning. A number of our students need to be congratulated for their diligence and their commitment shown towards their time with their online learning.
This term has brought many challenges but our students have been focussed and have returned to class ready to learn.
Year 12 are in the midst of their Major works and their Personal Interest Projects. All Year 12 students in all of our courses will be starting to prepare for their upcoming Trial Exams and we wish them the very best of luck. Most of the students have been working diligently to have their projects at the 90% completion stage by the end of the term. There are a large variety of projects and I must congratulate those students who have been working solidly from the beginning of the process. I am confident the students that have been working continuously and abiding to course requirements and time frames will be rewarded with very good HSC results at the end of the year.
The Year 12 IPT class have now completed their Major Project which was to design and make an information system of their choice.
Year 12 Hospitality have been working very hard all term to complete their Cluster Tasks to satisfy the requirements of their Certificate II course. We are very proud of the way they have tackled these enormous and time-consuming tasks especially with the added demands of working on these online.
The Year 11 Hospitality classes have been busy at the moment working through Cluster C and designing some fantastic tour plans. Next term they will revisit Cluster B and start to make a range of espresso coffees and non-alcoholic beverages.
Year 11 Retail Services have been working on Clusters A and B. Work placement will be different this year than previous years. Due to Covid 19 the mandated hours have been reduced to 35 hours in total. Due to many businesses just starting up again and because of some closures of retail stores the Retail Services class will not be going out to Work Placement in Term 3, they will complete their hours in Term 4 this year. We have decided to send out the two Hospitality classes to Work Placement in Term 3 to help satisfy the hours required for the service periods which are an integral component of Cluster E.
Year 11 ITT with Mr Peek have designed and made their first project and are in the process of researching and designing their next project. Year 11 Society and Culture classes have just completed their second assessment task and I must congratulate the students on their fantastic achievement in this task. Their responses were conceptually rich with synthesised and sustained judgements and substantiated with consistent relevant strong examples throughout their writing.
Year 11 SDD are creating a text-based game using Python or C++.
Miss Crystal Reynen has been working very hard with her classes. The Year 11 Engineering Studies class have been studying Braking Systems and next term they will be studying Biomedical Engineering.
The Year 10IST class and Mrs Hogan have been busy working on Artificial Intelligence and simulation using Excel. While working online the class worked on text-based games using Python.
The Year 9IST class are just about to start their unit on Web page design. I am sure we will see a range of amazing web pages being produced.
Mr Allen and his Stage 5 Hospitality class have now finished their first Cluster task. Next term they will begin on the next task and they will be busy making and serving a range of espresso coffees.
The Stage 5 Food Technology classes with Mrs Pratt have been thoroughly enjoying their lessons and they are studying the unit Food Selection and Health, they have been very busy catching up on their practical lessons since being back at school this term Their skill levels are developing very well and I can see some future chefs in the making!
Miss Reynen and her Stage 5 iSTEM classes have been working on Hydraulics and they are in the process of making hydraulic machines that replicate the real machines used in industry.
The Stage 4 Technology Mandatory classes have been enjoying and embracing their lessons. The Technology Mandatory classes while online were all working on a unit “The Zombie Ate my hand”.
In this unit the scenario was based around being invited to work with a team of engineers from a biomedical engineering company that specialises in the design and manufacturing of prosthetic devices due to the possibility of a zombie apocalypse. The students were asked to design a prosthetic hand that could help improve the quality of life of the zombie’s victim. Examples of the design included being able to hold a pen or pencil, using a utensil or picking up an object to name a few!! There were some amazing designs and prosthetic arms produced by our Stage 4 students. Since returning to school our Stage 4 students have returned to work on the various strands of the Technology Mandatory course.
Our Year 8 STEM classes are having so much fun while learning and the classes are just buzzing! So far, they have been learning about Roller Coasters, Aerodynamics and also learning how to make Origami animals with a unit based around Endangered Species. I must also thank the Year 8 STEM teachers for their commitment and enthusiasm for the program.
These holidays will be invaluable for Year 12 students to work on perfecting and completing their HSC major projects which are all due for submission in Term 3. Please discuss your projects with your teachers before the holidays about any work that may be needed. Also, please check with your teachers about attending the holiday workshops. These are designed by the teachers and are invaluable in helping students complete their projects.
On behalf of the TAS/VET faculty we wish all of our students and their families a safe, relaxing and happy holiday.
Mrs Caroline McTeigue
Head Teacher TAS/VET