Around the Senior School

Year 12 Hospitality Excursion

In Week 1 Year 12 Hospitality undertook a two-day hospitality experience focussing on the theory units for the Hospitality HSC course that investigates different parts of the industry and how they relate to each other. We are lucky to have so many experienced and generous hospitality experts in our region. Thank you to Beau Baddock at the Agrestic Grocer, Stefan Birmili of Cured, Kellie Ferguson and her team at The Oriana and Chef Hugh Piper, who is new to town and hosting a residency at Antica in Carcoar next month (Check out @buena_vista_ceviche_club on Instagram)

Annabelle Edgley and Lydia Alston report:

Day 1 

On Thursday the 28th we started our excursion at the start of recess and caught the bus to The Agrestic Grocer. We had the opportunity to talk to Beau (the owner) where he talked to us about the positives and negatives of running a business. We then ordered our lunch, while keeping in the budget. After lunch we walked through the little shop where all the fresh and local produce is kept. We then caught the bus to Cured and Stefan Birmili the owner, talked to us about the ins and outs to making the perfect traditional sausage. It was then our turn to try and follow his recipe, to do this, we split up into groups of 4 and made 8kgs of sausages per group. Overall, our experience at The Agrestic Grocer and Cured gave us valuable life lessons on how to run a business. 

Day 2

On the second day, Chef Hugh came to school to give us a masterclass. In the morning session, we observed Chef demonstrate a whole baked fish dish then we attempted to recreate the masterpiece with his guidance and assistance. During the second session, Chef demonstrated how to make Steak Tartare and we attempted to recreate this dish. The masterclass with Chef Hugh was a valuable learning experience for our class, we are taking away so many new skills to employ in our future cooking. 

After lunch we went to the Oriana where we were toured around the different departments within the hotel. We had a look in some of the rooms where guests stayed, roleplayed how to serve customers in the restaurant, learned the tricks of bartending, how to make scones in the kitchen and then talked with the receptionist and housekeeping ladies about their departments. Having an in-depth tour of all the departments within the Oriana was eye-opening to see how they all play a huge role in keeping the business going. 

Year 10 students learning about ANZAC

Year 10 history engaging with the ANZAC display in the library. 

Debating Update

The Kinross Wolaroi debating team is enjoying a very successful 2022 season of debating.  Six teams have been involved in three rounds of the HICES Debating competition presenting watertight cases which have resulted in numerous wins. 

Round 1 resulted in the Year 9 Senior KWS 2 team securing a win and then rounds two and three saw all the teams gain momentum. 

Round Two was held at the conclusion of Term One on 30 March. Five debates were held virtually against International Grammar Sydney, St Paul’s Grammar, Northwest Sydney and Blue Mountains Grammar. On this occasion, the Year 9 Senior Division KWS 2 students, recorded their second win of the year and both the Year 11 Opens teams, KWS 1 and 2, successfully won their cases in which they argued the affirmative and negative cases that ‘social media videos of children are exploitative and should be prosecuted’. The day concluded successfully with Kinross Wolaroi victorious in three of the five debates that were contested. Several students were also nominated as best speakers in their debates.

More recently on Thursday 5 May, we held virtual debates against Macquarie Anglican Dubbo, Scots All Saints Bathurst and Blue Mountains Grammar. On this occasion the Year 8 Middle Division KWS 2, was victorious against Macquarie Anglican arguing that ‘That a child's right to privacy outweighs a parent's right to know their whereabouts’, securing them with their first win of the year. 

Both the Year 9 Senior KWS 1 and KWS 2 were successful in their cases arguing that ‘Students should be given the right to prescribe mental health days’, while The Year 11 Open KWS 2 team successfully won their case arguing that ‘People who smoke should be denied access to Medicare’. We finished the day winning four of the six debates that were held, with members of each team being nominated in the top three speakers per debate. 

The students are admirable competitors in their ability to debate topics with only one hour of preparation and present a well-developed argument working as a team in support of each other.