Our Learning

Maker Fair

Students, parents and the community were invited to the second Friends’ Maker Fair, held in The Farrall Centre in October. The Maker Fair showcased student's work from Prep to Year 12. There were demonstrations of how to program robots, 3D printing, wearable technology, physical computing, video and print media, design technology and composing music.

Students confidently showcased projects they have made during the year and there was also an opportunity for everyone to try/tinker/experiment with some of the technologies, such as various robotics kits, Arduinos and 3D printers. The Dash robots were a real hit and many of them were programmed by young students to go whizzing around The Farrall Centre.

We had a steady flow of students, parents and community members through and the students all enjoyed sharing their learning with others.

Don't Keep History a Mystery - Millie Crombie (Year 11)

Imagine me

at the age of 8

sitting on slightly scratchy carpet

Fiddling with the fraying Velcro straps on my school shoes

caked with mud from overly competitive games of chasings at lunch

My teacher holding up a picture of men in red coats and large hats in front of a big sail clad ship

They looked proud, triumphant, victorious

But the bright red coats looked like they were shouting

Over the whispering greys and greens of the bush behind them

“these are the men that discovered Australia”

“they travelled here by boat from Europe, you know that big group of countries, a very long time ago”

“lots more people came to Australia when they heard how nice it was”

“they discovered an island, the convicts came, they found gold, the Chinese came, they built factories, the Europeans came”

My school dress was chequered white and blue

I thought the way the lines of blue overlapped each other to form new shades was far more interesting than these men with coats the colour of stop signs

“what do we call this when people start building towns on land they find”

She had wiry blonde hair that was going grey near her ears

She always wore big earrings and pink lipstick

I wasn’t even listening to the question

The answer my teacher wanted to hear was colonisation

The answer she needed to hear

was invasion

I was taught Australian history every year in primary school since then

And every year I became more familiar with the loose threads on my uniform and scuffs on my shoes

I learnt dates…

Federation was the first of January 1901…

I learnt names…

Tasmania was originally named Van Diemen's land by the Dutch

I learnt stories…

The isthmus of Eaglehawk Neck was lined with dogs to alert the guards if a convict escaped...

I studied so many drawings and watercolour paintings of the men in red coats

Standing smugly in front of horses they rode, houses they built, hope they created

But what about the homes they destroyed

And when it came to the topic of aboriginal perspectives

We were simply fed the phrase “they didn’t like the Europeans”

I was never told that the aboriginal community were introduced to alcohol by the Europeans

The poison that white men called liquid courage

Left communities cowering in corners

We blame them for the reputation of a drunk nation

Pin the brooch of shame on their breast pockets

Don’t forget we were the ones that brought the bottle to their lips

We are taught about spears and boomerangs but ignore the guns and smallpox that trumped them

We are taught about dream time stories but neglect to credit the elders that spoke those beautiful words

We are taught about the women weaving and creating jewellery out of seashells but forget to mention these are the same women that had their children ripped away from them

We cannot continue to only teach half of history

We cannot continue to train our children to see white as pure

And brown as dirty

These people built this beautiful land we stand on

The earth beneath us is rich with stories of trials, tribulations, celebrations and community

And we drag our shoes over it with no care at all

We are responsible for creating generations that pride themselves on

Stupidity disguised as superiority

We are the only people we have to blame

Because we are the ones that have chosen to ignore our history

We have swept genocide, abduction and exploitation under the carpet

And left it to fester with the dust mites and delayed apologies

For so long we have simply skimmed over aboriginal culture

From the Muwinini people whose land we stand on today

To the Ngunnawal land on which our parliament house is built upon

The Gweagal land that the Europeans first harboured at and named Botany Bay

The Wurundjeri land that hosts the great city of Melbourne

Kunanyi, Uluru, Kakadu, Kata Tjuta

We have pushed a pillow called ignorance against their mouths

smothering any voice that tries to escape

Because not only do these people deserve our acknowledgement

more than that they deserve our remorse

For the past hundreds of years we have neglected to educate our children on a community that built our earth

instead

We built curriculums on Sonnets instead of solidarity

Atoms instead of empathy

Calculus instead of compassion

And god forbid we let another 8 year old girl sit on scratchy carpet

and pay more attention to her school uniform than to the history of her home

Australian Science Olympiad

Some of our science students participated recently in the School Science Olympiads.  The Australian Science Olympiads are a national program for top performing secondary science students, which provides an opportunity for students to extend themselves way beyond school science through challenging exams, stimulating residential programs and international competitions.  Congratulations to the following students for their fantastic results.

Isaiah Sadiq – Distinction in Physics

George Cui - Distinction in Physics

Emily Taylor - Credit in Chemistry and Physics

Digory McCormack - Credit in Biology

Angus McMahon - Credit in Biology

Tasmanian Science Talent Search

Wilhelmina Johnson and Grace Furness recently had research investigations entered in the senior division of the Tasmanian Science Talent Search. They both received Merit Awards plus Rowe Scientific Awards for Scientific Investigations. Receiving these awards has also qualified them to enter the BHP Billiton National Science Awards which will be judged in early 2019. Both Wilhelmina and Grace developed their investigations as part of their coursework for TCE Environmental Science. Wilhelmina’s investigation was into the effects of heat on the germination of Acacia decurrens seeds - a highly relevant project as Acacia spp species are commonly used for mine site rehabilitation but they are notoriously difficult to germinate. Grace completed an investigation looking into algal growth and biodiversity inside and outside of marine protected areas. This involved Grace diving in the middle of winter to place artificial substrates on the sea floor - a massive effort! We are exceptionally proud of their efforts and they are deserving of the awards received.

Nicola Anderson – Teacher of Science

Australian Night of Mathematics

At the recent 2018 Australian Night of Mathematics hosted by the Australian Mathematics Trust at New Town High School, Alex Boxall (pictured left)  was presented with an award for (equal) Best in State in Year 9. Owen Mulcahy (pictured right) was also fortunate to receive a High Achiever award in Year 8.  Well done to both students.

Rubbish in our World

The Kindergarten students are concerned about rubbish in the environment.  Recently they have been working with their teachers as well as Morris ICT Coordinator Adele Harding to produce this video with an important message that they would like share.