School Clubs
ZOOKEEPER CLUB
Mirboo North Secondary College has come alive with several recently installed animal enclosures. In addition to 14 rapidly growing baby Blue Tongued Skinks in one exhibit, we now have Gippsland Water Dragons (a species found only in Gippsland), Central Bearded Dragons from the desert, and Forest Dragons from the Daintree Rainforest of North Queensland. There are beautiful Spiny Leaf Stick insects, Tessellated Stick insects, and soon we’ll be joined by a family of beautiful Green Tree Frogs.
Each climate controlled enclosure is set up to properly simulate the environment from where each animal species is found. Ranging from 45 degree desert environments, to lush temperate riverside setups and even several rainforest environments. The students assist in the maintenance of these environments and even hand feed the inhabitants!
Almost all of the enclosures are set up as ”Bioactive” enclosures. This means that the waste produced by the animals does not need to be cleaned or removed from the enclosures. Instead, an army of micro fauna consisting of tiny creatures such as “isopods” and “springtails” have been placed into each of the enclosures. These tiny creatures thrive alongside the animals, & process the animals' waste, turning it into fertilizer that is then utilized by the plants. The enclosures are therefore predominantly self-cleaning.
Students are able to learn about the specific species of the animals, their natural environment, the role of bugs and micro-fauna in keeping the environments clean & healthy, and of course enjoy hand feeding the individual animals. The students also get the animals out to handle and have some healthy interaction each day.
The students are fantastic at looking after the animals! Every day the animals are given fresh food, water, and interaction, without the staff needing to do any maintenance work. The students take care of almost everything. Whilst students have their favourite animals, they all work together as a team, to ensure the animals are comfortable, fed, watered, and cared for.
Much effort has gone into getting it up and running so far, and the rewards have been fantastic to say the least. Being able to spend time with these animals has a tremendous impact on the student’s wellbeing, which is becoming a fundamental aspect of education in schools. What it does for the students is just fabulous. Then there’s the advantages and possibilities that are gained in the areas of "Student Engagement" not to mention future added advantages in teaching Biology, hands on "Environmental Sciences" and more. The potential here is simply incredible.
Our goal is to become largely self-sufficient regarding running costs of the animal program, which we believe we will be able to do towards the later part of the year.
Now that the first stage is almost complete, with rewards already being gained, we are hoping to receive some assistance by way of grants, or other external funding, to help us to further progress in the development of this initiative.
Some interesting facts about the animals chosen to be at Mirboo North Secondary College
- Boyd’s Rainforest Dragons, are found in only one small part of the planet, and cannot handle the heat! Whilst they are not currently listed as being under any direct threat, scientists have stated that if the current trajectory of global warming continues, this beautiful little creature will be extinct in the wild within just 27 years. Mirboo North Secondary College has a breeding Trio as well as some juveniles and are aiming to increase the captive bred population.
- Spiny Leaf stick insects are able to clone themselves. In the absence of a male, the female will simply clone herself. If she was born with 5 legs instead of 6, then 250 babies will be born with 5 legs and be an identical clone of their mother. Mirboo North Secondary college are already breeding these and collecting eggs to incubate.
Gippsland Water Dragons can grow to over a meter and usually hide and sleep under the water. They are often found still sleeping under the water in river banks early in the morning. They swim like crocodiles and are said to have been around as long as crocs have. Mirboo North Secondary College has three.
DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS CLUB
Come, all ye adventurers or brave at heart to the Dungeons & Dragons Club! Whether you are a seasoned Dungeon Master, a long-time player, or have never rolled a d20 in your life, feel free to join on Monday and Friday lunchtimes in Room 3.
A recent grant application through the James Harvey Trust was approved to secure funds for the purchase of new video recording equipment for a new film makers club at the school. The James Harvey Trust generously came through and Mr Cupples sent out the invitation to students to get involved. Five students came the first day and the numbers keep growing.
While there was a lot of interest to create a horror film initially, the current consensus is to create a sitcom-styled comedy that may follow a group of students who have been given the power and responsibility to enforce school policies. These power-tripping students will no doubt get up to many interesting and humorous antics around the school! Think ‘The Office’, as Jessie Poland said to me the other day. So, pretty silly humour.
For all those students who may still wish to join the club, we are an ‘open club’ and you can come any time to get involved. You will learn how to plan and execute a film making project and hopefully have a lot of fun doing so too! Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 11th July at 12:50pm in room 10. Sign-up sheets are outside the work staff room or you can just come and have a chat with me and ask any questions you may have.
Clayton Cupples
Student Engagement Coordinator