Middle School

From the Head of Middle School

As this semester comes to a close I would like to thank all of the students, staff and families for their hard work, perseverance and support for each other. We all have similar goals, to do the best we can at school and get the most out of the opportunities with which we are presented. When reports come out make sure you take the time to read through them together and find areas to praise student effort and identify improvement. After some reflection we can set goals for next semester.

Over the holiday time it is important to take a break and unwind. A few things we can all work on.

1. Detox from digital media. Be conscious of not spending too much time looking at screens. Plan time away from devices.
2. Get out and interact with nature. Even when the weather is bad there are pockets of time where getting out in nature is important. Walk on the beach after a storm and see all the creatures and unknown objects that wash up. Walk through the bush and take in the sounds and smells. Spend quality time with your pet. They will all make you feel better.
3. Connect with people. This might be playing a card or board game. Catching up with friends that you haven’t seen for a while. Make the first move and give them a call, don’t wait for them to contact you. Let the conversation flow and the laughs get louder.

I look forward to hearing how students spent their holidays. Have a relaxing break. 

Mr Adam Scott | Head of Middle School

Agriculture 

The Year Eight course focuses on the costs, labour demands and welfare of a farm enterprise. They have to consider their market, the fixed and variable costs, the ethics and welfare and feed requirements of animals or the demands of plants in a greenhouse. They consider the potential income from the market and the possibilities for value adding to their product. Once they have worked on their project for a semester they invite guests to whom they exhibit their projects. The exhibition is the culmination of the last semester’s work and on Tuesday this week they displayed their products, the tools of the trade, how they developed the enterprise and the value added product. With the support of hospitality and Mrs McAllister and Mrs Wesley and Year Twelve students, all the Year Eight students cooked some value added products to give to their invited guests. The following are the enterprises they worked on in Semester 1 2021.

Bees and Honey

The four students who took on this enterprise learnt about how to build up a hive from a nucleus (starter) hive. Collect and extract honey, check the queen and the purpose of the queen excluder. They solved problems and understood the risks and safety measures involved in beekeeping. Sadly much of their work was set back by a tree falling on one of the beehives in the recent storm. 

Chicks

Two students got some eggs and incubated and hatched a variety of breeds. They have been responsible to ensure the incubator was working and that the chicks once hatched were fed, watered and their welfare was maintained. They redesigned the coop and ensured that the growing chicken were given all of the five freedoms as required by the WA Schools Animal Ethics Committee.  It will be a few more weeks before start seeing any eggs being laid though. 

Marron Aquaponics

Two students took on the task of growing marron and ensuring their safety from predators. They ensured the balance between the number of marron and the number of plants growing from the system. They grew herbs and monitored the growth of the marron. 

Flowers

One student grew sunflowers, stocks and zinnia in the greenhouse. The sunflowers were ready just in time for Mother’s Day and so they gave them to the Pre-Primary students to take home to their mothers. 

Tomatoes

One student grew tomatoes in the greenhouse and ensured they pollinated and made many of them into relish

Mr Julian Gugenheim | Farm Manager 

Hospitality 

Our Year Nine Hospitality students faced a Master Chef style Mystery Box Challenge.  The design brief was Pimped up Two-Minute Noodles.  Allocated with different styles of store-bought packets of two-minute noodles, each student had to add one protein, one fresh herb, one dried herb, one sauce, one leafy green vegetable, one other vegetable, and a suitable garnish.  After forty minutes, the dishes were presented for judging by our wonderful Maths teacher, Mr Jack Adams, who analysed the overall appearance, aroma, texture, and taste of each creation.  In a very close contest, congratulations go to our worthy winner - Talon Lee.  

To end the semester, these students used excess sweet short pastry, that had been frozen for several weeks, to make stained glass biscuits.  An added bonus was learning a very important household task, cleaning ovens!

Mrs Teresa McAllister | Teacher