Around the Senior School

Spotlight on Seniors

Bryce Commins

Bryce is a Year 12 English Extension 2 student. Bryce’s collection of Performance Poems, ‘What Dreams Are Made On,’ represents his unique contemporary fusion of  literary styles of canonical works, from the Classical, Romantic and Modernist eras. Bryce offers a passionate and poignant portrayal of the  impact that a failed relationship can have on an individual. Read as a complete suite, his collection reveals how a raw desire for companionship can paradoxically lead to a fragmented isolation that is more damaging than the solitude one sought to escape. 

Listen to Bryce performing his work, 'The Cold', by clicking on the link below.

Chemistry

On Wednesday the Year 12 Chemistry cohort visited the Newcrest Analytical Laboratory in Orange. Students learnt about the analytical chemistry involved in testing and monitoring precious minerals and other elements. Students were shown the fire assay process and were able to see state-of-the-art equipment such as Atomic Absorption Spectrometry, Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass spectrometry and X-Ray Fluorescence instruments used to measure gold, copper and other elements from high concentrations down to parts per billion and trillion. The excursion was part of the ChemisTREE Depth study where students investigate techniques to qualitatively and quantitatively measure and analyse inorganic and organic chemicals. 

Engineering Workshop

Last week Year 8 Science and Year 9 and 10 STEM students worked with Engineering Without Boarders students from Sydney University Engineering School. They solved problems of engineering and considered challenges facing our populations. These included designing prosthetic limbs, designing wind propellers for windmills and designing floating houses. 

Year 11 Agriculture

Year 11 Agriculture students were fortunate to spend most of the day with Mr Wade Peatman of Gilmandyke Pastoral who delivered information for the students to use for their farm case study. 

This assessment is an integral part of the Stage 6 course and delves into the farming system as a series of interconnecting parts. Students learned about relationships between subsystems, enterprise specifics, technologies adopted, market structure and opportunities, biosecurity, genetic markers, IPM, financial and environmental sustainability and management structure across the five properties. 

We would like to thank Mr Peatman for sharing his time, knowledge and passion for farming, without support from our local community we would not have access to such amazing opportunities. Students now have to turn this information into an evaluation to demonstrate their knowledge of Systems Agriculture. An enormous thanks also to Year 11 Hospitality students who turned some of our fresh produce from the ag plot into a delicious morning tea for us all, a fantastic opportunity to present paddock to plate and reduce our food miles.

HSC Visual Arts & Textiles Exhibition

Congratulations to the 2022 HSC Visual Arts and Textiles & Design cohorts on their exhibition last Friday 29 July. Thank you to all those who came to support them and all those behind the scenes who made the exhibition possible: 35 students, 15 staff and contractors, 4 days, 3 nights, countless smiles of relief and achievement