Technology and Applied Studies

Year 7 - Technology Introduction

Classes are working towards the completion of projects in the specific areas of Agriculture, Food Technologies and Digital Technologies.

Year 8

Year 8 are consolidating and expanding their learning from last year through the use of the Inquiry process. Working in Metal Technology, they are creating and assembling a metal item using the scroll former. In the School Based Technology area students have been working through the Flipped Kitchen unit and the Plant Technology students have acquired skills and knowledge to create sustainable gardens. There have also been opportunities to experiment with coding and Lego in the Control Unit.

Mr Kanck’s class have been taking part in the Rube Goldberg challenge, where students are required to design and create a complex machine to complete a simple task. This allows students to experiment, problem solve and show creativity in a team based learning environment.

Year 9

Timber - Students are close to finishing their joint exercise task and will be moving on to the construction of a serving tray/chopping board next term.

Metal - Students are completing their sheet metal toolbox and will look to finish this early next term before beginning the construction of their campfire BBQ.

Food - Year 9 have been investigating the influence of other cultures on the food in Australia.

Agriculture - Students have been busy preparing our meat birds for the Sydney Royal Easter Show. This has involved feeding, weighing, maintaining and washing the birds from day old to maturity at about 7 weeks. In addition to this, the students are producing our very own Mater Dei Guidebook; Taking The World By Seed - A guide on growing a variety of fruits and vegetables from seed.

Information and Technology - Students have been analysing databases and learning their function and purpose. They have also been learning how to create their own databases and manipulate the data in them. They will also consider the ethics of storing and sharing data and records.

Year 10

Timber - Students are nearing completion of their Clock, which is their first assessment task for the year, and will look to complete these early next term.

Metal - Students have nearly finished the marking, measure and hand tool components for their motorbike quick lifts. The next stage is the assembly using plasma cutting, OXY and MIG welding. Students have the opportunity to design and produce a project of their own choice for their next task which is always an interesting time.

Food - Year 10 are studying food consumption and related affects on our bodies and activity levels.

Agriculture - Exploration of the world of microbes and invertebrates and their role in farming systems. Students have been setting up a timelapse camera observing Dung Beetles at work over a 7 day period. Meanwhile, our new pasture has been sown ready for our new Japanese Wagyu steer.

Graphics - Students have been enjoying the challenge of isometric and pictorial graphical drawings. They have been using a number of drawing techniques demonstrating a high standard of work.

Information and Technology - Year 10 Information and Technology students have been looking at automated control in the home and society in general. They have begun using the Tinkercad application to create, test and simulate electronic circuits, which will be used to create code that enables them to control an Arduino board.

Year 11

Design and Technology - Students are completing their first design project which has involved creating a design that can Protect, Hold or Display an item. There has been a wide variety of creative design solutions.

Agriculture - Year 11 students have just returned from a farm tour at Mangoplah where they observed and assessed the dynamic nature of a mixed farming enterprise. As part of this term's assessment, students will apply this to their own farm of choice.

Year 12

Design and Technology - Major Design projects are well underway. This year there is a wide variety of projects being managed. From adding technology to chicken management to sporting complex designs, this year's cohort are taking on a number of big challenges to solve some real world problems.

Software Design and Development - Presentations of major project proposals to an audience and are now underway. There are some very exciting and challenging projects being developed and we can’t wait to see them in their next phase of creation.

Agriculture - Students have been exploring reproductive hormones and their role in artificial insemination and embryo transfer technology. Within the next few weeks, this technology will be applied to our very own Angus cows by Holbrook Vet Services.

Each cohort is engaging in learning with enthusiasm and a desire to achieve their best as they grow in knowledge and skills during the term..

Ms Nicole Lane | TAS KLA Leader