Technologies News
Digi Tech
Year Seven Digital Technologies
Year Seven students are rounding out the final minutes of the documentary viewing of The Social Dilemma. This is an important viewing for students as we set the foundations for the next term. It is important because many Year Sevens are at a "fork in the road" moment, where they are deciding or asking to begin to use social media or expanding their footprint to multiple apps.
Next term, we will be exploring how we work, play and learn online, and understand safe social aspects of a connected world. In classes, we have discussed and unpacked The Social Dilemma at length, including how social media companies use the data they collect from users; how our perceptions of the real world could change by using certain platforms; and how social media can influence our relationships and emotional health. Some students have begun working on posters using the Canva platform to display their responses after watching the documentary.
Mr Kyal Rose | Teacher
Year Eleven Computer Science
Students in Year Eleven Computer Science are putting the finishing touches on their programming unit projects. Our ATAR Computer Science students have been busily developing a sales app for a small community store using Python. There are many different solutions to the design brief but all are creative and have stretched and extended students’ knowledge across core programming concepts. Some students have also been experimenting with developing their own graphical user interfaces in Python.
General Computer Science students have been tasked with creating a detailed RPG-style game in the MakeCode Arcade platform, and these are coming along well, with creative quests and stories. These games use selection control structures to provide engaging and interactive experiences for the players. We can’t wait to share our coded solutions with the school community!
Mr Kieran Bailey | Teacher
Hospitality
Electives
Year Seven
The Camfield students have successfully completed their Hospitality term, by showcasing their newly acquired kitchen skills over the past few weeks. They demonstrated their baking skills by preparing a delicious pear cake and savoury sausage rolls. The students also took on a creative challenge by designing their own flavour combination for savoury muffins to meet a design brief.
Year Eight
It was exciting to have the students back in the kitchen after their camp experience. During their recent studies, they explored the protein food group, utilizing mince to prepare a mouth-watering spaghetti bolognese dish, which included fresh produce sourced from the school’s very own market garden. The students also gained a valuable understanding of the importance of breakfast, as they produced, presented, and photographed their own creative plating of wholegrain breakfast pancakes.
Year Nine
It was a pleasure to welcome the students back from their camp experience and dive right back into the kitchen. In class, they analysed and compared the nutritional and sustainability aspects or store-bought frozen pizza, local takeaway pizzas, and homemade pizza. Following a design brief, they then went on to develop, produce, and evaluate their very own pizzas. The aroma of freshly baked pizza filled the kitchen, evoking the sensation of being in an authentic Italian restaurant.
Year Ten
The students were enthusiastic to return to the kitchen following their camp experience, eager to share stories about the different foods they had eaten while away. In class, they learned the art of smoking food, experimenting with freshly picked jalapenos from the school’s market garden, homemade yoghurt, and a variety of spices to enhance flavour. Additionally, they developed their dessert-making skills, learning how to pipe chocolate decorations suitable for use on a pavlova roll, which featured their homemade strawberry sauce and dehydrated strawberries in a unique dust. These experiences have expanded their culinary knowledge and skills to drawn upon moving into next term.
Certificate II Hospitality
Year Eleven
It has been a wonderful experience teaching this group of students about the critical importance of food safety, including cross-contamination, food poisoning, personal hygiene, and safe food storage. These skills were put into practice as the students prepared and stored ingredients for their delicious spring rolls. In addition, the students had the opportunity to visit Chef Nick in the boarding kitchen to learn about the safety issues associated with using a deep fryer, which is one of the most dangerous pieces of equipment in a commercial kitchen. The students also employed a production line approach to produce a high volume of three different flavoured mini-quiches, perfect for serving as appetisers. These experiences have honed their culinary skills and instilled a deep appreciation for the importance of food safety in the kitchen.
Year Twelve
It has been a joy to work with this small yet dynamic group of students in our Certificate II Hospitality class. They have been practicing their skills in preparing and serving a wide variety of non-alcoholic drinks, including frappes, smoothies, Turkish coffee, freshly squeezed juices, and children’s speciality drinks. Additionally, they have honed their barista skills, working as a team to prepare and deliver espresso coffee orders to staff and guests throughout the school. Most recently, the students have showcased their abilities by crafting a range of espresso beverages for attendees of The VET Show, demonstrating their passion for hospitality and their commitment to excellence in service.
Mrs Teresa McAllister | Head of Technologies & Hospitality teacher
STEAM
Year Eight
It is almost reveal time for the STEAM students to demonstrate how they vision incorporating their acquired knowledge in cryptography to solve real-world problems. Across the class, some of the themes include a new global currency with better accessibility at the forefront of the design; robotic skins that can interpret audible language and sign language and convert it to other languages; a security system that is able to interpret suspect motion and complete autonomous tasks that protect a home to maintain home security. Creativity and design thinking has been phenomenal, and we are looking forward to sharing the prototypes at the Technologies Showcase later in the year.
Mr Kyal Rose | Teacher
Sustainable Production
Year Seven
The Year Seven students are now starting to harvest their herbs and vegetables – including some super healthy lettuce, zucchini and basil. They have also been able to dig up some potatoes and have been very amused by some of the odd shapes. They have also finalised their seed viability investigations without the interference of rabbits this time. Our last week will be spent harvesting some more goodies, including a lot of potatoes, and tidying up the area ready for the next House to enjoy the garden in Term Two.
Year Eight
The Year Eights are really enjoying having the chickens in the Market Garden, and this week the students were able to get them to eat from their hands. The chickens seem to be enjoying having free range of the older vegetable bed with its resident bugs and greens to graze on. Some of the chickens have started to grow their new feathers after moulting so the students have been able to observe this process.
In the last two weeks the students have learned how to take cuttings and divide clumping plants. Some of the cuttings developed roots in one week which surprised some of the students. With the rain comes the germination of the weed seed so our last week will be spent tidying up the Market Garden before we go on holiday.
Ms Diane Thomas | Sustainable Production teacher
Woodwork
The Year Nine students are happy to have finished their charcuterie boards. They have all done a fantastic job with this project, producing some amazing boards.
The Wilson group of Year Seven students' time learning and working in the Woodwork room is coming to an end this term. These students have produced a wind spinner, and spatula and have all started on their notepad stands. A fantastic contribution and work by all of them.
The Years Ten, Eleven and Twelve students are all drawing closer to finishing some of their projects so stay tuned early next term for some photo updates of what these creative groups have been working on.
Mr Brodie Sarre | Wood Technologies Teacher