Student News

SBAT Horticulture Program

On Wednesday 30th March, the SBAT Horticulture Program students, with their teachers, Ms. Ireland and Mr Smart, visited the International Flower and Garden Show at Carlton Gardens in the city.

The students enjoyed their day, gathering information from industry experts, and taking in the exquisite designs and information stands that the show had to offer.

The students were asked to produce a report on their day and here are a few of their accounts:

Report by Riley Johnson

On Wednesday the 30th of March, in the morning we caught the train into the city and went to the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. It was nice to walk around outside and look at all the different things that were offered at the show. There were heaps of different plants and displays that had been judged and potentially win. We also met people from Better Homes and Gardens and had a photo taken with them in the morning.

Report by Jaxon Schuback

On the 30th of March we went on an excursion to the Melbourne International Flower and Garden show held at the Expo center. Once we arrived we went to go see the NGIV stand and got to learn about bees and how they protect the Queen and how they pollinate. After that we walked around and saw some amazing garden designs then after that we went to the recycling stand which the guy taught us about recycling pot plants and even showed us an app on how to recycle which I downloaded. 

The best bits of the trip were getting to see the Better Homes and Gardens crew we even got a picture with Johanna Griggs and also going into the expo center to see so many beautiful flowers and merry-go-round surrounded by flowers like roses and tulips.

Report by Felesha Higginson

On Wednesday the 30th March the year 10 horticulture group were given the amazing opportunity to visit the Melbourne International Flower and Gardens Expedition. The day started off with an 8am train ride from Pakenham station to Parliament station. We had a bit of trouble finding our way to the show but fast forward 30 minutes and we were at the gates getting signed in. By this point everyone was filled with excitement and didn't know where to start as there was so much to see and we wanted to see it all! When we walked in we were greeted by a beautiful water fountain and our eyes grew in wonder as we took in our surroundings. 

We saw so many beautiful and amazing things and learned so much this day; seeing the amazing arrangements that even students our age had created really inspired us. We learned all about the different plants ranging from flowers, trees, succulents and grass, we even learned about bees, when and how to use gardening tools and even learned a bit from GCP (Garden City Plastics). We were pretty excited to come across the Better Homes and Gardens crew and even luckier to have the opportunity of meeting them. We got a photo with Johanna Griggs and were on our way. By this point we were all hungry so we were given an hour to grab a bite to eat and roam around and explore the gardens ourselves. To no one's surprise the food was extremely pricey but lunch was pretty fun. 

When lunch finished we met at the water fountain and all decided to go into the indoor display of the expedition and that was something else all together. This is where all the competitions were going on. The awards had already been awarded that morning so we got to look at the winning displays and we could tell why they won, the creativity with these arrangements were insane, incorporating a merry-go-round, massive crystals and so much more. We moved on a bit more and saw some fashion students had made dresses out of branches, leaves and flowers and that was honestly something else to see because they didn't just stick twigs to to material. 

After this we decided to call it a day because everyone was getting really tired from walking around so much and we decided to head home. Before we hopped on the train we stopped at 7/11 to get a slurpy because lets be honest nothing is better than a good 7/11 slurpy after a long hot day. When we got back to Pakenham station we said our goodbyes. All in all it was such an amazing day and such an amazing experience and we are so grateful for the opportunity.

Year 12 Business Management - Yakult Visit

On Thursday last week, Ms Wood's Year 12 Business Management class visited the Yakult factory in Dandenong, as part of their learning on operations management. This included learning about Yakult's technology development, quality management, corporate social responsibilities and globalisation. 

Yakult aims to produce high-quality products as efficiently as possible by minimising costs and the resources used in the production process. The students found the event to be most informative, giving them an insight into understanding these processes.

Inter-school Chess Competition

A new chess tournament started last week in preparation for our return to inter-school competition, which will be hosted by our school on the 16th June.  

Many students, under the supervision and guidance of Mr. De Lima and Mr. Ampongan, are becoming dedicated chess players - using their spare time to play chess, and hone their skills, before school, during recess and at lunchtime each day. 

Good luck to all of the participants!