Program Coordinator - Teaching & Learning

Staff News

It’s great to see we have a new Student Services area lead by our own Brad Woodruff, Brad has been a positive influence on student culture and pastoral care for a long time and I am very pleased to see him move into that space.  I’m sure he will tell us all about what’s happening and how we will all benefit from his new role.

Welcome, Shelley!

Shelley Parker has recently joined us as an English Teacher. Shelley will take on English classes across the year groups and has already established herself as a confident and capable teacher. We look forward to working with Shelley this year.

Student News

Our Year 12 hospitality students were straight into action this term taking part in a successful Barista course in weeks one and two in conjunction with South Regional TAFE – Albany. On the course, the students learn about skills required in coffee roasting and café operations.

First Aid training is on the menu for Year 11 students this term with sessions taking place during the school day in weeks 3, 4 and 5.  This a valuable skill set to hold and helps everyone in the awareness of health, safety and well-being.

Work Experience

Work experience for Year 12 Trade and Ag Studies students will take place in week 10 of this term, this is chance to sample the world of work and can provide tremendous opportunities for students to gain skills and possible links to employment in the future. Use the week wisely, turn up on time, watch and listen, demonstrate your knowledge and skills.  You have a lot to offer.

General English  |  Shelley Parker

Our Year Twelve students in both the Agriculture Studies and Trades classes, have been working hard on their Cause Advertising presentations. Students were asked to select a worthy cause of their choosing, design a mock advertisement promoting the cause, and create a power-point presentation outlining their reasoning for their choice, and explaining their design process. The students were then required to present their power-point to the class. I have been exceptionally pleased with the effort and thought that the Year 12 students have put into this task, and the quality of work they have presented has been wonderful.

Our Year 11 General English students have been occupied with their writing unit, based on the subject of Opinions and Facts. Students have been practicing creating short essays, as a response to an opinionated or factual article. This has been a challenging unit, and I am very proud of how our Year Elevens have persevered with this task, producing some well-structured and detailed essays on Friday.

Year 12 ATAR students are continuing work on their scientific Investigation in Plant Production Systems.  The investigation was based on the tree cuttings and monitored success rates of various rooting compound products. The project has brought a few challenges and has really highlighted the need for planning and monitoring of samples and results, students have demonstrated patience and resilience throughout the process.

Exams and Testing

For many students it’s a time of preparation and study for Semester One exams and/or EST (Externally Set Tasks).   Most EST tasks will be competed in weeks 3 and 4 and we are confident students are well prepared for these.  They are simply tasks set by the Schools Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA) that aim to give students across the whole state the same assessment to ensure fairness and parity in the courses delivered in all schools. 

It’s a time to remember that this is important but shouldn’t be all consuming.  Help and support is available from all teachers, and students are part of the team too.  It’s an important time to look after each other and ensure your friends and classmates are going ok.

Revision can be tricky, remember to study to your style, if you find reading text books difficult, take regular breaks and maybe look for visual resources too.  Test papers from previous years are very useful in understanding how questions and tasks might be structured.  Talk to your teachers about getting ‘past papers’ or access end of year past papers here: 

Semester One exams for Year 12 students are taking place in school during week 6 and will be conducted in line with the guide set by the SCSA.  Week 6 ends with a home weekend so I hope the students can use this time to refresh after all the hard work.

We have made arrangements for the students taking exams to opt out of normal school uniform in an effort to ensure they are as comfortable as possible, good dress standards still exist and students should dress appropriately for the day. 

Information on exam guidelines is found here: 

Exam timetable is as follows:

Equine Studies  |  Renae Tucci

We have been tidying up around the Equine area. Students have been learning how to use the whipper snipper and ride on mower to get the grass back under control after the holidays. 

In class, students have been learning points of the horse, health checks, how to take TPR and general care and horse behaviour. 

We have welcomed two new lease horses ‘Jago’ and ‘Bindi’ into our program. Jago is a 12 year old Thoroughbred gelding who will suit some of our taller riders. He is fitting into the program well so far with his quiet demeanour. Bindi is a well-educated Quarterhorse mare who will suit a lot of our riders developing their horse skills. 

End of an era, Old ‘Red’ getting up there in age has lost a lot of weight, he had lost his back legs and was taking up needed space. He was the quietest horse in the stables but the students had to say goodbye to this trusty steed this week.