On Friday 05/05/2017 the year 11 and 12 Automotive Engineering and Technology student visited Barbagello Raceway to watch the Supercars and other classifications practice for Sunday’s racing. It was a wonderful opportunity for the students to see behind the scenes of the requirements to race on the day.
Aside from the Supercars, the class favorites were the stadium trucks and the drift cars. The drivers and the Club Presidents were very generous with time for the students, which was greatly appreciated.
Another highlight was the availability of pit lane, where the public can visit and see how much work goes into the setting up of the cars. This is closed on the Saturday and Sunday.
A big thanks to Russell Sewell, who made the day possible, which has inspired the students.
Last week students attended the ‘Beyond the Classroom’ workshop with The Salvation Army.
In Western Australia, schools have the ability to engage directly with staff and clients of The Salvation Army allowing them to gain a greater understanding of issues facing thousands of Australians every day.
Students learnt all about breaking the cycle of poverty and helping those living rough in Perth.
Did you know 100,000 Australians will be homeless tonight?
Students and staff relax in the perfect weather on the quad while enjoying the warmth and precision of a musical ensemble.
Past Student Benjamin Jeyabalan and his band ‘Young Amity’ performed for our students during lunchtime. Ben met his band members during his leavers break to Ningaloo and they quickly formed a connection.
Students enjoyed the opportunity to listen to some relaxed and upbeat songs.
Many thanks to Ben and Young Amity for showcasing excellence in the Arts at St. Stephen’s School
The group made it back to Geraldton yesterday evening after what was one of the most amazing days their Skipper had ever had on the islands and he’s been working there his whole life!
The weather has been absolutely perfect and they were spoilt with the variety of incredible encounters – seals, dolphins, whales to name a few!
Yesterday’s incredible sunset from Rat Island.
The group were surrounded by a pod of what must have been hundreds of false killer whales on the journey between islands this afternoon.
All students are now safe and sound back on dry land!
The House Cross Country took place today in perfect weather.
Cross country running is one of the disciplines under the umbrella sport of athletics, and is a natural terrain version of long-distance track and road running. The course, typically 4–12 kilometres long.
Well done to the winning house, Timae, and to everyone that took part!
Law, Business and Governance Evening – join us on Wednesday 17th May to hear more about courses in Law, Business and Governance including new courses in Crime Science, Criminal Behaviour and Professional Accounting & Finance.
OnTrack Enabling Programs and the Alternative Pathways Evening on Wednesday 7th June.
Live and Explosive Chemistry Show – Murdoch will be hosting the BBC’s Naked Scientist Dr. Chris Smith for a live and explosive chemistry show on Tuesday 9th May.
After his outstanding results at the National Age Swimming Championships, Avon Rowse has been selected in the WAIS high performance training program coached by Bud McAllister.
Bud trained Olympic swimmers Janet Evans and Jazz Carlin just to name a few.
The students are having a wonderful time and have been doing really well to complete their practical skills in confined water before we hit the big blue tomorrow.
We really impressed with them all!
Lauren and Maddy instantly loved breathing through their regulators even though they were still on land!
The HMAS Sydney Memorial was really interesting to visit before we watched the full story in 3D at the maritime museum today. Also made a nice spot for the sunset.
All students did a great job smashing through a lot of practical work in the pool today – it’s exhausting stuff and they will be asleep early tonight!
Fingers crossed the weather doesn’t change over night – we are optimistic there’ll be a lot less vomit on our next crossing!
I have had a wonderful Easter break and I hope that our students and families have had the chance to have a similar experience. Welcome back to School!
This Easter included a first for me as I took on the role of the Easter Bunny. I discovered that bunny suits are hot and that the eyes are in the wrong place to see anything. I also discovered that that my years of reluctance to look silly were unfounded and that the pleasure the exercise gave the children in our house was well worth the effort. I do know that I have probably set a precedent and that a Santa suit may just be coming my way.
The break also gave me the chance to have a few days where I could choose to do one thing at a time. One of these things included teaching a friend how to cast with an old-fashioned Penn “Jigmaster”: an overhead fishing reel that is durable and reliable, but which takes some skill to avoid horrible over winds and time wasted on untangling rather than fishing. No phone, no interruptions and nothing to do but enjoy the experience of the beach as the sun rose. My friend learnt to cast. Neither of us caught a thing. We did nothing but spend an hour on the beach.
Our lives are often over-filled. We get news and information every second; events haven’t happened unless they are photographed and shared; conversations are punctuated by phones rather than pauses: the “next” has become more important than the now and our minds race all the time.
I am certain that much of the stress that students and the adults around them experience is driven by us being constantly connected to multiple demands. Our children often have little chance of giving true priority to the individual components of that incessant stream. Everything seems equally demanding and often the loudest demand assumes an importance that is not warranted. People have never had this volume of stimulus and demand and we flit from one item to the next like demented digital dragonflies skimming the surface. This is altering the way we deal with relationships, our families and our own mental and physical health.
Much of our tension builds in insidious ways without our conscious knowledge and many of us have reached the point where at a gut level, we know that things could be better yet we seem to be unable to do more than yearn for something different. Technology enriches our lives, yet as adults we need to work out how to manage that – and model healthier approaches for our children to copy. On occasion “being out of touch” may be the key to actually “being in touch”.
The following links to a talk by Stephen Bartlett which highlights many of the things that people have mentioned to me over the past few weeks.
Similar talks (e.g. Allison Graham’s TED talk on emphasise the same concerns and is more articulate. I would encourage you to engage your child in conversations about technology. Technology has its place, but many of us are concerned that social media and the social demands of technology are shaping a world where our children have less.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5GecYjy9-Q)
Dr. Cal Newport Quit argues that we should quit social media in this video.
My apologies for the irony of giving you links to technology in order to make points about it.
