As we progress through Term 3, our HSIE courses continue to cover a diverse range of topics, fostering curiosity, critical thinking, and debate among our students. It has been an exciting few weeks for our HSIE  students and teachers, here is a glimpse into some of the activities our students have been involved in:

• Exploring human wellbeing (Year 10 Geography)- our students have been delving into the complexities of human wellbeing in remote Australian towns.
• Examining living conditions and leisure activities in Pompeii and Herculaneum (HSC Ancient History)
• Studying food security and sustainable farming practices (Year 9 Geography)- our students are engaging in thought-provoking conversations about the future of food production and its impact on our planet. The final lessons of this terms will include the sampling of alternative sustainable food sources including char grilled chilli crickets and lemon myrtle mealworms. 

We have also had two exciting opportunities for our Stage 4 students recently:

Year 7 History- Medieval Incursion. 

On Friday 18th August Year 7 participated in a Medieval presentation with guest speaker and performer James Adams. The presentation covered many areas of the current unit Medieval Europe including the roles of key groups and crime and punishment. Some students had the opportunity to try on a variety of equipment on display including helmets, chain mail and shields. We also got to hold various weapons such as a Katana sword. This was a favourite as it was curved in shape and used by Knights in battle. We also tested forms of punishment such as the pillory which was used for public humiliation as punishment for crimes such as gossiping. We learned about cultural features including the role of the Jester in entertaining the courts and heraldry. Finally, the presenter demonstrated how a bow and arrow was used and shared the unique history behind some of the rare weapons he was able to present. Overall, it was a fantastic show. We had a great time and found it very interesting. 

Written by Alyssa Devile (Year 7)

Year 8 Geography- Field work at Australian Botanic Gardens.

On the 25th of August, the Year 8 cohort visited The Australian Botanic Garden in Mount Annan. On this trip, we learnt about the way water is used around and in the Australian Botanic Gardens. This trip enabled us to prepare for a later assessment task about the water usage throughout the Gardens. Throughout the day the Year 8 cohort engaged in various activities. These activities engaged us into doing various types of fieldwork such as dipnetting for bugs to conduct water quality analysis and land surveying using two different points to gather data. Some of the data that was collected was Soil PH, ground incline, windspeed, ground moisture, distance between the two points, and we measured the light intensity. Overall, the day featured a variety of enjoyable activities that everyone was able to participate in and gather data on to help us for the assessment task.

On behalf of all of the Year 8 cohort we thank the teachers, staff and botanical park rangers who assisted and joined us for the duration of the excursion. 

Written by Luca Saprun, Cooper Clare and Connor Turner (Year 8)