Campus News 2026 Term 3 Week 3

Science Fair

The 2026 Science Fair, held on Wednesday 22 July, was a resounding success and a highlight of the school's academic calendar. With the National Science Week theme, "Seeds of Science: Nurturing Knowledge for All", the event was designed to showcase the creativity, critical thinking, and scientific communication skills of our Year 8 students. It was both engaging and educational for all involved.

Every Year 8 student contributed to the fair by preparing a project that demonstrated scientific inquiry and experimentation. Projects ranged from Environmental Science investigations to Physics demonstrations and robots, reflecting a broad range of interests and curriculum links. Students demonstrated a solid understanding of scientific research and critical thinking, presenting their findings with confidence and enthusiasm.

The event was attended by the full Year 8 cohort and observed by students from the Stage 3 Primary classes. It was particularly rewarding to see older students acting as role models for their younger peers, explaining concepts clearly and answering questions thoughtfully. The presence of the younger students added to the lively and inclusive atmosphere of the fair, sparking curiosity and excitement about future science learning.

Teachers and staff were impressed by the quality of the work, the level of preparation, and the maturity of the presentations. Many commented on the excellent communication methods and scientific understanding that were evident. The Science Fair not only allowed students to apply their learning in an area of interest in a real world context, but also helped build confidence and a sense of achievement.

Overall, the Science Fair 2026 celebrated student learning and fostered a school wide appreciation for Science. It highlighted the value of inquiry based learning and provided a memorable experience for all participants and visitors. Well done, Year 8!

Farnworth

On Tuesday 16 June, Mrs Harris and the senior Agriculture students made their way out to our school farm, 'Farnworth', in Glenreagh. It took a 4WD to get there. Thank goodness the school car was up to the job. 

We had the opportunity to meet our new Angus bull for the first time. He has come to us from the Franklin Angus Stud in Upper Orara. We were tasked with the job of giving him a name, and since his brand reads V23, the students decided to call him 'Vector', as he brings size and direction to our herd. We put him into the crush and gave him his first student handling session, where we brushed him down and washed off the caked on mud that he had accumulated during the recent wet weather. Vector very much enjoyed being brushed and pampered.

While we were at the farm, we took the opportunity to admire our newborn calf, 'Tomika'. She is one of the final calves sired by our previous bull, Thomas. The students were shown the mechanism and the impact of deep ripping the soil to break up compacted land. We planted some winter vegetables in the raised garden beds, tidied up the chook pen, and collected the eggs.

It was a good day of hands on learning outside the classroom. Our thanks go to Mr Kirk Taylor for hosting us and facilitating our ongoing learning in Agriculture.

Senior Spotlight: Armaan Azad

The average Australian spends 5 - 5.5 hours a day looking at their phone. Over the average of a lifetime, this adds up to roughly 17 years. I'm sure you all have heard this metric quite a few times, but what do we actually do about it.

I want to make a case for something that sounds a bit ridiculous.

I want to argue that you should be more bored.

Not the can't be bothered kind of bored. The real thing. The old kind of boredom that used to exist before we all had a phone in our pockets that made sure we never had to experience it again.

Here's the thing about boredom that nobody tells you: it's the state your brain goes into when it finally gets to process everything it's been absorbing. It's not emptiness, it's the opposite. It's your mind doing background work that it can't do when it's constantly stimulated.

You work on a problem, staring at a blank screen for hours and get absolutely nothing. Then, the moment you step away to take a shower or jump in the car for a long drive, your brain hands you the perfect solution out of nowhere. That was boredom doing its job.

But we've declared war on boredom. We've made it so you never have to sit with yourself for even sixty seconds. Queue at the canteen? Scroll. Ad before a video? Skip. Lying in bed? Podcast. We are terrified of our own thoughts.

And social media platforms have made it so we can't even sit through a thirty-second video at normal speed, we're holding the side of the screen to force it to 2x before it's even started. We're consuming content as efficiently as possible, and we're not even enjoying it more. We just feel fractionally less behind on some imaginary pile of instant gratification. 

And I think that's making us worse at being human. And I'm not here because I've solved this issue. I still reach for my phone when things go quiet, it's almost reflexive now. But I've started to catch myself doing it. And occasionally, I put it back down.

If your brain is always chewing on someone else’s content, it never has to make its own. The moment you let yourself be bored, your mind gets desperate enough to start inventing things again. It starts making connections it wouldn't have made if it was pacified by a video.

I'm not asking you to throw your phone in the ocean. I'm asking you to leave it in your bag for one lunch break this week and just... be somewhere. Notice things. Be bored.

It might be the most productive thing you do all week. 

Safety - Student Driving & Passenger Policy

Taking the wheel is an exciting milestone for our secondary students, but remember, safety always rides shotgun! 

Please review our policy poster below and ensure your student driver has submitted their completed Vehicle Agreement Form to your Year Coordinator or Secondary Wellbeing Coordinator before cruising onto campus or carrying passengers.