In the past year, we have restructured our outdoor curriculum to offer Primary and High School students with a comprehensive array of activities. The new structure offers a rotating schedule, to ensure that all students have the opportunity to engage in weaving, woodworking, farming, and cooking on a term-by-term basis.
To enrich our farming experiences, we collaborated with Warrah’s skilled farmers, who conducted an engaging farming program throughout the year. Students were actively involved in this program, participating in two sessions every Tuesday to ensure they had ample time to see farming projects through from start to finish. They received hands-on education in various aspects, including the proper care and use of farming tools, planting techniques, composting, and harvesting.
We formally reintroduced cooking classes after the COVID-19 pandemic. These classes not only taught students how to cook but also familiarised them with locating equipment, understanding its functionality, measuring ingredients, and following recipes. The program concluded with a bake sale, allowing students to showcase their culinary skills and giving others an opportunity to practice their shopping skills by making purchases from the sale.
In a bid to foster a more holistic learning experience, we introduced Integrated Units into our curriculum, predominantly focused on science. These units integrate subjects such as numeracy, literacy, creative arts, and practical arts, providing students with a deeper understanding and a more meaningful connection to the subject matter.
Emphasising life skills, which are integral to our curriculum across all classes, this year saw the formalisation of the Life Skills program for senior students. The selected students in their final years of schooling had the unique opportunity to hone their bed-making, cooking, cleaning, and general household maintenance skills under the guidance of our qualified teaching assistants. Additionally, we continued to offer the Endeavour Foundation work experience program, which provides valuable onsite job training, to our senior students. Our students remained actively involved in contributing to the Warrah Bakery and Farm Shop, where they assisted in tasks like packing organic produce boxes and supporting the shop and bakery operations.
