Merinos in the News – New world record!

September 7, 2015September 28, 2015Leave a comment

In class on Friday, we watched a video clip of Chris the Merino Sheep and his new world record. The following information is collected from a whole class discussion on the topic. There were a number of interesting observations made from what we have learnt so far in our journey through the Australian Wool Industry and also from our time with Bessie Thomas when she visited us at Northlakes High School.

We all agree that no matter how amazing Chris’s record is; it is also sad because in order for him to get the record, he was not properly looked after and his health and welfare was put in danger. He is definitely one lucky and tough sheep.

Chris the Sheep 07/09/2015

There are a lot of lessons we can all learnt from the recent story in the news about “Chris the Sheep”.

Chris was found wandering in a paddock and the RSPCA was notified straight away. They were informed because Chris had an enormous amount of excess wool covering his body. Chris had obviously not been properly cared from by his owners, resulting in his poor state.

Through the Archibull Prize in 2015 we have learnt about sheep and their needs. We have learnt Merino sheep need to be shorn every year, this is for a number of reasons; firstly sheep will over heat in summer; also in summer if the sheep are not shorn and properly cared for they can become fly blown. This can be fatal for the animal and terrible for their health; secondly their wool is used to make a variety of woollen products which are exported all over the world. Australian Merino wool is among the finest in the world and is extremely pliable.

It was lucky for Chris, which he was a Merino, because his fleece was that long that a lot of people had to squish his wool down so he could fit through the doors of the RSPCA. His fleece was over 42 cm long – that was the depth of the fleece.

To even eat and drink would have been a major ordeal for Chris. Not to mention he would have found it incredibly difficult to see as well.

When Chris was sedated and flipped over onto his back for a physical examination, the vets realised he had some open sores from the sheer weight of the excess wool pulling at his skin. Chris also had a very bad odour about him because his fleece was damp and ridden with all types of matter from the paddock he was living in.

Vets from the RSPCA said it was lucky Chris was discovered when he was because with the enormous weight of the wool he would not have been able to walk around freely for much longer. They also stated; it was lucky to find him now because, if Chris was left in another hot Australian Summer, he would have surely passed away from heat stress.

Chris had a world record breaking 42 kilograms of excess wool removed from his body. It took a team of 6 Australian champion shearers, 45 minutes to shear him. When our Young Farming Champion, Bessie visited us she taught us about the life of a shearer. She told us it took one shearer 2 minutes to shear one sheep; so for 6 men to take 45 minutes to shear Chris, that was a massive job.

The fleece that was taken off Chris is not going to be sold and really doesn’t have any monetary value because it is littered with waste. However it is going to be kept for its historical value as Chris is now the new world record holder for the most wool shorn off a sheep.

Chris will now be rehomed by the RSPCA, so he can live out the rest of his life in peaceful surrounding and be well cared for.

By the students in 8WL

Wear it Purple Day at Northlakes High School

September 4, 2015September 28, 2015Leave a comment

What?

“Wear It Purple Day” is an annual campaign is a day where individuals, schools and workplaces “Wear It Purple” to celebrate the diversity and to support young people of the rainbow community. “Wear It Purple Day” educates people and students by empowering students to make change. It is all about acceptance of differences and celebrating individuality.

Where?

“Wear It Purple Day” was celebrated at Northlakes High School; however it is also celebrated all over Australia as well.

When?

At Northlakes High School we had our purple day on Thursday 3^rd September, 2015. The rest of Australia celebrated in the week before, however our Deputies were at a conference the week before, so we had to wait for them to get back and be part of the day.

Why?

“Wear It Purple Day” is important because it helps people feel good about themselves and feel accepted in their community. With everybody wearing the same colour (Purple) it shows that we are all the same and shouldn’t judge others based on sexual preference. We are all humans and should come together and support each other and celebrate our differences.

How?

At Northlakes High School we celebrated Purple Day by wearing purple mufti and different accessories that were purple. Down outside the hall there were stalls set up where students could sign their names on purple pieces of paper and form links in a chain; there was also a canvas set up where students could stamp purple paint which created an artwork; they were handing out purple jelly beans and windmills; and lastly there was a photo booth where students could have pictures taken with different purple props with their friends. There was a special guest for the photo booth…our Archibull joined in the celebrations and dressed up with purple flowers, a feather boa, a scarf and lovely shinny purple beads and lots of bright colours.

8WL also took advantage of showing the school community all our hard work with the artwork so far and thought it would be a wonderful opportunity for everybody in the school community to get involved in coming up with a name for our Archibull; we also took the chance to answer questions about our cow and the Australian Wool Industry. The feedback we got from everybody was great and they loved all our work.

We all had a very busy “Wear It Purple Day”; it was very difficult carrying the 45kg cow up and down stairs; however it was worth it because our Archibull now has a name…..which we will announce soon…and everybody knows all about the Archi that lives in D55.

What a busy week for Archi…..Education Week Expo and Northlakes High School Newsletter!

July 31, 2015September 28, 2015Leave a comment

Week 3 of Term 3 was certainly a busy week for our Archibull team, both in the classroom and in the school community.

We have started to share our journey through the Archibull Prize in our fortnightly Northlakes High School newsletter so that all students, parents, carers and teaching staff are aware of our learning and activities.

Below is the information that went out in the newsletter – we can’t wait for more people in our local school community to start following us on our Archibull blog!

Teaching and Learning Report

Term 3 is a busy term for students and staff. We would like to thank all of our Disability Provision volunteers for assisting HSC students during the Trial Higher School Certificate. Acting as a reader/writer can be a challenging task and our students have been punctual and very supportive. Being a Disability Provisions volunteer also gives Year 10 students a chance to become familiar with the HSC – valuable experience as they progress to Stage 6.

Our Year 7 and 8 Supported Learning classes continue to be an ever active hive of activity and learning. We are working hard on the Corrective Reading program and selected students from Years 7-9 are attending intensive reading programs with the LAST (Learning and Support Team) staff. Our Year 10 reading mentors are enjoying tutoring Year 7 students in the Peer Tutor Reading program and are working towards attaining a Reading Tutoring Certificate through our TAFE partnership. We currently have 48 students undertaking the Quicksmart program. These students are making excellent progress in improving their accuracy and fluency in basic numeracy skills. Students are also working on improving their skills in numeracy problem solving.

Mrs Dowe’s class (8WL) is well underway with their planning and documentation of their journey in the 2015 Art4Argiculture – Archibull Prize. The Archibull Prize is a creative and innovative way to bring together the world of Australian agriculture and education. 8WL is learning all about working as part of a strong team to reach a common goal. Students have been allotted jobs and are encouraged to take responsibility for their part in the project.

The theme for this year is “The journey from fibre to fashion” and our allocated fibre is wool. There are 4 areas of Assessment for the Archibull Prize including; artwork (which our canvas is a life size fibre-glass cow); blog (detailing our learning and journey through the 2015 Archibull Prize); a Movie and finally, an info-graphic presentation (detailing our findings on bio-security in the Australian Wool Industry). As a class we are all working together to complete the artwork on our Archibull, because it is such a massive task and makes up half of our total mark at judging.

Week 2 ended with our Young Farming Champion Bessie Thomas visiting us and teaching us about life as an Australian wool grower and living a more sustainable life to preserve our environment for future generations. 8WL really enjoyed meeting Bessie; going to the Ag farm and learning lots and lots about wool.

If you would like to learn more about the Archibull Prize; you can follow our Northlakes High School Blog at; https://northlakeshighschoolarchibullexperience.wordpress.com/

Please leave us a comment or let me know if you can offer assistance. We are currently searching for 100% Merino wool, direct from the grower if possible.

In other news please remember that your child can always access their Mathsonline account to revise for homework. There are lessons on every topic which are explained and modelled. 7WL students can also access their online EdSphere account to improve their literacy skills.

It is that time of year when books are becoming full and pens are running out. Please ensure that your child is prepared and ready to learn for each subject with the correct equipment.

Teaching & Learning Staff

Below is a link to the Northlakes High School newsletter if you would like to read about all the wonderful events and achievements in our school.

newsletter Archi surprise

As I mentioned earlier, we were also asked if our Archibull form 2013 & 2015 could be displayed up on the stage in the hall for Education Week Expo and subject selection night 2015. Of course we said “YES!” Our Archibulls are very social creatures and relish in the opportunity to socialise in the local school community. Students from 8WL who attended were more happy to tell parents and staff about their journey in the Archibull Prize so far.

Week 4 will see our Archi out and about more in our school with “Book Week” activities, as well as a visit from a very famous Australian Indigenous author….stay tuned for more information next week!!!!!

Bull, baas take out Art4Ag prizes