Auslan at ELTHAM Home Economics: Creativity and Resilience in a Time of Crisis Alumni News

AUSLAN AT ELTHAM

OUR PROGRAM WITH EXPRESSION AUSTRALIA IS PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATION AND LEARN A VALUABLE AND FUN SKILL.

Auslan (Australian Sign Language) is the offi cial language of the deaf community of Australia. There is no written form of Auslan; it is a visual form of communication that uses hand, arm and body movements and facial expressions to convey meaning.

Auslan was added to our long list of wonderful co-curricular activities last year to help interested students gain an understanding and ability to communicate more eff ectively with current Year 6 student, Luca, who is hearing impaired.

While advances in technology have supported Luca to learn eff ectively in the classroom, communicating with peers across a busy playground can sometimes be diffi cult.

His family, who are all learning Auslan, linked the College up with Expression Australia who have created a bespoke curriculum and supplied teachers for our co-curricular Program. Expression Australia are the same group that translate for government press conferences which has been a fantastic real world link for students learning the language at school.

As Luca is heading into Senior School next year, it is important that the students he will be interacting with understand how to communicate with him. With this in mind, our Auslan sessions have been made available to students from Year 3 up to Year 8. Junior School students have enjoyed the opportunity to get to know their Senior School peers and learn from their experiences while studying the language together. Despite learning remotely in Term 2, Auslan continued virtually with weekly Zoom sessions overseen by teacher Haining Lu. Students learnt fi nger spelling (letters of the alphabet) and other important areas of communication, as well as areas of interest.

Auslan is a wonderful, interactive language that we hope to continue to have as part of our program.

Kate McCracken Deputy Director, Junior School

HOME ECONOMICS: CREATIVITY AND RESILIENCE IN A TIME OF CRISIS

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ABLE TO COOK WITH A DASH OF INGENUITY.

I recently began the sourdough journey. Inspired by friends, colleagues and conversations in Home Economics networks, my curiosity grew. I wondered if any other families were making sourdough at home.

A silver lining of remote learning and life in isolation has been the steady stream of emails and discussions in classes from students asking about recipe adaptions when faced with food shortages. The impact of not being able to readily access the supermarket has forced us to think creatively when it comes to meal preparation.

Exploring ideas and problem-solving together in class has enabled not only a greater understanding of food security, but encouraged deeper thinking and enriched the learning experiences in our own backyard.

Across the Home Economics modules, with various themes and titles, we have always:

Created foods from raw ingredients to learn the foundation skills, while simultaneously reducing our footprint and not relying on more highly processed packaged foods

Considered packaging waste when using prepared ingredients such as bottled sauces or marinades

Compared the cost of ingredients to understand how foods such as pancakes made from scratch are more cost-eff ective than the ‘shake in a bottle’ type Whenever feasible, utilised our home-grown ingredients

Dehydrated meals for Outdoor Education journey programs

Explored recipes from across the globe to gain an understanding of how food travels over time

Whilst baking Cornish Pasties in our remote classroom, a student mentioned their mother was baking sourdough. Others piped in sharing a similar experience. The sourdough discussion fl ourished, with many diff erent ideas of how to use sourdough discard, and fi nished with tips as to how to make sourdough starter biscuits!

Since March we have shifted in conversation from “I can’t, because I cannot get …” to “what could I use, or would this work?” Let’s hope this silver lining of problem-solving is here to stay.

Jane Norton Home Economics

ALUMNI

NEWS

There is no word more relevant in today’s current situation than ‘connection’. The value of communication and support has been the driving force behind the strength displayed by our community during the COVID-19 crisis. The ELTHAM College Alumni Association has reinforced connection within our community through our dedication to keeping alumni informed and also helping form authentic relationships that can provide lifelong support to our community. 2020 began with ELTHAM Alumni assisting the College with tours during Open Day. It was inspiring to see our alumni speak of their positive experiences within the College to prospective students and parents. The ELTHAM College Alumni Music and Performing Arts Committee (ECAMP) also provided a nostalgic performance during Open Day by reconnecting former band members as part of a reunion performance. We look forward to seeing many more opportunities for alumni to connect through music and performing arts. We exercise our commitment to staying connected with our community through Alumni E-News, which is emailed to alumni four times a year and contains stories and updates. We have several other avenues for alumni to stay connected with us, particularly through our Facebook and LinkedIn pages, and of course this 'connections' magazine. Reunions are exciting events and we will hopefully be able to reschedule these at a later stage.

We would love to hear from you and share your successes with our community. I invite all interested past parents, grandparents, students and staff to attend our committee meetings and join our Alumni Association. If you have ideas, initiatives, exciting life events or an in-memory notice that you would like to share, please contact our Alumni Coordinator on

Cherry Demir (Class of 1992) President of the ELTHAM College Alumni Association

"Growing apart doesn't change the fact that for a long time we grew side by side; our roots will always be tangled. I'm glad for that." — Ally Condie

alumni@elthamcollege.vic.edu.au

Alumni Association Meetings Conference Room, ELTHAM College, 7.30pm – 9.30pm

4 August 2020

6 October 2020

1 December 2020

facebook.com/ElthamCollegeAlumni

alumni@elthamcollege.vic.edu.au

ALUMNI

REFLECTION

Julian McCartney – Class of 1999

My journey at ELTHAM College began in kindergarten. I continued into the fi rst term of Prep; then my family moved so I went to a diff erent primary school. Secondary schooling took me to an all-boys school, and after a number of years I decided it was time for change.

Seeking a unique and inspiring environment, I came back to ELTHAM College for VCE. On my Orientation Day, I walked into the Reception Offi ce and saw a big old photo commemorating students from every year level. As fate would have it, I was in the photo! It had been taken during my fi rst year at the College. That sealed the deal.

Stepping into a co-ed environment as a teenager took some adjusting. I realised pretty quickly that there was an even playing fi eld between students in my year level. There was always someone open to brainstorming creative concepts, to let off steam on the soccer pitch or to just be silly and have a laugh. I even met my future wife Gina (nee TrenchThiedeman) in our year level. We had mutual friends at school – a handful of years after graduation we reconnected and eventually married. We still maintain a close group of mates from our time at ELTHAM College.

After school I jumped into several courses of tertiary study, including Public Relations, Tourism Management and Criminal Justice. I worked on mega yachts in the French Riviera, backpacked around parts of Europe and eventually lived in the Rocky Mountains of Canada. It was there that I worked with local craftsmen building chalets made of raw stone and timber.

When I returned home to Melbourne in 2006, I undertook an apprenticeship specialising in traditional furniture making and restoration with a master craftsman. I completed my studies and set my sights on contemporary design, working with locally established modern furniture designers. At the same time, I started my own brand and opened a workshop in Collingwood.

After a few years I grew out of that space and moved the Glencross Furniture workshop to a bigger location in Thomastown, where I now specialise in bespoke handcrafted timber furniture that tells a story for clients across Australia and beyond.