Students from Certificate II in Kitchen Operations and Certificate III in Hospitality had the opportunity to participate in a Master Class Cooking Program, held in Latrobe. Students had the chance to learn from Ainstie Wagner Executive Chef at Government House and her sister Kirsten Bacon who is a pastry chef and teaches at Elizabeth College.

Over the two days the students watched demonstrations and learned about edible flowers, using beetroot in different elements of dessert making and making wakame glass biscuits. During the workshop Ainstie and Kirsten, observed students and chose one lucky student to participate in a one week work placement at Government House.

Congratulations to Don College student Emily Braddish who will be doing her work placement at Government House.

Students enroled in Art Studio Practice and Art Production took part on an excursion to visit the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Tasmanian School of Art University of Tasmania, Mona and various city galleries/studios in Hobart. The excursion took place on Friday, 29th June, departing Don College at the very wet, dark hour of 7:00am.  It was great to see all 41 students early and excited for the day ahead.

As the sun was shining the first stop was at Mona, the Museum of Old and New Art -  Australia's largest privately owned museum. The collection of more than 2000 artworks, ranges from Egyptian funerary objects to some of the world's most infamous and thought-provoking contemporary art. After a quick stop in North Hobart for lunch we then headed to Battery Point to see a Dark MoFo Exhibition by Patrick Hall.  The next stop was the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery to see another Dark Mofo exhibition by north west coast Artist Julie Gough. At the School of Art (University of Tasmania) students had the opportunity to learn about courses offered by the School of Art.  A highlight was ex Don College students discussing their experience as University students in Hobart with current Don students. Very exciting to see how well our students are traveling as they continue their studies.  Before heading back home we made a quick stop to Good Grief Studios to meet with north west artist Zoe Grey. Zoe is from Marrawah on the west coast. 

The trip was a fantastic opportunity for students to expand  their ideas for current work this year and to consider future pathways within the Fine Art area.   All in all a very busy and successful day with students returning to college in the dark hour of 9pm.

Good Grief Studios where we meet up with North West Coast Artist Zoe Grey.

Students at Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery

Students visiting Mona

Chocolate was the inspiration for the designs completed by several Don College Fashion Design students.  Their work was given rave reviews at the Chocolate Wearable Art Competition in Latrobe.  Stephanie Gower‘s design won Viewers Choice.  Well done everyone who was brave enough to exhibit their work!

Their work will be on the Catwalk at the Apex Teenage Fashion Awards on the 7th September at Latrobe Hall, starting 12pm.

ALL WELCOME, TICKETS AT THE DOOR

Arabella's amazing dress

From Monday July 29th to Monday 5th August a group of eleven Japanese students and their teacher, Noriko Yamasaki from Kochi Ozu high school, spent a week at Don College. The Japanese students presented information related to their culture, food, hobbies, sports and school to different classes at Don College and Port Sorell Primary. They participated in a variety of classes with their host student and experienced student life at Don. On Wednesday afternoon the Japanese students and the Don hosts enjoyed competing in Ten Pin Bowling. In the evening the hospitality students prepared and served a delicious Australian dinner for all the host families. Highlights of the evening included the singing of the school song by the Japanese students and the games organized by Danielle James and Kaori Suto. On Thursday the Certificate II Business and Tourism students and the Japanese students visited Wings Wildlife Park and Gunns Plains Caves.

Many thanks to the host families, teachers and students who made this year’s visit so enjoyable and successful.

Responses from the Japanese students:

Thank you to everyone at Don College for a good time! l had fun with the Outdoor class and the Tourism class. I am glad that I could talk with people who study Japanese and are integrated in Japanese. It is good for me to have a welcome party. Thank you very much, I love Don College and Tasmania! Marin

Thank you for the four days. I was very nervous at first, but the Don College people were so nice especially the students in the Japanese class. We had a lot of fun playing and talking in the class. Thank you very much Tomoko

We had a lot of fun with many surprises and discoveries. The students helped me if l didn’t understand and l felt more confident. I want to come again next year. Thank you very much. Kako

I was surprised to come to this school. There are twice as many meals and long classes. I felt envious that the break was so long. I will never forget my experience at this school.  Thank you for everything. Ran

Thank you for teaching me a lot of words l didn’t understand. The lessons were fun especially Japanese classes. I will also come to Australia if I have the opportunity.    Ami

In art class, it was a good to make an original shirt! The people at Don College were very kind and understanding with my English. Although it was a short time, it was very fun!    Sakura

The experience I had here was amazing and I am glad that I came. I would like to apply what I have learned in the future. Thank you, I had fun every day. Thank you to my host family and the host student.    Kohei

As part of the recent Devonport Jazz Festival, students and staff were treated to a free lunchtime performance by the Royal Australian Navy band, filling the Southern Common Room with the sounds of Jazz. The group of eight musicians had travelled from Melbourne to perform as part of the Jazz festival and were well received by the Don community. The performance showcased their amazing talent and were an inspiration for our own music students.

Also part of the Festival, the Don College Stage Band was invited to perform at the New Talent Showcase at Molly Malones, an event run by Devonport Jazz to give young performers an opportunity to play to the public. The band consisted of students Zomury Smith-Williams, Theo Viney, Luke Brydon, Ronan Storay, Noah Carroll, Ben Blake, Thomas Abblitt, Sam Hill and Hydi Miller, led by music teacher Danielle James.

Don College was recently selected to participate in the APRA SongMakers program, an intensive, real world program promoting creativity through song writing. Students were mentored by singer/songwriter Katie Wighton and music producer JP Fung to create and record a song over a two day intensive workshop.

The workshop is designed to give insight into today’s music industry and the creative processes required to cut through. The program was hands-on, challenging, but rewarding and designed to fast track students’ understanding of the opportunities in today’s contemporary music world and set them up for success.

All students involved said they enjoyed the process and were proud of the challenges they had to overcome in order to collaborate and work with others in producing their songs.

We have provided some samples of their compositions.

Annual School Satisfaction Surveys for parents and staff are being conducted during August 2019 across Tasmanian government schools.

The surveys provide an opportunity for parents and staff to give important feedback on what the school does well and where we can improve. Questions cover a range of topics about our school.

All responses are secure and anonymous.

Parents and staff are invited to participate.

Parents selected to participate in the parent survey will receive a letter in coming days. Parents are invited to access the survey online (https://www.schoolsurvey.edu.au/s/92303) and log in using the Unique Access Code provided. Alternatively, please complete the hard copy survey and return to the Don College Office by Friday 6 September.

We encourage you to complete the survey to give our school a clear direction for future programs and services for students.

IMPORTANT: In 2019 all students will be undertaking a Wellbeing Survey that will incorporate elements of the Satisfaction Survey.

Please contact the office if you wish to use a school computer to complete the survey.

Students tasted a wide variety of foods during the Food Sociology unit while exploring factors influencing our food choices. Jackfruit, sardines, blue vein cheese, sushi ginger, sauerkraut, spam and quail eggs were among the foods sampled. Well done to the winners who tasted all the foods, they are the largest group over the last few years to complete the challenge.

Left to right:  Sarah, Jasmine, Isabella, Ashlee, Declan, Kaitlyn

Front: Nikayla, Adah, Ethan

In July, Don College student Jacob Ball travelled to Canberra to referee at the Cup, on the invitation from Football Tasmania. Each year, three referees from Tasmania are invited to participate.

Jacob completed the Level 4 ‘Laws of the Game’ course in 2014, which allowed him to become a referee. He is now a Level 3 referee (to put this into perspective, FIFA referees are Level 1). While at the Kanga Cup, Jacob refereed three games per day, which included an average of 23kms of running each day!

Jacob (centre) at the Kanga Cup

Jacob on the field

Year 11 student Reyne Smith has been selected in the Australian u/17 Basketball team after a tough weekend away at a selection camp at the AIS in Canberra.

The tournament, which will be held in New Caledonia from August 19-24, is the first step for the 2021 FIBA Under-19 World Cup. These teams will be aiming to finish in the top two of the Under-17 Oceania Championships which will advance them to next year’s Under-18 Asian Championships and success there will see them earn qualification for the Under-19 World Cup in 2021.

Reyne will have a busy time ahead combining his study and training load. We wish him every success with both activities.

SLEEP: The Simplest Strategy for Wellness

Experts generally agree the ideal sleep hours for teenagers is 8-10 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period. This is actually similar to  toddlers as both these times are high growth rates in the body either physically or mentally.

Students, If you would like support with your sleep hygiene feel free to make an appointment with one of our support team members.

This free app supports all your communication with the college. It also provides a way for us to push notifications out to our community, should they be necessary.

Download the SZapp app from your app store.

Click here for installation and configuration instructions.