General News
8 November, 2022
Timboon P-12 looks to the future
TIMBOON P-12 School students will help shape the next generation of farmers and fledgling engineers.
TIMBOON P-12 School students will help shape the next generation of farmers and fledgling engineers.
School principal Davin Reid said Timboon P-12 had been successful in its application to the Secondary Schools Agriculture Fund (SSAF) to integrate even more STEM learning objectives into its curriculum.
“The Timboon project will expand on the current Timboon Agriculture Project (TAP) curriculum based applied learning opportunities and will provide a platform for the development of a new Year 9/10
AgHort Connections elective combining STEM, commerce and humanities to showcase to students, teachers and our community the diverse range of rewarding career opportunities in agriculture,”he said.
“The school has received $56,000 which will be used to create even more real and relevant curriculum and engagement opportunities for all students, especially in the Year 9/10 AgHort cohort.
“During immersion, field trips, workplace tours and incursions students will learn about the myriad of careers across paddock to plate pathways and that there are many ways to contribute to help feedthe world.”
Mr Reid said a FarmBot robotic open hardware system would be purchased to enable students to work in a small garden growing food with capacity to weed, water, soil test with students refining their coding skills to generate tasks.
“Other tools like 3D printers and drones to provide spatial and data-based analytics, a greenhouse to conduct experiments and other engagement tools will be utilised,” he said.
“This project will continue to share the work of the TAP facilitating an applied learning approach in the P-12 classrooms, linking the curriculum with tasks and activities associated with specific occupations and industries and keep contributing to strategic planning and program development in industry, community and education partnerships.”
Minister for Education Natalie Hutchins said the program was all “about backing our students – who are the future of agriculture and the next generation of farmers”.
“This funding will help thousands of young people get the skills and the experience they need for a career in the sector and set them on the path to a bright future,” she said.
Minister for Agriculture Gayle Tierney said these grants would provide a huge benefit – supporting more students with ambitions to embark on a career in agriculture and help them develop the skills need to get into the sector.
The Secondary Schools Agriculture Fund forms part of the Labor Government’s $50 million investment in the Agricultural College Modernisation Program – helping more students pursue careers in agriculture and meet the growing demands of the growing farm, food and fibre sector.
Improving access to vocational education and training (VET) is part of the Senior Secondary Pathway Reforms, offering students more choices that match their strengths and interests.
For more information visit vic.gov.au/secondary-schools-agriculture-fund.