Extension Challenges
The Secondary School offers a range of extension activities for students which range from Technology challenges to Mathematics and Writing projects. These are open and inclusive activities focused on a range of challenges often including critical and creative thinking.
Year 12 Engineering Pathways
Preparations are well underway for our entry in the 2020 eV Challenge.The eV Challenge powered by Synergy is Australia’s longest running electric motorsport competition, first established in 2001. The aim of the event is to have teams – mainly from high schools – design, build, test and construct a small single seat electric vehicle. Powered by a limited battery capacity and built to a limited budget, teams try and complete as many laps of a closed course as possible in 1 hour.Our year 12 VET students have been designing and prototyping our entry for 2020. They are currently designing steering, braking and the other required systems around a wooden prototype of the Chassis Design. Work is well underway on the final Aluminium Chassis, with production of all of the other systems to occur when we return to school.Whilst students are working from home they are completing the required theory associated with this course and 3D modelling various components of the car to ensure their success in production.The event is Scheduled for later in the Year and hopefully the efforts of our students will be recognised with success on the track.
Talented Young Writers’ Programmes (TYWP): Young Writers’ and Youth Literature Days (Years 8-10)
The purpose of this great adventure is to nurture a group of young writers over several years by exposing them not only to superb authors but also to their own talents.For Term 1 and Term 3, the same group of talented young writers from multiple schools come together for a day working with one of Australia’s top authors for their age group. Each author is a brilliant teacher of his/her craft, offering some informative, practical, and fun inspiration.During the day the author shares their background experiences relevant to their books and incorporates several readings from them and then presents two or three hands-on creative writing workshops, exploring different techniques and ideas. The students engage in silent writing, editing and sharing with both a partner and the larger group when confident and encouraged to do so.Any aspiring future authors, or avid readers within the school, are encouraged to indicate their interest to Mrs Linda Preston, Head of English, for 2021.
Australian Olympic Change-Maker
The Australian Olympic Change-Maker program recognises and rewards students who are demonstrating the Olympic spirit through leadership and driving positive change in their communities. Students are chosen through- displaying leadership through sport at Frederick Irwin or local community and/or Using sport as a vehicle to improve health and well-being and drive social change at school or local community.A comment from our 3 chosen representatives in 2019; Georgia Payne, Daniel Riegert, Keegan Williams: “The 2019 Olympic Change-maker conference was an amazing and truly inspiring experience. Daniel Riegert, Keegan Williams and myself, Georgia Payne joined over 100 young athletes making changes in Western Australian communities for a day of lectures and inspiring panel discussions at Curtin University. The event is a new initiative from the Australian Olympic Committee to positively change schools and communities by young athletes working to influence people to change for the better.”
The event was rich in inspiration, with a panel of olympians as guest speakers including Grant Irvine, Jake Whetton, Brooke Peris and MC Jesse Phillips. These influential athletes spoke to us about what they had achieved in there careers, including many medals, and the three panelists spoke of their continued olympic journeys to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Keynote speaker Olivia Vivian, olympic gymnast and ninja warrior finalist, provided one of the most inspiring and thought provoking speeches about the dedication and hardwork she has put in to her gymnastics and as a ninja, overcoming obstacles as the first woman to ever reach the grand final in the TV show series. We also had a basketball clinic hosted by four time olympian and Wildcat basketball player Andrew Vlahov.
The event was a great opportunity to meet with other like minded athletes who are pushing for changes in our communities using sport to promote healthy lifestyles and break cultural, gender and age barriers.