Both Year 3 classes investigated traditional Aboriginal shelters and then made some scaled down versions of these shelters.

Durable Dwellings 

The shelters had to fit a Lego Minifigure inside, as well as be weatherproof. The materials chosen for construction had to be an appropriate size for a Lego Mini figure to “lift”. The students showed great creativity in the different styles, with the recent weather conditions helping to test their durability. The shelters are still on display in between the Upper Primary classrooms, if you would like to view them.

Intricate Artworks 

As we continued our study of indigenous culture, we looked at some famous Aboriginal artists and have sought to use their style to inform our own drawing and paintings. We learnt about the symbols used in Aboriginal dot painting, and this week tried to create our own dot painting on boomerangs and pieces of bark. To create the artworks, the students could only use sticks to paint with, which proved trickier than first imagined, but provided some very creative results.

Mr Phil Klassen, Year 3 Teacher

Cells – A Closer Look

Students helped by building a model of either a plant or animal cell out of the material of their choice. Each cell model had to split in half to reveal the key organelles of an animal or plant cell. The vacuole, cell membrane and Golgi body were all there, and assisted visual learners in remembering and understanding the different parts of a cell and their functions.

Students also used light microscopes, onion and rhubarb slices, pond water samples and animal tissues to view some microorganisms. They were asked to draw the cells that they saw. This enhanced their knowledge about the microscopic world of cells even more. The cell rap song about organelles was played so many times in class that each learner spontaneously started to sing along when the song played, knowing the words (and organelles) off by heart.

Space – The Final Frontier

These are the voyages of the Year 10 Science class and its continuing mission to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new challenges and learn all about astronomy and cosmology. And this is exactly what happened with our visit to the UniSA Planetarium at Mawson lakes.

Students learned about the night sky by taking an imaginary journey into outer space with a highly qualified guide. They found out more about the solar system, the origins of stars and constellation names, and indigenous and traditional star lore and mythology.

The movie “The Wildest Weather in the Solar System” took students on a spectacular journey to witness the most beautiful, powerful, and mysterious weather phenomena in the solar system. From a storm the size of a 100-megaton hydrogen bomb, to a 400-year-old hurricane, to a dust storm that could engulf entire planets. We flew through the thick atmosphere of Venus, encountered magnetic storms on the sun, liquid methane showers on Titan, and anticyclones whirling at hundreds of kilometres per hour on Jupiter.

After this whirlwind adventure, we went for a campus tour where pupils went to the School of Engineering to explore careers in mechanical, mechatronic, civil and electrical engineering.  Their experience-based learning programs have produced the Guinness World Records longest bike, an electrical car called Trev that cost only $400 to drive around the world, and their unbreakable glass mirror project, which is nothing to frown upon (although we managed to break one mirror).

Mr Herman du Preez, High School Science Teacher

Guest review by Mr Daniel Thorpe, High School Teacher

Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is an absolute classic of English theatre. It has been performed countless times over the past century, both on stage and in film, to the enjoyment of audiences everywhere.

The Cedar College interpretation of this iconic play deserves to be recognised among the best offerings made in recent time. Directed by Senior Drama teacher Mr Jordan Rose, and performed by an impressive cast of Senior Drama students, the 2019 Senior Drama Production delighted audiences across three memorable evenings.

Ridiculous, Yet Relatable

In contrast to the cold and wintery conditions outside, there was a warmth inside the Cedar College Performing Arts Centre as the audience was captivated by the, at times, ridiculous, yet always charming characters – as relatable today as they were in Wilde’s day. This is credit to the superb acting of the performers, who brought their multi-faceted characters to life in a way that was truly remarkable. The link between the virtual lives of the 1890s high society and our current-day highly curated social media profiles, was a thought-provoking highlight of the production.

Absurd, Yet Endearing

From the absurd, yet somewhat ingenious scheming of John Worthing, J.P. (McKenna P) and Algernon Moncrieff (Ishan R), to the vain, yet endearing self-appreciation of the Honourable Gwendolen Fairfax (Anna H) and Cecily Cardew (Hannah L), the audience was left with no choice but to simultaneously laugh at, and pity, their hapless attempts to find love. And who could forget the irrepressible Lady Bracknell (Campbell P), whose family resemblance to her long-lost nephew John Worthing was nothing short of casting genius. The performance was supported brilliantly by a high-quality list of other heart-warming characters, Rev. Canon Chasuble (Mitchell C) Miss Prism (Ava B) and Butlers Merriman/Lane (Daniel H), not to mention a well-resourced and motivated production crew.

The 2019 Cedar College Senior Drama Production of The Importance of Being Earnest was nothing short of a theatrical tour de force, a triumph of the very highest order for all the students and staff involved.