Design & Technology

The Design & Technology Department has had a very successful year with the students turning out some fantastic projects both in the theoretical and practical areas.

Mr Paul Van Vliet Head of Design & Technology

We were rewarded at the beginning of year with Old Boy, Jed Herne (’15), receiving an Exhibition award after achieving the highest possible score in the State for his Design folio in his WACE exam. This has meant that he has been able to fulfil his dreams to study Architecture at Curtin University. He has also returned to the College and spoken to students studying Design in 2016, offering advice and support.

The dedication of the Design & Technology staff has kept the boys at the forefront in our area and made available the many opportunities that arise outside the College. We have continued to develop the facility, influenced by advancements in technology. We have made three of the latest 3D printers, the ‘UP BOX’, available to the students. These have been used in Materials, Engineering and Product Design courses with great enthusiasm and endless possibilities in design and creativity.

Academically, new courses catering for the changing needs of the boys have been implemented and the roll out of the national curriculum in our subject area will be our focus for 2017. This will mean that all students in Years 7 and 8 will study Design & Technology during the coming year.

An array of subjects were on offer this year, including VET Certificate II Visual Arts Wood, Engineering Mechatronics, Materials and Design. Design students were involved in the development of the new gymnasium and part of their project included a proposal for the Link Building between the new and old buildings. Students worked with local architects to develop their skills in a more practical sense with real purpose. It proved to be a very rewarding experience for those involved and the quality of the work was exceptional.

In the workshop, some new projects were implemented with students producing some high quality work. Materials students Chas McGill (12.2), Julian Ronzan (12.1) and Denzel Paul (12.7) were part of a group of boys who designed, developed and created a ‘custom fixie’ push bike as part of their Year 12 project. As a department, we also initiated a fundraising raffle for the India Pilgrimage and raffled off one of the custom bikes. It generated great interest and raised valuable funds for this worthy cause.

New staff member, Mr Joel Shinkfield, entered some Year 9 students in the national CO2 Race Car Challenge for the Product Design course. Finishing third in Outlaw class and just 0.1 of a second off the fastest time in the State, demonstrated the success of the subject and the ingenuity of the students. The Design & Technology team thanks all the students for their efforts this year and looks forward to their continual support. The facilities continue to remain at the forefront in this area and we will grow with the needs of the students. We wish you all well for the future and look forward to 2017.

Mr Paul Van Vliet

Head of Design & Technology

Bikes

Year 9 Product Design students, Zac Wilkins and Luke Veersma, entered their C02 dragsters in the State competition. Luke placed third in the state, in the “Outlaw” category and Zac finished within the top 6 entries in the “General” category