Curriculum
Lucindale Area School offers a wide variety
of SACE Stage 1 and 2 subjects through senior school.
Students are introduced to the SACE through the Personal Learning Plan
(PLP), offered during Year 10. In Year 11 and 12 students
study a range of subjects to meet the required SACE completion pattern.
Academic and vocational pathways have been catered for, offering
students the option of applying for university or taking up a vocational
pathway into formal work.
The senior school handbook provides more information on the range of
subjects offered, highlighting the ability of students at Lucindale Area
School to complete a range of challenging academic subjects with the
intention of gaining a high ATAR score.
Alternatively, students can choose a flexible learning option where part
time work and part time learning at school balances the needs of the
student and the various employers in the district. Students work with
senior secondary home group teachers to discuss different options.
Flexible Learning
Lucindale Area School offers a range of learning opportunities allowing students to explore interests outside of the general subjects offered. School Based Apprenticeships (SBA) offer students the ability to study part time while working and developing work-based competencies for their chosen career. We work closely with local apprenticeship brokers, apprenticeship centres and registered training organisations to offer appropriate training programs for student wishing to take on an SBA. Recognition for Community Learning The South Australian Certificate of Education has a
number of subject requirements, which must be successfully completed to
successfully attain a SACE Certificate. Each subject or course that is successfully
completed earns ‘credits' towards the SACE. Students receive a final
grade from A to E for each Stage 1 subject and A+ to E– for Stage 2
subjects. Achieve a C– or higher in the Stage 2 compulsory
subjects. Lucindale Area School offers a wide variety of SACE
Stage 1 and 2 subjects through senior school. For more information,
please refer to the senior school handbook Agriculture is a core focus at Lucindale Area
School, with curriculum being offered to students from Reception to Year
12. All agriculture classes are provided face-to -face and senior
students regularly work with the Farm Manager. Students in R - 7 are introduced to agriculture
with 2 lessons a week covering the science and technology aspects of the
Australian Curriculum through an agricultural lens. The preparation and
showing of animals is a major component of studies for Years 8 - 10 and
students in Years 8 - 12 are involved in a number of different
agricultural shows. A wide range of agricultural and horticultural
experiences that are common to the Limestone Coast are covered within
our program to equip students for a career in Agriculture or further
studies in Agriculture. Lucindale Area School offers VET and SACE for
Years 10 - 12 students including:
·
Business and Enterprise
·
Agricultural Science
·
Agricultural Pathways The school farm is 19 ha farm, with an additional
23ha of land that the school leases from the local council. Onsite
facilities include a 2 stand shearing shed adjoining the Agriculture
classroom, newly redeveloped sheep yards, state of the art cattle yards,
Murray Grey and Shorthorn cattle herd, Merino and White Suffolk sheep
flocks, vegetable garden and five soil pits to study soil profiles and
soil science. Students can run feedlots as a rural small business
enterprise and prepare sheep, cattle and goats for showing at both local
shows and the Royal Adelaide Show. All other animal husbandry operations
take place on the school site using the modern sheep and cattle yards
where the students can participate in a safe environment. The agriculture curriculum covers a wide range of
subjects including cattle handling, goat handling, poultry, pigs, sheep,
organic survival unit, vegetable garden, soil, cattle/farm management
and alpacas. There is some small scale cropping done, pasture
management, pasture renovation, seed and pasture persistence trials as
well as cattle, sheep, pig, poultry and goat production. The hay
production program raises funds for the school agriculture program, as
well as producing livestock feed. Some of the hay production is run in
conjunction with seed company trials. This allows the school keep up
with the latest seed varieties on the market. Other alternative farming
enterprises explored include, alpacas, native flowers, vegetable seed,
emus, ducks, vegetables, garlic, Hills daisies, essential oils. Aquaculture is a major component of the agriculture
facility. There is a hatchery, growing tanks and ponds that are used for
growing rainbow trout that are sold at various stages of growth from fry
and fingerling to plate size. Lucindale Area School strives to achieve
excellence in all aspects of agriculture. The School ensures current industry experience and
networking is available for students as part of their learning, with the
inclusion of regular excursions and expert guest speakers. There is
fantastic contribution from local farmers including provision of animals
for showing, provision of grain for stock feeds, hosting days of calf
marking, lamb marking, dairy visits, winery visits, cropping and
machinery demonstrations and other farming events to help further
student’s practical experience. There is not another facility in South Australia
that can offer such diversity in agricultural experience for student
learning. VITICUTURE The Lucindale Area School vineyard consists of
Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir plantings. The vineyard is
predominantly planted on Terra Rossa soil, made famous by the Coonawarra
wine region. Students produce wine that is then sent off for judging in
the “Australian Amateur Beer and Wine Show”. The pinot noir and cabernet variety grapes are sold
to local DiGiorgio Family Wines, where the pinot grapes are used as a
base for sparkling pinot Chardonnay. The school offers units in both vine pruning and
wine making. This course begins in Year 10 with the students being
taught pruning techniques to maximise quality and productivity, as well
as canopy management. This aspect of the course is completed under the
Certificate II in Rural Operations. Some of the cabernet grapes are kept
on the farm to allow students to learn harvest techniques. This fruit is
then used by the students to produce wine using open fermentation vats,
an open basket press and wine is aged in oak barrels. The following year
a selection of wine is bottled, which is cellared for 12 months, and
then sent off for judging. Viticulture and Winemaking can be undertaken as
part of the Stage 1 & 2 Agricultural and Horticultural Studies course,
or Certificate II in Rural Operations in partnership with TAFE SA. Along
with well-established academic links, the school has strong and mutually
beneficial arrangements with important industry links within the wine
making and viticulture industry, which allows the school to remain at
the forefront of current industry practice. CERTIFICATE II RURAL OPERATIONS The Certificate II in Rural Operations is available
to students undertaking Year 11 & 12. Students learn practical skills
associated with farming in the local area that include animal handling,
health and husbandry techniques, ChemCard Training, operation of quad
bikes and tractors, chainsaw operations and a variety of elective
subjects. Students are required to complete 140 hours of workplace
learning over a 2-year period. Workplace learning is conducted both and
through structured work experience. The course features external
training opportunities and on-farm workdays. The school is well equipped to offer a diverse
learning environment for practical skills with modern animal handling
facilities and access to a variety of technologies through the
Vocational Education and Training trailers housed on site. AQUACULTURE Aquaculture is offered to the Year 11 and Year 12
students and forms part of the Stage 1 Agriculture Studies course.
Students are able to select aquaculture as their Stage 2 Business and
Enterprise project and run the enterprise as their Business project. Students learn about the rainbow trout life cycle
and hatch out eyed-up eggs purchased from Springfield hatchery in
Tasmania. The students maintain the facility, test water quality and
monitor feeding requirements. Students monitor weight gain and transfer
fish to larger growing tanks. Students are required to investigate
issues with land based aquaculture businesses and develop solutions to
these problems. The school boasts a hatchery (capacity 15,000 fry),
four growing tank three aquaculture dams. The tanks have reticulation
system to reduce water use and are a self-cleaning system. EQUINE PROGRAM The Lucindale Area School Equine Program was
introduced in 2014. The program is offered to secondary students and is
delivered after school. The program covers the following areas; The program includes instruction from and
interaction with a variety of guest speakers including a farrier, equine
dentist, veterinary surgeon and qualified riding instructors. Primary Students are offered a two-week equine
program that covers basic horse handling and safety skills.
Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs can be run in a number of ways. Currently the school offers:
Open Access learning is offered to secondary students. It is utilised to offer individual students a subject that may not be offered on-site and allows for greater flexibility in subject choices. Students have a weekly lesson via phone and are supported by local teachers to ensure success.
Lucindale Area School is a member of the South-East Local Delivery program. Students and teachers travel to partner schools in the local cluster network to study Stage 2 subjects at a face-to-face level. The school cluster network is comprised of Lucindale Area School, Penola High School, Naracoorte High School, Kangaroo Inn Area School and Millicent High School. Local delivery has the benefit of a face-to-face teaching component with designated subject teachers, along with support of Lucindale Area School staff to ensure success.More information on the subjects that are delivered via this method is available via the senior school handbook.
Additional vocational pathways programs are offered based on individual career counselling. Students who have specific learning interests may be able to start certificate level courses, through ongoing partnerships with training providers.
The SACE allows students to gain credit for a range of community based
learning opportunities.
SACE
There are two stages of the SACE:
To qualify for the SACE students must:
The compulsory requirements are:
The remaining 90 credits can be gained through additional Stage 1 or
Stage 2 subjects or Board-recognised courses (such as VET or community
learning) of a student's choice.
Contact the Senior School Coordinator for more information, or click on
the links below to look further at the SACE website.
https://www.sace.sa.edu.au/SUBJECTS
AGRICULTURE
