4 May 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Comment

Term 2 has started smoothly with students immediately back into classes with very few changes to teachers. Thank you to Sonia Pringle for her work as Principal for Term 1. Sonia is now in the role of Deputy Principal for the remainder of the year.

For me it has been a little bit like coming home. To give everybody a quick summary of my background, I have lived in Bangor for 22 years and have taught in Cleve, Gladstone, Booleroo Centre, Jamestown and most recently Port Broughton. I thoroughly enjoy teaching mathematics through to Year 12 Specialist Maths and also Information Processing and Publishing.

I am married to a farmer, Brenton and we have 2 boys, Connor (18) and Ethan (14). I have a passion for country education and strongly believe in providing opportunities for country students to be successful now and in the future.

Over the next couple of weeks I am hoping to have met with each of the Year 12 students so that they can share with me their thoughts and opinions about the school and let me know particularly, areas for improvement. Already I have found these conversations very enlightening.

Likewise if any parents would like to meet with me and share their thoughts I would be pleased to meet with you and look at the ways that ensure that we are all working towards the best possible outcomes for our students. I look forward to meeting you and making the links between the students and their families.

We are currently working out the details for a planned Open Day/Night with the opportunities for guided tours of the school to showcase what is currently happening and available. The proposed date is Tuesday 22nd May. More details will be provided in the next week.

Tyler Hogan
Principal

Cattle Field Trip

On Monday 9th April the Year 10 Ag class visited Mumford’s cattle feedlot. The purpose of the field trip was to provide insight into the requirements to operate a feedlot successfully. Host and owner Ben Mumford explained how they source cattle, the feeding regime, issues with feed-lotting animals and the importance of animal welfare management. Students were then required to write a response to the information gathered, with several examples and some photos included in this newsletter. Thanks to the Mumford’s for again allowing us to visit and sharing their knowledge and information with the students.

Dean Humphries
Ag Teacher

On Monday the 9th of April, we commenced our field trip to Mumford’s cattle feedlot to learn and inquire about how a feedlot works. We learnt about the history of Broughton Park and that the feedlot had been running since the early 80’s, run by Ben’s father.

There are 4 feedlots side by side which are 30m x 30m square, holding approximately 100 cattle. Ben spoke about how the most important management strategy used in a cattle feedlot is always considering the animal welfare. Everything he does is to benefit his stock and make sure they are in prime condition and able to be sold. Ben does not work dogs with his cattle, and makes sure there are limited disruptions to them such as weighing. His cattle are only weighed when they are first put into the feedlot and then only if necessary weighed before leaving the property. Another strategy he implements that ties in with animal welfare is dealing with their waste. Every 12 months he cleans out the feedlot pens. Ben mentioned how it is important to have your feedlot on a slope so that when it rains it all goes down the slope and does not gather in the pens.

Next we discussed the ration and how he goes about introducing different types of feed. In each of the feedlots there was a feeder to deliver the cattle with grain and places for hay to be distributed both around and inside of the feedlot. To start off he feeds only hay to his cattle then slowly introduces a grain such as barley or lupins and also an additive powder which costs around $270. He does this to make sure his cattle do not get sick from indulging in too much of the grain. He mentioned that you can learn a lot about how the cattle are dealing with the feed by looking at their faeces. This is something he has learnt along his journey as a cattle farmer, which has proven to be useful on many occasions. Ben aims for each of the cattle to gain 2kg a day therefore adding up to 14kg each week. His cattle get water from the Broughton River which is pumped up to Ben’s property which he sources for free. His advice to us all was that if we were to ever start up any sort of feedlot to consider how much water would be consumed and where we would source it from. This is because without a substantial source of water a business like this would be unsuccessful.

Ben sources his cattle from Kangaroo Island where his brother breeds his cattle. The rainfall is high over there which makes ideal conditions to breed cattle. They have a mob of 450 cows, with a dozen bulls all used for breeding. The calves are kept on Kangaroo Island grazing on grass for about 12 months before Ben gets the calves brought over to Redhill. Once they are here he puts them on a ration of hay, and keeps them for 90 days in the feedlot until they have put on enough weight to be sold. Ben sells his cattle to Woolworths once they have achieved the desired weight. He has Black Angus, Red Angus and Brahman cross Charolais cattle but mostly Black Angus, because they are in higher demand, meaning that Woolworths will take them straight away.

We thank Ben for allowing us to come onto his property and share his knowledge on feedlots and about the history of his farm. We left the property with filled sheets on all the information we had learnt about how a feedlot is run. This trip was a great opportunity to learn how a feedlot business functions and I believe I came away from this trip with a great deal of new knowledge.

Georgia Wegner

On the 9th of April, the Ag. Class took a field trip to Redhill at the Broughton Park cattle feedlot. The Mumford’s have been adding to their cattle feedlot since the early 1980’s where they continue to expand to this day. As we exited the bus we were warmly welcomed by Ben Mumford himself who gave the group a quick introduction to himself and his farm

Ben’s cattle feedlot has been passed down through generations as his brother owns the cattle feedlot in Kangaroo Island whilst Ben owns the Broughton Park feedlot. He has been sourcing his cattle from Kangaroo Island, consisting of the breeds Black Angus, Red Angus and Charolais. Although his feedlot consists of mainly Black Angus, Ben still has a tough market when selling his cattle. It is a tough market when it comes to selling his Red Angus to Woolworths as they are inspected twice to ensure they are of demand although they are of the same structure as the Black Angus despite their colour. However, the Black Angus cattle are taken straight up because of their higher demand and better structure.

The calves are raised on grass during their first 12 months in Kangaroo Island. Once the cattle are 12 months old they are sent to Broughton’s cattle feedlot where they are stored for 90 days. The feedlot holds around 100 cattle in each of the 4 pens (30m x 30m). They are fed rations made by Ben and his work partner which consists of hay, barley and lupins and lastly an additive is included which sums up a total of $270 a tonne. A normal ration would start off with 100% hay and then change to hay and other supplements, changing their diet. As their digestive system changes, Ben explains how their waste is a good indicator of their digestive system and working with cattle you learn a lot from examining their faeces. If the cattle are given too much grain at once the result is a disease called acidosis which is where the bacteria in their stomachs are unable to digest the grain properly. This creates bloating and then death. The cattle are left in the feedlot and every 6 to 12 months their waste is cleared out and stored in piles behind their feedlot. Their pens are kept on a slope so in case of heavy rain it runs through their pens rather than creating muddy piles. Ben aims at a goal of increasing cattle weight around 2kg a day and 14kg a week and only weighs his cattle as needed.

Ben believes that the most important management strategy to use in a cattle feedlot is to look after the animal’s welfare. When the cattle become stressed their meat tends to be tougher which is why an unstressed animal is better off when taking care of their welfare. Ben mentions how the cattle groom themselves by licking their back ends which means they are content. Once they are content Ben knows that they have been fed properly and given enough water, sourced for free from the Broughton River. The trip was finalised with a quick introduction to his sheep’s feedlot. Ben was given a thank you for his time and a gift of the schools wine and olive oil before we headed of back to school.

Acaccia Wilsdon

Open Knock-out Cricket

As a part of Gladstone High Schools Open sporting program, the school participated in Open Cricket. We played 3 teams that were all part of the Pool B competition, consisting of teams from the Mid North. Our first game was against Port Augusta Secondary School at Gladstone. We came away with a terrific win making it look quite easy. The second game was at the Globe Oval in Port Pirie against Samaritan College from Whyalla. It came down to the wire at the end, with everyone performing well throughout the day in the field to restrict their runs enough to be chased. For our final game we travelled to Clare to compete against Clare High School. We bowled first and considering the size of the oval and the talent we needed to restrict them to a low total. Josh Clements performed best with the ball, claiming 3 big wickets for 5 runs. Coming out to bat Noah Zwar and Tom Harslett strolled out to the crease. Getting off to a steady start we soon collapsed when Tom fell for 60, with the team being 8 for 85 chasing 138. Josh Clements and Nathan Hooper came together to show the top order how it’s done, combining for a partnership of 57 not out. We managed to chase down the runs, even after Mr Seidel wrote us off being 8 for 85, taking home the Open Cricket Shield.

Nathan Hooper
Captain

SSSSA Athletics

Congratulations to students who competed in the MNSEC Athletics team at SSSSA Athletics. This event was held at Santos Stadium in Adelaide on Thursday 12th April. Students who represented Gladstone High School included: Samuel Shepherdson, Andrew Horace, Clay Hadley, Charlie Heinrich, Ben Treasure, Casey Cleggett, Finn Cunningham, Tahlia Chapman, Jake Clements, Nathan Hooper, Hugh Rackham, Chelsea Hombsch and Charlotte Durrant.

There were multiple highlights of the day with two Gladstone High School student’s placing first in their events.

This year the MNSEC team competed in Division 2 with the boys placing 9th with a total of 177 points and girls placing 8th on 212 points. MNSEC placed 8th overall with a total of 389 points. Please see the attached document for individual results of students and final scores of all teams.

TAFE Activity Days

TAFE hands on activity days will be held throughout Week 5. If your child is interested in participating in any of these sessions please email Renee Thamm by Wednesday 9th May. Renee.Thamm18@schools.sa.edu.au

Creating a safe and inclusive school

Gladstone High School acknowledges the importance of IDAHOT (International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia) on May 17. While there continues to be local, national and international discrimination in the form of homophobia and transphobia we must be prepared to educate our communities about the harm of unjust or prejudicial treatment of someone based on their sexuality and or gender identity.

Australian research shows that around10% of young people say they are not exclusively heterosexual. Many more will have same-sex attracted friends or family members. A further 2% of students are estimated to be gender diverse/transgender, (ie their gender identity does not align with the sex assigned to them at birth). Research consistently finds that around 60% of sexual and gender diverse young people are subjected to verbal abuse that specifically targets their sexuality or gender identity and 80% reported it occurring at school.

Schools have a mandated responsibility to provide a safe and inclusive learning environment for students regardless of their sexuality or gender identity. This is best achieved through an inclusive curriculum and clear policies and practices which do not tolerate homophobic or transphobic bullying and harassment.

Everyone in the community can contribute to creating a safe and inclusive environment by supporting IDAHOT and taking action to enable all our children and young people to feel valued and to thrive in their educational goals. Show your support by:

• Challenging all homophobic, transphobic, and sexist language
• Challenging stereotypes and gendered expectations that limit potential
• Having positive discussions about gender diversity and sexual diversity

If you are a parent/carer looking for support or information on sexual and gender diversity the following websites are recommended:

Life is complex and interesting, it matters to our children and young people how we respond. “Action expresses priorities.” Mahatma Gandhi

Uniforms for sale

The school has some old style uniforms for sale. Please note there are limited numbers and sizes available.

Jumper $25.00

Windbreaker $30.00

Track pants $10.00

Poultry for Sale

Meat Birds available at $5.50Kg.

Please contact the Front Office to place your order.

Community News