79 78 The Chronicle 2021 Centenary Edition Technical Engineering Graphics and Design Outstanding IEB Results As reported at the beginning of this chapter, the 2021 IEB NSC Engineering Graphics & Design results were outstanding. The group achieved an average of 80%, with three boys scoring in the top 1% of the country: Ben Robertson and Connor Soulsby with 100%, and Tyler Gray with 99%. Others who have achieved 100% in recent years: Shem Adjes, Luke Roseveare, Dylan Thompson (2020), Hayden De Kock (2019), Edward Yeo (2018), David Comrie (2017) and Cameron Tiegs (2016). Once more the Engineering Graphics & Design (EGD) Department had to deal with the challenges of online learning at the start of the year. Once the boys returned to class, the hybrid system was adopted, where boys were taught in person in class, and some were online. Notes and workbooks were given to the boys ahead of time which helped to facilitate a smooth transition from online to in-person teaching, meaning that COVID was not going the affect our boys academically. Through proper planning and preparation everything seemed normal in an abnormal situation. SharePoint continued to be used as the online library and resources facility. Boys could access, notes, past papers, videos and other learning tools. EGD is unique in that students need drawing boards to complete classwork. Due to various circumstances, some boys were unable to take their drawing boards home for the holidays and had to use AutoCAD as a drawing tool to complete drawings during the online programme. Although not ideal, it was the best practical solution to that problem. Hybrid lessons were recorded for those boys who had connectivity issues or who were absent from lessons. Boys could view the recorded lessons and explanatory notes to catch up work missed. A successful EGD Expo was held on Friday 08 October. After a year’s absence, the evening brought a bit of normality to a disrupted academic year. The Practical Assessment Task (PAT) for Grade 12s this year focussed on re-designing a one-bedroom cottage into a two-bedroom chalet at a fly-fishing resort. Some of the challenges included duplicating units in the confines of a given site, investigating energy saving and environmentally-friendly features, and equipping the design with bathroom features for people with disabilities. The boys’ efforts were of a very high standard. The Dream House Design Project is always very popular, and projects ranged from single-storey eco-friendly bush lodges to expansive double storey suburban mansions. The imagination and creativity and the boys’ technical drawing abilities came through in their designs. The subject continues to grow, with another good Grade 10 intake for 2022. Problem-solving, draughting, the use of CAD (Computer Aided Drawing) and the practical nature of EGD seem to be major attractions to boys who want to pursue diverse modern career opportunities in engineering, design and architecture. The use of CAD has always been popular amongst the boys and was introduced at Grade 8 and Grade 9 level this year. It is rewarding to note the improvement made in learning through technology. Dean Moodley HOD Engineering Graphics & Design Highlights of 2021 This year our Grade 8s and 9s benefitted from our revamped curriculum and were introduced to some new topics, such as Artificial Intelligence, Computational Thinking and Application Development. Our goal is to give the boys a broad overview of current topics and to provide a basic skillset in Computer Science topics. The Grade 9s were given a project to develop a cell phone app. They were to create an adventure or puzzle game centering around Kearsney College. Many creative apps were developed and particularly those that quizzed the user’s general knowledge of the campus. Please see an example by scanning the QR code (bottom right). The new IEB Information Technology syllabus was introduced to Grade 10s in 2019, which meant that the 2021 matriculants would be the first to write the new syllabus. Exciting and relevant new topics such as Bitcoin, blockchain, POPI act and Artificial Intelligence were brought into the syllabus, and obsolete material removed. Our senior boys had a difficult year with having to be taught online at staggered times throughout the year. They, however, rose to the challenge and we are proud of their effort and commitment I extend my thanks to the teachers of this department, Mrs Govender, Mr Eysele, Mr Grundling and Mr Savage-Reid. We say farewell to Mrs Govender as she gives more time to her Deputy Headmistress duties. We also say farewell to Mr Eysele and Mr Grundling as they pursue other opportunities. Mrs Charlene Elliot HOD Information Technology In Term 1, many of our boys took part in the Talent Search Computer Olympiad. The Olympiad tests computational thinking skills and is designed to identify hidden talents for programming. We congratulate the boys who achieved outstanding results: Gold Certificate: Luka Koumantarakis (Grade 12) was awarded a Gold Certificate for finishing in the top 7% in SA. Silver Certificates:(those who achieved in the next 14%) were achieved by Bryce Tayler and Campbell Davison (Gr 12) and Gabriel Delport (Gr 10). Bronze Certificates: Nine boys earned a Bronze Certificate (those who achieved in the next 29% of all participants): Grade 12s: Taylin Govender, Michael Tainton, Matthew Schramm, Jarryd Bester, Luc Nazar and Talumba Masamba. Grade 10s: Jua van Wyk, Sean Diseko and Matthew Rix. Scan to play Information Technology Talent Search Computer Olympiad
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTc3MDU5Nw==