Visual Arts

Making Connections

HIDDEN Rookwood Students is an annual outdoor sculpture exhibition that takes place amongst the pathways and gardens in one of the oldest sections of Rookwood Cemetery.

Entry is free and it is open sunrise to sunset from 10 September to 9 October 2022. The exhibition is a unique opportunity for artists to engage with the cemetery’s contemporary relevance and invites the public into these layered narratives while exploring the diverse cultural heritage of Australia’s largest and most historic cemetery. Barker College has been selected for HIDDEN Rookwood Students 2022! The proposed Barker College group work ‘Making Connections’ uses rope to connect ceramic spheres. This artwork is a joint project and has been made by students from all year groups, Kindergarten to Year 12 from across three Barker campuses (Darkinjung, Ngarralingayil and Hornsby). Each ceramic sphere represents an artist and the connections they hold with family and friends. As each strand develops, new links are created and the connections deepen. Joined together, the spheres unite cultural traditions, values and family identities creating lines of heritage which pass through the generations. Please come and have a look at the wonderful and collaborative effort that has been made and congratulate the staff and students involved, especially Ceramics at Barker and Ellen Macdonald.

Kate Elston Head of Visual Arts (Acting)

Designers and Makers

Recently we celebrated the work of our Textiles students in Years 9, 10, 11 and 12. This was the first time that the Year 9 Textiles Technology course has been run at Barker and it was encouraging to have the students display their work.

They have just begun their journey and their skills and understanding will continue to improve, just as the Year 10 and 11 students have demonstrated. For our Year 12 students it was the culmination of several years of learning - and we honoured their commitment and effort for undertaking and completing such high-quality Major Textiles Projects. There are people who claim that the fashion industry is rather superficial - and on the surface this may seem true. However, there is a distinct difference between the fashion industry as a consumer market and what we recently celebrated with our students during the Textiles Fashion Show. Our students are designers and makers. And being able to make things is extremely important - Jesse Adams Stein in her book - Industrial Craft in Australia claims that not knowing how things work is what makes us superficial. Not knowing how to fix things, makes us reliant on others and consequently we throw things away more easily. And this is not a sustainable way to live. Having knowledge of materials and manufacturing processes also makes our students more capable in their ability to understand what happens on the shop floor where production occurs. This is crucial for Australia because we need to value, add to our resources and profit from the design and production of superior solutions. Special thank you to Barker Drama and Barker Dance for supporting the Textiles Fashion Show on the night. The standard of performance was excellent and complemented the fashion show brilliantly.

Darren Woodrow Head of Design and Technology

Cadets Leadership

34 Year 11 students and 38 Year 10 students travelled to the School of Infantry in Singleton to complete intensive leadership training to prepare them to run the Barker College Cadet Unit in 2022/23.

The Deputy Commander of the unit, Captain Phil Gordon, was the senior instructor and manager of the Senior Leaders Course. He asked the new Senior Under Officer, Lizzie Moore, and the new Regimental Sergeant Major, Zoe Samios to reflect on their experience in Singleton. Lizzie came 3rd on the course, and Zoe placed 1st.

What does Cadets mean to you? When trying to explain what Cadets is to people outside it, we never really know what to say. Sure, it is a place to learn how to survive in the bush, use radios, navigate, and march in time. Cadets for us is like our own family inside Barker. You are placed into such a unique environment with people from all years and abilities, that the relationships formed are incomparable to any others. Barriers between people are broken down faster due to the setting you are often placed in, and we have both always felt supported by every member of Cadets even when in those particularly vulnerable situations. And of course, the practical field skills are always exciting to learn. But most importantly we both feel that Cadets prepares you for a world outside the Mint Gates in a way that no other program can. It has given us self-determination, courage, and empathy. This is all enhanced through the leadership skills taught to us through the promotion courses that we can continue to develop throughout our life. What kind of activities did you complete on the course? We gained a lot of new practical skills on this course including learning ceremonial drill, which was a new and honourable experience for everyone on the course. We were taught sword drill, and this then led into Catafalque party training. This training involves learning both static and sword drills which are used during ceremonies and specifically in a Catafalque party, which is a guard of four people that stands watch over the catafalque of a distinguished person or over a significant monument. This unique training opportunity allows for the BCCU to continue to expand and get involved outside the School and attend community events. Of course, this course is a learning experience on leadership and so we had lectures on Monday training and on the continuous phase in Singleton. These were always collaborative and engaging presentations given to us by Captain Gordon, other instructing staff and by members of the Defence Force. These gave us insight into many aspects of leadership that we would not usually think of. We learnt how to recon an area and teach a major bullring of activities to the Junior Leader candidates, involving ratel, medical exercises, initiative activities, and navigation. One of the highlights of our experience was the Command Post Exercise which is essentially a simulation activity run in real time of managing an entire unit through a series of scenarios. It involved having to man a company or command post radio with multiple channels, documenting location movements and dealing with hypothetical high intensity situations. It was very realistic and could often become overwhelming. It was also one of the more challenging activities presented to us on the course. However, this activity forced us to come together as groups, and really learn to prioritise and take situations as they come whilst remaining calm. What did you expect from the course, and how did that differ from reality? For us, this course was very different from the expectations we originally held. The outcome of this course is receiving your rank and posting for the following year and so we did expect these to be based on practical skills. However, as much as these are important, the Senior Leaders Course focuses more on your individual character, ability to handle unexpected situations, leadership, and on collaboration. Additionally, we did think that our previous rank would affect your outcome, but we found

everyone really did start on a clean and equal slate. Finally, the amount and quality of work we completed within our syndicates, which were randomised groups of seven candidates, was at a much higher level than we originally thought. This just emphasised the importance of being able to collaborate and work in a team to achieve the most effective, efficient, and successful outcome. What did you get out of this course?

SUO Lizzie Moore

I feel that the most valuable part of this course was the time spent with the rest of the course, and how close our cohort became. We all saw each other at our highs and quite a few of our lows, which has only strengthened our relationships. I feel I have advanced massively in my leadership skills particularly in relation to working collaboratively, as it is one thing to lead and direct but harder to lead and serve those around you. I gained a whole new kind of confidence in myself and learnt to trust my decisions which has helped to further my public speaking and communication ability. My time management and organisational skills have developed by learning to prioritise in high pressure situations.

RSM Zoe Samios

Perhaps one of the most valuable parts of the course is its ability to teach us how to function as members of a team. This means identifying what your role requires in addition to determining the most efficient method of execution for success. With a strong focus on group work, the course helped me further a range of soft skills including communication and decision making. The opportunity to run an activity as part of a bullring for the Junior Leaders was an excellent opportunity to practise not only planning and running an activity, but also how to resolve issues in real time. Cadets offers a genuine chance at leadership that individuals our age simply won’t find anywhere else. What are your aspirations for the unit?

SUO Lizzie Moore

Cadets has been one of the biggest parts of my life at Barker and has given me some of the strongest friendships. It has helped my personal growth and has already forged so many unforgettable memories. I am aiming as the SUO to give back to the unit all it has given me and more. I am planning to increase equality within the unit as the school is now fully coed by increasing the female representation in Alpha Company. With the introduction of the new Operations Company, I want every cadet with different abilities, skills, and passions to explore all their opportunities within the unit. Finally, I want to boost morale and passion within the companies and within the unit overall, especially after the disrupted years affected by the pandemic.

RSM Zoe Samios

Cadets is responsible for some of my most cherished memories, some of my strongest friendships and many aspects of my personal growth. I aspire to do my part in creating a unit which facilitates the same, if not greater, rich experience that I was privileged enough to have. In my role as RSM I want to increase the unit minimum standards surrounding dress and drill. Furthermore, it is my goal to develop the sense of pride that individuals take in being a member of the BCCU. If nothing else, the Senior Leaders Course demonstrated the value of Esprit de Corps, a term used in Cadets to describe the sense of pride and loyalty to the unit.

Phil Gordon Dep Comd BCCU