The Year 4 students have been working hard this semester designing and making jackets for homeless dogs at the Shenton Park Dogs Refuge as part of their Technologies studies. This involved investigating jackets, their layers and materials; testing to see if layers keep things warm; getting information about product requirements from the client; learning sewing basics from volunteer sewer Jenny Moynihan; choosing, sourcing, cutting and preparing the fabric using patterns; and creating tutorials demonstrating their knowledge.
Last Thursday, they met with staff from the Refuge to hand over the dog jackets they made and get feedback on the design and build of their products. They had the opportunity to test their product and found out ways to improve it, as well as seeing first-hand the environment where the dogs stay to understand the needs of the ‘client’. The staff were thrilled to receive the jackets.
The students even got to spend time with one of the Refuges puppies, Scamp, which unsurprisingly was everyone’s favourite part of the visit!
Michelle Martin
STEM Specialist