From the Deputy Principal
Space Travel and welcome to 2020!
There are many people who have dreams of travelling in Space and although myself and eleven of our students did not achieve that specifically we were able to do the next best thing! In December 2019 we got to spend three days at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Orlando Florida USA and go through the training that real astronauts go through before they head off into Space.
On December 6 2019 myself, Dylan S, Dylan J, James M, Lara B, Jamison McF, Rudy W, Raphael K, Joshua McM, Silas K, Emma W and Tenaya C embarked on the long nearly thirty hour journey to Orlando Florida to begin Moama Anglican Grammar's very first STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics) overseas trip, aptly named “G’Day Space”, organised by Education World Travel. That such a learning experience could be so much fun surprised us all. We learnt, we laughed and I watched in terror as our students tested out the physics and mathematics on the variety of very scary (ok, maybe only to me!) roller coaster rides at Knott’s Berry Farm and Universal Studios.
On our first three days we stayed at Disney’s All-Star Music Resort and travelled to the Kennedy Space Centre each day. Here students went through the NASA training that astronauts go through. Students worked with and in Space Simulators and control centres where they actually had to drive, navigate or program the space mobile, space shuttle, Mars crew and more. Students got to be involved in the research project that NASA is working on developing plants to survive and thrive on Mars. They learnt about the importance of hydrophilic and hydrophobic substances and met Farmbot – a robot that is a hydroponic set up that drives itself completely autonomously. We learnt that travelling in space is very sustainable when it comes to waste disposal. When in Space all rubbish is put into a capsule that is sent back to Earth and when the capsule re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere it explodes into nothing! On our third day we had the privilege of attending a formal lunch with astronaut, Don Thomas. Astronaut Thomas was required to train and prepare for four years before going on his first Space mission. He has flown four Space Shuttles, been around the Earth 692 times and was the first astronaut to fly pizza up into Space! Astronaut Thomas also told some very interesting and funny stories about Woodpeckers who delayed a number of Space missions because they like to peck on the Rockets until NASA set up the Woodpeckers own pecking poles, “farewell-welcome back” cakes and Shuttle Boarding Passes. We ended our Orlando visit with a tour of the NASA Rocket launch sites, NASA home base, SpaceX and spotted alligators in the surrounding Everglades on the way.
We left the Kennedy Space Centre wanting to stay longer but looking forward to what San Francisco had to offer. After a five hour flight from Orlando we spent two days in San Fran participating in a number of activities such as walking over the Golden Gate Bridge, participating in the “STEM to Stern” program on the World War 2 aircraft carrier the USS Hornet. The USS Hornet was used to retrieve a number of Space Shuttles and their astronauts on their return to Earth. We “climbed” Lombard St which is known not only for its steepness but as the most crooked street in the world. We ate dinner at the famous Pier 39 and had a fascinating morning exploring the California Academy of Sciences that included the most amazing Planets presentation projected on the roof of a huge auditorium.
Our last few days were spent in Los Angeles, only an hour and a half plane flight from San Fran. We stayed at Knott’s Berry Farm Resort Hotel and participated in the STEM of Roller Coaster Rides program. The STEM aspects of rollercoasters were workshopped with the students and then they “tested out” these aspects by going on the rides. There was some serious STEM going on with those rides. We spent our last day at Universal Studios where we checked out the amazing technology that enables Harry Potter World to feel very real. We saw how animals are trained for the movies (one of my favourite presentations) and tested out the STEM of more roller coaster rides.
After a very long flight back home we didn’t have much time for jetlag as students joined their families in preparing for Christmas.
I was very privileged to be able to share the NASA G’Day Space STEM trip with such a great group of students. Thank you to the parents who entrusted me with your children on this trip….who were all much braver than me when it came to roller coaster rides!
This week it has been wonderful to welcome all the students back for the 2020 school year. The recent Christmas break would have been quite a different one for some. Many of our families would have been touched by the devastation the fires have caused along the East Coast and North East Victoria. Some of you may have family or friends who have been (and still are) directly affected by the fires. With the drought that has hit many of our families hard the fires are yet another cause of distress. For the rest of us these families are in our thoughts and prayers.
With the new school year comes a whole lot of new learning and SEQTA is a great way to keep track of many aspects of student learning. An email has gone out to all new families explaining how to access SEQTA Engage. We have also included these details in this newsletter in the Reminders section.
Attached to this Newsletter are two pdf extracts from the SEQTA Engage Primary Parent Manual and the SEQTA Engage Secondary Parent Manual to help with parents and guardians navigation of SEQTA. NOTE: SEQTA have introduced a new interface that has already been rolled out to our school so the pictures in the attached extracts will look a little different to what you see in our SEQTA portal. Once SEQTA update the manuals I will add them into a future newsletter. If you have any queries about SEQTA please feel free to contact myself and/or our IT department at help@moamagrammar.nsw.edu.au
Kathleen Kemp
Deputy Principal