THE SIGNAL

Specialist News 

WHERE CHILDREN LOVE TO BE

STEM NEWS

STEM 2021 News 

Dear SMPPS STEMgineers! 

It has been an amazing start to the school year in STEM. We have two new STEM leaders for 2021, Raph and Ragnar. Both have been fantastic leaders in STEM assisting with Code Club and contributing to the school’s newsletter. 

This term Code Club has been a busy club with numbers reaching more than 50 students at one time. The management would not have been possible without our two STEM leaders, our STEM helpers and our two fantastic volunteers and a soon to be 3rd volunteer starting in Term 2.  

Please give a warm welcome to our Code Club volunteers!

Meet Tim, one of our friendly volunteers. He joined our Code Club because he has a passion to help the students in South Melbourne Park Primary School learn to code. 

About Tim: 

I am retired and was looking for an opportunity to give back in a skill area that I think is going to offer more and more opportunities for children, where demand is going to be high and where the skills, if learnt early enough, become second nature. I have spent the majority of my working life working with technology in the travel industry leading their Operations and Customer Service Team. I have a passion to help students learn and love being able to assist the children at South Melbourne Park Primary School. 

 

Meet Makara another of our other friendly volunteers. He joined our Code Club because he has a passion to inspire young coders. 

About Makara: 

I am a 2nd Year Information Technology (IT) student. I major in application development and cybersecurity. I have studied Python, C++, Java and front-end web (HTML, CSS, JavaScript). I have created websites and made android applications. I enjoy being part of the South Melbourne Primary School code club and look forward to seeing the students continue to grow and develop their passion in coding. 

 

 

Great news! We have been able to secure a partnership through the CSIRO with Ashleigh, a Chemical Scientist who works for Defence Science and Technology. Ashleigh will be visiting the school fortnightly and will be a great addition to STEM, assisting students whose passion is Science. 

About Ashleigh:

I have had a passion for science and learning since a very young age. I hope to inspire and share my knowledge with young minds! I completed my Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 2013. I also took biology and maths subjects at university but I was always drawn to chemistry. I loved doing lab-based experiments and pretending I was in potions class (like in Harry Potter!) After my science degree I did my Masters degree. For my Masters I needed to do a research project. My project involved making special chemicals in the lab which would help identify cancer in cancer patients. I loved doing this research so much that I went onto to my PhD in the same area! After my PhD I was offered a very cool job in the Defence. This job is very different! I help identify any faulty chemicals/materials in submarines and airplanes for the navy and air force. I also work with many engineers, physicists and material scientists to make submarines and airplanes that are faster, stronger and lightweight. I love science and I look forward to bringing some more science to the classroom!

 

TIPS FOR THE SCHOOL HOLIDAYS FROM  RAPH AND RAGNAR

As the school holidays approach, it is important to exercise, stay healthy, eat healthy foods and also look after your digital health. The STEM leaders, Ragnar and Raph, would like to give students five tips for how to be safe on the internet. 

  1. Check the URL of a website and make sure that it is a https:// website or indicates that it is a secure website.  If it says ‘not secure’ then that means that other people know what you are typing or sharing on the website. It’s like talking on a mobile phone with other people listening. Beware and never share any person information on these websites.
  2. Be sensible with what you type. Never enter your true name, address, password, location, age or other personal information. Other people can use this information to their advantage. Always check with your parents.
  3. If you are playing an online video game, turn the chat off, otherwise people can send you harmful messages.
  4. If you are creating a username, never use your real name on online services such as Minecraft, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Discord, etc. Check with your parents.
  5. Get help from a parent when using personal details or downloading applications or add-ons, as some downloads may contain damaging digital viruses.

From Miss. Vu, Raph and Ragnar 

PHYSICAL EDUCATION NEWS

I am very proud of both the girls and boys teams that represented SMPPS last Friday at the Southport District Gala Day at Fawkner Park. Both teams were up against some tough competition from Windsor PS, Armadale PS and Caulfield PS. They never gave up and competed till the end. Each team played 5 matches over the day and got better with every game, resulting in a win for the girls and a very competitive last game for the boys. 

The boys were very strong in their defence and managed to score a great goal in match number 5.

Regardless of the end results you couldn’t wipe the smiles off their faces. Our students showing humility when winning and losing. They stayed true to the SMPPS way and  played as a team and walked away as good sports. 

These days don’t happen without the support from parents and helpers. Thank you for preparing and supporting your children to be ready on the day. A huge thank you to David (Coco’s dad) who was the referee for all the girls matches. Also a huge thank you to the students who showed tenacity and good sport values throughout the day. 

 

 

In PE Lessons students have shown persistence, good practise and a commitment to learning. In the lead up to the Gala Day the students participated in a 4 week soccer program. During PE lessons we had the expertise of a Melbourne Victory coach present, which was funded by Sporting Schools. There was also the extra practise sessions on Fridays with Mr Huynh.