STEAM 

Year level: 2 

Year 2 STEAM this term with allow students a chance to engage with several different branches of engineering and science. Ecosystems and the biotic and abiotic components that comprise them will be the first focus, with students exploring Glen Waverley Primary School’s environment in order to create a miniature ‘shoebox ecosystem’. Learners then examine potential ideas for future communities and how household technologies have evolved over time, knowledge they will then use to create a model living space of the future. Finally, students will engage with the concept of Computer Assisted Design (CAD) and discover how computer software can help them create buildings and inventions – a skill that will serve them well in the later years of STEAM.  

Year level: 4 

This term in Year 4 STEAM, learners will explore the way humans extract and use both renewable and non-renewable resources, looking at the pros and cons of both forms of energy generation. This will be accompanied by a visit to Wilson Transformer Company in order to understand how electricity is transferred. They will then cooperate within groups to create an energy solution of their own that will then be ‘pitched’ to a hypothetical government agency. To round off the term, students will explore the effects, potentials and dangers of social media, conduct surveys regarding internet use around the school and plan their own ethical and safe social media app geared towards children. 

Year level: 6 

This term in Year 6 STEAM, learners will join with Year 6 Maths Innovation to take part in a term long aviation project – the very first of its kind to be run at Glen Waverley Primary School. Students will first explore the fundamentals of aviation, including forces and key principles necessary for flight, before building their very own plane out of balsa wood, complete with a motor. They will then test their design and gather data on ways it can be improved before putting those improvements into practice via multiple prototypes and test flights. Additionally, students will also explore the world of computer hardware by completely tearing down a PC before rebuilding it, gaining a comprehensive understanding of every component present in a desktop.