Year 7

At the end of the Geography Semester, Year 7 participated in a class project called ‘We Built This City’. The project allowed students to gain an insight into the process of planning for and building the infrastructure necessary to support our lives.

Students have been loving our 'Digging Up the Past' unit! To bring our learning to life, one of our students kindly brought in fossils from his personal collection to show the class. We were able to see and touch part of a trilobite fossil (extinct for 252 million years) and the tooth of a Mosasaurus (extinct for 66 million years). Our historians also had the opportunity to have a taste of archaeology as they dug for choc chips in a cookie. It’s been a term full of discovery and hands-on learning.

Year 8

At the end of Term 2, Year 8 set off to Altina Wildlife Park and had the opportunity to see conversation in action. It was a wonderful experience that allowed students the opportunity to see some incredible wildlife on the wild savannas of the Riverina.

Over the last few weeks Year 8 have been learning all about the past and The Vicious Vikings. Students have been learning about Viking society, beliefs and values and how they influenced other societies. Students were also surprised to learn how influential the Vikings and their ideas were and that they still influence the world today. Our historians got creative with the origami Long Boat challenge, which is no easy feat to complete.

Year 9

Year 9 has begun their semester of Geography with the ‘Biomes and Sustainable Agriculture’ unit. Students look at different biomes around the world and the different factors that impact food production. Year 9 will uncover just how far our food travels before it’s on our plate. Students will also consider different agricultural strategies that will help them to understand the complexities of gaining food security.

Year 10

Year 10 has started their semester of Geography with the ‘Environmental Change and Management’ unit. Throughout the unit students gain an understanding of how the four spheres of the environment, the biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere, are impacted by a range of changes. Students also consider the different management strategies that can be implemented to help manage these environmental changes. Bringing the unit closer to our MDCC home, students complete a case study on Lake Albert. This localised case study gives students the opportunity to understand how important sustainable environmental management is for our local community.

Commerce

Year 9 and 10 Commerce students took over recesses in Term 2 for ‘Commerce in the Courtyard’. As a part of the Promoting and Selling unit, students used surveys and observations to crack the mentality of Mater Dei consumers. Their business received a $20 investment, which had to cover all of their costs.

Students were responsible for creating their marketing campaigns which included logo creation, slogans, posters and videos to help drive sales. Students ran their market stalls, served customers, handled cash and worked as a team to deliver their products to the Mater Dei community. Students did a terrific job in understanding their market, with all market stalls selling out across each day.

The Sugr. team comprising of Georgie Fuller, Chloe McCorquodale and Indi Irvine provided a review of their market experience below:

Commerce in the Courtyard was an overall great experience that helped us expand our knowledge and skill set through both planning and running our stall. It encouraged us to work as a team to figure out what the market would like. We had to come up with a company name, logo, product and price and then present a pitch to our class to demonstrate that we understood how we would run our business.

When the day for selling arrived, we gave everyone in our group specific roles while setting up our stall. We found it a little tricky when a large line formed while we were still making our product. We sold out of our tanghulu and had to wait for more to arrive.

In the end we sold out of our product and had an amazing time working with our friends and raising money for a good cause.

Stage 6

Stage 6 students have recently completed their Trial exams as their last school based assessment before their HSC exams next term. The HSIE staff would like to congratulate Year 12 on their efforts so far in preparing for the final stages of their schooling. We wish them all the best in their upcoming HSC exams and their future endeavours.

Model UN

On Friday of Week 5, the Marian Centre was transformed into a global conference centre that saw 26 delegates from 13 countries come together to tackle some of the problems facing our global community. Throughout the day, students gained valuable insight into the complexities and challenges of finding solutions that meet the needs of a range of stakeholders. The day challenged students through a series of debates, negotiations and crisis management scenarios.

It was a valuable and engaging experience that provided students with a deeper understanding of the challenges involved in addressing global issues and the importance of cooperation in finding meaningful solutions.

Ms Karina Rudd | HSIE KLA Leader

"Mater Dei Matters"

Issue 8 · 28 Aug 2026

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