STEM

Grok Cyber Competition

During June, students had the opportunity to develop essential cyber security skills — including creating secure passwords, identifying phishing attempts, managing security settings and practicing safe social media use.  This online competition was designed not only as a challenge, but also as a valuable learning experience to help students stay safer online.

We are very proud of all students who took part and gave their best effort.  Completing these challenges independently under timed conditions requires focus and determination — well done to everyone who participated! 

👏 Special congratulations go to Emily Dong (7 Blue) who achieved a perfect score — an outstanding demonstration of knowledge and attention to detail in cyber safety.   🌟 For those who didn’t quite reach that milestone, remember every attempt helps you learn and grow. 

Thank you to all students for embracing this important topic with enthusiasm and curiosity.  We encourage everyone to continue applying these skills to protect themselves and others online.  Well done once again! 🚀🔒

Ms Betty Lin

Technology (IT) Learning Leader 

Girl Power in Engineering & IT

For over 125 years the Old Engineering School building at The University of Melbourne has mostly been filled with men.  But for four days during term break forty year 9 girls, myself included, roamed its halls.  In Australia, about 19% of engineering and IT university students are female.  The University of Melbourne offers the Girl Power in Engineering and IT program for aspiring high school students which has been created with the explicit goal of bridging this gender gap.  The program starts off with a four day camp in year 9, which I just came back from and had an amazing experience. 

During the camp I stayed at the University College just outside campus.  While at the university we visited many of the engineering and IT spaces around campus, such as the Old Engineering School.  There, we took courses on Python, built bridges, and made windmills that could float on water.  At the Creator Space we learnt about aerodynamics and built airplanes out of wood, it had so many amazing machines for designing and creating things.  We used the laser cutters for our planes, they had 3D printers and lots of other hand tools.

One of my favourite parts of the camp was when we met with the Melbourne University Racing Motorsports club.  They are a group of students who build their own racing cars that they then race in competitions.  We spent an afternoon at The Science Gallery where we learnt how to fly drones and then we used them to complete different tasks.  Flying drones was such a fun experience.

Another highlight for me was the careers panel evening consisting of five female role models from different engineering fields such as electrical, research and biomedical.  We heard them talk about their career pathways and what their industries are like.  I really enjoyed this opportunity because I got to hear first hand about different careers and how to get into them.  I also asked lots of questions to the university students who supervised us throughout the camp, they were really friendly and very supportive.  They were all taking STEM related courses at the university so it was really helpful that they were around to talk to and guide us through the program.

Overall the Girl Power in Engineering and IT camp was empowering and without a doubt the highlight of the year for me.  I made so many friends with girls my age who were interested in subjects that I like.  I’m really looking forward to the rest of the program with work experience for when I’m in year 10 and mentorship pathways for when I’m in year 11 and 12.  If you are interested in STEM subjects I would highly recommend applying next year.  For more details see link: https://eng.unimelb.edu.au/engage-with-us/schools/girl-power-in-eng-and-it or click the button.

Monika Tudorovic 

9 Barak