STEM 

Aussie Bird Count

On Friday October 24th the Prep students and the Animal Conservation Group (Lunchtime club) participated in the Aussie Bird Count which ran from the 20th-26th of October, 2025. The idea of the program is to spend 20 minutes outside everyday and record the different types of birds that you see in your local area. This helps to build a snapshot of the different species in your local area and bring awareness to conservation efforts around endangered bird species in your area. 

Our collective count with both the Preps and Animal Conservation group was:

Magpies: 5

Pigeons: 50

Cockatoos: 2

Rainbow Lorikeets: 8

Miners: 11

Science Conference

On Tuesday the 11th of November, a small group of STEM-minded grade 5/6 students had the opportunity to attend a real Science Conference at Marvel Stadium. We were so lucky to be included in the student-outreach program of the Corrosion & Prevention Conference. After an early start meeting at Mitcham train station at 7:45am, students started the day listening to key-note speakers talk about ways the corrosion affects certain materials and how this is detected in real-world environments. After morning tea, students enjoyed visiting the 76 exhibits that were set up, learning about how rust is taken off certain materials, how structures are repaired after corrosion begins to take effect, equipment and protective gear that people working in the field need to wear, and much, much more! As part of Remembrance Day, students were invited to be part of the special Remembrance Day ceremony at the stadium, where the Last Post was played and a minute’s silence was observed. After a yummy lunch and more exploring of the exhibits, including a VR experience and an experiment run by Deakin University exploring rust and fruit, we boarded the train home to MPS! All students are to be commended on their attitude and behaviour on the day – it was such a joy to watch them approach this experience with genuine curiosity and respect. I would like to extend a massive thank you to Rachelle Rigby (Austin’s mum 1-3A) for the invitation to attend this conference and for looking after us so well while we were there. 

Bec Peters, 

STEM teacher