Year 9 STEM - High Achievers

Our Year 9 STEM class recently participated in the 2022 STAQ Science Competition. We are proud to announce that Mt A students brought home 4 of the 9 awards in their division. A special mention goes to Maeve R who achieved 3rd place!

Maeve R - STAQ Investigation Summary

My STAQ investigation was based around investigating how a horse's heart rate responds to different intensities of exercise, and how quickly it recovers from said exercise. I took my 2 horses heart rates at rest and then after 3 minutes each of walking, trotting, cantering and jumping, and after 1 minute recovery after each exercise. I learnt that horses heart rates increase as they exercise but that they recover quickly. The 2 horses hearts responded differently, one rose much more than the other. Interestingly, the horse with the slower heart rate was a successful racehorse.

Colleen Goodin - Year 9 STEM Teacher

When students engage in inquiry they are building and acting on their curiosity about the world and how it works. It helps them form lasting connections with learning and develop skills in critical and creative thinking, literacy and numeracy. Their disposition to STEM blooms as they engage in the rapidly changing word, pose ethical questions and see the value of science. Seeing a project through from start to finish encourages student agency as they take responsibility for their learning. The Queensland Science Contest is an annual event organised by the Science Teachers Association of Queensland (STAQ). The contest is open to all Queensland students from pre-school to year 12 and is judged across 7 age divisions. Our students presented in the Scientific Investigations and Engineering and Technology categories. I congratulate all students who participated in the 2022 STAQ competition and especially commend Maeve R on her outstanding result. 

Highly Commended 

Brie Riddle

Sophia Stephens

Sienna O'Shea (absent in photo)

3rd Place

Maeve Riley