School News
String Soiree - Wednesday, 16th September 2015
Congratulations to the following string students who performed at our String Soiree on Wednesday, 16th September:
Tracey Chan, Nicole Vasilev, Olivia Kelly, Viva Wilton, Grace McCamish, Layla Enriquez Tsilfidis, Nehali Nagamangala, Natasha Enriquez Tsilfidis, Amy Bagster, Portia Frayne, Audrey Habib, Wenny Sampurna, Emily Chong, Sandra Byrne, Erika Bannawart, Molly Sharrock, Jenna Sullivan & Claudia Carlton-Allen.
Thank you to all parents for attending, Anne Corry for accompanying and Kristen Rowlands for teaching and preparing the students and for organizing the evening.
Anne Corry
2015 Swinburne ConocoPhillips Science Experience
From the 14th to the 16th of September, four students from year nine attended a ConocoPhillips Science Experience program at Swinburne University. The ConocoPhillips Science Experience takes place in thirty-five universities and tertiary institutions around Australia, and provides students who have an interest in science with an opportunity to engage in a wide range of hands-on science activities.
The first day of the science experience at Swinburne started off with a couple of games to get to know our staff and the dozens of other students from other schools around Victoria. After a quick introduction, we were lead into one of Swinburne’s laboratories where we learnt about and practiced many chemistry and forensic science techniques. Next, we did the Astro Tour and got to see many amazing videos that detailed the developments of astronomy. We then got to build our own electronic die, using soldering irons to put it together. After a pizza lunch, we began our final fun workshop for the day – bridge building! Each team of 4 or 5 was given one newspaper to make their bridge with, and my team’s bridge, appropriately named Bridgette, won the competition! It was able to hold 7 kilos as well as one of the staff leaning on it for nearly 20 seconds before it gave in. Lastly, we were able to watch three of Swinburne’s chemists perform experiments involving glowing and colour changing liquids as well as liquid nitrogen.
The second day was also full of interesting and interactive activities. We were taken to another Swinburne campus in Wantirna, where the KIOSC Centre (The Knox Innovation, Opportunity and Sustainability Centre) was situated. We were able to see and use some of the high tech equipment at the chemistry lab, including autopipettes and spectrometers, to look at the concentration of chemicals in solutions. We then travelled to the Immersion Hall, where we looked at the relationships between physiological responses as well as different states of arousal. To induce a heightened state of arousal, we went on a virtual roller coaster on an oculus rift (virtual reality headset) and were able to track our heart rate, sweat response and more. We then explored the engineering lab, where we looked at different techniques for manufacturing and got to see a 3D printer at work. The last activity for day two was a tour of Swinburne’s campus, including their library and nursing facilities.
The last day was also action packed, and we started it off by travelling to Scienceworks. There, we were taken to the Planetarium and shown amazing animations of our solar system, galaxy and surrounding galaxies. We were then left to explore Scienceworks’ many exhibitions, like the Think Ahead Exhibition, which was full of exciting and interactive science and technology displays. After leaving Scienceworks, we headed to the Melbourne Museum, where we got to learn about many of the possible careers in science as well as the history of the museum. We then headed back to the Swinburne’s Hawthorn campus, where we were given participation certificates before wrapping up and saying a final goodbye to the staff and the many friends we’d made throughout the program.
I am extremely thankful that I was given the opportunity to participate in the ConocoPhillips Science Experience, and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the sciences. I would also like to extend my gratitude to the Richmond Rotary Club, who sponsored me as well as the other girls who attended the program, and to Mr Jurgens, who gave me this opportunity.
Claudia Marangoni, Year 9