Science Week
Inspiring Australia’s young scientists
During the first holidays this year and throughout Term 2, a group of Year 11 students were reaching out to Rotary clubs in our community in search of endorsement and sponsorship for their applications to the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF).
This year’s successful applicants are Katie Barnshaw, Casey Boswell, Charlotte Collins, Natalie Hooper, Isabelle Jacques, Zahra Mackenzie and Caitlin Morris.
The NYSF takes place over the summer holidays for students entering Year 12 who are passionate about Science. The 12 day residential program is designed to give students a broader understanding of the diverse study and career options available in science and STEM. Students visit laboratories, go on site tours, attend lectures, take part in workshops, go to social events and participate in group activities that improve communication and presentation skills. The focus in not on academic achievements but rather on developing well-rounded individuals.
Last year’s attendees from MGSC were Margaret Bradbury, Olivia Jaconelli, Kate McMahon and Sally Walker. The four of them kindly gave up their time to mentor the Year 11 applicants and were instrumental in preparing the students for the application process which included contacting Rotary clubs and attending interviews. We even set up mock interviews at school.
I am so proud of the students who applied. They pushed through the fear of interviews and contacting strangers, and challenged themselves to achieve their goal.
Student experiences of the NYSC application process.
After the NYSF students of last year sparked interest in prospecting future candidates with a presentation during a year level assembly, the eager Year 11s began their lengthy application process for the exciting science program by contacting their local Rotary clubs. The Rotary clubs help run the application by endorsing selected applicants and help fund the costs of the program. They met the Rotarians of the clubs to get their endorsement to allow them to complete an application online. This application consisted of questions about their interest in STEM subjects, why they want to attend the program and to get to know the applicant. Once the application was submitted, all that was left was the district interviews (groups of Rotary clubs based on location areas). The past NYSF students were eager to help the applicants and wrote up a list of potential interview questions. They also collaborated with volunteer teachers to run mock interviews.
As the date of the district interviews approached, the applicants were ready to perform. But in a rare case, the district interviews got cancelled as it was determined that there was a sufficient number of places allocated to our district to accommodate the applicants. Therefore, after their online applications were reviewed, they were accepted into the program!
Casey Boswell (Year 11)
The Year 11s have all been successfully accepted into the National Youth Science Forum (otherwise affectionately known as 'nerd camp'). We are now all eagerly awaiting to hear news on whether we got into the Canberra or Brisbane sessions. Either way, it is a very exciting time for us all in the science community.
Katie Bradshaw (Year 11)
We really enjoyed mentoring the girls in their application for NYSF, and are very excited for them to experience NYSF in January!
Year 12 mentors
Ms Dahliyani Briedis
Science Domain Leade