Student 

Achievements

Gums to Bums– a Year 8 Science Activity 

What goes on inside your body once you swallow your food? How does food give us energy? With a real stomach and fake poo, this show is a hilarious and hands-on look at human digestion. 

This activity took our students on a journey through the digestive system. The demonstration uses food and a series of containers and additives to model the process of mechanical and chemical digestion in the human (mammalian) digestive system. The demonstration begins with actual food items and ends with a paste closely resembling fecal matter.  

The demo taught students the different parts and organs of the body that are included in the digestion of food. Because it is near impossible to physically see the digestive system working, this demo closely resembles the process and helped the students visualize it more easily.  

Food(baked beans, Donut, sausage, choc biscuit)  

Bucket(Mouth)  

Hand(Teeth and Tongue)  

Bottle(saliva)water  

Bottle(Enzyme)detergent/red food colouring  

Potato masher (Stomach wall)  

Large clear plastic bag(stomach)  

Bottle(stomach acid) vinegar  

Scissors to cut contents of stomach into small intestine  

Bucket(small intestine)  

Bottle(sodium bicarbonate) sodium bicarbonate solution to neutralize excess stomach acids  

Bottle(Bile Salts) washing up liquid  

Bottle(bile pigments) brown paint  

Large sponge(small intestine wall, small villi) to remove nutrients/excess liquid into blood  

Bucket(blood)  

Empty contents(remaining solids) of small intestine bag with liquids removed into rectum bag.  

Large clear plastic bag(rectum)  

Scissors to cut rectum bag and empty contents into toilet  

Bucket(toilet) 

It’s all there for you to see! Yuck! 

Mr. Kollipara, Mr Lam, Mrs Robinson & Ms Lal Yr. 8 Science Teachers

NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK

National Science Week 

14-22 August 

Yes, National Science Week is happening, with the theme Food: Different by Design. 

So while we aren’t sure what will happen at school we are planning some exciting activities around out the theme of Science, Food and Technology. 

Performances 

We have locked in the Incursion with Perform Education to link our Year 8 Science and Food Technology programs. This is now scheduled to run on 26th of August, just after Science week to wrap up the program. 

Competitions 

We will be running quizzes for each year level over the week with prizes at the end. Stay tuned to Compass and Teams. 

We may even run drone racing events, just ‘cause they could be fun. More to come. 

Future of Food 

We are hoping to offer students the chance to task some of the more exotic options of new foods being designed today with Cricket Chips (Who knew they could be a thing?) and maybe other tasty morsels. 

We also look forward to what the Food Technology group may put together for us to try once Ms Sharpe is let loose in the kitchen. 

What Else? 

Who knows what else we may be able to present, (we don’t), because Science is all about thinking, planning and producing the future. 

So keep an eye on your feeds and look forward to what may be. 

Mr McGlynn and the Science Domain 

Mr Mello, Ms Sharpe and the Technology Domain 

Australian Mathematics Competition

What is it about? 

The Australian Mathematics Competition is the largest single event on the Australian Education Calendar, allowing students to attempt the same tasks on the same day in about 40 countries. It has become an international event, with countries throughout the Pacific and South-East Asia, and some from afield. The number of entrants in Australia alone has been in the order of 400,000. More details can be found at www.amt.edu.au/amcfact.html 

Every year a significant number of students from our college enter this competition. While we have a number who achieve outstanding results, all students agree it is a very positive experience and well worth joining. In addition, students participating will enjoy a fantastic academic experience and HOUSE POINTS.  

So what happened? 

On August 5th, 85 of our students gathered in the Library and L-Block to test their temperament and see how good they were at solving the problems posed. For 75 intense minutes they beavered away trying to unravel the mathematical knots set before them. 

How well did they do? Well for that we will have to wait until the results are out later in the term 

Congratulations to all who participated and we look forward to finding out how you went.