Specialists Curriculum 

At St Thomas

STSS Science, Technology,  Sustainability and Stewardship

A word from Mr Rooney this week...

STSS learning this semester has focused on the world around us. We have learned about forces and energy and how we use them. This term the focus has turned to three very specific forms of energy, light, sound and heat.

Our senior school has been identifying the difference between artificial light and natural light and that light travels in a straight line. They completed an experiment to test if materials were transparent, translucent or opaque. Over the next few weeks, they will continue to investigate the properties of light and how it can be affected by the materials and mediums that it encounters.

Our grade three and four students are looking at heat energy. They have wrestled with the difference between heat and temperature and have looked at how we measure heat. They  have seen the magic of thermal imaging as a way to “see” heat and have investigated the generation of heat through friction. As the investigations continue, they will learn how heat is conducted from one object to another and will conduct a number of experiments to demonstrate this principle.

The junior school has been investigating sound. They have looked at our senses and which sense we use to hear. They have also been finding out that sound is a series of vibrations that travel through the air or another medium. They constructed string telephones and experimented with what happens if the string is tight, loose or if they hold it. Music will be a part of the students' learning as the term progresses and the students will be making their own instruments and decorating them in art.