SCIENCE 

Science Week

Science week this year saw two main events staged: a morning tea for staff and a lunchtime 'Science Spectacular' for students.

To kick-start the week, staff were treated with delicacies such as Einstein Cupcakes, Brain Pate, Science Equipment Biscuits, Cell Pizzas and Rocky Road Rocks.

At lunchtime on Thursday, staff presented our 'Lunchtime Spectacular' which saw one hundred students packed into room 11 to see some of the activities and demonstrations we can’t do in class. Reuben tubes, tea bag rockets and strong electromagnets amazed the students. Mrs Tedesco and Mr Ortlieb lit up the room by igniting exploding methane bubbles, and the finale of making ice cream with liquid nitrogen topped off a spectacular lunchtime. The objective of the day was to showcase some of the impressive elements of science and to get students enthused about Science; objectives that were certainly achieved! Well done to all staff involved.

Jamie Zimmerman

Science Coordinator

Physics

The Synchrotron is Australia’s largest scientific user facility, benefitting over 3000 researchers from academia, medical research institutes, government, other research organisations, and industry. The facility  plays a vital role in the training and education of our next generation of scientists.

This year, 17 Year 12 Physics students attended The Australian Synchrotron’s Lab Sessions which are designed for students studying Unit 4 Physics. These sessions aim to familiarise the students with the basics of synchrotron techniques by undertaking experiments which demonstrate several Physics principles. The session was four hours in duration and included a one hour tour of the facility. Students were provided with booklets to record findings and then later analysed their results. A worthwhile day, as it was so relevant for the SAC on Interactions of Light and Matter.

Deepa Jain

Physics teacher

Girls in Physics Breakfast

This event was organised by Vicphysics, Melbourne to encourage girls to consider career options in Physics and to enable networking with other female students and physicists. Six girls from years 10 to 12 were given an opportunity to sit down with other schools' students, teachers and renowned physicists to discuss and share ideas at Hawthorn Arts Centre on 25 August.

More than 200 physics students and teachers from different Victorian schools gathered from 6. 30 am till 9.30 am. We got to know the people at our table and were able to ask questions and receive answers from people who work in physics.

The guest speaker was the Australian Institute of Physics Women In Physics lecturer, Dr Catalina Curceanu, head lecturer at the National Institute of Nuclear Physics in Italy. We were given the opportunity to listen to Dr Catalina Curceanu and hear her story and why she decided to study physics. The students were able to ask her questions and gather information about what physics involves.

The students who attended the event were given the opportunity to have a royal breakfast and discover whether physics is something they would like to pursue in life.

Montanna Ferry

Year 10

Biology

At the end of Unit 3 Biology, students attended the Gene Technology Access Centre at University High to learn about the immune system and its applications in biomedicine. Students were treated to a lecture by experts in the field looking at the human immune response, then participated in a hands on practical, performing diagnostic tests to identify a bacterium causing an outbreak of mastitis in a dairy herd. They examined antibiotic sensitivity tests to determine the ideal treatment for the infection and used spectrophotometers to determine the bacteriostatic and bactericidal concentrations of antibiotic for treating infections. The day provided a useful, practical session which complemented the theory they had been studying in class.

Jamie Zimmerman

Science Coordinator

Primary School Visits

Recently a group of 20 Grade 1 and 2 students from St Anne’s Primary School in East Kew, visited the Kew High School science laboratory. The students have been studying Science in class and wanted to see how a science classroom works.

They witnessed the remarkable elephant toothpaste, familiarised themselves with scientific equipment and made observations and predictions regarding colour changes in acids and bases. It was a very exciting lesson for everyone involved.

Jamie Zimmerman

Science Coordinator