Senior School News
Model United Nations Conference
Participating in a Model United Nations Conference at Monash University (Clayton) on Wednesday, 15 May, Aaryan Kulkarni, Nilam Azemi, Katie Edgar, Abi Fiedler, Jane Butcher, Cooper Faram, Millie Smith and Stephanie Chaberka stepped into the shoes of diplomats for a day.
A creative simulation of the United Nations General Assembly, students from over twenty schools represented Member States of the UN to discuss the construction and development of sustainable future cities. As delegates of the Philippines (Aaryan, Nilam, Jane and Millie) and South Africa (Katie, Abi, Cooper and Stephanie), students had to draw on negotiation and diplomacy skills when presenting their positions to the General Assembly, especially when discussing issues with a particularly passionate delegate from Brazil. In this conference students learned about international relations, the UN system and burning global issues, which kept all participants highly engaged. Students were also given a tour of a Moot Court in the Law Building and gained a sense of what it would be like to serve as a judge or sit on a jury panel.
I would like to thank all participants for their outstanding effort.
Ms Yolanta Chadwick
Year 10 Coordinator
Year 10 Work Experience
3rd week of Term 3
29 July – 2 August 2019
It’s all happening! Students are keen on visiting a variety of different working environments, which is awesome – this will give them a great opportunity to explore their pathways through Years 11&12 and beyond!
Students who undertook their Construction Induction Card (CIC - White Card) training this month have all been handed their certificates of attainment, and their actual “white card” will be posted to their home address in the near future. Well done!
Soon, all Year 10 students will complete Occupational Health and Safety training by undertaking two Safe@Work tests via the Victorian Education Department's Safe@Work website during school time: the 'General Module' which is relevant to all workplaces, and an 'Industry Module' which is specific to the industry they will be attending.
Ms Karen Talbot
VET / Pathways Coordinator
Biology:
Monash University Visits - Bioeyes
During the last week of April, the Year 10 Advanced Biology and Year 11 Biology classes had the privilege of having an educator from Monash University school of Biomedical Sciences visit.
A weeklong, hands-on science project that uses live zebrafish was presented to the students. The program offered exemplary science curriculum in cell biology, genetics and the scientific method.
On the first day, the students collected a mating pair of fish and observed their behaviour with each other. By day 2, the female had laid eggs; they had been fertilized and were able to be collected by the students. The resulting embryos were viewed under the microscope. Over the course of the next few days, the students observed the embryos develop from a single cell to a swimming larva, with a beating heart and a distinct pigmentation pattern.
Students were able to learn about human and fish anatomy, cells and DNA. At the end of the week, they were able to analyse their results and discuss the mode of inheritance of zebra fish pigmentation. The experience was invaluable, thoroughly enjoyed by all students, student teachers and staff.
Year 10 Melbourne Zoo Camp
On the 13th and 14th May, the year 10 Advanced Biological Sciences classes attended overnight camps at Melbourne Zoo. We enjoyed the benefit of having experienced zookeepers as our camp guides. Our students had the rare opportunity to have a night tour of the zoo, which included participating in vocal enrichment for the Asian Elephants and having close-encounters with some reptilian friends. Our keeper guides spoke with us about the variety of adaptions each species has evolved to help them survive in their natural habitat. After a cold night, the students were once again taken on a tour around the zoo, feeding nectar to the birds in aviary and viewing many animals thawing out in the sunshine. Students then had an opportunity to explore the zoo, view a seal show, listen to a number of keeper talks and discover more about animal adaptations. A memorable experience for everyone involved.
Mrs Michelle Osmers and Mrs Heather MacKenzie
Science Domain
Year 12 Physics - DC Motor
As part of the year 12 Physics course students are required to understand how electric fields and magnetics interact. Below is a diagram of the simplest motor that exists; a wire carrying a current passing through a magnetic field. The result is motion.
You will need to imagine an axle going through the middle. Knowing things like direction of current, direction of magnetic field you can determine which way this motor will spin, why and how fast.
Check out the video of the motor the students built.
Mr Danny Van Vliet
Maths / Science Teacher