Science Faculty

Year 7 completed a variety of investigations into forces and their importance in our everyday lives. They then moved on to looking up to have a closer look at the Solar System, how it formed and the features that are found within it. Students have also looked at how we observe the Solar System and learnt to appreciate that people have been observing and using the stars for tens of thousands of years.

Year 8 enjoyed a term of chemistry, learning to distinguish between physical and chemical changes. The students finished off the year by making honeycomb and sherbet. 

Year 9 have been closely examining the structure of the Earth, in particular the crust and how its movement produces volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis. They have enjoyed modelling volcanic eruptions and have developed an appreciation for how many earthquakes occur in Australia, even though we are in the centre of a tectonic plate.  They have hopefully come to realisation that the topography we see around us is due to the movement of the plates that make up the Earth’s crust. Unfortunately, they have also seen the devastating consequences that these natural disasters can have on people’s lives. 

The students then went on to study ecosystems through a deep dive into the importance of healthy soils and the vital role our pollinators, in particular our mighty bees play in food webs.

Year 10 was only with us for the first 6 weeks of this term and spent this time looking into the past at the stars. They had their minds blow, trying to fathom the scale of the Universe, struggling to understand the time continuum and how this fits into their day. They then went on to complete their Global Issues Task where they worked in pairs to research a contemporary scientific issue that is a concern across the world. The students covered issues ranging from water availability to deforestation and plastics pollution. They used the information they collected to create a presentation which they shared with their Science class. The staff would like to congratulate the students on their courage and resilience to stand and present to their peers.

Year 11 have moved into their Year 12 courses at the beginning of this term and have been working hard to make a solid start to their final year.  We encourage the students to have a restful holiday and spend some time reviewing and summarising the content they have completed this term. These summaries can be shared with their teachers to seek feedback that they are on-track to what they need to be including. Glossaries of key terms are also a great way to build knowledge of course content.

Louise Watkiss

Head Teacher Science