Student Excellence Programs

Carnegie Primary School students have continued their exciting start to the year with a range of enriching academic opportunities.

Stempals

Some thoughts from students about the STEMpals program so far this year:

Vinnie: I have really enjoyed my time at stempals. I think it's a fun way to learn about a stem professional. We all have been paired up with an expert in a stem area. I have been paired up with a marine biologist. In my letter I have talked about my experience with swimming with sharks and asked questions about their everyday life, like what AFL team they go for and what they do in their job.

Ellie: STEMpals have been lots of fun! I know I can’t wait to get my letter. I know my STEMpal is a GEOSCIENTIST, I don't know what that is, but I know I want to find out. Her job seems very interesting. We haven’t gotten our letters yet, so I’m very excited to hear back. In term one we learnt about our stempal and what we have in common and wrote our letters to them. This term we're receiving our letters back from them and hopefully writing another one. I’m eager to find out more about my stempal. I already know we have things in common, like our hobbies, but I want to find out what things we don't have in common and about their job.

Phoebe: I've enjoyed stempals so much this year because we get to communicate with others about all types of STEM. My favourite part of STEM so far has been writing my letter which is full of questions. I find my STEMpal very interesting because I find her job very unique. We know a little bit about our STEMpals, like what things we have in common, such as we have the same hobbies and maybe pets. I’m looking forward to receiving a letter back.

John Monash Science School Mini Mathematician Program

On the 22nd of April, a group of our students began their participation in the Mini Mathematician Program run by John Monash Science School. This has been an exciting opportunity for students to explore the world of mathematics through hands-on problem solving, teamwork, and creative thinking. Throughout the program, students have challenged themselves with engaging mathematical activities that encouraged curiosity, persistence, and confidence in numeracy skills. It has been wonderful to see our young mathematicians develop their skills while having fun and discovering new ways mathematics connects to everyday life.

Darsh and Azalia:

Darsh: We have recently been participating in the Mini Mathematicians program organised by John Monash Science School. From Carnegie Primary School, Isaac, Piper, Azalia, and I attended the program for four weeks on Wednesdays. During the sessions, we explored mathematics through creative puzzles, interactive games, and fun problem-solving activities alongside Grade 10 students.

Azalia: My favourite part of the program was working together as a team to solve challenging problems and discovering new math ideas. A special thank you to Ms Cogan for organising and managing this opportunity from CPS and for giving us the chance to take part in such an enjoyable and inspiring experience.

Victorian Coding Challenge

A group of Carnegie students will also be commencing the Victorian Coding Challenge, an exciting opportunity to develop computational thinking and programming skills. Students will design, create and problem-solve through coding tasks that foster logical reasoning and creativity in a digital context.

We are incredibly proud of our students for embracing these

opportunities and look forward to celebrating their achievements

throughout the year.

Piper: I’ve learnt so much and I enjoy coding much more now

because of it. My favourite one so far has been the colour taurus.

Eden: It’s been really fun and it has taught me more about coding.

Ani: It’s been challenging at times and I feel super proud when I complete a task that I’ve been working on. My favourite one so far has been challenge two, where we had to create a game to meet a target number.

The Victorian Mathematics Games Challenge is an engaging six-part online competition designed specifically for high ability students in Years 5–10.

Teams of 4 students will complete a series of self-paced modules, each designed to take between 90–120 minutes to complete. Each task is scored automatically upon submission, with teams and individuals achieving the highest scores being awarded prizes throughout the program.

The modules are intended to:

Engage, challenge, and extend a wide range of high-achieving students.
Deepen understanding across a variety of mathematical curriculum content.
Develop mathematical skills and proficiencies through games, puzzles, and rich tasks.
Provide opportunities to apply fluency, creativity, and reasoning to solve novel problems.
Get students working like mathematicians through unique and challenging activities.
Celebrate and showcase student achievements via leaderboards and competition rankings.
Promote collaboration, teamwork, and the sharing of ideas and strategies.

We are immensely proud of our students for taking part in these opportunities and are excited to celebrate their accomplishments across the year.