GAPP News
by Dr Bernadette Sheedy, Learning Specialist - Gifted and High Ability Learners
Box Hill High School
8 GAPP Forensic Science Program
On Tuesday 4 August, 8 GAPP was joined by the 8 SEAL class from Balwyn High School to participate in a Forensic Science program in SATERN. This program was facilitated by Mr Ricky Ha, supported by Ms Lisa Xie, Ms Kristen Catsamas and Year 12 Chemistry students who mentored the junior students.
The program provided students with the opportunity to work collaboratively to learn about how forensic science investigations are carried out and the practical experiments which are conducted to test different types of evidence.
This allowed students to determine the question ‘Who killed Peppa Pig?’
Student feedback
Alvin L – The most enjoyable part of the program was getting to do the experiments. A key takeaway was learning how forensic scientists are able to uncover truths.
Luke Y – The most enjoyable part of the program was doing the titration experiment. A key takeaway was learning how many different ways there are of doing forensic science.
Marco M – Working with the Balwyn SEAL students was the most enjoyable part of the program. A key takeaway is that Science is all about facts, and not opinions.
Rostrum Public Speaking Competition Report
On Sunday 24 May, Aishani S 8H, represented our school at the Rostrum Voice of Youth public speaking competition at Huntingtower School in Mount Waverley.
She delivered a 6-minute prepared speech on the topic of ‘Special Moments’. We congratulate her for an excellent performance.
This is feedback from Aishani about her experience in the competition:
Participating in the Rostrum public speaking competition was truly an honour. Watching students my age presenting their opinions and ideas was really inspiring. I think it is such a good program and opportunity because you can develop new skills such as planning, prepping and obviously public speaking.
A few weeks prior to the competition date we were given our topics that we could choose from. The topics are quite interesting and encourage you to think deeply. You need to research carefully about your topic and make sure your speech is flowing smoothly.
If you are interested in doing the competition, I think my biggest tip is to make sure that you know what you are talking about. What I mean by this is you shouldn’t be looking at your cue cards the entire time. The cue cards should have your main points but not your entire speech. This is very important because you will want to make eye contact with the audience and judges to prove you are confident.
Overall, I think the Rostrum public speaking competition is definitely something you should try out, there is nothing to lose but so much to gain!