National Science Week is this week! 

Want to know what we’ve been up to?

Theme: Seeds of Science

Did you know that Science Week has been celebrated each year since the 1980’s!

National Science Week-related activities at APS have been occurring throughout Terms Two and Three at our school. They include:

1. Organising and preparing areas for planting native species as part of our Plant a Tree Day organisation. The Year 5 & 6 students are currently setting up ways to entice butterflies and bees through native plants, establishing worm farms, and planting trees such as Banksias around the school.
2. Year 5 & 6 Biology-Engineering projects, where students are designing and building structures from timber and planting native flowers to assist the survival of native species at our school. See images. These projects were intended to be presented at Parkdale Secondary College’s Science Fair; however, due to factors beyond our control, we have not been able to complete them in time. The Science Fair is this Thursday at Parkdale Secondary College!
3. Year 3 & 4 students have successfully grown broad beans and sugar snap peas from seed using our greenhouse. The plants are now finally growing tall enough to climb in our veggie garden.
4. Year 3 & 4 students are currently designing and making Rube Goldberg machines, which involve levers, inclined planes, gears and pulley systems.
5. Year 1 & 2 students had a visit from our new STEM Professional in Schools partner, Simran Soogumbur, who is a pilot from Moorabbin Airport. They are now busy designing and making gliders out of balsa wood and cardboard.
6. Foundation students grew cress in Term Two and are completing experiments for the rest of the term to test different materials and liquids. There will be a surprise this week! These are wonderful opportunities for students to explore Chemistry through slime-making and observing chemical reactions.

Meet Simi – Our new STEM Professional in School’s Partner

She’s a pilot from Moorabbin Airport and has thoroughly engaged our Year 1 & 2 cohort in Term Three.

What Can You Do?

As part of National Science Week, I encourage families to ask their children about the STEM experiences they have enjoyed at school and look for opportunities to foster their curiosity and love of Science and Technology at home.

Ask your child which areas of STEM they have enjoyed most over the past two years, as we work on a biannual cycle. If there is something they would love to explore that we haven’t yet offered, please let Ms Tideman know!

Parkdale Secondary College Science Fair – Thursday, 6:30–8:30pm

One of our Year 5 students, Matilda, is presenting her science experiment at the Parkdale Secondary College Science Fair this Thursday evening. We wish you all the best, Matilda! We’re sure the audience will love hearing about your investigation into the effects of plant hormones in soil. We look forward to sharing more about her project soon.

There are also many fun science experiments, building challenges and STEM activities that families can try together at home. You can find great ideas on YouTube, Science Buddies and many other websites.

Happy National Science Week!

A big thank you to all our APS students for your enthusiasm, creativity and hard work in STEM, and for helping to improve and care for the surrounds of our school.

Ms Tideman

STEM and Specialist leader