Specialist News
STEM:
Over the past four weeks, students across all year levels have been engaged in exciting STEM challenges, developing their problem-solving, creativity, and teamwork skills. It has been wonderful to see their enthusiasm as they explore new concepts and apply their knowledge in hands-on projects.
In Prep, students have been introduced to the engineering design cycle, helping them understand the process of designing, testing, and improving their ideas. Through chemistry-based activities, such as cracking animal eggs, creating lemon volcanoes, and experimenting with magic milk, they explored different materials, tools, and equipment. These hands-on experiments sparked curiosity and encouraged them to think like scientists and engineers.
Year 1/2 students have been working on designing their own explorer outfits as part of their unit on materials and properties. They began by learning how different fabrics function and conducted waterproof testing to understand material suitability. After researching and discussing their ideas, students sketched their designs before bringing them to life using real fabric. This process allowed them to make decisions about materials based on their purpose while also developing their fine motor skills and creativity.
Year 3/4 students have been working on the Zoo Animal Enrichment Project, hosted by Zoos Victoria. They began by researching their chosen animals to understand their behaviours and needs before brainstorming ideas for enrichment prototypes using recycled materials. Throughout this project, teamwork has been a key focus, with students collaborating to refine their ideas and support one another in the design process. Their final designs will be posted on the Fighting Extinction Schools platform, where they will receive expert feedback from Zoos Victoria.
In Year 5/6, students have been exploring sustainable farming and investigating how plant adaptations inform agricultural practices. They researched sustainable farming methods, conducted a soil water drainage investigation, and applied their findings to design their own farms. Using Minecraft Education, students are now bringing their sustainable farm designs to life, considering factors such as water conservation, soil health, and crop management. This project has encouraged them to think critically about real-world environmental challenges and apply their STEM knowledge in a creative and interactive way.
It has been fantastic to see students so engaged in their learning, demonstrating creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving across all year levels. We look forward to seeing their final projects come together in the coming weeks.
Visual Arts:
Year 5/6 students did half portrait drawings this term. We focused on proportion, paying attention to shape, size and position of each element, and including at least 3 shadings, such as highlights, mid tones and shadows. A lot of students were proud of their drawings and mentioned, “This drawing is the best drawing ever!”.
