Science and Design Technology News
End of Term 4:
Science Department Term 4 -End of Year Update
As we come to the end of another busy and rewarding year, it is a great time to reflect on all of the learning that has occurred in 2025. From Year 7 through to Year 12, students have been immersed in hands-on investigations, real-world problem solving, and rich scientific thinking.
Whether exploring ecosystems, dissecting hearts and brains, analysing water quality in university labs, or investigating forces and motion at Luna Park, our students have continued to show curiosity, creativity, and a willingness to take on new challenges.
Throughout the year, students participated in a wide range of excursions, incursions, and practical experiences that helped connect classroom learning to authentic scientific contexts. Highlights included the Beyond Climate design sprint for Year 9, BioEYES in Year 10 Biology, What’s in Water? for Year 11 Chemistry, and the Luna Park Physics excursion. Junior students also enjoyed activities such as Dry Ice Day, heart dissections, building electrical circuits, and designing miniature ecosystems as well as developing both practical skills and a deeper appreciation of the scientific world.
Our department has also enjoyed strengthening partnerships within the community. The visit from Oakleigh Primary School saw Grade 5 students engaging in a design sprint and laboratory investigations, while our involvement in Quantum Victoria’s STEM Careers Day helped students explore future pathways and learn from professionals working in diverse STEM fields.
As we look ahead, teachers are already working hard to plan engaging and meaningful learning experiences for 2026. The Science team is reviewing programs, updating resources, and exploring new opportunities to make learning even more hands-on, inclusive, and connected to real-world applications. We are committed to continually improving our curriculum to ensure students develop strong scientific literacy and confidence in their abilities.
Thank you to all students, families, and staff for your support throughout the year. We wish everyone a safe, restful, and enjoyable holiday break, and we look forward to seeing our students return refreshed and ready for another exciting year of learning in 2026.
Step Up Program
During the Step Up Program, Year 8 and 9 students had the opportunity to explore and propose solutions to the complex problem of school attendance. Students were presented with a range of fictional personas, each with different needs and challenges affecting their ability to attend school. They worked through the design thinking process, empathising with their persona, identifying barriers, and ideating creative solutions. The students were fantastic; they engaged deeply with the activities and came up with thoughtful and innovative ideas. They also did an excellent job presenting their solutions to their classes.
Gauragna, Sun, and Dave created an app to support students who struggle with social disconnection. Their idea, Social Bot, is an app designed for users of all ages. It provides guidance on how to overcome social disconnection and includes a variety of features such as tutorials and quizzes.
Zach and James developed a solution for students who struggle to get up in the morning. Their invention, the Mystery Clock, asks: “Have you ever been unable to get up in the morning? Always struggling to get out of bed?” The Mystery Clock is a gadget designed to wake you up in new and unusual ways. Whether it's blasting noise or something completely unexpected, the device is fully randomised with over 1000 different wake-up methods.
Jessie, Grace, and Georgia created a social media campaign to support students who struggle with perfectionism. Their idea, #99%, aims to spread awareness that it is okay not to be perfect. The campaign promotes messages such as:
● “No one is perfect. Everyone has flaws, that’s what makes us human.
● “It’s okay to not be 100% all the time. Humans have a wide range of emotions and life wouldn’t have meaning if we couldn’t feel all of them.”
● “No one should shame you or disadvantage you for feeling low. They should empathise with you and support you. If they don’t, their opinion isn’t one you should value.”
The purpose of the campaign is to help students who struggle with attending school better understand themselves and feel more comfortable with who they are.
Rowan Presland
Learning Specialist STEM | Science