STEM Update

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BLAST OFF

The Year 5/6 students have officially launched into their exciting STEM rocket unit—literally! 

Over the past few sessions, students have been exploring the fascinating history of rockets, learning how they launch, and investigating significant milestones such as the first Moon landing and future plans for returning to the Moon. A real highlight was watching the historical live launch of NASA’s Artemis II mission, as it travelled around the Moon and safely returned to Earth—bringing their learning to life in a powerful and memorable way.

Stepping into the role of scientists and engineers, students have been carefully taking notes, sketching designs, and collaborating in teams to bring their ideas to life.

A major focus of the learning has been understanding the forces that affect rocket flight. Students worked together to investigate concepts such as thrust, gravity, and air resistance, while also identifying the centre of mass and centre of pressure in their designs. Using these ideas, they created accurately measured drawings and constructed their very first test rockets.

Last Monday marked an exciting milestone as teams successfully launched their water bottle rocket prototypes. Students worked collaboratively to prepare and launch their rockets, then measured and recorded key data including distance, height, and speed. The energy on the field was incredible—students were excited, engaged, and truly amazing in the way they supported one another.

This is just the beginning! Students are already looking ahead, eager to refine and improve their rocket designs in the coming weeks as they continue to test, analyse, and innovate.