In Term 1 there were a number of visits to the Ballarat Tech School.

Our Year 7s completed the ‘STEM in action’ program which saw the students rotating through three one hour-long sessions exploring a variety of STEM concepts and activities framed by a contextual discussion of STEM and a demonstration of an emerging technology. The session rotations included Virtual Reality experiences, programming VEX robots to automate simple tasks and exploring the impact of perceptions and senses in relation to food choices. The program was a perfect introduction to the facilities and teaching style of the Ballarat Tech School.

Year 12 Biology students also ventured to the Tech School to complete a session on molecular genetics and transformation and gene regulation. The molecular genetics session had students using gel electrophoresis, together with a family’s medical history, to diagnose a monogenetic or “single-gene” disorder and practice providing valuable genetic counselling. The transformation and gene regulation session had students investigation the process of bacterial transformation as they introduce a green fluorescent protein (GFP) containing plasmid into E. coli and select for its presence using an antibiotic.

Big Science Competition

On Monday 13th May we will be running the Australian Science Innovations ‘Big Science Competition’. This is the first year that the school will be running this competition and we are hoping to get as many students involved as possible. The Big Science Competition is open to students in Years 7 to 10 globally. It’s a 50-minute, multiple choice online competition testing science knowledge, critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Questions are set in real-life, contemporary contexts, making them relatable… and interesting!

Challenge students from Years 7 to 10.
Track their performance against state and national averages.
Questions are aligned with the Australian Curriculum – Science.
Four paper levels which correspond to each year level.
Schools and students can win great prizes!

Students receive a certificate indicating their performance and schools will receive comprehensive reporting on student results compared to class, school and national averages. Sitting the Big Science Competition could lead to selection in our science extension programs including the Junior Science Olympiad Training Squad and Curious Minds – girls in STEM.

More information and FAQs can be found at : https://www.asi.edu.au/program/big-science-competition/#bscrego. If your child would like to participate in this event, please email me with the students name at hwem@ballaraths.net. Registration closes on May 1st.

Hannah Wemyss-Sanderson

Head of Faculty – Science

Head Start - Update