STEP 

STEP - Robotics

2025 was an absolutely fantastic year for STEP Robotics! Our talented Year 9 and 10 students kicked things off with an exciting excursion to Quantum Victoria, where they got hands-on with the brand-new Autonomous Car Challenge. Using Lego-built vehicles and clever sensor programming, students took on the mission of guiding their cars through a bustling model village—no collisions allowed! The focus, concentration, and creativity on display were incredible.

Later in the year, the action continued at the RoboCup competition in Kew. Our students put their line-following, obstacle-dodging robots to the test against teams from schools and robotics clubs across the region. The atmosphere was electric, and our students rose to the challenge with enthusiasm and teamwork.

Throughout the year, the STEP Robotics crew sharpened some seriously impressive engineering and problem-solving skills—abilities that will no doubt serve them well in whatever pathways they pursue next.

A huge well done to everyone involved! 🚀🤖

Mr Ben Loxham

STEP - 3D Printing and Design

3D Printing is Counting down .. ‘to the end of humanity judging by some creations’

It’s all happening this term in 3D Printing and Design. Some of the most complexed designed COSPLAY masks (I’m sure it’s a Transformer) to Clash Royale inspired ‘logs’. But it is the spooky critters, that are the most ‘Strange Things’. Meticulously sculptured Gargoyles and some deeply terrifying ‘Lovecraftian’ creatures.

The range of talent, creativity and initiative on show for the ‘Top Design Prize’ in 3D Printing and Design is staggering.

A Massive Congratulation to Dayn who took out the Number 1 spot with his Gargoyle!  Well done everyone!

Mr Vito Boglietti 

STEP - STEM Racing

Our fantastic trio — Archine Pinhorn, Finn Van Deursen and Hudson Barnes — achieved an impressive 3rd place in the Senior Professional Class at the Victorian STEM Racing Final held in October.

Over an intensive three days, students worked tirelessly on their trade display, car rectifications, interviews and presentations, trade display judging, and, of course, racing. The event provided invaluable exposure to professional engineers and to students from schools right across the state.

Each year, we edge closer to qualifying for the National Final — a testament to the dedication of our team and the incredible support around them. We extend our gratitude to:

• Paul Woodley – 3D printing and manufacturing extraordinaire

• Aaron Petersen – Instrumental in securing major sponsorship with Bendigo Bank

• Janelle Scott – A motivating force and key support in the final stages and at the event

• Bendigo Bank – Our major team sponsor

A huge thank-you to everyone involved. Your support, expertise and teamwork made this achievement possible.

Mr Tim Thompson

Parkdale STEM Racing

STEP – Parky Plant Project Term 4

The Parky Plant Project took a road trip on Tuesday December 2nd to explore The Diggers Club in Dromana and visit another kitchen garden at Hallam Primary School.

Ross Caughey, our wonderful volunteer gardener started the kitchen garden at Hallan Primary many years ago, and it was wonderful to see how it had developed over time.  The Parkdale students had the opportunity to see a full garden in action, tasting berries and other produce while interacting with the Grade 1 students working in the garden.  At Diggers club, we had a tour of the vegetable garden and learnt about a range of techniques for planting vegetables and ensuring there are enough nutrients in the soil as well as companion planting. 

We looked at the importance of seed collecting and sharing. All of this knowledge will be taken back to our community garden at Parkdale, which is now taking shape with our first harvest happening next week as the radishes reach maturity. 

Our garden now has 5 beds, with carrots, corn, bok choy, lettuce, kale and melons growing very quickly. We are also working on a mural for the garden and have been experimenting with wicking beds so we need to use less water.

Students have chosen some new seeds from Diggers to plant over the coming weeks, including some pollinator attracting sunflowers and salvias. 

Year 7 STEP

What an exciting and action-packed semester it has been for our Year 7 STEP students! We kicked off the term with a major achievement: Team Green Eggs and Onions were crowned Grand Champions in the PSC Design a Car Racing Competition. A huge congratulations to Toby Harris, Jayden Wei and Alejandro Villegas on their outstanding creativity and engineering.

Our STEP sessions have been buzzing with hands-on learning ever since. Students explored the world of robotics through our high-energy Robowars competition, featuring LEGO Mindstorms robots designed and programmed entirely by the students. Congratulations to Jake Delaney and Sully Williams, our Robowars champions, for their cleverly engineered and fiercely competitive robot.

This semester’s science investigations were equally fascinating. Students took part in forensics activities, examining fingerprint patterns and blood typing, as well as biological dissections—including a flower dissection and a detailed exploration of a sheep heart. These sessions gave students an exciting, practical look into real scientific processes.

We were also fortunate to enjoy two full-day excursions. At the Quantum Victoria Centre of Excellence, students immersed themselves in electronics and coding, working extensively with Arduinos to build and program their own devices. Another highlight was our visit to the Science Gallery Melbourne at the University of Melbourne, where we explored the vibrant, technology-rich exhibition Distraction. This immersive fusion of art and science captivated everyone—an experience we highly recommend to visitors of all ages. Best of all, the exhibition is free to the general public and conveniently located right next to Melbourne University.

It has been a remarkable year of curiosity, creativity and discovery for Year 7 STEP, and we look forward to even more exciting learning ahead!  

Looking Ahead: Year 8 STEP Enrolments Now Open

Students wishing to continue their STEM journey are encouraged to enrol in our Year 8 STEP programs for next year. We are thrilled to offer a diverse and engaging selection of subjects, including:

• Anatomy by Dissection

• Coding

• F1 PSC Racing

• Cosmetic Chemistry

• Parky Plant Project

   

These programs offer rich, hands-on experiences designed to challenge, inspire and extend our budding scientists and engineers. We encourage all interested students to secure their place and continue their STEP adventure in 2026!

Tim Thompson

Parkdale STEP Teacher

STEP Forensics

What a thrilling year it’s been in STEP Forensics! We kicked things off with an unforgettable crime-solving day at Quantum Victoria, where students were immersed in a realistic crime scene and stepped straight into the roles of Forensic Scientists and Detectives. It didn’t take long before they were piecing together clues, analysing evidence, and uncovering whodunnit!

Throughout the year, our incredible young investigators have picked up an impressive toolkit of forensic skills. They’ve mastered fingerprinting, explored the fascinating world of blood spatter analysis, and created detailed footprint casts from “evidence left behind.” Using our specialised “Faces” program, students crafted lifelike witness facial composites and paired them with clear, clever witness statements.

They even dove into the intriguing realm of dental forensics, examined all kinds of mysterious trace fibres, and designed some absolutely outstanding crime scene scenarios—which challenged not only their classmates, but also parents, to crack the case!

You have all outdone yourselves this year. Your curiosity, creativity, and detective instincts have been nothing short of spectacular.

Well done, everyone! 🔍🧪🕵️‍♂️

You too can be involved with Forensics….it’s not too late to sign up,  go to Parkdale Secondary College - STEP Application -  2026  – Fill out form

Miss Janelle Scott 

Parkdale STEP Teacher/Coordinator