STEAM News

🌟 STEAM Term 2 Update – St Columba’s Primary School 🌟

It’s been a buzzing Term 2 in the STEAM space, with students across all year levels exploring, designing, experimenting and creating! Here’s a peek into what’s been happening:

🟡 PREP – Little Directors with Big Imaginations

Our youngest learners have stepped into the role of photographers and filmmakers! Using LEGO minifigures, they’ve been exploring scene setting, lighting, zooming, and staging to show movement like walking, running and jumping. This exciting project is an extension of their Term 1 inquiry ‘How we express ourselves’—where imagination, inspiration and creativity were front and centre.

🟢 GRADES 1 & 2 – Back to the Future (with Green Screens!)

Students have taken a journey through time using green screen technology! In line with their inquiry ‘Where we are in Place and Time’, they’ve been learning about life in the 1950s, how things have changed today, and even imagining schools of the future. Along the way, they’ve picked up some great tech. vocab. like chroma keying—the magic behind removing the green background and replacing it with their chosen scene.

🔵 GRADE 3 – Budding Scientists and Presenters

Our Grade 3s have been busy experimenting and documenting their discoveries as part of their unit ‘How the World Works’. In STEAM, they created scientific method templates using Google Slides, learning how to title their work, add text boxes, insert images, and share their learning with clarity and flair.

🟠 GRADES 4, 5 & 6 – Bringing History to Life (with Tech!)

Linking to their current unit ‘Where we are in Place and Time’, our senior students began by researching an individual who helped shape Australia’s national identity. They’re now taking that knowledge and creating interactive presentations using Makey Makey and Scratch! Think games, posters, or digital books—where clicking on a character might make it speak, move, or even oink like a pig.

💡 STEAM CLUB – Builders, Makers & Innovators Unite!

STEAM Club continues to thrive, with over 40 students involved! We’ve just launched the St Columba’s LEGO Masters Challenge, where students receive a new LEGO challenge each week. Congratulations to this week’s winners, Percy, Angie & Rishabh. Some upcoming ideas include:

• Design a floating raft
• Build a house for a tiny creature
• Create a marble maze
• Construct a model of a famous landmark

We’ve also added some exciting new gadgets, like magnetic drawing boards, coordinate games, and coding block kits!

🤖 ROBOTICS CLUB – Still Going Strong!

Our after-school Robotics Club (run by Kids Unlimited) continues to be a highlight. Students use LEGO Spike to solve weekly challenges while building vital skills in:

• Clear instructions and communication
• Logical and computational thinking
• Creative problem solving

New Electronics Club Launching in Term 3!

We’re excited to announce the launch of a new Electronics Club starting in Term 3! This club will run every Tuesday in the STEAM Room and is open to students from Prep to Grade 4.

We’ll also continue to run the Wednesday Electronics Club, offering even more opportunities for curious minds to explore circuits, components and creative tech projects.

Please note: Sessions will only run if minimum enrolment numbers are met. All bookings are managed directly through Kids Unlimited, with Miss Rachael as the school contact for any questions.

Flyer attached with full details—don’t miss out!

🗓️ SAVE THE DATE: WHOLE SCHOOL STEAM DAY – Thursday 3rd July

Back by popular demand, our annual STEAM Day returns in Week 10. 

Expect a full day of hands-on fun, curiosity, and problem-solving. More details to come—watch this space!