Science News

The science staff at Marian welcomes a new member to our team of specialists. Mrs Binita Dangol joins us from Sydney.  I am sure students will enjoy working with her to build their brains and we hope she has an exciting year, albeit very, very busy.

And so this is how we have started the year! The Year 7 students have been doing a great job of learning the apparatus and skills that scientists use in the laboratory. Next week they will be trying to show their safe use and skills, lighting and using the Bunsen burner and then they will be awarded their Bunsen burner licence.  After their satisfactory introduction, Year 7 students will start collecting and recording data and learn how to graph data and use it to predict and recognise trends. 

Year 8 have started their unit of growing living things and will lead into their student research project which will be due next term. This has been a great season for growing with the La Nina weather conditions. Students will be exploring seeds, germination and the requirements for growth as the develop the scientific report for their SRP . 

Year 9 are grappling with the big chemistry unit which is very challenging, but students are trying their best. It requires an understanding of how elements get together to make compounds. Those little electrons are hard to keep a track of when they move so fast and have never been seen doing their stuff!  It is pretty amazing that we know so much about them and understandable that students find it hard to develop and remember chemical formulae. 

Year 10 are exploring the deep mysteries of life with an understanding of the DNA molecule and how it works to make their bodies from a single cell to a specialised billion cell organism We will delve further into the code that is used to make the correct proteins and the mechanism of replication and gamete formation. This is a great start to the study of biology at the senior level. 

Year 11, who have chosen a science, have started their journey through the two senior years and although it is a smaller than usual chemistry class for 2022, we have had a great time in the lab working with a homogeneous mixture, milk, and using it to make some cheese. 

Year 11 Biology have started their study of the Ecosystem and will be going on an excursion to the Eucalypt and Red Gum forest at Darlington Point to study an ecosystem first hand and to identify biotic and abiotic factors in that ecosystem. 

I would like to encourage all students to work with their teachers in a learning team so that they can  achieve their personal best and feel confident, thoughtful, inquisitive and brave to ask questions, search for answers and share solutions.

As Father Beltrame used to say, have some beautiful experiences and keep us all in your prayers

Best wishes

Esther Dumbleton  (Science Leader of Learning)