Middle School 

7ACE Escape Rooms 

For their Ace Project class last semester, Year 7 ACE students designed and created their own escape rooms. They have been busy testing out their designs over the last few weeks, getting them ready to test their family’s escapism skills in the near future. 

They recently invited their friends to test drive their rooms. From this, students learned lots about the weakness in their designs, and also celebrated their successful strengths! A few more tweaks and they’ll be ready to open their rooms to the school community! 

Abbey Novak 

Stem Leader 

YEAR 7 SUPERSPACE EXCURSION 

Over the next few weeks, the Year 7 cohort will be participating in the Superspace Program as part of our partnership with Monash Tech School at Monash University. 

The Superspace program will introduce students to STEM concepts and the skills required to journey across our galaxy. Students will use design thinking and creativity to design spacesuits tailored to a specific space brief. Students will engage in prototyping and problem-solving processes that allow them to combine science, engineering and mathematics in a hands-on manner. 

This on-site experience includes a tour of the facilities, the use of new technologies to encourage a fresh understanding of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the development of collaboration skills, and an introduction to Design Thinking skills in an experiential way.  

Monash Tech School (www.monashtechschool.vic.edu.au) is hosted by Monash University and is one of Victoria's ten new Tech Schools catering to students aged 13-18. The focuses of the schools are materials science, new energy, biotechnology and medical technologies. 

The School seeks to work with high-tech industries, such as those involved in body implants, wearable devices, smart textiles and pharmaceuticals. In addition to the support given by Monash University, CSIRO and local vocational and training providers back this initiative. 

Abbey Novak 

Stem Leader 

World Changers Launchpad

On Thursday 14th July, the Year 7 VHAP students, and 8 ACE students participated in the “World Changers Launchpad” at Monash University. 

It was a fast-paced networking opportunity between students and industry professionals and provided students the chance to interview key figures from a range of different sectors who are changing the world through their occupations. 

Students rotated around the summit and used their interview skills to hear stories and advice from these world-changers, and learn about how they can kick-start their own journey to change the world! 

Following the summit, students were lucky enough to hear from this year’s Graeme Clark

 orator, Dr. Natalia Trayanova, who spoke of her experiences growing up under difficult circumstances, to become the world’s leading Cardiothoracic pioneer. 

The 8ACE students will be following this journey through in their ACE Project class to explore how they can make their own mark on the world using their current skills and resources this semester.  

Here’s what our Year 7 VHAP students had to say about the day: 

"Today was a great opportunity to learn and think about what we can do to change the world. We had a great time learning about the different jobs we can do and had an AMAZING day talking to lots of different people who do that." 

Ruby and Georgie 

"It was very fun to listen to all the people we interviews and hear their stories. It was a great privilege to talk about and understand the different careers that we didn’t even know existed. The way Dr Natalia Trayanova presented her lecture was very interesting; all the topics she talked about were engaging and inspiring." 

Sophie and Emma 

"During the interviews we learned a lot about different career paths that we hadn’t known about before. In our opinion, the Criminologist Kate Burns was the most interesting person to interview. Overall it was an amazing experience and we would love to do it again!" 

Alyssa, Jactinta, Izzie (Year 7) 

"Our favourite activity was the interviews because they inspired us to become better people and help us with our lives in the future. They also helped us to think about careers that might not be as known to the general public." 

Lucas and Joel 

"Today I enjoyed interviewing the people at the Monash Tech School and getting to know about different jobs, personalities and backgrounds. My favourite person to interview was Amanda, the leading scientist of Victoria. Something that I took from this excursion was that communication is very important." 

Zahrah 

"We enjoyed conducting the interviews with the industry professions because we liked hearing about their occupations. We found out about many new jobs that we never could have imagined. As well as the interviews, we heard about other interesting jobs, like someone who made chicken nuggets without meat. Overall this was an amazing experience!" 

Jenna and Bethany 

"One of the things that we liked best today was getting to engage with different types of professions and learn about what lead them to this point. We loved learning about their experiences and their journeys. We found Dr Trayanova’s speech inspiring and intriguing." 

Tilly and Layla 

Our trip to the Monash Tech School was very inspiring and interesting. Each of the industry professionals has something unique to tell us. The jobs ranged from Nanofabrication to the Victoria Police. We found that one of the most valuable skills from the professionals and guest speaker (Dr. Natalia Trayanova) was effective communication. 

Abbey Novak 

Stem Leader