John Monash Science School

Events

Engineering Immersion Day 2018

Our Year 11 students were involved in Engineering Immersion Day on Wednesday 5 December. Held annually, the Immersion Day is a special program run by Monash University for JMSS that allows students to learn more about research and careers in the field of engineering.

 

Students experienced a welcome talk from the Dean of Engineering, Professor Elizabeth Croft, and participated in two elective workshops in areas including chemical engineering, mechatronics, civil engineering and Robogals.

 

It was exciting to see former JMSS students running the workshops this year, with our current students having a fantastic time utilising the Monash University campus and facilities, and learning a great deal about engineering and their prospective futures.

Model United Nations

by Sebastien Montemurro

 

On Thursday 29 November,  a colourful consortium of countries and cultures brightened the GO rooms at John Monash Science School, as students participate in a model UN with the United Nations Association of Australia Victorian Division.

 

Between the negotiations and the interviews, the John Monash Model United Nations day was packed to the brim with excitement and fun.

 

Student were representing countries or committees, each holding its own stance and role in the ongoing issue of Food Security - the topic of the day’s debate. Countries were interviewed by the Press Corps with probing questions and the committees were traversing the collection of countries organising things such as economic factors, legislative factors, etc.

 

Meanwhile, the countries were debating and negotiating, disagreeing and agreeing, until a compromise was made. This was the very essence of the day: for countries to come to an agreed compromise over something they may not have agreed with initially. And in that sense, the day was a huge success; many amendments (changes to the resolution) passed, and overall the resolution succeeded. In that respect, a lot of other interesting events happened throughout the day, such as arms deals between Saudi Arabia and North Korea of “questionable legality.”

 

Overall, the day was quite entertaining, and although all of the countries disagreed on at least one issue throughout the day, there is one thing I am certain they would agree on: it was a really fun day.

Great Victorian Bike Ride

by Sarah Adolph

On Saturday 24 November we took 17 students, 2 teachers and 1 parent on a 541km cycling journey as part of the 2018 Great Victorian Bike Ride.

 

The journey started in Bright and passed through Beechworth where we got to sample their amazing meat pies, before moving on to Tallangatta and proceeding to tackle the 104km ride to Rutherglen.

 

Arriving in Rutherglen, we enjoyed a well deserved rest day, featuring a healthy and restorative pizza lunch, and added Mr Whyte to the team.

 

We had a cruisy ride to Yarrawonga next to the picturesque Murray River and over into NSW - where we all but melted in the scorching heat - followed by huge 95km ride to Glenrowan where the students encountered Ned Kelly riding through the streets! 

 

The ride finished on Sunday 2 December with a short ride into Benalla. 

 

Highlights of the trip included:

  • The 5, 6, 7am morning routine
  • The daily presentation of awards, including the 'Gavin Award', named after our very own Gavin Li
  • The amazing help from our parent helper Brian Blight
  • The great comments of the other riders about our awesome JMSS riding kit.
  • And last, but not least, the fantastic, positive, encouraging and supportive attitude that our students demonstrated throughout the entire but the experience fun and enjoyable for everyone.

We looking to gather interest for the 2019 Great Victorian Bike Ride, running from Robe to Torquay.

 

Stay tuned for details early next year!

Japan Super Science Fair

by Jenny Hu , Madhu Raghunath & Daniel Cornelius

 

 

After two long and shaky flights from Melbourne we finally arrived in Kyoto on Monday 12 November, just days after the stressful exam period. After a great day of sightseeing and a relaxing night at our hotel, we arrived at the Ritsumeikan University, where the highly anticipated Japan Super Science Fair 2018 was declared open with a tremendous performance by the Ritsumeikan High School Orchestra and meeting with our very friendly buddies, who had previously visited John Monash Science school back in March. We presented Jenny Hu’s thrilling research on organic and nonorganic strawberries and were enthused by the many other informative and interesting projects.

 

The Fair was filled with lots of fun activities which allowed us to explore the world of Science from all different perspectives, but what made the trip most memorable was the incredibly warm hospitality of the Japanese and the new friends we have made from all over the world. It’s truly exciting to see what great differences and similarities we have with students who are the same age as us but live in different countries.

 

Some highlights of this trip included: The poster exhibition, where we were able to see all of Jenny’s hard work in her poster which was finally displayed after a long and stressful transport period, our trips to the Fushimi-Inari Shrine, the Golden Temple, the Nishikan Market, the Japanese vending machines which were found everywhere and the visit to the humongous Ritsumeikan High School which had the greatest cafeteria!

 

This Fair allowed us to build relationships which will last much longer than the week we spent together and we are all so grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Thank you so much to Mr Anderson who had to part with his young children for a week and Ms Cheah- Johnson for accompanying us despite having to organise the mayhem of Presentation Night which was a huge success.

JMSS Jazz Night

by Chloe Wynen

2018 has been an incredible year for the Music Department, with events such as Music Camp and Battle of the Bands, Jazz Night was the perfect event to end the year with a bang.

 

The JMSS Jazz Night is an annual music event which is held at the Uptown Jazz Cafe in Brunswick, a quaint and atmospheric place to perform and grow. Around 25 students practised for weeks for this night, practising Jazz techniques such as certain embellishments, improvisation and scat. This night is always daunting for everyone as no one had the opportunity to practise with the band but was very rewarding as it provided us with an opportunity to embrace what life really is like for a professional musician.

 

We were accompanied by the incredible pianist, Steve Sedergreen, a drummer and a double bass player. There was a variety of instruments played by students, such as voice, trombone, trumpet, saxophone and bass. It was an incredible night with the support and love shown from fellow students, parents and teachers.