What's Been Happening!

WORLD OF ROBOTICS INCURSION (JUNIOR SCHOOL)

BY ALLEN DICKSON (ENRICHMENT CO-ORDINATOR) 

If you wandered into the DC anytime last Tuesday or Wednesday, you would have seen a most peculiar sight; our little BHCS engineers busily creating robotic pets, food delivery robots and robots that could do push ups and aerobics.

So what was going on? It was our annual visit from Kevin and Pauline Taylor and their ‘World of Robotics’ van. These two legends in Robotics Education have been running incursions in schools for over 25 years and they make a special place in their itinerary each year for our BHCS Junior School.

Students from Years 1 to Year 4 demonstrated amazing problem-solving skills and design processes to meet each 'Taylor-ed' brief. Each pair devised contraptions that were diverse – from scorpions with laser eyes to double-decker door-dashers. In just over an hour the students went from having a jumble of Robotix bits to presenting their working models to the rest of the class, all expertly guided by Kevin, Pauline and their class teacher… and even Mr Cliffe and I added our two cents as well!

It was particularly encouraging to hear the excitement even from the Secondary students walking past when they saw Kevin and Pauline. Smiles and comments like “That’s those guys that we had when we were in Primary” and “I remember making a Mars rover back in Grade 4”. It just goes to show that experiences like this really ‘stick’ and become a part of the story that builds students’ confidence in Digital Technologies and STEM.

CREPES FOR ALL (YEAR 5 & 6)

BY THE FRENCH DEPARTMENT 

All students in Year 5/6 were involved in the Shrove Tuesday celebrations (Le Mardi Gras) on Thursday, March 3rd. Shrove Tuesday is largely celebrated in France every year by people of Catholic faith to mark the beginning of Lent (Le Carême). 

To mark the occasion, the Year 5/6 students in the Food Tech elective made enough crêpes for all the children in Year 5/6 which they enjoyed during Period 3. 

The students had lots of fun selecting from two choices of topping, sugar and lemon juice (du sucre et citron) and Nutella (du Nutella) and ordering their crêpe in French! 

A DAY TO MAKE MUSIC

BY DARRYL THOMPSON (MUSIC TEACHER) 

Thirteen musical students headed out last Friday to Maranatha Christian School's Officer Campus to play and sing for a whole day as part of the CSEN Cultural Activities. As befits the essential nature of music, this program is not a competition, but rather a group of musicians working towards a common goal of making music together. 

This very act can be intensely rewarding for the participants, whether they sing or play instruments. It is also a wonderful opportunity to meet with others doing the same thing and to make and strengthen friendships. 

There is one more opportunity coming up on the 22nd of March, to continue the rehearsals we started last week. Due to Covid restrictions, there will not be a final public performance as such, but the students are reveling in the opportunity to rehearse with others. In these uncertain times, the power that music has to express the inexpressible is highly valued and these students are leaping at the chance.