Science Domain

Making Connections

On Friday 17th May a group of Year 10 and 11 students from HPSC were given the opportunity to visit the ‘Gene Technology Access Centre’ and ‘The Florey’ Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health.

On this excursion we learned about addiction and basic neuroscience. We toured ‘The Florey’ facility, where we got to see an MRI machine and learn about some of its uses, we also toured a brain research laboratory where we were able to see real human brains and we were given a run-down of some of the uses that the brains have in terms of research and how they assist medical research.

There was also a large focus on motor neuron disease and how it affects people. We learned that there is still a lot of ongoing study around motor neuron disease as no one knows how it occurs or how to treat it. We also did some hands on activities with scientists such as “pipetting” where we used pipettes to find out which cells carried a particular gene or mutation.

The visit to GTAC was very useful to the students that were given this opportunity, as it allowed us to see real life research projects and gave us an insight to the real world of science. It also showed us how we might use some of the skills that we are learning now, in the future.

Kayden Draii

Year 7 & 8 Girls Robotics Club

Recently the Year 7/8 Girls Robotics Club have been meeting at lunch. 

Fuelled with pizza and guided by Mr Mahon, students team up to build their own robotic creations. 

This is just one of the many student clubs offered by HPSC. 

Unit 3/4 Biology Excursion

On June 3rd, Year 11 & 12 students studying Units 3 and 4 Biology braved the weather to head to the Gene Technology Access Centre in the city. Whilst there they were able to gain first hand experience of how cows are tested for Tetanus vaccination levels and also to determine the type of bacteria causing mastitis in cattle.

Thank you GTAC for providing these sessions and mentor scientists that our students were able to engage with we look forward to coming back in August to explore a disease outbreak!

Year 9 Drones Class

Our Year 9 Drones class has been having a fantastic time in class. Now that they have successfully built their drones, they have been able to program them to fly through a Drone Racing obstacle course.