STEM

in SCIENCE WEEK

The theme for Science Week this year was Glass – More than meets the eye.  Given the 3 levels of beautiful stain glass windows adorning our science building, it seems that this theme was made for Academy!

The first lunchtime activity on Monday August 15 was a lenses and lasers activity in the McA 2.1 Lab.  Students passed lasers through jelly to simulate the behaviour of lasers travelling through glass fibre optic cables.  The superfast nbn internet that we enjoy would not be possible without this interaction between glass and laser beams.  During this activity, students also observed the bending of light as it passed through different types of lenses.  The function of eye glasses, microscopes and telescopes can all be explained by this interaction between light and glass.

A very popular activity was the STILE ESCAPE ROOM, which was held in the science building on Tuesday August 16.  This activity had to be spread out across 2 labs due the large number of participating students.  During this activity, students worked in teams to complete 10 challenges.  The correct completion of each challenge revealed a code that was entered into a virtual safe.  Once all 10 codes were correctly entered, the safe was opened and the mission completed. Some of the challenges included using mirrors to produce different kaleidoscope images, classifying materials according to their different properties using a flowchart and determining if something other than a human finger can activate the touch screen on a laptop or mobile phone. 

On Wednesday 17 August, Ms Dowton put on a chemistry extravaganza in the McA 2.1 Lab.  The first experiment was “Gummy Bears in KClO4”.  The sugar in the gummy bears react with KClO4 resulting the production of a gas and a bright pulsating light that left us all spell bound! 

On the fourth and final day of science week, Thursday August 18, the much anticipated “Bug Food” activity was held in the undercroft.  Students and staff were challenged to eat cricket chips and chocolate laced with ants and other insects.  It was amazing how many people could not tell the difference between corn chips and cricket chips!  Insects contain more protein and minerals such as iron and calcium when compared to the same mass of beef.  The production of insect protein is much better for the environment when compared to the production of animal protein.  Insects could be the food of the future and our barbecued sausages on Mercy Day might one day be filled with maggots and locusts instead of beef!

Science Week would not have been possible without the help and support of the whole science department.  A big thank you goes out to all of the science teachers – Mr De Cata, Ms Ambrosini, Ms Williams, Ms Lupone and Ms Charchar for helping to supervise the activities and for promoting science week to their classes. Last, but certainly not least, a big thank you to our lab technician, Ms Dowton for organising and helping to supervise all of the lunchtime activities, running the daily quizzes and decorating the lab.  Ms Dowton has been the face of science week at the Academy for 6 years now and it just wouldn’t be the same without the passion and enthusiasm that she brings each and every year.

STEM MAD Showcase

Earlier in August, four Year 9 students – Evie Morris, Olivia Leahy, Amelia Grbac and Alice Portz participated in the STEM MAD SHOWCASE at the Catholic Leadership Centre in East Melbourne.  At this showcase, our students were given the opportunity to present their STEM project, e.braille, to judges and students from other schools.

The students designed a smart phone app, e.braille, a device which converts written text into braille.  The purpose of this device is to make braille accessible to more people and easier to learn. The e.braille project was given an award for artistic Ingenuity which earned the team a place in the national final which is to be held on 6 September at the Convention and Exhibition Centre at Docklands.  Congratulations ladies and good luck at the national final!  The e.braille team is to be commended for all the hard work they put into this project.  All of the work for this project was done during the students own time which included the term 2 holidays. 

Mr Mark Molino Science Learning Leader

MATHS: Game Day  

A group of students participated in the Maths Games Day at Southern Cross Grammar School. We were there amongst many other schools to challenge ourselves in a variety of Maths based games. Some of the games we participated in were problem solving and maths activities like ‘Ken-ken.’ We also completed a maths relay, where we were required to collect and solve maths problems before handing our answers in in a limited time frame. One highlight from the day was meeting many other schools in the three game rounds, where we competed against other students in mini maths challenges. 

It was a really fun day as we were able to meet new people, whilst also challenging ourselves in the area of mathematics amongst many other Year 9 students across Victoria.  

Evie Morris, 9 Mackillop

Mr Eric Chan Mathematics Learning Leader

IT: BiG Day In Melbourne

The VCE VET Creative and Digital Media classes, Semester 2 Year 9 Multimedia class and students interested in Careers and Tech recently attended the University of Melbourne for an Australian Computer Society event about the roles of Technology in future careers.

On one of the coldest mornings in Melbourne in 2022, three staff accompanied 50 students across Exhibition gardens, through Carlton to the University of Melbourne. The students couldn’t wait to get inside and warm up!!

The importance of a career in IT was expressed in the introductory speech, highlighting that in excess of 300,000 IT professionals will be needed in Australia in the next 5 years. This is the field for successful jobs and careers in the future.

Presentations from a number of successful, high profile, companies included Adobe, ADFA (Australian Defence Force Academy - UNSW), Microsoft, Wisetech Global, TATA consultancy services, Australian Space Agency, Deloitte Digital, Atlassian and Avanade. Following each presentation, all students were encouraged to ask questions of the presenters. Questions were rewarded with a raffle ticket for multiple prize draws at the end of the day.

Here is what the students said:

Alessandra Stasey Yr 11

“It was interesting to learn about the different types of skills that were good for succeeding in technology-based careers, such as problem solving and collaboration. The speakers were engaging and it taught me that there are lots of different careers related to technology in heaps of areas.”  

Kenya Williams Yr 12

“I really liked learning about all the different career possibilities especially Microsoft and learning that they had a graduate program which I definitely want to look more into. I also liked learning about Australian Space Agency and what we're doing in the space field with NASA. Overall, the day was really interesting and showed me many different pathways for the future.” 

Marie Anya Julien Yr 9

“I learned how to use a growth mindset with high school and studying.” 

Ruby Tran Yr 10

“I was able to gain an insight of what my potential career could possibly look like in the future. I was able to understand the importance of IT and creativity and how it is a massive factor that can change and shape the future.” 

The intention of attending this event with our Academy students is to provide them with more knowledge about the skills they will need to take into their careers so they can make informed choices about VCE subjects, considering tertiary aspirations and possible careers. 

IT: DigiTech

Student Youth Network (SYN-FM) Radio Tour

The VCE VET Creative and Digital Media Year 11 class recently participated in a tour of ‘SYN’ Radio Station at the RMIT campus on Swanston Street, Melbourne

Following a delightful power walk through the Exhibition Gardens, we were enthusiastically welcomed by two young volunteers to SYN 90.7 community radio. The purpose of SYN is to offer media training to young people under 26 in Naarm/Melbourne. 

The group learned about the format for a radio program and the importance of being well prepared. They listened to some sample radio programs and discussed what goes into making them interesting and enjoyable, then elected which part of the program they wished to make and started creating segments for their show, which would last for approximately 12 minutes. After this we moved to the studio and began recording. It daunting and great fun.

It was terrific to be able to see some of the inner workings of a Radio station and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.

If your child is interested in radio broadcasting, try visiting Syn’s website to learn more:  

AMI TECH STUDENTS: All welcome

Currently working on 3D designs and 3D printing opportunities. Come along and join in Tuesday lunchtime in Whyte 3.1 

NCSS CODING CHALLENGE 

NCSS Challenge Term 3 has commenced. If you are interested but have not yet signed up, please drop an email to Ms Jones – it’s not too late to start coding!!

ROBOTICS in Yr 8

This week, Year 8s – Purple, Blue and Green – commenced a practical journey is learning about Robotics including programming robots to perform independent activities and troubleshooting problems as they occurred.

The following students were able to make their robots perform instructions according to a specific challenge.

COMING UP THIS TERM

• BEBRAS Computational Thinking Challenge: Second round IT students
• Go Girl 2022  One-day technology conference for girls IT students

Ms Kate Jones Technology IT Learning Leader