STEAM

Solar Car Challenge

Year 8 STEAM students have been working towards building the ideal solar powered car. Students have uncovered multiple energy sources, their carbon footprint and discovered the future of solar and electric energy. They started the process of this challenge by creating a rolling car, where they were required to adjust up to six different variables to improve the speed of their cars. Students then used their knowledge from this build to design the fastest solar powered car.  Circuit diagrams and the ideation process have been used to support their overall designs. Let the race begin!

STEM Partnership Program

The Catholic Education Diocese of Wagga Wagga in conjunction with Using Technology Better, implemented the Innovation STEM Learning Fund to support the development of STEM programs in Diocesean schools. MDCC Year 8 STEAM students mentored Year 5 and 6 primary school students from Mater Dei Primary School, St Brendan’s Ganmain and Holy Trinity Primary School as part of the STEM Partnership Program. Students completed a series of engineering challenges which developed their problem solving, creativity and communication and collaboration skills. 

The aim of the program was to:

• develop primary students understanding of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics)
• become part of the transition process from primary to secondary school
• develop STEAM mentoring capabilities of Year 8 MDCC students and
• increases primary teachers' confidence to teach STEAM in a primary setting.

Pre and post survey results from the staff and students involved in the program show that the aims of the program were achieved. 

Participating primary school students described the STEM Partnership Program in the following ways:

- “STEM Partnership Program is about collaborating with people you don't normally work with”

- “It’s about collaboration” 

- “It’s a great way to get kids into stem and challenging them”

- “We can learn basic skills to get a job when we grow up”

- “It’s about learning to overcome problems we might face in life”

- “It’s about being a leader and seeing what high school is like”

- “Great that different schools could come together to do different stem activities”

- “I like having a creative mind and trying new things”

- “It was good to learn skills from others and meet  new people”       

Year 8 MDCC students commented on the program in the following ways:

- “The cooperation with team members and the prizes were great”

- “I think working with kids from other schools was a good thing”

- “I like the prizes and the challenges”

- “I like the ability to help the primary students to learn new things”

- “It was good that the little kids got an idea of what STEAM was going to be like when they get to high school. I also think it was good to communicate our ideas”

- “The kids being able to contribute to the building of the project. And being able to work with people from different schools”

- “Having different schools in the same group, so people can meet other students”

- “The collaboration between everyone was great”

Mrs Courtney Freebody | Leader of Learning and Technology