Assembly Speeches

NASA Speech

Intro: Izzy

At the conclusion of the school year, six girls from our school and many other students from all across Australia came together in Houston, Texas in the USA for two weeks of Space School. This incredible event was organised by the Alliance of Girls Schools Australia, iVicon, the Houston Association for Space and Science Education and of course, NASA.

Jess

It comprised of two different camps: the Junior Space School and the Senior Space School.

And here, we have girls who have been on these camps, to share with you our extraordinary experiences.

Junior Trip: Ocean

The first week of the trip was held in Alabama through an American space camp programme at the Space and Rocket Centre in Huntsville. We started the day with a wake up call that included the time, weather and a strong southern accent. We were cold, jet-lagged and in my case ready for bed. Still, it was amazing. We got to use the simulators for walking on the moon and experienced zero gravity, increased gravity, missions and tumble spins - mostly real things used by astronauts in their training programme. It was a wonderful and eye opening week.

Before we knew it we were on a plane to Houston for our second and final week of the trip. Tonsillitis and 12am hospital trips didn’t stop us from having an amazing time. The activities, guest speakers, and what felt like heavenly hotel rooms kept us eagerly awaiting every next day. We also got to learn about other sciences such as forensics, biology and cell research. One of the nights included listening to an amazing and inspiring talk from former commander of the international space station, Lee Roy Chao. We even got to touch a real piece of the moon at the Johnson Space Centre where we spent two of our days learning about space travel - past, present and future. After another 35ish hours of travel time we were back at home.

Senior Trip: Chloe

Unlike the Junior trip, the Senior trip spent their whole time in Houston. We started our trip off by spending the week at NASA. While at NASA we attended their Space University where we got to do many different activities ranging from building rockets to Mars rovers, where we competed in challenges, from scuba-diving to training for space walking and many more interesting activities. We got to meet some amazing people who work at NASA including astronauts and one of the people who could be headed to Mars within our lifetime. We got to go on amazing tours where we saw NASA’s facilities, rockets and training centres. In the second week we went to a makerspace to 3D print rovers and worked on presentations that would be presented to our group. We were able to speak with many other people from NASA and even had dinner with an astronaut. We also performed a simulation where we did activities in a space shuttle and mission control. Throughout this trip there were also times where we experienced the American culture by going shopping and we even saw an NBA game! Casey and my group were from all around Australia and we formed some amazing friendships.

Reasons for going/what you got out of it: Casey

As you would expect from traveling, and we did a LOT of traveling, it is a really exciting and insightful experience. And learning about the American space industry in its home country made it incredibly valuable. One local I met had done an internship at NASA in high school, and worked at SpaceX, Tesla and Apple! The most exciting thing though, was knowing that everything we were learning was relevant to us; we were learning about our futures. To all the students here, your whole life, there has been someone living in space. And now we are entering a new era of space exploration, they call us the Mars Generation. For those that haven’t heard, Australia is actually getting its own official Space Agency soon. But it’s not all just about space. This trip is for anyone who is interested in STEM, or for those who just want to broaden their horizons.

Conclusion: Mimi

There will be another trip running at the the end of this year, so if you are interested in this amazing opportunity keep your eye on the school newsletter for details. Thank you.

MiSci Speech

Hey guys, my name is Indiana.

I chose to participate in the 2018 MySci event because well, I love science. I love science so much, that when a guy told me that his favourite subject is physics, which is also my favourite subject, I actually got jealous. Sorry, Aiden, but physics is mine. Go away. 

Some of you may be thinking, “Wowee, what a nerd!” Or something similar, and you are more than likely right… but don't hate it till you try it.

When I was in Years 7, 8 and 9, I was aware that events like these existed but I never really looked into them because I valued being lazy too much. It wasn't until Year 10 when one of my close friends, Dessy (I'm so proud of you!) participated in a science event and got to go to Sydney. This is the part where I get jealous AGAIN. Seriously? Science and travelling?! Pick one, you can't have both. Anyway, Dessy inspired me to sign up for the MySci program. 

I loved it. I had met so many people that I could relate to. It was crazy when the people there appreciated my nerdy comments, I mean, I am incredibly used to my brothers telling me to be quiet because they don't care. What it all comes down to is that I enjoyed every lecture, from gravitational waves to bacteria preventing mosquito-borne viral diseases. BUT, hands down, my favourite activity was flying through the solar system in virtual reality and I could control the electromagnetic spectrum. From microwaves, to gamma rays, to infrared and all the rest of them- *sigh*- just take me back, please!

To get back on track now, I seriously recommend signing up for future science events because it is so worth it, especially if you get jealous over a topic in science. 

Thank you.