St Catherine’s Celebrates Science Week 2019

This year, the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing and the first moonwalk. Australia has been an integral part of NASA’s deep space missions since 1957. Last year, the Australian Government announced the establishment of the Australian Space Agency to capitalise on the growth in the international space industry. Hence, the school theme for National Science Week 2019, ‘Destination Moon: more missions, more science’.

The Science faculty opened Science Week at St Catherine’s with the annual Science Week Assembly. The assembly provides an opportunity for students to share their work, as individuals and teams, that is leading them on a journey of scientific investigation and, maybe one day, to the Australian Space Agency. Students presented a variety of experiences and we congratulated others on their performance in a range of Science competitions and activities.

Each year, the Science faculty invites students to apply for the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF). The NYSF Year 12 Program is a 12-day residential program designed to give students a broader understanding of the diverse study and career options available in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and to encourage continued studies in these fields. Student selection is based on academic performance in Year 11 and a panel interview. The number of applicants around Australia exceeds the number of places available, so the competition is tough. Mardi Bray (Year 12) presented her experiences at the NYSF at the Australian National University during January 2019.

Mardi Bray (Year 12) attended the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF) at the Australian National University.

Years 8 and 9 students participated in the Big Science Competition, completing the examination paper in May. The Big Science Competition tests students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills as well as their Science knowledge. Twenty-five per cent of students from Years 8 and 9 received a Credit or higher. The following students received a Distinction placing them in the top 10 per cent of the competition:

  • Year 8: Keyue (Karen) Deng, Flora Du, Emma Gregory, Lily Taylor, Christina Wu.
  • Year 9: Paula Chen, Madeleine Hooker, Jariyan Patel, Tallulah Scott-Elliott.

Each year, several Year 12 students undertake Extension studies by enrolling in a university subject as part of their VCE. Last year, Lucy Porter (Year 12) enrolled in Biology at Monash University and was the Dux of the cohort for 2018. The Science faculty congratulated Lucy for her efforts at the assembly.

Many Year 9 students were invited to participate in the ConocoPhillips Science Experience. Ruby Moir, Lillian Lu, Elodie Ferrali, Tiffany Pham, Lucy Campbell and Allison Duong accepted the invitation and headed to a variety of universities. Lucy and Allison presented their experience at RMIT University and the University of Melbourne.

Olivia Soong Zi Yuan shared her experiences at the NASA Space Camp in 2018, such as a simulated space mission involving piloting, being in mission control, or being outside the ‘spacecraft’ to fix an anomaly, engineering her own rocket, using the jet simulator and scuba diving to simulate ‘weightlessness’ in space.

St Catherine’s students at the NASA Space Camp.

St Catherine’s students at the NASA Space Camp.

Students also had the opportunity to listen to Clare Kenyon, Laby Teaching and Outreach Fellow at the School of Physics, University of Melbourne. The assembly concluded with the Year 8 students presenting a video of their Rube Goldberg energy machines. As part of the Year 8 Energy unit, students worked in groups of three to build a machine with different steps involving energy transfer or transformations.

Science Week provided a great opportunity to rediscover our interest in Astronomy. On Tuesday 13 August, Year 11 students Amber Liong, Emma Robertson, Lucy Croft, Isobel Tanner, Claire Hayne and Thalia Barbayannis attended the Alliance of Girls’ Schools Victoria Science Breakfast at Mentone Girls’ Grammar with Mrs Kelly Brady. Students shared the opportunity to listen to Dr Gail Iles, a former astronaut trainer who is passionate about teaching Physics and Mechanics at RMIT. On Wednesday 14 August, the School community was invited to view the moon with Cris Ellis, President of the Astronomical Society of Melbourne on the roof of the Science building.

On Thursday 15 August, the Year 9 and VCE Physics students participated in a real time conference with NASA about the new space vehicles with SPACE LIVE whilst the Year 9 Accelerated Biology class Skyped a biomedical scientist from The University of Melbourne’s School of Biomedical Sciences on Friday 16 August.

The Year 9 Accelerated Biology class Skyped a biomedical scientist from The University of Melbourne’s School of Biomedical Sciences.

The Science faculty also held its first Brain Break Morning Tea donating the money generated to the Brain Foundation.

 

Ms Vanessa Jackson-McRae, Head of Science