Science Week commenced on 13 August.

Years 7 and 8 students participated in the Professor Bunsen Show and Year 9 students participated in The Bad Science Show, a sixty-minute incursion that encourages students to think critically about who they can believe and what science they can trust.  

Professor Bunsen Show

Bad Science – walking on glass

On Friday 19 August a Science online breakfast event with NASA engineer Elizabeth Blome, Australian Jet Propulsion Lab Engineer, Dr Elizabeth Jenns and Stellar Astrophysics PhD Candidate Giulia Cinquegrana was held. The speakers enthralled the girls with their current work and research, while sharing their educational and professional pathways to success.

Science Week Breakfast with outstanding women of science

International Year of Glass – 2022

In 2022, the world is observing the United Nations declared ‘International Year of Glass.’ This declaration celebrates one of the most important, versatile, and transformative materials in history; glass. 

Glass will continue to have an enormous impact on our future. According to the Honourable Melissa Price MP, Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Australia’s glass-related industries will play a critical role in providing the elements necessary for development and innovation to build Australia’s future through science and technology – from aerospace to energy, research laboratories and medicine. 

When Australia launches its first mission to the moon, we will be watching through the glass lenses of telescopes, and on the glass screens of televisions and smart devices. We will be using power collected from our glass solar panels and communicating with each other via glass fibre optic cables, while toasting the Australian Space Agency’s success. 

In recognition of International Year of Glass, our Science classes and staff participated in the Science Week Quiz that tested their knowledge of this versatile material. Science staff and students embraced the opportunity to share in the activities of Science Week once again. 

Science Week Assembly

As part of Science Week celebrations our annual Science Week Assembly was an opportunity to showcase student Science success.  

Year 9 student Hethushi Hapuarachchi at the Santos Science Experience

Year 10 student, Jisu Yang, and Year 9 students Karis Chan and Hethushi Hapuarachchi shared their Santos Science Experiences with our senior students. The girls spent three days at Melbourne University (Jisu) and Swinburne University (Karis and Hethushi) engaging in a wide range of science activities under the guidance of professional scientists. 

Our Years 8 and 9 students who competed in the Big Science Competition were also acknowledged during Assembly. The Big Science Competition tests students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as well as their science knowledge. Twenty-five percent of St Catherine’s students from Years 8 and 9 received a Credit or higher in the Competition. Well done to all our participants. 

Special mention to the following students who all received a Distinction or High Distinction, placing them in the top 10% of the Competition.  

Our Science Week Assembly also included our wonderful Keynote Speaker, Echo Wang, from the University of Melbourne. Echo continued our celebration of glass, discussing her research into utilising waste glass in cement-based construction materials to solve the issue of waste glass stockpiling and sand shortage, as well as progressing the construction industry towards increased sustainability. 

Echo is the recipient of the Bill Robertson Award and Hydraulic Engineering Graduates Prize in 2017. She was also on the Dean’s Honours List – Melbourne School of Engineering in 2017 and 2018. After completing her master’s degree, Echo decided to pursue her doctorate at the University of Melbourne where she received the Melbourne Research Scholarship.  

During her Assembly Address, Echo also identified the positive steps that have been taken to address the gender imbalance faced by female engineers. 

During Assembly, STEM Captain, Cecilia Lau provided us all with an update on the achievements of STEM Club this year and invited students to participate in a Science Week experiment – turning plastic into milk.  

Click here to view a gallery of images of our St Catherine’s girls enjoying Science in 2022!

Doctor Who Tardis

During Science Week our students were also introduced to the Doctor Who Tardis in the Science Atrium. Although the Science Faculty would love to travel through time and space, the Tardis is only a box, although not just any box, it will become a 3D printing centre! 

Thank you to all our students and staff who contributed to making our 2022 Science Week celebrations a fun week!