Science
MRS FRAN BRAZIER, HEAD OF SCIENCE
This year the implementation of the new QCAA Senior Curriculum in Year 11, including the new subject offering of Psychology. The Science Department staff were kept busy with professional learning for unit and assessment planning. Also, new assessment tasks were included in Year 9 and 10, to reflect those in the new senior syllabuses and that will help better prepare students for what lies ahead in Senior Science subjects.
This project was in response to the Australian Government’s Department of Education and Training ‘Restoring the focus on STEM (Science, • Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) in schools initiative’. The Science Department continues to utilise more Information and Communications Technology, specifically the MyFairholme Learning Management System platform, for the improved design and delivery of engaging learning across Science The inaugural Year 9 Camp to Hastings subjects and to enhance studentPoint Marine Environment Field Study teacher communications within these Centre took place in Term 1. This subjects. Also, the extensive use is • Science-based experience focused on made of data loggers that enable Rocky Shore, Mangrove and Coastal in-depth data analysis of student Dune ecosystems, their communities experiments. of interdependent organisms, abiotic components of the environment and As always, our aim is to immerse the human impact on these ecosystems. students in the Engineering Design Agricultural Science students Process that incorporates innovative, continued to propagate plants and analytical and critical thinking, to • produce excellent harvests at the ‘Ag solve problems in collaborative teams. Plot’, culminating with their plant stall Seventy-five per cent of students at the College’s Spring Fair. in the classrooms now will work in a Science and Technology-related A Year 8 Robotics extra-curricular field in their lifetime. The Science opportunity continued again this year Department’s focus is to develop with Mr Whittle in Semester 1. The and consolidate the skills necessary Middle School Robotics Club initiative to achieve success in STEM-related focuses on: subjects and careers. •
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developing the interest and enjoyment of girls in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects teaching coding promoting innovative design and construction reinforcing the scientific process and collaboration.
Learning experiences beyond the classroom included: •
Year 8 Science Excursion to the Old Toowoomba Basalt Quarry in order to examine the • Toowoomba Regional Council’s Bridge Street Quarry Feasibility Study that outlines the proposed rehabilitation/redevelopment of
the site. This formed part of their assessment in the Earth Science unit. SolarBuddy School Program. Year 9 Science students investigated whether small solar panels are a feasible option to help solve energy poverty. The project culminated in students providing SolarBuddy solar lights to students living in energy poverty throughout the South Pacific, South East Asia and Africa, to study after dusk. Three-day Year 9 Camp at Hastings Point in Northern NSW. This gave the students the opportunity to practise field skills used in Senior Biology (e.g. data loggers, organism distribution patterns and field sketches). Australian Federal Police Presentation ‘Science with a Twist’ for Year 10 students. Crime Scene Lead Forensic Investigator (Fairholme Old Girl, Nikki Keighran, nee Deery, graduated 1998) discussed where a Science degree can take you, applying Science in Law enforcement, Women in Policing and AFP Operations Case Studies. There was also a practical session that investigated the scientific processes behind Illicit Drug Seizure Examination. Year 11 Agriculture, Biology and Psychology students attended the University of Queensland Statistics for Senior Science Lecture held at the College. This
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