STEM DEPARTMENT

JARED NIELSEN | MIDDLE LEADER SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2022 was another electrifying year for the Science & Technologies departments.

We built upon our hard work in subsequent years to offer even greater experiences with new subjects, investigations, excursions and learning opportunities.

The year kicked off with continued implementation of our Year 5 and 6 transition programs. Now in its second year, this program gave our Junior College students a chance to come over to the Senior campus and learn from our expert STEM teachers. This program gives the Year 5 and 6s the chance to experience what the Senior school has to offer in their future as well as giving them access to some high-quality learning facilities and equipment. The most talked about experience this year was certainly the bottle-rocket activity that capped off Term 2.

After our rousing success in 2021, Mary MacKillop was invited back to the prestigious USQ Science and Engineering Challenge; a STEM-based competition for Year 9 and 10 students. At the event, students competed in a number of activities and tests involving teamwork, criticalthinking and problem solving. Our teams placed second overall in two categories this year- an excellent achievement considering the calibre of the competition.

This year Mary MacKillop strengthened our partnership with local company integratedSTEM to deliver a number robotic and electronic workshops to our Year 3-6 students. The ‘battlebot’ program gave students a chance to see how to code simple robots to perform desired actions. They also looked at the current state of 3D printing and were even able to design and print their own (small-scale) robotic weaponry for battling against their peers.

The security systems electronic program allowed students to work with circuitry and design their own miniature security systems to detect possible intruders in their rooms and sound an alarm! We look forward to offering programs like this in the future to engage our budding STEM students and allow them to work with equipment and content outside of the standard classroom curriculum.

2022 also saw the return on the ‘Big Day In’ – an event for Year 9-12 school students to explore careers in technology. Held at the University of Queensland, a number of our students were able to gain insight into ‘university life’ and were able to make better informed decisions about their future. Students had the chance to interact with several sessions covering career paths, career opportunities, the latest developments, and the future of technology.

Students also had the opportunity to visit various exhibitor stands to speak with company and university representatives. Our students loved the chance to learn about courses, degrees, work experience, internships, apprenticeships and engage with hands-on demonstrations of awesome technology in a tertiary environment.

Every year the National Science Week celebration aims to raise the profile and increase the public understanding and public appreciation of science, innovation, engineering and technology, and their role in maintaining and improving our society, economy and environment. in 2022 the theme for National Science Week was ‘Glass: More than meets the eye’. The week was jampacked with lunchtime and classroom activities across Prep to Year 12. From problem-solving and critical-thinking challenges to various intriguing demonstrations to specially organised telescope viewings of our Sun and the stars.

The highlight for many of our Secondary students was the chance to make their own terrariums. Students were able to construct their own glass terrariums to give themselves a small, sustainable memory of the week to take home with them. Special mention must go to Ms Natalie Adler, Mr Craig Faessler and Ms Brigit Harrison for their incredible work in preparing so many of these activities. Many students (and myself!) are already looking forward to 2023!

A stand-out curriculum option for many of our Year 9 and 10 students is the chance to pick elective subjects. The Science and Technology departments feature prominently here with our Wood and Metal technology classes always being packed! This year saw the further development of the Web and Game design classes (where students were able to develop their own websites and video games), Agricultural Science (where students performed their own research investigations into plant growth and seed germination), STEM (which involved critical thinking and robotics) and the Design class (which saw students design, create wear their own re-purposed textile creations!).

A number of these electives also gave students a chance to get out and explore the world with a number of excursions this year to the University of Queensland, Cobb & Co. Museum and FarmFest. All of these electives help out Middle Years students to find the subjects they enjoy, ahead of Senior School.

The 2022 World Science Festival made a stop in Toowoomba this year and a number of our Middle School students were lucky enough to be invited along - a testament to our blooming STEM program! The event was designed to engage students in stimulating and inspiring experiences that showcase careers in STEM, including discussions with scientists, hands-on activities and exciting science shows. Students were able to explore a wide variety of STEM technology and pathways.

The event gave student the opportunity to engage in hands-on science activities, discussions with real life scientists and the ability to engage with a number of fascinating displays. The day also included some 'pop-up' science shows and inspiring talks from STEM professionals showcasing STEM careers and career pathways.

The year was capped off with the delivery of our new LEGO Education SPIKE Prime kits. These top-of-the-line kits will provide an excellent addition to STEM learning in our middle school classrooms with the possibility of expanding to an after-school program, or club. These new kits will help our students understand the engineering design process, programming with variables and data, developing computation thinking skills, and applying the engineering design process through robotics. Students won't build and program just for the sake of it, but to solve real-world problems. Not only is the experience relevant and challenging, but it's also carefully designed to get students thinking about using science outside of the classroom while they work together and have fun innovating with the familiar building blocks of their childhood. Our current Year 9 STEM students are already excited to get into these kits later in the Term!

Finally, it would be amiss of me to leave out of Senior School classes. Our Year 11 and 12 Certificate students ahead worked diligently all year to complete projects for themselves as well as giving back to the College and the wider community. While this report is being written before final General subject results have come back, we are expecting some excellent results across our Senior subjects. This is due to the dedication and work ethic of our Year 11 and 12 students who go above and beyond in their subjects to ensure they leave the College with the best knowledge and experiences that they can.

Of course, none of these learning opportunities would have been possible without the work of a team of hard-working, dedicated and selfless staff. I would like to take this chance to thank each and every staff member at Mary MacKillop Catholic College for the time, effort and energy they provide each and every day of the year.