2019 has held a number of firsts in the Secondary School Science department. The first time entering the Robocup Junior state event, first time attending the WA Brain Bee Finals, and the first time we have had students make it into the national Titration finals at Murdoch. Read on to find out more!
Robocup is an event held across Australia involving students from Year 7 through to Year 12. Our students took on the line rescue challenge, a task that requires programming a robot to autonomously follow a black line through an obstacle course, respond to barriers in it’s way, navigate intersections, and ultimately save a subject (a silver can) from a chemical spill (a green hexagon).
This first competition was more about sharing ideas between schools and getting used to competition conditions than being victorious. Needless to say, the day proved challenging, informative, and a good taste of what’s to come in the State event to be held in August.
Our TESLA class is also looking to compete in the First Lego League Australia competition running from August to December. Keep your eye out for future updates!
The Brain Bee is a national neuroscience competition. In Term 1 all of our Year 10 students took part in a school-based neuroscience quiz, with the top four students being selected for the state finals at UWA. Four students – Rosie Young, Ruth Bronkhurst, Hannah Beaney and Amelia Mutton – earned a spot in the Finals. Unfortunately, Amelia and Rosie were unable to attend, allowing their trusty understudies Isaiah van der Merwe and Jordan Chapman to step up to the challenge.
On 21 June the four budding neuroscientists headed to UWA along with Mr Taylor. They took part in individual and team competitions, anatomy lab tours, neuroscience talks and much more. It was an eye-opening day that hopefully motivated some of these students to further pursue a career in the medical or research fields.
Big Science
The top students from Year 8 to Year 10 took part in this year’s Big Science Competition. This is a test to challenge their scientific thinking, critical thinking skills, and to see how they stack up against other students around the nation.
All of the students performed admirably, with the top achievers in each year group being:
Year 8: Ben Witicombe with a High Distinction (25/30)
Year 9: Daniel Wilkinson with a High Distinction (29/30)
Year 10: Jordan Chapman, Chelsea De Bruyn, Georgina Lazuardi, and Jack Van Der Kooy all achieved a High Distinction (24/30)
All students who participated will receive a certificate with their results.
Under Mr Yu’s tutelage the Year 11 and Year 12 Chemistry students undertook many hours of after school preparation for the 2019 Curtin Titration Competition. The competition saw 77 teams competing from schools across the state and we are delighted to announce that our Year 11 Team took out 10th Place awarding them a place in the National Finals held at Murdoch University.
The Titration Competition teaches students patience, perseverance, and how to use scientific equipment with precision. Well done to all those who were involved.
