Secondary News
Welcome to Term 4!
I hope everyone enjoyed a well-deserved holiday and is feeling refreshed for the final stretch of the year. Believe it or not, there are only eight weeks left! The festive season is already being mentioned in passing—yes, someone in the office has already brought up Christmas, which feels a bit premature!
But before we get caught up in holiday cheer, there is important work to be done. Students in Years 7–10 will be sitting their Maths and English Reading PATs. These assessments, similar to NAPLAN, provide immediate feedback to help teachers tailor lessons to better support our students' strengths and areas for improvement.
For our Year 11s, exams kick off on Friday 1 November, starting with English. Meanwhile, Year 9 and 10 students begin their exams on Friday 15 November. Lucky for the Year 7s and 8s—they won't be sitting exams this term!
God Bless.
Sharon Cusack
Head of Secondary
Curriculum News
Science
Physics day at Adventure World
As a part of the Year 11 Physics program, the students took part in a special excursion to Adventure World on the last Thursday of Term 3. This is an activity organised by the Science Teachers' Association of Western Australia (STAWA) and linked to the topic of motion and forces that all Physics students in WA are currently completing as a component of Unit 2.
The basis of using an amusement park as a context in Physics is that Adventure World is an authentic STEM laboratory, comprising several large-scale devices that enable students to experience and quantify first-hand phenomena involving physics, technology, engineering design and mathematics that are not able to be achieved in any classroom. Some specific areas of study that were achieved on the day involve linear and circular motion, momentum, work, energy, power, ‘g-forces’ and weightlessness, with a range of these needing to be analysed further as a part of the linked investigation task.
The students were able to learn physics principles through an understanding of its real-world applications, along with scientific logging equipment used on some rides and activities to enhance the experience with data collection. The students got a grasp on acceleration and what g-forces, positive and negative, are all about from the various rides. The students will use this experience and the data to complete their amusement park physics task.
In addition to the physics data side, UWA and Curtin University were in attendance promoting Science and Engineering courses, along with the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) showcasing various pieces of equipment like solar scopes and available research to the 1000 attending Year 11 students, with hands-on displays, presentations, academic counsellors and university students to chat with allowing students to get very specific career guidance information.
Most of all, our students had a lot of fun and were thoroughly entertained by the Physics world in action.
Mark Gargano
Head of Learning Area-Science
On Thursday 10 October, Years 7, 8 and 9 were escorted to Bernard Park to participate in some fun activities and interact with local agencies who support wellbeing and mental health in our community.
This was a free community event run by over 25 local service providers hosting interactive stalls for all ages and providing information on local services available to support individuals and families.
There was live entertainment running throughout the day provided by local artists and Valley Heights Music School. There was a free BBQ lunch from 11.30am and students enjoyed a round of nine-hole mini putt putt, giant inflatable darts, interactive activities and games.
Students participated in competitions and won prizes throughout the day.
Caroline Marriott
VET Coordinator