Year 1 Classes

Upcoming Events at Secondary

Year 7:

This term, our Year 7 students have been diving into the fascinating world of Physics. They've explored the concept of force—what it is, how it works, and how it's constantly acting around us, even while keeping our feet firmly on the ground. 

Students have learned to identify different forces acting on everyday objects and have developed skills in drawing force diagrams to visually represent these forces. A standout highlight of the unit was the construction of catapults, where students applied their understanding of simple machines to investigate how they can increase or decrease the amount of force applied. It’s been a hands-on, minds-on experience bringing Physics to life!

Year 8:

This term our Year 8 science enthusiasts have been learning about the amazing Rock Cycle and the many processes that are involved in transforming molten magma into beautiful crystalline rocks such as granite, or through weathering and erosion, small sediments become layers of rock containing amazing fossils of animals trapped in time. They have studied the properties that make the many minerals in rocks unique including colour, lustre, streak, cleavage, hardness (Moh’s scale) and density, whilst some minerals can fluoresce or create electricity. The students are now busily creating a video documentary on their chosen rock!

The students were also lucky enough to have a workshop presented by Sally Budge from Australian Earth Education on Tuesday this week, provided free to our school through funding from Chalice mining. During this visit the Year 8 students learnt that the Earth's layers were very similar to the layers of a Mars Bar, but not nearly as tasty. There was also a competition where the Year 8 students could use their knowledge of rock types to classify some rock samples. Sally was very impressed with our students, who only made a couple of errors and demonstrated a lot of enthusiasm. Hopefully, the students can show similar success in their upcoming test on this topic in week 8.

Year 9:

The Year 9 Science classes have completed three weeks of Chemistry. This topic builds on knowledge from Year 8 and includes chemical reactions, types of reactions (endothermic and exothermic), and acids and bases. We have discussed the practical applications of this knowledge in cleaning products, trades, and agriculture. They recently reviewed their examination, which the students spent a significant time preparing for in class.

Year 10:

The Year 10 science classes have been delving into Chemistry this term, investigating the structure of the atom and sub-atomic particles. The students have then revisited aspects of how to utilise the Periodic Table, identifying trends and reactivity to determine suitable chemical reactions. Now that the examinations are complete, the students have reviewed this and will be moving onto the next section of the topic, including different chemical reactions, such as metal displacement, precipitates and gas production and detection, as well as calculating the amounts of reactants required and substances produced.

Physics:

In Year 11 Physics, before the examinations the students completed their topic on motion, forces and energy, conducting practical work examining momentum and inelastic and elastic collisions, applying this to authentic real-world examples in various sporting settings, particle interactions and car accidents.

Chemistry:

In Year 12 Chemistry, the students completed their investigations into electrochemistry, predicting and constructing galvanic cells, the basis of regular batteries. This enabled the students to consolidate their understanding of reduction and oxidation processes, vital to so many industries and chemical applications.

Aviation:

Prior to the examinations, our Year 11 and 12 aviation students have been working through the two vital components of the course, the practical and theoretical. In the theoretical component the students have been looking at utilising various resources to identify weather and features in areas of operation, as well as identifying areas around aerodromes and various forms of restrictions that are applied to remote pilots. In the practical lessons, during our weekly double period, the students have been perfecting their abilities to fly left and right 45-degree verticals as well as getting to grips with being able to judge distance accurately, in a vertical and horizontal plane. All essential skills in maintaining control while flying an UAV and using it to complete assigned tasks, such as surveying or filming.

Ryan Sinclair, Mike Hillyer, Steve Rigney, Morag Lancaster, Cam Greenley, Jada Yengkopiong, Gerhard Vogel, Nita Budas and Mark Gargano

Science Learning Area Staff

**PLEASE REMEMBER!** 

All 'old' uniform, or combinations of old and new uniform items, can be worn until the end of the 2026 school year. 

Uniform Shop Information

• Year 6 Leavers Shirts - will be here towards the end of this term, then sent home via class baskets.
• Sports Uniform - this can be purchased from the uniform shop, via the CDFPay app. We still have stock of the older style house shirts available for sale in various sizes. Please note that the incoming tracksuit pants will have the school’s name on the upper left thigh. Currently, only youth sizes 6, 8 and 10 have this, with other sizes being phased in as we sell out of the previous stock. 

Congratulations to the Year 1 Gold class!  They had their reward Pizza Party for their class' fundraising effort for the Colour Run held last term.

Upcoming Events - Looking for Volunteers