This year has been an exciting and dynamic one for our Science students, filled with opportunities to explore, innovate, and achieve.

Under the theme Species Survival – More than Just Sustainability for National Science Week, students delved into critical global challenges through engaging activities like solving puzzles and participating in the Sustainability Challenge with La Trobe Tech School. Across all year levels, students honed their engineering and design thinking skills, conducting independent scientific investigations and building rockets to solve real-world problems.

The Science Talent Search and Olympiad quizzes showcased students’ academic rigor, while partnerships like the Bionics Institute offered unique research opportunities. Hands-on practical experiments brought learning to life, and zoo incursions allowed students to engage closely with animals, enriching their understanding of biodiversity. From critical thinking to creativity, students embraced the year with enthusiasm, making Science a hub of innovation and discovery.

Mr Adam Boylett
Head of Science

Prize Winners

Chemistry Olympiad
Fiona (Year 11)
Tianyi (Year 11)
Victoria (Year 11)

Science Talent Search Competition
Gold Medallion
Madison (Year 7) and
Anishka (Year 7)

Silver Medallion
Tisha (Year 7) and
Eleen (Year 7)

On Tuesday 30 July, Anna, Joanna, Rhianna and I went to La Trobe University to participate in the Latrobe Uni X Tech Schools Sustainability Challenge.

Eight other schools were also attending the program, forming a total of 11 student groups. After some group brainstorms, we chose our topic area of ‘Considerate Consumption’ and from there discussed solutions to the growing plastic waste consumption globally. Everyone was extremely active, and we combined ideas to form a robot that eats trash!

The afternoon was reserved for building our prototypes and marketing advertisements. We used cardboard, marking tape, pipe cleaners, and a healthy dose of creativity to create Rebecca the Racoon (aka Trash Pulveriser). Our idea was that Rebecca would be a public, moveable trash bin that pulverises single-use plastic via pyrolysis – the marketing campaign was quite successful.

On the second day we converted our innovative ideas into realistic solutions, and prepared to pitch it to community leaders. Representatives from Tech Schools Banyule and Whittlesea came to visit, sharing in the collective creativity and passion of all groups. Unfortunately, our big plans for Rebecca the Racoon required technology that wasn’t yet available, but good things come from small beginnings! In the end we decided to focus on our school community, installing single-use plastic (or Trash Pulveriser) bins around the School and sending these to recycling centres. We wanted young people to be more aware of their plastic consumption, and we hoped to reduce the amount of recyclable plastic that gets sent to landfill each year.

Did you know 90% of recyclable plastic can't be recycled by the Victorian Government? 

Other groups were very impressive, with solutions ranging from apps to products to larger campaigns. The program really pushed us all to be creative in our thinking. Overall, I’d say the highlight of the program was meeting like-minded peers from other schools, making new friends, understanding the challenges facing our environment today and finding innovative solutions. It was a very fun and engaging program!

Claire
Year 10