Year 8 Digital Technology: Scratch Arcade Games

It’s that time of year when Year 8s design and program their arcade games using Scratch. We were blown away this year with the quality of the artwork and creative coding in our Year 8 DTE students. Below are a sample of games created if you’d like to play along at home!

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1212549455  Sia K

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1215114312/ Jasmine B

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1211825018  Milla Y

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1209816856  Camilla H

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1209826396 Chloe D

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1212544778 Wena T

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1209827272 Chloe E

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1212201450  Aisling C

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1212955605 Maria H

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1212956399  Mikayla H

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1203170146 Viola M

Year 9 Emerging Tech: Programming Tasks & Robotics

Year 9s are working on finessing their programming and engineering skills using robotics. They are using LEGO Prime robots and attempting some of the First LEGO League challenges that require them to build a robot to solve problems such as delivering a character or artwork to a different part of the mat. Some of the challenges are quite complex and involved a fair bit of iteration and prototyping. It’s been interesting to relate what they study on the robot mat and how this is being used in the real world.

Year 11: Innovative Solutions & Cyber Security

Year 11s have completed their innovative solutions. Working in small groups, they developed a prototype to solve a problem in the world around them. We had very creative ideas this year including a wellbeing toy, a fun fitness app, a game for teaching drumming and a Student Ambassador robot. Read on to find out more detail about these amazing inventions!

Emily & Lauren: R.I.A (Robot, Independent, Assistance)

Our project explores combining different areas of developed technology (e.g. translating languages through speech and the use of robots in an educational aspect) to create a combined and independent robot that can overtake the role of Student Ambassadors. This project will be seen as an opportunity for exchange students to visit or even attend Kilbreda College, destroying the possible language barrier or the need for Student Ambassadors to miss out on class time by leading these tours. Not only will this expand the use of robots in the educational field, but it can also spark the expansion of robots to used in more professional fields. (e.g. seat guides at concerts, MCG, etc.)

The Robot will be named ‘R.I.A.’, standing for: Robotic, Independent, Assistance . This will give us an easy name to call the robot, as well as allowing the users/other people to know exactly what it is from the name alone.

Tara and Olivia: Rhythm Riot

Our game, Rhythm Riot, offers a dynamic approach to learning new drumming skills, which may benefit individuals with alternative learning methods or those who can’t afford traditional drum lessons. The idea of the game is to have different levels, each one catering to the player’s skillset, so whether you are already a good drummer or if you are just starting, Rhythm Riot can cater to both of these needs. As we are targeting a younger audience (ages 13 – 18), we decided to use a wide range of bold colours and incorporate catchy music into the game to make it memorable and a fun experience.

Hannah, Jessica and Maddie: Snuggle Sloth and Exhale Ellie

The main objective of our project is to create a plush toy that can ask users how they are feeling and give solutions/specific responses based on their responses. Our solution will aim to assist Kilbreda students feel better about their mental health and help to relieve any stress/anxiety they may have.

We saw the need for this project because in our society there are more and more teens struggling with their mental health and we have an innovation that can help reduce their anxiety and stress. We want our project to be something that will provide support for teens who may not have access to 24/7 help regarding their mental health.

Alexis, Aliyah, Ness and Savithma: GameGo Mamma Bear

The main objective of our project is to encourage physical activity, as people often struggle with motivation for exercise. This project presents an opportunity to develop an engaging, unique and motivating approach to promoting physical education.         

The solution aims to increase physical activity and motivation by introducing milestone checkpoints in trail parks, similar to video games. These checkpoints provide stimulation throughout the game, encouraging users to continue exercising by offering them achievements, such as vouchers to the canteen. By pairing this with a scoreboard on an app, users receive exercise and friendly competition, which boosts their motivation and commitment to regular exercise. The system is for goal setting, enjoyment and engagement, especially for students who sometimes don’t have time for schoolwork or less active individuals who benefit from interactive and rewarding experiences.

Here are the links to our individual fitness games:

Spring: https://arcade.makecode.com/S11138-47177-89629-07946

Summer: https://arcade.makecode.com/S59636-89829-25586-68539

Autumn: https://arcade.makecode.com/S21906-52266-62960-77358

Winter: https://arcade.makecode.com/S51453-23772-82684-47069

Year 12s

It is with a tear in our eye that we farewell the Applied Computing: Data Analytics Class of 2025.

Considering in 2024 only 139 females studied Data Analytics in the state of Victoria, having a class of 15 this year means that we could have almost 10% of the total females here at Kilbreda! (We love a good statistic in this subject). We are very proud of all these students and their courage to take on a niche but rewarding subject such as Applied Computing.

They leave the school knowing that they have strong analytical skills, as you can see from their infographics based on research, spreadsheet, database and data visualisation work. We wish them all the best in their futures.

Periodic Table of Elements Reciting Competition

Once again, the STEM room was packed for the annual Periodic Table of Elements Reciting Competition. It was very exciting to see Kara G (9) back to defend her title and Mia D (8) chasing her down for the win. In the end it was a tie – they both recited all 118 and even tied for the tie breaker as well! A well-deserved win for them both.

Kilbreda in STEM Morning Tea

With many of our students expressing interests in pursuing STEM-related careers, our annual Kilbreda in STEM Morning Tea provided a unique opportunity for them to gain insights into the world of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) from a woman’s perspective.

Our current STEM students heard from seven inspirational speakers, all of whom are past Kilbreda pupils themselves, sharing their journeys and tips on studying and working in STEM industries.

The three keynote speakers were:

1. Jacqueline Boyle: An obstetrician and gynaecologist and currently the Director of Health Systems and Equity at Eastern Health​ Clinical School.

2. Michelle Collett: A civil engineer, currently working for MLEI Consulting.

3. Stephanie Papalia: A graduate veterinarian at Adelong Veterinary Clinic.

Along with the three keynote speakers, we were very lucky to have four Year 12s from the class of 2024 return and speak to us about their experience of first year University.

These four alumni were:

1. Zali Fixter: Studying a Bachelor of Data Science

2. Caitlyn Singleton: Studying a Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering​

3. Camryn Stubbs: Studying a Bachelor of Engineering / Mechanical Engineering (Honours)

4. Jessie Laughlin: Studying a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) The Morning Tea was hosted by our current STEM Leaders: Caitlin Evans, Yzabel Mariano and Jessica Comas.

Student Reflection

STEM Leaders’ Report

Hi! I’m Caitlin Evans, and I’m so excited to have had the opportunity to be a STEM Leader this year. I have loved the STEM subjects that I chose to study: Data Analytics, Physics and General Maths.

I have enjoyed so many things about my STEM subjects this year, but I have especially enjoyed Data Analytics. We spent around four months working on our biggest task for the year. We all got to choose a topic, and we had to collect data, manipulate it and use it to create an infographic. We all chose a different topic that we were interested in. I chose to research meteorite landings as I am interested in space. It was so much fun looking at the responses I collected for my primary data. It was all so helpful and some of it was quite entertaining too.

Something that I love about DTE at Kilbreda is the options that everyone has. In the various DTE subjects, there are so many different areas that we get to look at. In my slightly biased opinion, one of the best subjects that the school offers is Applied Computing, as there are so many things that we get to do. We had the opportunity to analyse data and make infographics, learn programming using Python, create games, websites or something else as an innovative solution and also learn about cyber security. The opportunities are endless!

One of the most exciting things that I have had the opportunity to see this year was Pi Day. There were so many students who participated, competing to see who could recite the most digits of pi. It was great to see everyone supporting each other, no matter how much pi they knew.

Hello, I’m Yzabel Mariano, and it’s been wonderful to be one of the STEM Leaders for 2025. This year has been full of many great memories, especially in my subjects. I studied Data Analytics, Physics and Chemistry.

One of the main memories I have from this year is the physics day out to Luna Park. Of course, the rides were a blast (although I did not go on many myself). It was really fun to see how key concepts in kinematics like velocity, distance and acceleration affect how hard we can rap our dodgem cars into one another. My favourite things about physics are its applications to real-world scenarios, and for me, the topic of motion was my favourite to study. Collision Theory, Conservation of Energy, Inclined Planes and Circular Motion….these are some of the concepts that I have enjoyed learning about because they teach all the fundamentals to why things move and work the way they do. Kinematics is essential to almost everything, from designing cars, trains, airplanes and even robots. If you are not keen on motion, there is an innumerable amount of topics to explore in physics, such as gravitational and electric fields, waves, electricity and special relativity! There has always been something in each topic that has made us want to explore further, and something to make us want answers even if there aren’t any!

Caitlin Evans and Yzabel Mariano

Year 12

Adrienne Donoghue

Learning Leader: Digital Technologies