Year 7 – Python Programming

Year 7s have been going from strength to strength with their Python programming. They’ve learnt the basics of using the Turtle module to design basic shapes and then used these ideas to draw some incredible pixelated characters from capybaras to frogs to elephants! I think you’ll agree they are looking very impressive, especially when you compare the hand drawn designs to the finished product.

Student Reflections

Learning how to code with Mu editor has been so fun and educational! I’ve learnt how to make the image of shapes – tens and even thousands of them – and also making my own monster using lots and LOTS of code. Coding has been an unforgettable experience and it has been fun every lesson learning, and even though sometimes it was very time consuming, it was worth it in the end. Coding is by far the best unit we’ve covered this year!

Metua Tangianau

Year 7

For the first part of Semester 2 Term 3 my Year 7 class used Python code. We went from just coding squares and other shapes to making art. We all made a plan and then coded the quadrants into MU editor, and slowly our creations came into existence. It was a fun and creative activity, and we had lots of help from our teacher. 

Juno Siegman

Year 7

Year 8 – Photoshop

A big congratulations to the winner of our Year 8 DTE Photoshop competition, Jasmine Ballis from 8-52 with her stunning piece of digital art.

Our next group of Year 8s have completed their micro:bit Virtual Pet programs and the designs seem to get better and better. These designs have not only housed the microbit but also considered the engineering challenge of supporting the weight of the microbit and battery pack.

Go Girl, Go IT Conference

Student Reflection

On Wednesday 13 August we were lucky enough to be included in the 19 Year 8 girls who went to Deakin University to participate in the Go Girl, Go for IT conference. Go Girl, Go for IT is a one-day conference that runs every two years. It is a celebration of STEM, designed to empower young girls to explore the career possibilities in IT, by showcasing some of the exciting and possible career opportunities that exist. This year’s theme for the conference was ‘InspireHER’ – creating a bolder future with AI. 

We participated in four activities over the span of the day. We started off strong with a career showcase where we learnt more about AI and all of its uses, as well as about all of the positions and jobs in cyber security. In this workshop, we were also provided with the opportunity to ask any questions we had about AI and its job opportunities. The second activity we participated in was a coding workshop where we used the coding browser Scratch to create a maze game. In this workshop we were able to expand and advance our coding skills as well as learn more about how AI works and the many features it encompasses. Our third activity was our favourite of all! We were able to grab some freebies from the Go Girl, Go for IT sponsors while learning about the sponsors who were supporting girls and their futures! The fourth and final activity was an AI programming workshop where we were able to listen to a programmer who is currently working on her new game. She explained all the benefits of her job as programmer, what we can do with AI and also what it can assist us with.

We loved the experience and thank Ms Donoghue for taking us all and sharing her knowledge with us to give us a better understanding! 

Chloe Errante and Chloe Dixon

Year 8

Year 9 Emerging Tech

Year 9s have been honing their data analytic skills this semester. They revised their basic Excel skills from Year 8 before learning some more advanced techniques such as conditional formatting, =COUNTIF functions and pivot tables. Once they had manipulated the data, they could search for fun trends and facts and present all of this on a finished infographic. Attached are some excellent examples of these Pokemon and Pixar related infographics.

Cave Robotics Challenge

Student Reflection

As part of the Emerging Technologies curriculum, our class was given the opportunity to attend a hands-on robotic workshop at The University of Melbourne, arranged by Robogals (a group of volunteers from a Melbourne University club) and Akorn Education (a STEM specialised program).

The trip to The University of Melbourne was very lively! Our class had to first take the bus in the cold early morning to Cheltenham station due to rail replacements, and then take the train to Flinders Street. Whilst we rode to the city, we had a blast waving to the people on the nearby train (Yes, some waved back!). 

Afterwards, we took a tram to the University, and after some struggle, we were able to find the room where the program would take place. 

After we met the wonderful organisers and some students from Sacred Heart College, we officially began the excursion. First, for the Akorn segment, we started off the day with a cave foundation support activity. Working in teams, we created support prototypes, then did a brief presentation of our design. 

We then had lunch – they served us a lot of pizza and garlic bread, and we were able to go out to the raised area overlooking the ground floor, where we got to watch awesome dances from the Bollywood Club! During that, we even saw Mr Owens pass by with his red cello case!  Later on, we moved to Robogals, where we spent the rest of the day working with robots. Our final challenge at the end was to navigate our robots inside a makeshift cave, by using sensors to rescue the stranded people. 

Suyen’s favourite thing was the cave rescue, while Namie’s favourite thing was the cave support prototype building.

Suyen Delorino and Namie Padasas

Year 9

Adrienne Donoghue

Learning Leader: Digital Technologies