LitSTEM Partnership

We were delighted to welcome back St Brigid’s Primary School students into our laboratories for another year. Over four sessions, two groups of excited Year 4 students learned about chemical reactions and got some hands-on experience in the laboratories. This partnership provides important opportunities for students to be exposed STEM from a young age, sparking interest and building engagement to be sustained for years to come.

Thank you to Louisa Tanner, Amelia Brooks and Coralene Crawford for taking the time to prepare and run these sessions and to our Year 9 student helpers, Megan Singleton, Leila Timms and Rhiannan Marie-Jeanne.

Science Week

From 4 to 8 September we celebrated Science week. On Monday we hosted the first Amazing (Science) Race with challenges spread over the school, periodic table puzzle pieces to collect and plenty of Science riddles to be solved. Congratulations to Year 8 students, Verity Winthrop and Madeline Russell who were the first to complete all challenges and solve the final puzzle using their periodic table. Tuesday saw students learning about acid-base reactions while making sherbet and Thursday brought an opportunity for students to relax while watching Wall-E. The annual Periodic Table reciting competition occurred on Friday, with Kara Gurung in Year 7 reciting all 118 elements. Congratulations, Kara, on your achievement! Kilbreda hosted the second Women in STEM morning tea on Wednesday, which you can read more about on the STEM page.

National Youth Science Forum Year 12 Program 2024

The National Youth Science Forum (NYSF) Year 12 Program is designed to give students a broader understanding of the diverse study and career options available in STEM and to encourage continued studies in these fields.​ Participants stay at university colleges and are immersed in Science and Technology and have the opportunity to participate in tours of Science and Technology facilities, learn about cutting-edge research, engage with industry partners and research providers, learn about university, training and STEM career pathways and mix with other like-minded students from all over Australia.

We are so proud to announce that Caitlyn Singleton has been accepted into the program and will be attending the summer session in Brisbane next January. Entry into this program is highly competitive and we congratulate Caitlyn on her impressive application. We look forward to hearing all about her amazing experience next year.

Applications for the 2025 summer program will be open next June for Year 11 students.

Around the Labs…

Our Year 7 students practical skills have progressed in leaps and bounds this year; they no longer ask to use the Bunsen Burners every class and are now used to writing things down as they complete practicals. Right now, they are studying mixtures. Here they are investigating which substances are soluble or insoluble in water and using that information to deduce whether they have made a suspension or solution.

Sarah Chuck
Learning Leader: Science