National Science Week is Australia's annual celebration of all things science. We are mid-way through National Science Week which will run until 22 August. The school theme for National Science Week 2021 is Food: Different by Design. It honours the United Nations International Year of Fruits and Vegetables and the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development.

At Glenaeon, we have been celebrating Science Week 2021 with fruit and light!

Year 11 Physics

Year 11 Physics have been studying electric circuits this term and have been enjoying building and qualitatively and quantitively analysing both series and parallel circuits. This is a practical unit, best studied through application, and it has been wonderful that the students have had access to individual kits with all the necessary components to tinker away. Striving for a intuitive understanding of electric circuits is no easy task, especially when learning online, but with the practical kits supporting the students there have been plenty of both figurative and literal light bulb moments!

Jennifer Macgonigal, Physics/Mathematics Teacher

Year 11 Chemistry

Year 11 Chemistry students started the term busily analysing and comparing quantities of vitamin C found in various fruits and vegetables as part of their Chemistry Depth Study Main Lesson. Students picked up a mini-chemistry experiment kit from school that allowed them to carry out quantitative analysis at home, on kitchen benches, dining tables and even in bathroom sinks! The fruit of their labour showed that kiwi, broccoli and capsicum are very good sources of vitamin C, storing your food at a cooler temperature will preserve the amount of vitamin C better, and that you want to be quick when you’re washing your fruit and vegetables to avoid vitamin C loss to water. 

Yura Totsuka, Head of Department (Science)

STEM Teachers 'graduate'

Glenaeon is a partner school of The University of Sydney STEM Teacher Enrichment Academy, which at our school is actually run as a SHTEEM unit with English and History included. Some of our Teachers completed the program last month after submitting their reflection of the 2020 unit, ‘Academy of Renaissance Curators’, that last year’s Year 8 students undertook.  So it was a wonderful coincidence that this week, during National Science Week, our 'graduating' Teachers received their certificates.

Our congratulations to Yura Totsuka (Head of Department) Science; Ella Pooley, Alice Livermore, Hernan Carol-Garis, Evan Sanders, Elena Rowan and Stanley Tang for your work in this program.

Unfortunately, lockdown has altered our Year 8 STEM activities this term, but hopefully our students will feel some of the benefit from this wonderful program through GLO and again when they finally return for face-to-face learning.

More information about Science Week can be found at www.scienceweek.net.au

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