So excited about this event for the OC coming up in Week 8!
Archives
Wooooooo!!!
Wooooooooo!!! Today the OC attended a special event at the University of Newcastle – Woo, New & You! We listened to lots of experts in the field of maths, science and STEM, with the highlight being an inspirational talk from Australian of the Year and teaching superstar Eddie Woo. Eddie’s presentation was titled Reimagining Maths and focused on the ideas of mathematics being about playfulness, exploration and teamwork. We got to meet Eddie, who was incredibly generous with his time, and all received a copy of his amazing book Woo’s Wonderful World of Maths!
STEM Spectacular!
Thank you to our amazing students, parents and grandparents who came along to celebrate Education Week with us today. Students thoroughly enjoyed leading our younger students in a range of STEM activities from Ozobots to slime, and it was lovely to receive such positive feedback from our visiting guests. Happy Education Week!
Education Week schedule
Build a Bridge!
This term in science we’ve been studying the unit The Structure and Function of Cities. Students have been exploring systems in the built environment and the environmental factors that influence their design. This week we learnt about bridges and students did a great job designing and building their own. Their bridges needed to be able to transport a matchbox car, be aesthetically pleasing and be able to hold at least 100 grams. Students presented and tested their bridges at our Stage 3 Bridge Off this afternoon. Have a look at their handiwork below…
Welcome back for Term 3!
Welcome back to a stem-tastic term 3! Today the OC had a special visit from Canadian principal Mr Hume and Mr Graeme Eather, CEP College Principal. They were most impressed by our wonderful school and super OC students. We enjoyed having them join us during our STEM Challenge this morning where students worked in teams to design a geodesic dome, create a water slide and build a spaghetti skyscraper. With our Science & Engineering challenge day and National Science Week coming up later this term, it was a great opportunity for students to develop their skills. A great start to the term!
Year 5 STEM Festival
Well done to the Year 5 students who attended yesterday’s Hunter Valley STEM Festival to compete in the Jaguar Primary School Challenge for 2016. Students headed off first thing in the morning to the Forum at the University of Newcastle to race their model Jaguar race cars that they have been busy designing, constructing, and modifying for the past 2 weeks. This has been a fantastic opportunity for students to experience another application of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) skills and for them to be part of their own mini pit crew. Students were put into teams consisting of a Manager, Engineer, and Graphic Designer. They worked together to develop a design for their Jaguar race car and research modifications that could be made to add wings and spoilers that could potentially give their Jaguar an advantage on the track. Yesterday, students were able to see how well their modifications had worked by placing their cars on a tether line and inserting a compressed CO² canister into the back of their Jaguar. Students then had the challenge of trying to achieve the best reaction time possible at the start line as their Jaguars zoomed down the track. Students were also able to look at a host of interactive exhibits from High School challenges.
Congratulations to the Melissa McCARthys team who scored the best reaction time and race time for Tighes Hill! Here are photos and videos from the day. Enjoy!
Mini EV Festival
Well done to everyone who came along to Cameron Park Raceway yesterday to participate in the Mini EV Festival! What a great day – it was wonderful to see the sun shining and lots of families, friends and puppies come out to support us! I was so proud of the fantastic effort all our students made during this project, working on their carts, making team shirts and exhibiting enthusiastic team spirit. A huge thank you to our wonderful volunteer, Bob, who helped us each week with this project. Enjoy the photos below.
STEM Spectacular!
What a fabulous way to celebrate Education Week today! Despite the miserable weather, it was great to see so many grandparents, parents, friends and family attend our STEM classroom activities and shared lunch! Congratulations to our Year 5/6 students who were undoubtedly the stars of the day. I was so proud of the wonderful job our students did presenting their activity for our younger grades and our many visitors. Thank you to everyone who came along today and supported this terrific event! Check out the photos below of our mini-scientists in action…
Mystery Bag Challenge
This week we were treated to a terrific taster lesson from the staff and students from Callaghan College Waratah Technology Campus. Our class took part in a STEM Challenge which involved designing and making a structure to launch a pom pom using only the materials provided in a mystery bag. We had a great time and there were lots of creative and clever designs. Well done to everyone for the enthusiasm, great team work and effort.