I would like to take the opportunity to introduce myself to the Ripley Valley State Secondary College community. My name is Ellen Grant and I have been appointed as Head of Department for Science and Year 8F to I for 2023. My speciality is in teaching Chemistry and I am passionate about helping students explore the world around them through scientific phenomena. I have come from another school district working as the Head of Science and Health for the past eight years and am very much looking forward to meeting all the students at RVSSC as we learn together in 2023.

The Science department has been busy this term already, with some exciting learning experiences on offer for our students. With the introduction of senior Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Psychology in Year 11 classes, students are being challenged with new skills fundamental to the specific Science disciplines they have chosen to study. These include structures and types of cells, limiting factors and analytical techniques, nuclear decay and the brain. Senior students will all be starting work towards their first assessment tasks and should utilise the tutorial sessions offered by their teachers to seek support with their learning if they would like to.  

The Junior Science students have been exploring various topics across Years 7 to 10 including Separation Techniques (Year 7), Reproductive System and Cell Structures (Year 8), Heat and Sound Energy (Year 9) and Rates of Reaction (Year 10). Students will be provided with their assessment schedules in Access classes this week. The next few weeks begin to be very busy with assignment and exam preparation. A reminder to utilise the school diary to keep track of important dates. This supports the learning goal of “I am responsible for my own learning”. 

Finally, you should have received an email with the 2023 Science Experiments Permission Form. This contains information related to the safety measures that teachers use to minimise risk for students while completing their practical experiment lessons. This includes measures such as having hair tied up and safe use of Bunsen burners for example. If you could please sign and have your student sign to acknowledge these safety measures it would be greatly appreciated. Teachers will be reminding individual classes as well.

I look forward to the remainder of Term 1.