Science
Term 4 has been busy in the Science department with our students fast approaching assessment periods and engaging in a variety of student experiments to demonstrate their learning. Our Year 7 students are all exploring the relationship between mass and distance trravelled in the context of spear throwers for our Physics unit. Students have been practicing the technqiue with tennis balls and dog ball throwers this week in a guided inquiry task and will start to develop their own assessment experiment next week.
Our Year 8 students are finalising their fast and slow cooling igneous rocks experiment this week which has produced some amazing crystals. Students are comparing the properties of igneous rocks formed above and below the ground and specifically looking at crystal structure and size. After this week they will be moving into studies about the Earth's movement including volcanoes and earthquakes.
Our Year 9 students have been exploring the carbon cycle and the key impacts that combustion, respiration and photosynthesis have on the spheres of our planet. Last week the focus was on ocean acidification and acid rain and students have been involved in a series of practical experiments to evaluate data and the impact of pollutants in the atmosphere from combustion. Year 9 students will be sitting a data test in Week 7. This is a different style of exam from our traditional knowledge exams and students will be asked questions about experimental data to interpret patterns and find relationships. This is the first step into senior science skills and we are excited to be learning with them.
As part of our ongoing work in the PBL and academic excellence space, the IGNITE teaching team are working towards developing school wide strategies to support students through busy assessment periods to help with resilience, self-confidence and effective exam strategies. As students have just completed a busy exam period, the IGNITE teaching team will be surveying students across the IGNITE academy and senior sciences regarding their assessment experience. The results from this survey will then guide the development of positive strategies to support our Ripley Valley State Secondary Students to enhance their learning experiences and assessment preparedness. We look to share the deidentified outcomes of this survey with other educational professionals in the future. If you have any questions or would like to know more, please contact Anastasia Constable at azahn6@eq.edu.au.
Ellen Grant
Head of Department - Science - Year 8F to 8I