Building Futures - Merici College

More documents

Recommendations

Info

CHALLENGE YOURSELFMaths and ScienceScience Competitions at MericiMaths ChallengeThe students of Merici Collegerecently participated in two nationalScience competitions.On 1 June 2011 all students in Years7 to 10, and senior students studyingScience, entered the Rio Tinto BigScience Competition, and then on 8June 2011 approximately 120students in Years 7 to 12 volunteeredto sit the International Competitionsand Assessment for Schools (ICAS)Science paper.These Science competitions aimto test a student’s critical thinkingand problem-solving skills and themethods of scientific inquiry, aswell as the student’s knowledge ofscientific concepts.The one-hour competition papersconsist of multiple choice questionsarranged according to year level,with questions being developed inline with the emerging AustralianScience Curriculum.The main purpose of Merici studentsparticipating in these competitions isto promote the learning of science byengaging students and encouragingtheir natural enthusiasm, possiblyleading students to consider a sciencebasedcareer in the future.In addition to the experiencegained by entering into a nationalcompetition, there are a number ofother benefits for the students. Thesecompetitions are an opportunityto excel in a non-threateningenvironment, as the results are notused for assessment purposes. Thestyle of questioning used in the papersis also good practise for other externalexams such as the ACT Scaling Test(AST) and National AssessmentProgram – Language and Numeracy(NAPLAN). The analysis andapplication questions require studentsto use higher order thinking skills andare in line with the College’s ownPrinciples of Powerful Learning.Research into encouraging girlsto excel in Science indicate thatproviding girls with creative learningopportunities that include spatialtraining and giving prescriptive,valuable feedback, helps the studentsview the study of science favourably.Each student will receive a certificateas well as detailed feedback on theirperformance for both competitions.Individual achievement will berecognised by the awarding ofcredit, distinction or high distinctioncertificates by the organisingbody. Merici College will be senta comprehensive report for eachcompetition by paper level,showing how students performedon each question, the percentage ofstudents in the cohort who answeredcorrectly, and a comparison withthe national results.Providing the opportunity for studentsto enter the Rio Tinto Big ScienceCompetition and the ICAS Sciencepaper is just one of many ways thatMerici College aims to support ourstudents to excel in Science.Joanne AboudScience CoordinatorThis year Merici College puttogether a strong team of studentsfor the Maths Challenge. The aimof the challenge was for students toanswer six thought-provoking andpuzzling maths questions, withoutexternal help. Students had fourweeks to answer the questions,and they answered the final twoquestions in pairs.The students got together twicea week at lunchtime to work ontheir problems. They showedmotivation and ingenuity, makingrapid progress. The questions werequite challenging. For example, Year7 and 8 students answered highlyvaried questions such as how to stopan infectious tree bug in an orchard,how different coin denominationscan be added up, and variety of waysthat you can stack trays. Year 9 and10 students, meanwhile, investigatedthe variety of edge possibilitiesfor symmetrical polygons, themathematics of card games, andpossible shortest routes along thesurface of a pyramid.The end of the challenge cameall too quickly. However, mostparticipants would agree that it wasan enjoyable opportunity to explorea different, and more quirky, sideof maths where we investigatedinteresting everyday things anddiscovered some of the mathematicalcomplexity and beauty that lies allaround us.Oliver BarlowScience Teacher10
Teen chefs conquer fearEight Year 12 girls have been selectedto contest the final of this year’sTeenChef competition, which issponsored by Belconnen Fresh FoodMarkets. Four Canberra teams havebeen chosen, two from Merici, onefrom Alfred Deakin High School andone from Canberra High School.Recently all contestants went toCooking Coordinates at BelconnenMarkets to watch well-known localCHALLENGE YOURSELFCo-Curricular Activitieschef, Tom Moore formerly of Sage,Grazing and now of Knead Patisserie,prepare a surprise dish that eachteam has to replicate. The girls beganthe day intimidated by the prospectof completing a fourth dish in theone hour time frame. They werealready challenged by the criteria,completing a three course menu fortwo people in an hour, now they havea mushroom and leek risotto added tothe challenge. They carefully watchedTom prepare the dish, took copiousnotes and asked many questions inpreparation for the numerous practicesthey will do before the contest on 8July. Our girls will have to spend thebeginning of their winter break atschool, honing their skills, masteringtheir mise en place and perfectingtheir timing to create eight perfectmeals all within an hour and at a costof under $60.All Year 12 Hospitality studentsentered the TeenChef competitionas part of an assessment task. Theirchoice of recipes was influenced bythe work of award winning chefs andthe resulting menus were impressive.At our Bridge Restaurant we are ableto practise the recipes. Chefs like SeanMoran, Tetsuya Wakuda, Neil Perry,Christine Manfield and Skye Gyngellhave had an impact on the menusand Bridge guests are blown away bythe quality of the food produced byour girls. The experience has had atremendous impact on the studentsand their understanding of theindustry. Though nerve-racking, theyhave already learned enough to makethe experience worthwhile.Virginia McLeodSupervising TeacherStop Press Stop Press Stop Press Stop PressMerici wins 1st and 2nd placeLivin’ la Vida Loca, or is thatLivin’ la Sfida?!As parents, we may dream of Livin’the Crazy Life with (or without) RickyMartin, but the reality is that we haveto deal with the many challenges lifethrows at us. Many of us even embracechallenge. Merici’s La Sfida ‘challenge’program is in its second year. It isnot a program restricted to the mostacademically proficient students, but isopen to all students who want towork beyond the regular activities ofthe classroom.Dr Judy Willis MD, MEd, presenteda stimulating series of seminarson The Brain and Learning at the8th Annual Hawker BrownlowEducation Conference held recentlyin Melbourne. It was inspiring tohear a neurologist’s view of educationand how we educate our students.Key to good teaching practice is anunderstanding of its purpose.‘Students … need new skills for thecoming century … to be ready tocollaborate with others on a globallevel to find creative solutions toproblems now and in the future …Schools need to provide opportunitiesfor collaboration and communication– first in the classroom and thenbeyond to develop these skills.’ (WillisJ (2007) 10 Points for PresidentObama, http://www.radteach.com/page14/page38/page38.html)These are important considerationsin all classes, but our goal with LaSfida is to have individual or groupsof students identify projects thatthey would like to undertake thatallow them to challenge themselves.These can be within one subject areaor cross-curricular. Teachers maygently encourage students towardsprojects. From experience, theseprojects usually have significantaspects of collaboration requiringgood communication skills. Ourpresentation evening, a great successlast year, will be held in Semester 2and showcases student projects andoffers another forum for students tocommunicate their learning to a newaudience; fellow students, teachers andparents. If your daughter is copingwell with her study workload and hasa drive to challenge herself, we wouldencourage her to talk to a teacher whocan mentor her through a project.Current undertakings include theBlack Mountain School projectwhere 22 Year 9 Religious Educationstudents work once a week to supportBlack Mountain students in all aspectsof their school routine. A team iscurrently being prepared for the DaVinci Decathlon and Mr Barlow hasled students through the recentMaths Challenge.Ann ClearyAssistant Principal11
Page 3 and 4: From The Principal…From the Princ
Page 6: Community FocusCommunity FocusYear
Page 12 and 13: Musical MericiMusical MericiMusical
Page 14 and 15: Community ForumCo-curricular Activi
Page 16: Merici momentsAngela Merici Day Pla

Building Futures - Merici College

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?