Kyle James
This year, Science has welcomed College “Old Boy” Kyle James to the teaching ranks. He has been a great addition to the faculty, bringing both a passion for science, a wide range of teaching experience and a deep understanding of charism of Edmund Rice and what it means to be an “Eddies” boy.
Year 7 have been busy developing their skills in observing and measuring, using the data collected to make qualified judgements and quantifiable conclusions. These skills have been put to the test in the first assessment task “Finding the Ideal Lunch Spot”. Students have had to take multiple measurements of distances between access to facilities within the College that are important at lunch (oval, canteen, bathroom and how far they have to carry their bag), light exposure, temperature, wind speed and direction, available seating and type etc. It has been exciting to witness the boys communicating and working collaboratively to carry out this task and demonstrate newly developed skills.
Year 8 have been learning about “Cells and Body Systems”. From developing microscopy skills to learning about the structure and function of the circulatory and pulmonary systems, differentiating between breathing and respiration, the role of the digestive system and how the excretory system removes harmful cellular waste from the body. As assessment for this topic, the boys had to create a model of a chosen system and make a video not only explaining the function of the parts, but why they chose the materials they used to represent each component.
For the first half of Term 1, Year 9 have studied the “History of the Atom”, looking at how our comprehension of matter has changed from the time period of critical philosophical thinking of Aristotle through to the period of Scientific Enlightenment, where emphasis was placed on scientific observation, verification and following the scientific method. During the second half of the term, “A Local Ecosystem” was covered, with the boys demonstrating their critical skills in researching and evaluating first and second hand data to investigate one of the many varied ecosystems found on the Central Coast.
During Semester 1, Year 10 study short courses on Biology (genetics), Chemistry (Chemical reactions) and Physics (motion) so they have a taste of what will be studied in the Stage 6 courses. The boys sit tests on each topic of work and a half yearly examination covering all the work studied, to give them quantitative feedback on their achievement in the course, as well as their own “feel” on the courses and whether they’d like to continue to study them to the HSC.
Year 11 have begun their study of the Stage 6 Preliminary program and have completed their first assessment tasks. This should give them guidance on how the quality and quantity of home based learning they are doing adds to the work covered in class. The boys are strongly encouraged to regularly revise their coursework and come to class prepared with questions on any areas that they may not fully comprehend. The teachers of the senior courses are always open and strongly encourage the boys to seek and act upon feedback throughout the study of these courses.
Year 12 are at the half-way point of their HSC journey. The second assessment tasks have just been completed during the Midcourse Examination block. With 6 months remaining, there is plenty of time to reflect on the level of achievement in these exams, gain feedback, improve examination technique and focus on those areas identified that require extra attention.
Images from Marine Studies
