Science to the Moon and Back

LEAH students gathered at Cornerstone College on Friday August 16th for our 3rd annual LEAH Science Day.  Run during National Science Week, this exciting day of activities centered around the themes of the Moon Missions and the Periodic Table of the Elements.  2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the moon landing and the 150th anniversary of the creation of the Periodic Table.

To start the event, students met together in the Science building and were welcomed by Cornerstone staff and students, as well as Andy the Astronaut.  Mr Cameron spoke about the first moon landing and ask students to share what they had learnt so far during Science Week.  Cornerstone student leaders then led the group in a Welcome to Country and devotion.

Students were then divided into 4 groups (Apollo, Luna, Surveyor & Ranger) and participated in the following activities.

Astronauts Mining the Moon

Students performed 3 experiments in this session.

  • Measuring temperature changes to decide on the best insulation material for an astronaut’s suit
  • Mining a (biscuit) moon rock, using probes and forceps, to carefully remove the minerals from the rock without destroying the rock
  • Creating a moon volcano, using sodium bicarbonate, vinegar, food colouring and playdough

Rockets and Planets

In this session students

  • Learnt about the distance of planets from the sun, by stepping out the relative distances in the courtyard
  • Were challenged to launch a rocket at the correct angle so that it would hit a target
  • Used balloons of different shapes and sizes to make balloon rockets and measure how far each one travelled

Moon Rocks

In order to learn more about the geology of the Moon, students

  • Used microscopes and magnifying glasses to observe moon rocks & minerals
  • Made moon rocks from cement, plaster of Paris and glitter

Periodic Table of the Elements

Before Science Day, each student researched one of the elements of the Periodic Table.  During this session, students filled a coloured tile with information and pictures of their element, which was used to create a giant wall display of the Periodic Table.

It was very impressive to hear the information that the students had retained from their research.

Blast Off

Before returning home, students were treated to some spectacular Science Displays and some prizes and resource bags were given out to take back to school.

Thank you to everyone involved in this amazing day
of exploration & discovery

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2018 Wrap Up

2018 has seen continued emphasis on the teaching & learning of STEM and it’s related disciplines in our LEAH Schools.  The aim of the LEAH STEM Action Group is to develop and facilitate a cross disciplinary approach to the teaching and learning of STEM in LEAH schools.  Along with the 8 objectives of the group we also promote and support STEM teaching & learning in our individual schools.

 

To celebrate the end of another exciting year in our LEAH schools we would like to share a few highlights from 2018.

 

 

St Mark’s Lutheran Primary School

St Michael’s Lutheran Primary School

Lobethal Lutheran Primary School

Cornerstone College

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2018 Student STEM Achievements

Once again the
LEAH STEM ACTION GROUP
would like to acknowledge and congratulate
students from LEAH schools
for their achievements in
Science, Technologies, Mathematics and STEM
co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.

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ICAS Competitions

https://unswglobal.unsw.edu.au/educational-assessments/products/icas-assessments/

The ICAS assessments are conducted by the University of New South Wales and students from over 6,300 schools in Australia and New Zealand participate annually.

We would like to congratulate the following LEAH primary school students for their achievements in 2018 Science, Digital Technologies & Mathematics assessments.

Science

Credit

  • Archer Baugh
  • Tanayah Hartley
  • Thomas King
  • Pareesa Mohtasham
  • Domenico Silvestri
  • Andrew Trinkle
  • Amelie van Zijl
  • Koby Wilson-Crowe

Merit

  • Nari Freckleton
  • Alice Marshall
  • Elle-Rose Shearer

Mathematics

Distinction

  • Joel Dover
  • Matilda Nefiodovas

Credit

  • Phoebe Cameron
  • Amy Hirschausen
  • Evie Krieg
  • Pareesa Mohtasham
  • Rory Salmon
  • Andrew Trinkle
  • Amelie van Zijl

Merit

  • Archer Baugh
  • Archie King
  • Thomas King
  • Harper Roberts

Digital Technologies

Distinction

  • Paige Chamberlain
  • Alice Marshall
  • Owen Webster

Credit

  • Nari Freckleton
  • Tanayah Hartley
  • Thomas King
  • Pareesa Mohtasham
  • William Salmon
  • Amelie van Zijl

Merit

  • Sam Beaumont
  • Bailey Swain

 

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Australian Mathematics Competition

https://www.amt.edu.au/mathematics/amc/

Cornerstone College students in Years 7 – 10 competed against students from over 30 countries in the Australian Mathematics competition, where they were asked to solve 30 challenging problems in 75 minutes.

 

 

Prize Winner

We would like to congratulate Year 8 student Ella-Bree Zobel for receiving a prize in this competition.

High Distinctions

Year 9 students Benjamin Gast and Samuel Reissenweber also excelled and received a High Distinction in the competition.

 

Distinctions

Year 7

  • Oliver Bethell
  • Hermione Dew
  • Richard Fries
  • Jasime Geue
  • Riley Henderson
  • Jack Jiggins
  • Joshua Masters
  • Alex Montagu
  • Charlie Shearer
  • Thomas Small
  • Flynn Samardzic
  • Imogen Szegedi
  • Macie Wheeler
Year 8

  • George Bartley
  • Jordan Follett
  • Grace Hirschausen
  • Finn Koch-Reid
  • Benjamin Murray
  • Tain McCullum
  • Noah Mialaret
  • Jack Pfitzner
  • Damon Potts
  • Eliza Wybrow

 

 

Year 9

  • Liam Hinze
  • Addison Martin
  • Paual Rodriguez

Year 10

  • Riley Hannam-Smith
  • Bradley Hilton
  • Keifer Potts
  • Michael Smallridge

 

 

Information : Cornerstone Connections, Edition 13, Page 12

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digIT 2019

Year 8 Cornerstone College student Hannah Gray has been awarded an exclusive place in digIT 2019 at the University of Western Australia.

DigIT runs throughout 2019, and Hannah is one of 60 students selected to further studies in ICT while developing friendships with like-minded students from across Western Australia and South Australia.

Photo & information : Cornerstone Connections, Edition 12, Page 10

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NAO Robotics Dance Competition

Seven students from St Michael’s Lutheran Primary School participated in the final “Dance Off” of the NAO Everybody Dance competition in March this year.  10 teams of students were short-listed for this final, where they each programmed a 30 second dance routine for a humanoid robot to perform to music.  The winning team was from Woodcroft College and the St Michael’s students won the prize for the highest scoring school.

Congratulations go to Thomas King, Harry Hughes, Tily Mickan, Elish Pace, Will Salmon, Thomas Boekel and Ryan Schwartz for their participation and success in this event.

Photos & information : https://smlps.edublogs.org/2018/04/13/dance-robot-dance/

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Chess Competitions

In May, 20 students from St Mark’s Lutheran Primary School participated in the Hills Interschool Chess Tournament as part of SA Junior Interschool Chess.  Primary school students from all over the Adelaide Hills competed and the St Mark’s team came 3rd out of 42 teams!

This success then enabled 4 year 6 students to compete in South Australian Junior Chess League State Finals in September.  Congratulations Haidyn I, Jack V, Oliver H and William B for competing and finishing 14th out of 28 schools in this competition.

Photos & information : School newsletter Term 2 Week 6 and Term 3 Week 10

 

In August, Lobethal Lutheran Primary School in partnership with Chesslife hosted an Interschool
Chess Tournament for over 90 students from Adelaide Hills schools.  Congratulations to the following students, who represented their school on the day – Olivia Emmett, Damien Riches, Charlotte Hughes, James and Henry Hooker and Jaxon White.

Photos & information : School newsletter Term 3 Week 7

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Lego League

Congratulations to students Asher Hodgson, Nicholas Doyle and Benjamin Murray and teacher/coach Alyssa Leach on representing Cornerstone College in the SA State Finals of Lego League.

The students presented a project on Artificial Gravity and ran a robot in 4 games, in which they were placed 15th out of 30 teams.  The students won a special judges award for showing persistence even with the smallest team at the tournament!

Photo & information : Cornerstone Connections, Edition 18, Page 12

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Student’s Exhibiting their work

It’s always great to see student’s work being exhibited at the Royal Adelaide Show, regional shows and other community events.  Whilst we realise there are many students who have been involved in such activities, we would like to acknowledge the following students for their achievements.

Prize Winning Cushion

Year 8 student, Hannah Gray, won first prize for her cushion at the Mt Barker Show.  She also won the prize for Champion Junior Handicraft Secondary School.

Hannah made her cushion in her Year 7 Home Economics class.  Her project utilised knowledge & understanding and processes & production skills from the Australian Design and Technologies Curriculum.

Photo & information : Cornerstone Connections, Edition 5, Page 10

 


2018 Science and Engineering Investigation Awards

Congratulations to Year 9 students Jenna Barry, Hollie Bowden, Ethan Braendler, Elliott Eastwood, Courtney Eckert, Gemma Klose, Cate Liebelt, Thomas Riches, Abbey Schofield, Nathaniel Secomb, Ella Schrapel, Charli Schulz and Imogen Tulloch on having their investigations selected for the 2018 Science and Engineering Investigation Awards, organised by Food and Fibres Education SA at the Royal Adelaide Show.

Photo & information : Cornerstone Connections, Edition 13, Page 11

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LEAH Science Day

National Science Week started with a blast for our LEAH schools on Friday 10th August when Year 3, 4 and 5 students from St Mark’s, St Michael’s & Lobethal Lutheran primary schools ventured off to the Cornerstone College Science Labs for a day of Science exploration and discovery.

The day literally started with a blast when Mr Schoff, Deputy Principal of Cornerstone College, welcomed the students and showed them photos of his attempts to launch a rocket on the school oval.  Student leader Lachlan Wybrow (Year 12) also welcomed the students with a prayer and Welcome to Country and he encouraged the students to pursue their interests in STEM subjects, including Science.

LEAH STEM Action Group co-ordinator, Mary Whittaker, also welcomed the students and encouraged them to look for connections between Science and the other STEM subjects (Technology, Engineering & Maths) in all the activities that they do during the day.

The theme for National Science Week was Game Changers & Change Makers and focussed on the Scientists, Engineers, Mathematicians, Designers and Innovators of the past and present who have made great improvements to the way we live.  In line with this theme, students were split into 4 groups for the LEAH Science Day – Einstein, Curie, Galileo & Goodall.  Some students had already researched information about these game changers earlier in the week at school.

Cornerstone Lead Science Teacher, Jane Hoffman, briefed the students in laboratory safety procedures, after which each group cycled through several activities during the day.

Chemical Colours

Students mixed chemicals together in test tubes to make the colours of the Australian flag, several AFL teams and the Socceroos soccer team.

Microscope Slides

Students viewed all sorts of life forms and materials up close through the lens of a microscope, including water fleas, houseflies, bacteria, yeast, a cockroach leg, onion skin, human blood and paper.  Students were amazed at the intricate detail of some of these specimens and drew diagrams of their observations.

Minerals

Students learned about the rock cycle and then observed a range of different minerals and tested properties such as colour, streak & lustre.

Static Electricity and Magnetism

Students used a variety of equipment and materials to study the effects of static electricity and magnetism.

The Life of a Scientist

Students got an insight into the life of an astronomer, chemist, forensic scientist, environmentalist, botanist and human biologist, by using equipment and materials that these scientists use.

Science Demonstration & Prizes

The day concluded with a very exciting Science demonstration, where Cornerstone’s laboratory manager Lyn Castrique amazed the students with elephants toothpaste and flaming chemical colours.  Each school then had the opportunity to win a book prize for their school library, through a “periodic table of the elements lucky element draw” and a “guess the number of science rocks” challenge.  Schools were then presented with packs of science resources and a take home “Balloon Rocket” science kit for each student.

The LEAH STEM Action group would like to thank the Cornerstone staff & students for all of their time and effort in designing & setting up the activities and then helping the younger students on the day.  The opportunity for primary school students to use full-size, state of the art laboratories and science equipment is limited, and so this was a real eye-opening experience for them and has inspired many of them to pursue STEM studies and careers.

For more photos please visit our photo gallery – here

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2017 Student STEM Achievements

 

As 2017 draws to a close, the LEAH STEM Action Group would like to acknowledge & congratulate many students on their achievements in extra curricular STEM activities.  These activities allow students to broaden their knowledge & experience in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and related disciplines and in many cases, practice them in environments beyond the school grounds.

Primary students’ names are written in green and secondary students in blue.

ICAS Competitions

UNSW Global Pty Ltd

These competitions are conducted by the University of New South Wales.  They are a suite of academic assessments for primary & secondary students in subjects including Science, Digital Technologies & Mathematics.  Students from over 6,300 schools in Australia and New Zealand participate annually.  More information about these competitions can be found here .

Science

Science

High Distinction

  • Joshua Skinner

Distinction

  • Joseph Bellamy
  • Jacob Breadnam
  • Luke Davis
  • Eleanor Edwards
  • Jordan Follett
  • Emily Hinze
  • Liam Hinze
  • Benjamin Murray
  • Sam Reissenweber
  • Michael Smallridge
  • Oscar Taylor

Credit

  • Thomas King
  • Elle Rose Shearer
  • Charlie Shearer
  • Cormac Baker
  • George Bartley
  • Spencer Eales
  • Benjamin Gast
  • Thomas Glover
  • Aimee Hacquoil
  • Caleb Hahn
  • Riley Harten
  • Sophie Heinrich
  • Oscar Hemmings
  • Grace Hirschausen
  • Daniel Holton
  • Anya Innes
  • Angus Kleeman
  • Joel Leake
  • Tain McCullum
  • Jye Martin
  • Seth Ormandy
  • Jack Pfitzner
  • George Pope
  • Damon Potts
  • Keifer Potts
  • Finn Rawlings
  • Ben Reissenweber
  • Hunter Roberts
  • Ella Schrapel
  • Reuben Schumacher
  • Jaylen Tindale-Seymour
  • Danae Verway
  • Kaleb White
  • Lachlan Wybrow
  • Eliza Wybrow
  • Ella-Bree Zobel

Merit

  • Daniel Burden
  • Nari Freckleton
  • Henry Weiss
  • Kaitlan Carver
  • Lachlan Coulson
  • Georgia Hamilton
  • James Heinrich
  • Dena Herrmann
  • Lachlan Hesse
  • Bradley Hilton
  • Eliza Hogben
  • Josh Liebelt
  • Emily Marshall
  • Katie Moularadelis
  • Alicia Murch
  • Madeline Noske
  • Joshua Rayner
  • Fabien Rech
  • Thomas Riches
  • Ciaran Scales
  • Julia Severen
  • Darcee Simes
  • Aidan Waterhouse

Digital Technologies

Digital Technologies

Distinction

  • Charlie Shearer
  • Joshua Skinner

Credit

  • Daniel Burden
  • Rhys Cameron
  • Charlotte Hughes
  • Samuel Kemp
  • Henry Main
  • Amelie Van Zijl

Merit

  • Barnaby Bevan
  • Bailey Swain
  • Elle Rose Shearer

Mathematics

Mathematics

Distinction

  • Richard Fries
  • Charlie Shearer

Credit

  • Archer Baugh
  • Mitch Carling
  • Jasmine Geue
  • Tanayah Hartley
  • Hayden Lien
  • Elle Rose Shearer
  • Joshua Skinner
  • Jack Steiner
  • Amelie Van Zijl

Merit

  • Daniel Burden
  • Cyra Filipowicz
  • Amy Hirschausen
  • Samuel Kemp

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Cornerstone College students have been involved in a numbers of Science, Mathematics, Technologies & Engineering activities.  Below is a summary of some achievements in these activities in 2017.  More detailed information & photos can be found in the “connections at cornerstone” publications – Edition 15 and Edition 9.

Oliphant Science Awards
  • Eleanor Edwards – second prize in the Year 10 Scientific Inquiry category
International Science Competition
  • 53 Cornerstone students achieved either a Distinction, a Credit or a Merit certificate
Australian Mathematics Competition
  • Luke Davis
  • Tain McCullum
  • George Bartley
  • Addison Martin
  • Sam Reissenweber
  • Benjamin Gast
  • Jacob Breadnam
  • Riley Hannam-Smith
  • Lachlan Crocker
  • Thomas Glover
  • Sophie Miller
  • Emily Marshall
Royal Adelaide Show Prizes

Prizes were awarded to several students for Science Investigations, Horticulture & Textiles.

  • Cameron Moult-Smith
  • Emily Hinze
  • Oliver Cobcroft
  • Keifer Potts
  • Ciaran Scales
  • Emily Marshall
  • Victoria Beare
  • Tahlia Massner
  • Abigail Lehmann
  • Jess Klatt
  • Lauren House
  • Dylan Middleton-Frew
  • Phoebe Cain
  • Georgia Winter
  • Taylor Grivell
  • Chloe Stichel

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Chess Clubs

Congratulations to Richard Fries, Ryan Marks, Oliver Hotker, Haidyn Ingram and Asher Hodgson who recently represented St Mark’s Lutheran Primary School at the South Australian Junior Chess League State Finals. The team finished a very credible 12th place.

 

 

 

 

 

Students at our 3 primary schools are involved in lunchtime chess clubs, which enable students to develop strategic & tactical skills while enjoying the challenge of competing with their peers.

Photo Challenge

During our Science in the Wetlands event in National Science Week, students were challenged to find and photograph objects related to several nature-based themes.  Each group created an iBook containing the photos, along with verbal narrations.  The winners of the challenge were the Scud group.  Here are some sample pages from the student’s iBooks.

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Science in the Wetlands

On Friday the 18th of August, a group of Year 4 & 5 students from LEAH schools headed to Cornerstone College to participate in the LEAH Science in the Wetlands event. Students from St Michael’s, St Mark’s and Lobethal Lutheran Primary Schools braved the cold weather to take part in range of activities that explored Biodiversity and Conservation in the ‘Purtinga’ wetlands.

Cornerstone Principal, Craig Fielke, welcomed students to the wetlands and encouraged them to build relationships with students from the other schools during their learning activities.  Local MP, Rebekha Sharkie spoke to the students about the importance of preserving wetlands and keeping them free from litter & plastic bags.

Students then participated in a series of hands on activities that explored water quality, macro invertebrates, tree planting, native seed identification, habitat management, native frogs, environmental health and the use of drones in conservation. The activities were led by LEAH staff, Cornerstone College Biology students, Natural Resources (SA Murray- Darling Basin) Education Officers and Masters students from the University of Adelaide.  Resources were also sourced from Habitats SA Revegetation Specialists & the SA Seed Conservation Centre.  A full list of organisations, links and resources have been uploaded to our Resources Page – here.

During the day, students entered a competition where they estimated the number of Sheoak pods in a jar.  Sienna from St Mark’s entered the closest entry (215) and won a copy of Adam Spencer’s book “Time Machine” for her school library.  Well done Sienna!  The correct number of pods was 223.  Students also participated in a photo challenge, where they were given single “words” and had to take creative photos on iPads that represented these words.  The winning group of this challenge will be announced soon.

At the end of the day, students were given a bag of resources to take home, which was donated by NRM, the Murray Darling Basin Authority and the Environment Protection Authority (EPA).  Mrs Muster thanked everyone for their involvement in the event and gave special thanks to the Cornerstone students, who were also given a resource bag and a book for their library.

Each school was also given a “Start from Seed” kit that was purchased from Trees for Life, which they can use to grow up to 50 plants to create a “butterfly garden.

The LEAH STEM Action Group were fortunate to receive a $300 grant to use for the running of this event.  The grant was received from the Australian Science Teachers Association, with funding from the Australian Government Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.  More details about National Science Week can be found on the National Science Week website .  You can read more about the educational outcomes from this event here.

 

Please click and browse through some photos from this fabulous day.  More photos are displayed on our Photos Page – here. 

 

 

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National Science Week

Science in the Wetlands

The LEAH STEM Group are organising an interschool event for National Science Week, titled “Science in the Wetlands“.  This event will take place on Friday 18th August and will include activities based on the National Science Week 2017 theme “Future Earth”.

[embeddoc url=”https://leahstemhub.edublogs.org/files/2017/07/06-National-Science-Week-Poster-15fwq4e-2bfr79d.pdf” width=”450px” height=”650px” download=”all” viewer=”google” ]

A group of Year 4 & 5 students from our 3 primary schools will gather together for a day of activities that explore biodiversity and conservation in local wetlands.  Students will meet at the Purtinga Environmental Centre & Wetlands at Cornerstone College, Mt Barker and will participate in a series of hands-on activities that explore Water Monitoring, Revegetation Techniques, Natural Resource Management, Environmental Health and the use of Drones & other technology in conservation. Activities will be led by Cornerstone College staff & students, Natural Resource Management Groups & Environment Specialists. The activities will build on the increased focus on environment and sustainability within our schools and support Australian Curriculum outcomes, Inquiry Based Learning, STEM subject participation and Nature Play activities.

Through presentations, interactive displays and hands on activities, students will build on their Science & Technology understanding and inquiry skills, as outlined in the Australian Curriculum.  In particular, the activities will support Science & Technology achievement standards, where students

  • analyse how the form of living things enables them to function in their environments
  • classify substances according to their observable properties and behaviours
  • use equipment in ways that are safe and improve the accuracy of their observations
  • collect, organise and identify patterns in scientific data
  • explain how digital technology is used to meet scientific & environmental needs
  • manage the creation and communication of ideas and information in online collaborative groups

The event will also

  • engage students in science activities and allow them to explore future employment opportunities & career paths
  • develop inter-school and community STEM relationships and resource sharing
  • provide resources & plants for students to take away from the event to enhance the environment in their school, home or community

The LEAH STEM Action Group were fortunate to receive a $300 grant to use for the running of this event.  The grant was received from the Australian Science Teachers Association, with funding from the Australian Government Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.  More details about National Science Week can be found on the National Science Week website .

 

 

 

 

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