GTAC 20th Birthday Celebration

On Wednesday November 20th, one of our Year 9A Science students, Freya G, was invited to take part in the GTAC – Gene Technology Access Centre’s – 20th Birthday celebrations, by proudly communicating her learning outcomes from the Science Immersion Research Experience (SIRE) program to the dignitaries and other guest presenters at this milestone function. In attending this event, she was able to reconnect with the real-world, research science STEM mentors from this program and learned more about the unique programs that GTAC can offer towards attaining her post-school STEM pathway. Her reflections on the program also featured in their new promotional video to inspire other Victorian teachers and students to visit GTAC: https://youtu.be/aNO0aAAJajE

Ms. Kerry Hall and I were also invited and were privileged to hear speeches from Professor Suzanne Cory about the history and early impact of GTAC programs; and Professor Jenny Graves about her STEM pathway and her ground-breaking work in comparative genome mapping sequences for Australian fauna (kangaroo and platypus) as part of the Human Genome Project.
Photographs of the activities from this event are included.

Ms. Carolyn Drenen
Learning Area Leader – Science; STEAM Co-ordinator; Teacher of Chemistry, Science and Mathematics

Year 7 & 8 SEAL Biotech Excursion

On Friday November 8th, our Year 7 and 8 SEAL students attended the Gene Technology Access Centre in Parkville and participated in a series of activities to explore how medical technologies are creating better lifestyles for people who are limb different or have lost a limb. They became biomimicry innovators, gaining insights from nature to bridge the gap between humans and machines. Students also explored anatomy and biomechanics of the arm to design a robotic limb that meets the needs of limb different individuals.

Many thanks to Ms. Anna Petrocchi and Mr. Luke Di Giuseppe, who took time out from their regular classes to help accompany our SEAL students on this excursion.

Ms. Carolyn Drenen
Learning Area Leader – Science; STEAM Co-ordinator; Teacher of Chemistry, Science and Mathematics