Telescope Nights Resume at PVGC! 
Our Telescopes in Schools group “Rephract” has rejoiced after a much needed 2 week holiday. Unfortunately, this term has not offered us much in the way of clear skies during our Telescope Nights. This has given students an opportunity to test their telescope skills indoors, in time for a bright term ending.
The end of Term 3 brings to a close our evening viewing nights for the year. We thank everyone for their support of the program. Keep your eye out for possible (safe) solar viewing sessions in Term 4 if the space weather is good!
Members of the community are welcome to join our WhatsApp group to stay informed about what we’re up to https://chat.whatsapp.com/IuzKp5aCRVz9NPIgMnobyP
Thank you for coming out in the evenings during our winter months!
Miss Ankers, Mrs Drenen and Ms Fernando
Yr. 10 ‘21st Century Science’ ‘Future Foods and Sustainable Communities’ Excursion
On Wednesday August 27th, our Yr. 10 ‘21st Century Science’ students attended the STEM Centre of Excellence at the Science Gallery Melbourne for the ‘Future Foods and Sustainable Communities’ Excursion. During this excursion, students participated in a range of activities which supported creativity, critical and design thinking concepts around the three pillars of sustainability – economic, environment and social; for the application of insects as a more sustainable food source. Students created their own prototypes, including chocolate recipes that incorporated crushed insects, wattle seed and herbal teas to support their design solutions. Students were also treated to a viewing of the Science Gallery’s latest exhibition about ‘Distraction’. Many thanks to Ms. Anna Petrocchi, who took time out of her regular Wednesday classes to accompany her students on this excursion.
Photographs of the activities that were completed during the excursion are included.
Ms. Carolyn Drenen
Learning Area Leader – Science; STEAM Co-ordinator; Teacher of Chemistry, Science and Mathematics
GTAC ‘Pre-natal and Predictive Genetic Testing’ Excursion
During this Friday August 8th excursion, our Unit 2 VCE Biology students undertook an inquiry into prenatal and predictive genetic testing, to explore how each test worked and identified when different tests were used, to analyse and evaluate a bioethical issue in genetics.
Students modelled fertilisation to identify how each gamete contributed to the karyotype of an embryo. They used fluorescence microscopy to view the results of Fluorescence In Situ Hybridisation (FISH) genetic tests to diagnose chromosome anomalies in embryos.
Students also performed a Guthrie test to diagnose if babies had the Phenylketonuria (PKU) phenotype. They investigated the inheritance of this disease and performed a DNA digest with gel electrophoresis to determine the PKU allele status for a family and used their results to construct a family tree.
Many thanks to Ms. Alex Zikou, who took time out of her regular routine to accompany her students on this excursion.
Photographs taken during this excursion are included.
Ms. Carolyn Drenen
Learning Area Leader – Science; STEAM Co-ordinator; Teacher of Chemistry, Science and Mathematics
National Science Week Activities
The theme for National Science Week, held between August 11th-15th this year was ‘Decoding the Universe’ and at PVGC, we hosted some fun activities! On Monday we had a visit from a CSIRO Fire Safety Engineer, Ash Singh, who demonstrated the types of safety protocols and testing associated with fire-resistant building materials. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we hosted screenings of the film ‘GATTACA’ in the Auditorium. On Tuesday evening, we had another Rephract/’Telescopes in Schools’ viewing night. On Thursday we had one of our Alumni students, Hayley Sime, come back to help us with local native plant identification while interested Biology students travelled to La Trobe University with Ms. Zikou and Ms. Drenen to participate in an immersive ‘Heart Camp’. On Friday we created DNA bracelets and Fibonacci Art. Many thanks to our Science teaching team, our Lab Technician Ms. Fernando, and IT support from Jason, who volunteered to help set-up, supervise and run these activities. Students also had opportunities to win daily prizes in our Science Quiz, put together with the help of our STEAM Captains Maimoona and Ula. Photos from the week are attached.
Ash Singh Fire-Safety Demonstration
Heart Camp
Fibonacci Art and DNA Bracelets
Ms. Carolyn Drenen
Learning Area Leader – Science; STEAM Co-ordinator; Teacher of Chemistry, Science and Mathematics