SASTA E-news | STEM conference, new resources, and more

Welcome back for Term 4! It's a busy time where we not only wrap up 2019 but start to plan for next year as well!

Oliphant Science Awards

Approximately 200 prize-winning students in this year's Oliphant Science Awards were presented with their awards in a ceremony at Brighton Secondary School on 20 September.

Once again, it was wonderful to have Ms Monica Oliphant speak at the Presentation Ceremony and present the Oliphant Medal (2018 overall winner) and Oliphant Trophy (2019 overall winner).

A full list of prize-winners is available at www.oliphantscienceawards.com.au/2019_event_information/prize_winners_2019

Congratulations to all prize winners in this year's Oliphant Science Awards, and especially to the winner of the Oliphant Trophy, Phoebe Wood, for her model of Anchiornis Huxleyi. This is the first time in the history of the Oliphant Science Awards that the Oliphant Trophy has been won by a primary school student!

TERM 4 PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

2019 STEM Conference (Years 6–11)
29 November, Adelaide Botanic High School

For educators of Years 6–11 mathematics, science, ICT, design & technology, as well as education leaders
Share and explore teaching methods, tools, resources, and activities
Opportunity to network and exchange ideas about STEM teaching and learning
Some workshops will address the critical importance of connecting different areas of STEM by considering ways of interrelating science and/or mathematics, while others will address activities to support teaching and learning of specific topics.

For the conference program and to register, go to

www.sasta.asn.au/professional_learning/2019_stem_conference_years_611

Stage 2 exam post-mortems

These informal sessions give teachers the opportunity to reflect on the 2019 exams for:

Biology (4 November)
Physics (11 November)
Chemistry (13 November)
Psychology (14 November)

These events are free and no booking is required. For more information, go to www.sasta.asn.au/professional_learning/2019_exam_post_mortem_sessions

MORE INFORMATION

NEW RESOURCES

PRE-ORDER

Living Science Biology for SACE Stage 2

This text for both teachers and students was written to complement both the current SACE Stage 2 Biology subject content and the book Living Science: Biology for SACE Stage 1 (published in 2018).

Teachers will find it an invaluable resource for planning and developing student knowledge as it has comprehensive coverage of the science understandings of the Stage 2 course.

Students will find it a great resource to complement lessons and by referring to its additional features such as the “Did you know?” and “SHE Alert” breakout boxes, will develop a broader knowledge of Biology across many
different contexts.

Research Project Workbook and Guide

This step-by-step workbook guides students through the three parts of the Research Project:

the Folio
the Research Outcome
the Evaluation/Review.

Students are guided through activities and supported with information to enable them to:

generate an idea
develop a research question
plan, conduct and analyse research, and then
structure a research outcome and an evaluation or review with a focus on achievement of the performance standards (at a high level).

Along with activities and information, the workbook also includes sections that enable students to organise and store hard copy project material.

PRE-ORDER

EVENTS & NEWS IN THE SCIENCE COMMUNITY

Insect Investigators

“Insect Investigators” is a research project that involves schools partnering with a University of Adelaide researcher to collect parasitic wasps, to document local biodiversity and discover new species. Dr Erinn Fagan-Jeffries would visit your school to set up a trap and run an age-suitable workshop on insects. Access to an area of native vegetation where the trap could be placed (ideally out of public sight to avoid vandalism or theft) is essential. The trap needs to be maintained and any samples collected returned to the university.

For more information, please contact
Dr Erinn Fagan-Jeffries:
erinn.fagan-jeffries@adelaide.edu.au
or phone 0405 426 727.

New Centre Manager for the Nature Education Centre

Sally Nance, who has been NEC’s Manager for the last 12 years, has stepped aside from this position. Sally’s commitment and enthusiasm to the role has been significant over this time.

Alex Carr is the new Manager, who comes to NEC with experience from a number of wildlife parks, most recently Cleland. Alex is keen to grow the presentations side of NEC’s offerings, where he can visit your school/class and present animals not available for classroom loans.

Details about the resources that NEC offer are at www.nature.sa.edu.au.

Bring SCINEMA To Your Classroom

SCINEMA, the largest international science film festival in the southern hemisphere, has a selection of this year’s winning entries to view, completely free, for the next 12 months!

Films cover a range of STEM topics, each with dedicated teacher resources packed full of lesson inspiration, classroom activities and thought-provoking questions all linked to the Australian Curriculum.

Head to https://education.australiascience.tv/scinema_putting-the-science-in-cinema

Plus you can sign up your interest in SCINEMA Junior for 2020! https://education.australiascience.tv/scinema-junior-2020-register-interest