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February 2022
Welcome to the first edition of the SASTA e-news for 2022. We hope you had a chance to have a break over the holidays and are wishing you all the best with Term 1.
If you haven't had a chance to renew your SASTA membership for 2022 yet, visit the website here. Personal Membership prices have been reduced! Find out more here.
Each month we're going to have a new focus for our resources and communications. This month it will be Glass as it is the International Year of Glass and the school theme for National Science Week is Glass: More than meets the eye. Scroll down for our website of the month to get you thinking about National Science Week and keep an eye on our socials and blog for more to come this month!
SASTA news
SASTA Award Nominations are now open!
SASTA members are eligible to be nominated for a SASTA Award which are recognised at the Annual Conference. Have you considered nominating yourself or a colleague for a SASTA Award?
- Credit Union SA / SASTA Outstanding Contribution to the Teaching of Science Award
- Helen Castle Memorial Scholarship
- SASTA Medal
- SASTA Honour Award
Find out more about the awards and previous winners or nominate yourself or a colleague here.
SASTA AGM & Call for Board Nominations
The 2022 Annual General Meeting of members of the South Australia Science Teachers Assocation Inc. will be held on Friday 29 April.
All members of SASTA are hereby notified of a call for nominations for 2 positions on the SASTA Board. If you are interested or would like more information please visit the 'Board Elections' section in the Members Area of the website.
School Projects
We're excited to have a NEW school projects page on the SASTA website to make it easier to access the projects your school could be involved with. Check it out here. We also have a few exciting new projects to come!
Professional Learning
Teachers New to Stage 1 & 2 Science
These workshops will all be held ONLINE. Some of the key topics covered in these workshops include: an overview of the course, planning and assessment, sample tasks and discussion and moderation. Register here.
- Biology & Physics | 11 February
- Chemistry & Nutrition | 18 February
- Psychology & Scientific Studies | 25 February
This course develops participants’ capacity to explicitly teach the specific literacy of science at the same time as teaching the science content. Intended Audience: Science teachers for years 3 - 8
In this course, participants will learn to:
- apply and design teaching and learning strategies that scaffold students’ development and control of science literacy
- provide explicit feedback to students on their writing in science
- implement reading strategies: before during and/or after reading to draw attention to the language and structure of the text- how it is working to build science knowledge and understandings. Find out more.
Due to COVID restrictions and concerns the SASTA Annual Conference has been
re-scheduled for 11-12 July 2022 (Term 2 school holidays).
The theme of the Conference is ‘Let’s Talk Science!’ with a focus on scientific literacy in science. Call for Workshops are now open! Find out all the details here.
For your classroom
Glass: More than meets the eye
2022 is the International Year of Glass and to celebrate this, the school theme for National Science Week in 2022 is Glass: More than meets the eye. We thought we would get you started with some excellent resources and activities about wonderful glass!
The Glass Age - This set of resources was created with the award winning curriculum experts at Young Minds Inspired (YMI), to helps student discover how glass is changing our world.
Through four different activity sheets, students and teachers have the opportunity to experience the Glass Age through a set of YouTube videos featuring popular TV-hosts, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman. After watching the videos, students express their understanding of the role of glass and share their ideas about using glass in a broad range of applications and innovations.
Children’s Artspace Adelaide Festival Centre
Children's Artspace is a place for learning through play, creativity, and expression. Opening Saturday 12 March 2022, the Children's Artspace's first exhibition is Kaleidoscope: Playing with Colour. Guided by South Australian artist Ruby Chew in an exhibition curated by Alice Dilger, students will learn about light, colour, reflection and refraction while engaging in a creative space. Visit the website here.
Resources
For all resources available from SASTA, see www.sasta.asn.au/resources
Stage 1 & 2 Topic Tests - available mid-February
SASTA is excited to make available sets of Topic Tests that may be used as formative or summative Skills and Applications Tasks (SATs) in Stage 1 & 2 Biology, Chemistry and Physics. These tests are of the highest quality and feature a comprehensive range of questions including science understanding, science inquiry skills and science as a human endeavour.
You can also bundle your Stage 1 & 2 Topic Tests with Trial Exams! All trial exams are new for 2022 and the Stage 1 Trial Exam prices have been reduced.
Study Guides available for pre-order!
As per previous years, these will be due for delivery in June 2022.
- School orders - Advance bulk orders for the 2022 Study Guides can be placed with Rebecca via office@sasta.asn.au or via the SASTA website.
- Student / individual orders - Pre-orders for students/individuals are available on the SASTA website. All pre-orders must be paid for when ordering.
Stage 1 Workbooks - Third Edition | All subjects now available!
Contributions from the science community
Prescott Southern Physics Students fly into the stratosphere
Toward the end of 2021, Year 11 students at Prescott College Southern successfully flew a balloon to an altitude of 31 km over Adelaide and surrounds. Launched from Paris Creek in the Adelaide Hills, the payload (which comprised both cameras and sensors) was tracked and recovered 2.5 hours later near Strathalbyn.
Check out the latest SASTA Blog post for the full story and photos here.
'INVISIBILITY' at MOD
Our new exhibition INVISIBILITY will be launching on 1 February 2022.
Join us as we time travel underground, delve into the tech monopolies controlling our lives, and slow down to notice the importance of the land around us.
There are a few professional learning opportunities linked to the exhibition available to teachers. Find out more here or visit the schools page here.
Science at the Fringe Guide
Looking for some science shows?
The Science at the Fringe guide is not just for science-buffs. It’s for anyone and everyone who likes to discover and learn amazing things about the world. We’ve compiled a concoction of the curious, amusing, fascinating and ingenious science-themed shows at this year’s Adelaide Fringe Festival.
Download the Science at the Fringe Guide 2022 here.
Churchill Fellowships
A Churchill Fellowship offers Australians a life-changing opportunity to travel overseas for four to eight weeks to learn more about a topic or issue that they are passionate about. As an internationally recognised award, recipients gain
access to expertise from around the world.
Applicants are empowered to design their own projects to explore international best practice and innovation that can be applied in Australia.
Throughout February and March we will be delivering virtual information sessions about the 2022 Churchill Fellowship opportunity. For more details visit the website.
Cato Science AR
There are many challenges and limitations that primary school teachers need to face when constructing experiments in class. And sometimes, students may have difficulty understanding the science behind the experiments in words. As a result, we have developed a science experiment app for primary school students, Cato Science AR, which aims to bring science to life through augmented reality. By using our app, students can simply construct experiments at their fingertips, minimising any potential danger or mess that traditional science experiments bring. All you need is a flat surface and your apple or android device. Our app helps students visualise the science behind the experiments, thus, creating a fun and enjoyable experience to learn science with Cato’s interactive explanations.
View a demonstration here. To download the app visit: http://onelink.to/catoscience
Top STEM resources for Virtual Learning 2022
As Term 1 kicks off, RiAus has highlighted a collection of our Top STEM education articles, activities, videos and resources for you to look through.
This might help with your planning, or perhaps spark your interest and you’ll learn something new. Either way, these fun STEM resources are here to help. Visit the website for more information.
Studying: Alistair Brown, Botanic High School
Check out the latest podcast from Experience Adelaide where they chat to Botanic High School principal Alistair Brown about setting up a new school in the CBD. Listen to the podcast here.
"Part of my focus with this school, is that school is the real world. Our connection to the precinct, the universities, to Lot Fourteen, to the Zoo, the Botanic Gardens – the whole CBD is just alive with opportunities and it is making the school a real world place."
Public Education Foundation Teacher Scholarships
Applications close 22 February
Our Teachers Scholarships were created to highlight the important role played by teachers in transforming the lives of students. The scholarships provide professional development opportunities to help teachers excel. The Public Education Foundation’s Teachers Health Early Career Scholarship supports public school teachers in the first three years of their career. For more details visit the website.
Scholarships are also available for Principals of government primary and secondary schools to undertake a short professional education program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. For more details visit the website.
Contact SASTA
South Australian Science Teachers Association
249 Henley Beach Road Torrensville SA 5031
P 08 8354 0006 F 08 8354 0008 E office@sasta.asn.au
www.sasta.asn.au
