AROUND THE COLLEGE
|
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR WORLD OF MATHS AND SCIENCE |
Year 7 Maths students have been learning about the relationship between fractions, decimals, percentages and ratios. Using their knowledge and understanding of these terms, we used relevant tasks of mixing drinks – firstly with orange concentrated cordial and then with making a paradise fruit punch using lemonade, ginger ale and fruit juice. So next time you are having a BBQ or party, let them organise the drinks for the party.
Year 8 Maths students have been investigating problems of 12 and 24-hour time to use in real-world travel scenarios. Students build on their exponent knowledge from Year 7 to establish and apply exponent laws to positive integers and zero exponents linking it to experiences in financial and scientific scenarios, e.g. savings and bacteria growth.
Students of Year 9 Maths extend further on their knowledge of exponents, converting index notation to expanded notation and vice versa. They further learn about pythagoras and trigonometry – applying pythagoras' theorem to check if a triangle is acute, right-angled or obtuse or determining unknown side lengths of right-angled triangles and solve problems involving right-angled triangles. Triangles are very important for building, surveying, navigation, engineering, computer graphics and astronomy.
Year 10 Maths students developed a ‘dice’ that is a composite three-dimensional shape, the dice is made up of two shapes joined together. They will calculate the volume and surface area of the dice and then will use a model of the dice to test and collate data for the probability outcomes of the dice.
All Senior Maths classes, Essential, General, Method and Specialist, are preparing for their second semester assessment. This assessment spans the content of the whole first unit of this term. We wish them good luck.
Year 7 Science students have been involved in Biology related topics. Biology is the science of living things. We have been classifying, identifying and grouping organisms using dichotomous keys which looks at how scientists’ group according to their observable differences. They have also been involved in looking at the hierarchical structure of the animal kingdom and used the mnemonic – King Phillip Came Over For Green Spaghetti. Each letter stands for Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus and Species. We are now exploring organisms in Food Chains, Food Webs and Ecosystems and how introduced species have affected our environment.
In Year 8 Science, students are studying chemistry. Students investigate different types of matter and how to represent these using models, symbols and formulae. They use the language of chemistry to represent elements, molecules and compounds, and compare chemical and physical changes in chemical reactions including identifying when energy changes occur in reactions.
Year 9 Science students investigated the connectivity of ecosystems and how these are affected by humans. Each student had to choose a different Australian animal as a starting point for their investigation. Later in the term, students will learn how the human body organ systems work together. Familiarity with the human body can help you make healthy choices and prompt you to take appropriate action when signs of illness arise. Their knowledge in this field will help them understand news about nutrition, medications, medical devices, and procedures and help them understand genetic or infectious diseases.
Year 10 Science students have been exploring energy and forces in motion. Their first investigation focused on energy transfer during a ball drop. In upcoming lessons, they will study how forces and motion relate to car driving, linking their learning to driver training by understanding how physical laws influence a car's behaviour—crucial knowledge for safety on the road.
All general senior Science students (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) are working on their second assessment as part of their first unit for this year, e.g. modifying an experiment, to gain further insight into their subject. Students of the applied senior Science are challenged with investigations into Consumer Science (Science in Practice) by using yeast to make ginger beer or learning to snorkel as part of their Aquatic Practice unit.
STEM – involves Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Our group of STEM students, who range from Year 9 through to Year 12, are currently involved in their Term 2 Projects or Research tasks. Term 1 was a learning experience for our newbies, our Year 9 students. Miss Estri, our Science Lab Technician and Mrs McKenzie, are very impressed with our group of Year 9 students and how they have handled themselves. We expect big things from this group. The group have been investigating some amazing topics of their choice. Topics have been 3D Houses, Black Holes, Electrical Circuits, Glowing Bacteria, Homemade Lightbulbs, Ice Cream being made from Dry Ice, Mammalian Evolution, Prosthetic Limbs, Rust Formation, The Great Attractor, Muscles used for Crying, Vaccines, and the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. All work is shared on our STEM Teams site and if you get the chance, ask your child if they are involved in STEM, so they can show you some of the amazing work. Here are a few snapshots:
Deadly Science Brings Culture
and Curiosity to Year 8 Students
In Week 4, our Year 8 First Nations students had an exciting opportunity to participate in the Deadly Science STEM program, led by inspiring guest presenters Shanelle O’Reilly and Jermaine Chong from Deadly Science. Their visit to Heatley Secondary College brought science and culture together in a powerful and engaging way.
Students explored the cultural significance of rocks and geological formations, learning how these elements have been used for thousands of years to tell stories and share knowledge through ancient petroglyphs—rock carvings rich in meaning and tradition. Each student created their own petroglyph-inspired design, which they proudly took home as a reminder of their learning and creativity.
Shanelle shared her thoughts on the experience, saying, “We had such a deadly time working with your students—they were incredibly engaged, curious, and respectful throughout the sessions. We especially loved seeing the creativity and care they put into their petroglyph carvings.”
The visit has ignited enthusiasm not only among students but also within the wider school community. Deadly Science and the Heatley SC Science Department hope this experience sparks ongoing conversations at home and in community circles about the role of science in culture.
We are now looking forward to welcoming Deadly Science back in Semester 2, with a special focus on our Year 9 students. Stay tuned for more deadly learning ahead!
TRAILBLAZERS ARE GO !
The rain is over so the Trailblazers are back on the trail. The end goal is to race the Elev8 8 hour race in Atherton in August so we are in training mode.
With many of the trails still under repair after a long wet, we began at Pallarenda first riding the beautiful loop trails around the lagoon. Miss Burt and Mr Kinley thought our first ride would be relaxing but the team decided to ride another loop at speed to get some more kilometres in the legs.
Thank heavens for the pancakes afterwards. Our second ride took us all the way along the Pallarenda foreshore and once again around the loop trail. This team love their pancakes and it is a delight to see them take responsibility for cooking, cleaning and then the loading of the bikes.
We are now riding at Douglas and getting some climbing done. With the mornings so perfect for riding, who would want to be doing anything else. We have a super team across all age levels. They are thoughtful and have great etiquette on the trails.
It’s been super to have Mr Page-Dhu along with Mr Kinley and Miss Burt. We certainly feel lucky to have such an opportunity. Heatley Proud in our spunky jerseys!!
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
It fills me with pride when the Trailblazers rock up at the trails for a ride in our Heatley Secondary College Built trailer. Let’s face it, without that, we ride nowhere. Originally fabricated by our own Mr Peter Tompkins and welded by students two years ago, we have since had it painted. Luckily for us, Waters Abrasive Sandblasting offered to help, donating their time to sandblast and paint the trailer. This family business all proudly ex- Heatley Secondary students and eager to help.
More recently, the trailer needed some modifications to fit larger bikes. Once again, Mr Tomkins and Mr Carter were there to help re-design with our own Thomas Brown and Izaak Oates welding up the new arms on the trailer.
Meet Steven and Dave Waters (orange shirt) from Waters Abrasive Sand Blasting:
Brother Michael also a key contributor. All 6 of the Water’s boys went to what was then Heatley High School.
When the Heatley Trailblazers asked for a hand to blast and paint their Heatley Secondary College made trailer, the Water's were only too happy to help.
It was super to hear their stories of their time at Heatley with Steven part of a group from Heatley High School who rode to Ingham in 1975! Miss Burt’s brother was in the same cohort as Dave Waters and they remain best of friends today!
Heatley Proud and thanks for giving back.
We are very grateful, as are all the students who will benefit from this trailer in the future.
Sandi Burt
(Support Teacher)
Wellbeing Programs
Encouraging students to look at different perspectives and encouraging self-awareness and build further social skills through the various programs running for different year levels.
Resilience In Our Teens
RIOT has been introduced to year 7 students this term. Building 'Resilence In Our Teens' helps navigate the different thoughts and feelings students have, helps build compacity to deal with struggles and anxiousness in and outside the classroom, and apply techniques to manage this thereby enabling positive engagement in school and social situations. The year 7 students have shown great enthusiasm for this program and enjoy learning about the concepts such as flipping the lid, emotional brain and thinking brain and calming techniques to regulate their anxious brain.
Congratulations to our year 9 Heatley Proud Learners. These students will be invited to enjoy a pizza party to recognise the hard work they put in last term.
Year 9 boys are now three weeks into The Rock, Rethink program. They’ve been diving into key interpersonal skills with facilitator, John. Some of the standout messages from the sessions include:
- Your value comes from your existence, not your experiences
- Actions speak louder than words; reactions speak louder than both
- Let go of resentment – free yourself from what’s holding you back
Year 9 girls in the Glow Girl program have been exploring their own uniqueness and strengths. The focus has been on developing social skills, accepting others and building deeper connections.
This term, Year 10 boys have been actively participating in the Inspiring Brighter Futures program. They’ve been learning about values, leadership, and how to identify what’s truly meaningful to them. These lessons are designed to help guide their journey through school and beyond with the guidance and support of the volunteer mentors.
School Food Program
Breakfast:
We have seen students taking advantage of the ongoing school food program with muffin Tuesday and smoothie Wednesday’s. Thank you to the Schools Food Grant Program, Lions Club Fruit in Schools program and Fuel for Schools for suppling much needed cereals, milk, bread and condiments for the students to enjoy!
Lunches:
We would also like to acknowledge and thank Eat Up Australia for their ongoing support with cheese toasties at break time for those students who have forgotten lunch. Students are reminded these toasties are available each break in the Zen Den along with fruit kindly provided by the Ross Valley Lions Club, to help get them through the day and stop the tummy grumbles.
Lunch Activities:
Students have been enjoying the many activities offered in the courtyard. Regular lunchtime activities such as Pickle Ball and Just Dance are very popular events for students to have fun and try new things.
We have added support on alternate Tuesday’s for senior students to assist them in preparing for work experience, resume writing, as well as opportunities for them to receive guided help to practice for their L’s tests, organising USI numbers and work related forms and applications.
This term, we had students sign the Blue Butterfly identified as the symbol for ‘Do it for Dolly Day’, creating awareness of the effects that bullying has on students, both online and in school. Students and staff showed support against bullying by signing the Blue Butterfly and watching a short video on how this important day came about. The clip is attached should you wish to watch and have a conversation around this with your child. Dolly's Dream『Are Your Words Doing Damage』
Heatley Inclusive Education Students On the Move with Public Transport Learning
Our Year 11 and 12 IE students at Heatley Secondary College have been hitting the streets of Townsville every Friday this term, learning how to use the city’s public transport system and growing their independence along the way.
As part of the Life Skills subject, students have been developing real-life skills like reading bus timetables, understanding maps and routes and planning safe trips using the TransLink services. With the help of teachers and teacher aides, they’ve practised spotting bus numbers, finding key stops near school and different locations around Townsville, and now with 50 cent fares getting around has been more affordable than ever.
At the start of the term, the students took an active role in planning their own excursions. They researched places to visit and things to do, then presented their ideas to the class, showing different bus routes to take and which stops to get on and get off. After each trip, the students then reflected on their experiences by writing about it in their Life Skills journals.
This hands-on unit supports important QCIA goals, helping students build confidence, navigate public systems, and become more involved in their local community.
It’s all part of the IE team’s ongoing commitment to helping students prepare for life after school, equipping them with the skills they need to step out into the world with confidence, independence, and pride.
