Blooming Sunflower Awaits in May
Chisholm's semi-retired greenhouse recently had an adornment of sunflower hybrid seedlings. Since the planting date at the end of February, e-STEAM students have tended their potted sunflowers at school, during their classes and experimented with different variables such as watering and fertilising regime, experiment with amount of light exposure, presence of water crystals, slow-release fertiliser and potting mix conditions. The University of Queensland in Gatton set the growing conditions parameters and our team of plant and soil scientists chose different variables to test and observe.
The sunflowers are to be grown over a 12-week period, with the aim of beating the all-time record of 4.455kg from 2014 and last year's weight of 962g. The weigh-in day would have been in Gatton on May 13, where the biggest sunflower head will be removed and weighed on a set of calibrated digital scales. However, due to the cancellation of the Sunflower Day excursion in Gatton, a video submission will be organised instead.
If you are excited to see an update on how our Sunflowers are growing, check this weblink:
https://e-steamacademy.wixsite.com/sunflowers This activity has been an interactive learning opportunity for our Fastrack students to enrich their integrated e-STEAM focus and deliver a curriculum in partnership with UQ's School of Agriculture and Food Sciences.
Very soon, we shall all take in the wonder and splendour of the sunflowers as they begin to bloom in May.
Ins-PI-rational Maths marvel perfectly recites the first 260 digits of pi
An annual challenge in celebration of Pi Day last March 13 (instead of March 14) gets a 16-Year-Old Year 12 student (Sienna Morton) beat her own record last year of 151 digits and recited Pi values to 264 places. This was followed by Kaiden Ryan, a Year 7 student who recited 61 digits and Kevaan Sandanayake, a Year 8 student who recited 39 decimal digits. Family pies from Yatala Pies awaited this year's winners. Massive thanks to our teachers and student helpers on the day, as well as the Student Support, Approaches to Learning and Fastrack opportunities for organising the event.
e-STEAM Students Cross Boundaries Using Virtual Reality Lessons
With Virtual Reality (VR) headsets, e-STEAM students are no longer limited by the space of their classroom in F4. Ms Manansala immersed gifted and talented students in the use of VR Expeditions as they explored the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and brought the world in their classroom. The immersive experiences of creating their own adventures on why these global targets matter, were unique, engaging and empowering.
Students felt more connected than ever to a world that was once unreachable. Students aim to plan a Learning Project for Term 2 – one that responds to a universal call to action to end poverty, protect our plant and improve our lives. To check out 1 of 15 Virtual Reality Tours they have created, search e-STEAM in Expeditions app and immerse in the experience.