A Message from the Science Laboratory

Overseas Science Competitions

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Overseas Science Competitions

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Greetings all,

It’s been a big semester for Science Research Elective. We welcome our teachers for 2017; Mrs Elif Karacan (currently on maternity leave), Miss Sumaia El Sayed, Mrs Figen Yavuz and Miss Inass Fayad. They bring a wealth of knowledge and experience which will no doubt help the girls with their projects.

CSIRO CREST (CREativity in Science and Technology)

We have new and returning students undertaking the CSIRO CREST program this year, and we are already seeing the genesis of some exciting projects. So far three students have completed Silver CSIRO CREST level projects from 2016 and they can look forward to their awards arriving soon. We thank the students’ mentors, including Dr Henry Wang from the Australian Wool Testing Authority, and technology consultant Mr Ray Harvey for their knowledge and support.

We look forward to our first cohort of GOLD level CREST students commencing this year and can’t wait to see what they’ll discover!

Many CREST projects from 2016 will be entered into the Science Talent Search completion run by the Science Teacher Association of Victoria, and we hope winners will be selected for the CSIRO National BHP Biliton Science and Engineering Competition later this year.

CSIRO OnInnovation Evening

Sirius College was one of three schools invited to attend the CSIRO Accelerate3 OnInnnovation Demo evening held at Docklands during the school holidays, where 10 Australian research and technology groups showcased their work to be translated into real world outcomes.

Several CSIRO CREST students from Eastmeadows campus attended, and it was a huge success. Our students engaged with many research scientists and technologists, mentors and CSIRO CREST Education facilitators and learnt a thing or two about cutting-edge research and development.

International Science and Technology Competitions

Three of our 2016 CREST students were selected as finalists in the ISWEEEP International Sustainable World (Engineering, Energy and Environment) Project Olympiad, the largest international science and technology completion in the world.

Year 9 students, Russel Alrubaiey and Beria Gunduz, travelled to Houston Texas in May for the five day competition, with Mrs Figen Yavuz and me, to present their Silver CREST project and have it judged by a panel of industry experts.

The trip included a visit to the Houston Museum of Natural Science, a tour of North America University, a day at NASA Johnson Space Centre and a cultural social night.

Russel’s and Beria’s project titled “The Development and Analysis of Eco-friendly Pharaoh’s Stones Using Australian Materials” was well received by the judges and the public who viewed their booth and engaged with the girls. Both girls were impressive ambassadors for Australia and both won Honorary Mention Awards for their efforts – this is an outstanding achievement in a highly competitive international competition.

Congratulations girls for all of your hard work! We’re very proud of you!

Aleyna Sahin from Year 9 will be travelling with Miss Inass Fayad to Syracuse New York USA next month to compete in the Genius Olympiad for her Silver CREST project titled “Antibacterial Properties of Water and Ethanol Soluble Extracts from Australian Native Trees”. We wish her the best of luck!

Thank you teachers, staff and Mr Mehmet Cicek for continuing to support Science Research Elective and CREST, and a special thank you goes out to Miss Figen Yavuz for looking after Team Australia at ISWEEEP and Miss Hisu Lee for her expert tutelage in designing fantastic competition posters each year.