Year 12 Final Mass

The new Parish Priest of St Mary’s Leederville, Fr Jeffey, most recently from Kalgoorlie and originally from the Philippines, celebrated the Final school mass for our Year 12 students.

We also invited the Year 6 students from Aranmore Catholic Primary School, as Fr Jeffey blessed the badges for the 120 Years of Mercy Education celebration taking place at the end of this term.

Our Year 12’s are still completing final tasks and sitting final assessments; however, they are nearing the end.

I do hope that they have had a fruitful and productive time whilst here at the College. They have been a particularly pleasant group of young people. They are very respectful of each other, and their teachers think highly of them. Each group has a different character and I have really enjoyed this group of young people. They are solid, dependable and very nice human beings.

Mr Declan Tanham
Principal

ARANFEST - Music Showcase 2023

Our performers have already dazzled audiences at the Catholic Performing Arts Festival and can't wait to show off their musical prowess in the CASS on Tuesday 12 September from 5:00pm.

For catering purposes, please RSVP here.

Kanyana Wildlife Visit

On Friday, 11 August 2023, IEC2 students were visited by Kanyana Wildlife Centre who introduced us to some Australian, native animals. Four volunteers from the centre brought five animals to the MU22 classroom so that we could learn more about Australian wildlife.  

First, we met a tawney frogmouth bird called Precious.  Tawney Frogmouths are nocturnal birds – this means they sleep during the daytime and are awake at nighttime. They also have feathers that camouflage with tree bark and are waterproof. A volunteer poured water on her feathers to show us how the water runs right off. We thought she had cute big eyes, and that she must be very smart to be able to camouflage herself.

Then we met a burrowing bettong. Burrowing bettongs are a part of the kangaroo family and are sometimes called ‘boodies’. They are marsupials so they have a pouch. She was kept in a cage because we were not allowed to touch her.  

Next came the reptiles. The first reptile to be introduced to us was a python. It was non-venomous, so we were allowed to touch it. It felt smooth and cold. It had dark scales on top and no scales underneath on its white belly. It was a bit scary, but cool at the same time. The second reptile we met was a blue-tongue lizard called “smuggle”. They named him Smuggle because somebody tried to smuggle him out of Australia in a bag.  Some people in Asia like to buy them as pets, but it is not allowed. Kanyana Wildlife Centre rescued him at the airport.

Finally, we met an echidna (sometimes known as a spiney anteater).  Echidnas are monotremes that lay eggs, but also have a pouch. We were allowed to touch her, and her spines felt like fingernails.

In conclusion, we learnt a lot about Australian wildlife and how to protect it. For example, we learnt that if we ever find an injured animal, we should not keep it at home. We should take it to a vet or Kanyana Wildlife Centre. This was an amazing incursion!

Written by: Sabira Rezaie, Gabby Galve, Sofia Larenas, and Karma Wangmo from IEC2 

Vinnies Winter Appeal

This year our Vinnies Winter Appeal ran from Week 3 – Week 6 throughout the College. Each year level was asked to donate specific items to support the North Perth St Vincent de Paul conference. We thank all families for their donations. Congratulations to Form 7.2 for donating the most items during the appeal.

To further support Vinnies in the work that they do, the College held a free-dress day on Friday 25 August to coincide with our Winter Sleep Out. Students raised $597 for Vinnies on this day.

Vinnies Winter Sleepout

On Friday 25 August, 20 Year 10, 11 and 12 students braved the cold for the annual Vinnies Winter Sleepout. Throughout the evening, students engaged in activities related to the realities of being homeless and all agreed they have a greater understanding of the plight of people who are homeless. Our students managed to raise $1025 through donations. A big thank you to Mr Daniel O’Loughlin, Mr Jordan Davis, Mr Troy Holdaway, Mrs Jennifer George and Ms Catherine French for supporting this important event.

Mrs Lauren Ierace-Bowers
Director of Ministry

Year 9 UV

Year 9 students have been learning about the electromagnetic spectrum. A recent investigation tasked students with determining which SPF and sunscreen brand is most effective at blocking Ultra Violet Radiation. Year 11 Psychology students joined Mrs Geoghegan’s Science class for the practical part of this activity.  Their task wasn’t anything to do with UV radiation but to observe students' critical thinking abilities while conducting a scientific investigation.

Yr 9 Forensics – Codes

In Forensics, my class did an experiment for coding, which was our topic this week. In the experiment, we had to write invisible letters using milk and vinegar; on top of this, we also had to write in code and see if people in the class could reveal our messages by burning the paper and then deciphering them. - Kiel Biss

In Forensics, we practised decoding coded messages by translating the hidden letters to form words into sentences. We used different methods in uncovering the codes written in either vinegar, milk or lemon juice by drying and heating them up over a heat plate to before translating them with a Caesar Shift Cipher wheel. - Willow Boss

Yr 9 Forensics – Blood Spatter

Crime scenes can often include blood that is left behind. While DNA can determine who the blood belongs to, analysis of the blood spatter itself can give an indication of the location or the person, along with their direction and pace when the blood was left behind.

Yr 9 Forensics – Blood Typing

Year 9 Forensics students were tasked with solving the mystery of the missing exam paper using their knowledge of blood typing.

Year 9 Energy

Food contains chemical energy. When the chemical bonds are broken the energy is released.  Mrs Hopkins’ Year 9 class are burning crackers to release the chemical energy in the form of heat energy.

Year 11 & 12 AIT – Speedy Bots

Guest speakers from Curtin University came and told us information about different types of courses and jobs e also played around with robots and learnt how to program the robot and also made mechanical changes. - Huy Banh

Year 11 Physics – Waves

Through this demonstration, we could see the energy go through a stationary transverse wave. By the other student holding one end of the string, we saw the wave reflect back to Dr. Carrol on the x-axis. We can expect this in waves crashing against the shore. - Joseph Muchira

Year 11 Chemistry

The Year 11 ATAR Chemistry class observed and studied various precipitation reactions as part of a recent practical assessment.

Year 12 Human Biology Zoo

Humans are primates so to aid our study of primate evolution, the Year 12 Human Biology class took a trip to the zoo.  Along with viewing some of our closest relatives, students took part in a lecture run by zoo staff and got to handle some of the primate skulls.

Advanced Navigation

Sometimes it is hard for students to envisage how the topics they learn at school relate to the real world.  Peter from Advanced Navigation brought in a selection of specialized equipment which included an autonomous drone that runs on AI technology. He then explained the many different ways science is used in his profession and how it can be applied to help solve real world problems. 

Just some of the areas covered:

Year 7 Introduced species – underwater drones are used to locate, identify and remove Crown of Thorns starfish.  Year 9 Sound – acoustic sound waves are produced to help determine positioning and movement of the underwater drone.  Year 9 light – a sapphire is used as the lens on the Hydrus drone to capture HD 3D imaging used for research. Year 10 Physics – the calculation of displacement and speed is essential for the drone to know where it is when GPS doesn’t travel through water.  Year 9 Geology – drones are used to map the seafloor to allow communication cables to avoid fault lines and help inform in variety of disciplines.

He also spoke about his, and other scientists, career paths and how it led to him working with AI and other world leading technology. The incursion opened the eyes of a lot of the students in attendance, to the wide variety of careers and areas of study that they never knew existed. Some even mentioned they might have to now consider robotics!

Mrs Naomi Geoghegan
Head of Learning - Science

Combined Arts Exhibition OPENING NIGHT - Friday 30 October 2023 (Term 4, Week 3)

For the College Calendar, please see here.

www.aranmore.wa.edu.au