What a great opening day at the Australian Aeronautical Velocity Challenge at the University of Wollongong. The rain cleared and sun come out just in time for the start of the day. The competition attracts schools from across the country who compete in three age groups (Primary, Lower Secondary and Upper Secondary) across three different [...]
Author: Dr Darryl Nelson, Head of Curriculum, Head of Faculty (Science) The Academies of Excellence Program at SMGS provides many opportunities to students, in multiple areas. Last year, through the Science Academy, two of our Year 11 students accepted the opportunity to work in a laboratory with some old colleagues of mine from my [...]
Meet Botley! Yesterday, Ms Taylor's K/1 class had their first coding lesson. The room was a buzzing with excitement as students worked together in small groups to program the coding robot. Here are a few photos of their first experience with Botley. We are pretty sure the students figured out how to program the coding [...]
Friday the 16th February saw the inaugural flying training day for students undertaking the RePL (drone) licence course. The day was conducted by John Flemming (Chief Flying Instructor – FPV Australia) and Phil Ryrie (Head of SMGS School of Aviation). The flying training was undertaken at our new training site at Hatchery Bay, home of [...]
At SMGS, we are preparing our students for current and future global communities, where emerging 21st century skills and thinking will be essential to thrive. It is no longer enough to pass on information to students; we must be teaching and inspiring students with what they can do with the information, equipped with advanced thinking [...]
Should we be teaching how kids to type or should we be looking at other technologies? How will today's children be interacting with technology by the time they leave school.
In its 10th year of operation, SMGS’ School of Aviation is proud to announce the addition of the Remote Pilot Licence (RePL) Course (Quadcopter Drone). The course joins a stellar line-up of options boasted by our award-winning Academies of Excellence program in Term 4 this year. The School of Aviation, a winner of The Educator [...]
An unknown bacterium being tested for antibiotic resistance. Image credit: D. Nelson The nature of Science is often not well understood. One of my friends recently described Science as “black and white” in comparison to another subject where subjectivity might play a part. In a Science examination, you're looking for specific information, but in [...]
Distractions from study are now most conveniently accessible via your smartphone. It’s so tempting to use the phrase “back in my day…” with modern students. It’s not to say things were better back in the 80s or to inadvertently make me feel old, rather to point out how things have changed. [...]
My last article in the SMGS newsletter, Aspects focused on the changes facing education this year, with the announcement of a new NSW Education Minister. In this article I want to broaden my scope by focusing on educational leaders; in particular, those leaders who are involved in educational decisions in our profession, sector and schools. [...]
