by Katrina Ferguson

Science Department

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Firstly, we bid farewell to our colleague, Ms. Lauren Roberts, who has been teaching in the Science Department, Ako and CLM’s during Term One.

Lauren's dedicated approach to teaching will be missed as will her unique range of experience and knowledge. She will be remembered for her introduction of aquafaba as an alternative food source in the Food Foragers CLM.

While bidding farewell to one member of our team, we are thrilled to announce the arrival of a new Science teacher, Ms. Helen Katandawa. With a diverse background in Biology and Zoology and a passion for education, Ms. Katandawa brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our department. She will be arriving at Ellesmere in week nine of this term. We extend a warm welcome to Ms. Katandawa and look forward to the positive contributions she will undoubtedly make to our Science Department and the wider Ellesmere College community.

At this point in the term, internal assessments are in full swing across the Science Department. Year 11 students will soon be completing an internal achievement standard focusing on Rates of Reaction. This assessment is carried out over week seven and involves carrying out an experiment and reporting on it. Level Two Students are completing experiment based assessments in Agriculture, Biology and Physics. Chemistry students have just finished a practice external assessment on Organic Chemistry. Level Three students are working on an internal standard in Physics and Biology and preparing for a range of external standards across Biology, Chemistry and Agriculture.

Ashton Hasler and Cailtin Barnett in Year 13 are back at OUASSA during the upcoming term holidays for their second camp at Otago University. They are presenting at the international science festival in Dunedin and we wish them all the best. k

As the term continues there will be more opportunities for students to seek additional support during lunchtime revision/study sessions. We encourage students to take advantage of these and bring along any questions they have from class or their revision.

As always, the Science Department is committed to providing a stimulating and engaging learning environment for all our students. We thank you for your continued support and look forward to a productive term.