It's been a very busy few weeks in our Science Department.

Nine Dio Year 11 students competed in round one of the Brain Bee Competition, a quiz based on students learning about Neuroscience. Seven Dio students made it through to round two with Diny Zhou placing 3rd In New Zealand! In addition, we were the only school in Waikato to qualify for the second round!

The team of seven then travelled to Auckland Medical School to compete in the final and have an action-packed tour of the Neuroscience department, with talks from current staff and students. This was an invaluable opportunity for students to ask questions and open their eyes to the many medicine-based vocational opportunities.

Two Dio students, Victoria Eng and Julianna Wang placed third in the team final in a composite team with two students from Tawa College. Well done.

Eight Year 13 students went to The University of Waikato to compete in the annual Analytical Chemistry Competition. The students worked in teams of four to complete volumetric and gravimetric analyses of an unknown sample to complete calculations. Although they didn't place on the day, it was a valuable opportunity to do some Chemistry outside the scope of NCEA and experience what it was like to work in a university lab. Congratulations to Emily Makinson, Fidella Wijaya, Bahaar Mahal, Brooke Renner, Olivia Driscoll, Michelle Jeng, Anna Lamont and Cindy Luo, for your willingness to try something new!