FROM THE DEPUTY PRINCIPAL – ACADEMIC

In Week 1, we held two Academic and Diligence Assemblies based on the Semester One results for Year 7 to 10, Unit One results for Year 11 and Unit Three Provisional Results for Year 12.  These assemblies acknowledged those students that achieved academic success as well as recognising students who displayed diligence through a strong work ethic. 

During my speech at the Year 7 to 9 Assembly, I discussed the College theme for 2024 of Living and Learning with Courage and Heart, with a specific focus on courage.  In particular, I focused on the advancements in technology, particularly the space industry, following my attendance on the 2024 STEM Trek during the June/July holidays. While technology has changed significantly from our last College STEM Trek in 2018, and post-COVID, there has also been a change of focus by NASA for Women in STEM.  As well as commercial shuttles being launched almost every two days in Orlando, NASA has made a pledge as part of the Artemis Mission to land the first woman on the moon, as well as the first non-Caucasian person. 

But this doesn’t mean that women haven’t flown into space previously. As of February 2024, 75 women have flown in space, of these, 47 have worked on the International Space Station as long-duration expedition crewmembers, as visitors on space shuttle assembly flights, as space flight participants, or as commercial astronauts. The first woman to fly in space began on June 16 1963, when Soviet cosmonaut Valentina V. Tereshkova launched aboard the Vostok 6 spacecraft. Chosen from a group of five women selected for training, Tereshkova completed a three-day mission and entered the history books as the first woman to orbit the Earth. Nearly 20 years passed before another woman flew in space. In January 1978, NASA announced the selection of 35 new astronauts including six women for the space shuttle program.  As we now come to 50 years after the first man walked on the moon, NASA’s Artemis campaign is exploring the Moon for scientific discovery, technology advancement, and to learn how to live and work on another world as they then prepare for human missions to Mars. Collaborating with commercial and international partners and establishing the first long-term presence on the Moon, in landing the first woman on the Moon, they will use innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before. 

After attending Space Camp and hearing of these progressions in the world of space and aviation, what a true display of living and learning with courage, and what a wonderful opportunity for our students.  As women, these advancements show us that there is a place in the front of the room for each of our students to lead.  It is inspiring and reminds that students of St Patrick’s College Townsville can go wherever they put their minds to. 

I congratulate each of our award recipients and I encourage each of our students to strive for the next academic awards presentation at Speech Night.

A list of all award recipients is included in this newsletter.  Further information regarding the criterion for Academic and Diligence Awards can be found on the College Website.

STEM Trek 2024

During the June/July holidays, I was fortunate enough to attend the 2024 STEM Trek to the United States of America with Mr Pacey, our Dean of Academic Operations, and 13 students from Years 10 to 12. This was the third time our College has held STEM Trek, previously held in 2016 and 2018, but due to COVID we had some interruptions to our planned 2020 trip, but were able to re-commence this year. 

STEM Trek involved two days in San Diego, six days at Space Camp and two days in Orlando, with the key focus being on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and the majority of our time being at Space Camp.  In San Diego we explored the city through a Trolley Tour and visited the San Diego Zoo; while in Orlando we finished our trip with experiences at Kennedy Space Centre (NASA) and Universal Studios. 

Space Camp, located in Huntsville, Alabama, a city that is driven not only by the aviation and space industries, but also military.  Launched in 1982, Space Camp has inspired and motivated young people from around the USA, with attendees from all 50 states, U.S. territories and more than 150 foreign countries, with more than one million alumni. Based at the US Space & Rocket Centre, trainees have an unparalleled environment to spur imagination while being surrounded by space, aviation and defence artifacts. The brainchild of rocket scientist Dr Wernher von Braun, who led the development of the Apollo-era rockets that took America to the moon, Space Camp cultivates teamwork, leadership and decision-making skills.

While there are a range of camps that students can attend at the US Space and Rocket Centre, our focus was Space Camp. Students work as a team to confront mission scenarios that require dynamic problem solving and critical thinking. Throughout the week students are immersed in astronaut training activities using equipment adapted from NASA’s astronaut program. Specifically, our students participated in:

  • Team building including testing both themselves, and their teamwork skills, including the Pamper pole – where students climbed to the top of a telephone pole while harnessed, to challenge themselves and their comfort zone.
  • Multi-axis trainer in a 3-axis gimbal, used for cardiovascular workout and balance training in pilots and astronauts.
  • 1/6th gravity chair – allowing students to experience the weightlessness of outer space and practice their space walk and jumping.
  • Flight simulation where students practiced take-off and landing of planes.
  • Mission training and then simulated missions – where students experienced what it is like to be launch a space shuttle. With varying responsibilities including being on the shuttle, to being in the control room, and those that had to go into outer space to fix the shuttle while in orbit.
  • Scuba diving to experience weightlessness while building items underwater with limited communication.
  • Rocket launch where students designed, constructed and launched their own rockets.

It was a wonderful two weeks of learning and opportunities for not only the students but also staff.

 

Amy Byrnes

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL – ACADEMIC