Enrichment update – Term 3

Blink and you’ll miss it, it is already halfway through Term 3 and students have been hard at work outside the classroom.

Junior Thinkers Conference

On 7 August we sent a delegation of 12 students from Years 7 and 8 to the Junior Thinkers conference. The day was hosted by Ascham School, and presented by Oxford Alumna Julie Arliss and her company Thriving Minds. Our students joined with over 300 students from local Sydney schools to engage in a day of deep thought. They were challenged to stay focused and think deeply about a wide variety of concepts rooted in science, philosophy and ethics. 

Junior Enrichment Challenge

The Junior Enrichment Challenge is a school-based activity that challenges students to think about ideas they might not normally come across in the classroom. The atmosphere is casual and the focus is on the process rather than the product. This term students have been challenged to tackle tricky mathematics problems, write narratives based on misheard song lyrics, learn about the impressionist movement in art, think about the structure of DNA and apply ethical theories based on the works of Kant and Bentham.

Biotech Futures Challenge

Some students in Years 9, 10 and 11 are engaging with academics from the University of Sydney to partake in the Biotech Futures Challenge. They hope to solve a real world issue in biotechnology by brainstorming ideas and constructing concept prototypes. Students are in regular contact with their mentors from the university via zoom meetings.  

Matthew Mountford
Dean of Gifted Education