College Quarterly December 1990 - Issue 11

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ALL SAINTS

COLLEGE QUARTERLY Issue No. 11 December 199

All Saints' goes to the Olympics MOST Saturdays you will find Mr Carolyn Montgomery and Dr Peter Simpson teaching physic and chemistry to 23 All Saint' College students eager to learn more about cience. And they are all doing it for fun. The keen students qualify to travel ea t to attend a variety of summer school which could lead to an All Saints' student travelling overseas to repre ent Australia a a Science Olympian in Poland. Yugoslavia or the nited States - a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The International Chemistry and Physics Olympiads are competitions for students under the age of20 and not at university. Originating in Europe, the competitions draw teams of students from as far away as Cuba, Kuwait and Australia. The standard of examinations is somewhere between first and second year of an Au tralian niver ity and can be succe sfully undertaken by dedicated and talented tudents. Since Au tralia entered the competitions in 1987, tudents from All Saints' College have been in olved in the Au tralian Olympian Training Squads. although no-one ha. yet repre ented the country. p until thi year three students have qualified for the Chemistry Training Camp and two forthe Physic Training Camp. Robert Sewell's contribution in Chemistry was so outstanding that he was invited back as a demon trator in the following year. At summer training school tudents attend two-week residential programmes staffed by professional cientists from Au tralian tertiary institutions. Students participate in an intensive programme of both theoretical and practical aspects of their re pective di cipline and they become familiar with fir t year university curricula. Opportunitie also exi t for tudents to observe scientists at work in an active research environment. In our first year, Robert Sewell (now a member of the Board of Management of the College) had only one day' extra tuition and qualified among the top 20 in Australia for the training school in chemistry, while John Dillion, entirely on his own efforts, qualified for physics. Since tho e comparatively easy times standards have risen steadily, and All Saints' has provided increasing facilities and tuition opportunities. It has been found that the most effective and enjoyable programme involves three-hour

A potent mix

- the three students selected to represent All Saints',from left: Paul Flowerdew, Brian Murphy and Elizabeth Dillon.

clas e on a Saturday morning. In 1988 and 1989 the programme ran for three months. but in 1989 for the first time no tudent from All Saints' qualified in either subject. This showed the need for a longer programme. All Saints' ha become more concerned with the total educative aspects of the scheme ratherthan simply attempting to getthe students into a top echelon of student scientists. Trainee Olympians now have more time for revision, time off from normal classes (where they mastered the r gular material long ago), and more practical work. These students act as demonstrators in practical work for younger tudent and mark their report . In 1990, almo t two years of effort has paid offforthree Year II student -Brian Murphy, Paul Flowerdew and Elizabeth Dillon - who have qualified in the top 15 for chemistry. They will be travelling to Deakin University in Geelong in January for the Chemistry Training Camp. Brian came second in Australia with 84%. The Year I Is have shown much enthusiasm for the Olympian concept and have been attending all-day classes twice a week throughout December. All Saints' has established an enviable reputation for its science programmes - with unparalleled numbers of our students selected for the Science Summer Schools in Canberra and at Murdoch niversity each year.

Carolyn ontgomery and Peter Simpson both featured on a three-member supporting panel when Profes or Rod Jory. Head of Australia'. Phy ic Olympiad Programme. visited Perth in October. Later he lectured Year 9 and Year 10 tudent . All Saints' believes the programme i such a success because those tak ing pan do so for fun. The teacher find it exciting and rewarding - to teach a small group of able and enthu iastic students is a fulfilling experience. Most of our students have also found it exciting and rewarding, whether or not they have ended up in the east. It is all a lot of hard work, but th re appear to be a payoff for every All Saints' a piring Olympian in that more time is available to tudy other subjects in Year 12, and the extra marks gained in T.E.E phy ics and chemi try might just enable a tudent to enter medicine or eterinary science. We now have in the All Saint' Olympiad Programme five Year 11 tudents, seven Year 10 students and eleven Year 9 students. Some will drop out and some will join - including a new batch of Year 9s in 1991. If dedication and effort are anything to go by, All Saints' should continue to send students east to the training camps - students who will bring great honour to the College. Australia has won silver and bronze medal in past Olympiads, perhaps Brian, Paul or Elizabeth will bring home Australia's fir t gold at the Olympiad in Poland next June.


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