THE CHARTER DECEMBER 2010 EDITION 27
CHIEF SCIENTIST CAPTURES SUBJECT FROM A TO Z The mental picture of WA Chief Scientist, Professor Lyn Beazley, standing in a Mount Barker paddock on a scorching hot summer day, surrounded by 300 sheep, is not what comes to the minds of most people when thinking of a typical career in Science.
as the South-West and the Kimberley, medicine (including local Nobel Prize co-winners Barry Marshall and Robin Warren), the State’s mining and oil and gas sectors, and astronomy (specifically, her role in Western Australia’s bid to host the Square Kilometre Array project).
Yet this is exactly the lengths the State’s top government advisor in her field went to in the name of medical research.
After enjoying lunch with staff, Professor Beazley toured the campus, viewing the Art Exhibition in the Victoria Morgan Arts Centre, talking to children in the Early Learning Centre, stopping in at the new Year 7 Centre and checking in on the Science block.
Professor Beazley relayed the anecdote to a captive group of Year 10 and Pegasus Programme students during a visit to John Wollaston on Wednesday 20 October. She shared several stories about her busy life as the Chief Scientist and outlined a seemingly endless list of opportunities for working in Science during an hour-long interactive presentation in the Chapel. Sensing confusion from her audience about the link between the subject and suffering in 43-degree heat on a country farm, Professor Beazley elaborated about carrying out ultrasounds on sheep as part of her research into at-risk and premature babies. Taking questions from students, she also talked about sustainability, biodiversity hotspots such
abilities – from children who are interested in working with animals to those who want to investigate the impact of climate change or the students who like tinkering with computers and want to pursue careers in technology. “There are so many exciting and interesting ways to become involved and Professor Beazley encouraged students to pursue the subjects they are most interested in through school, university or Training WA courses.”
Head of Science and Technology Stephen Fox was thrilled that Professor Beazley was able to visit the School, capping a big week in Science at John Wollaston. It followed the participation of two teams of students in the finals of the Western Power Model Solar Car Challenge at Forrest Place and the return of a Year 11 Biological Science class from the 2010 International Youth Coastal Conference on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. “This has been an outstanding year for the Science Department,” Mr Fox said. “These events show just how much Science encompasses and offers for a range of ages and
Back: Saiuj Bhat, Professor Lyn Beazley, Matthew Stickland Front: Marissa Ebsary, Jessica Lawrence, Tahlia Blackmore
YEAR 7s SPREAD THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS
Hundreds of children in Thailand have had a happier festive season due to the compassion of John Wollaston’s Year 7 group.
A small mountain of shoe boxes was filled with items including teddy bears, pencil sets, books and trinkets by students taking part in Operation Christmas Child. The campaign is run by not-for-profit Christian group Samaritan’s Purse to bring joy and hope to children in developing countries around the world. Teacher Kim Haring said the project was a simple way for the students to express support for children of varying ages living remarkably different lifestyles. This was the second time the Year 7 group had participated in Operation Christmas Child, as part of the Religious and Values Education Programme in Term 3. “It is anticipated that it will become an annual event that is associated with only the Year 7 group,” Mrs Haring said. “It is a highly successful programme and the students learn how important it is to do a kind
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deed for others.”
Students selected an age group to donate to and also decided whether they would give to a boy or girl, and then worked collaboratively to decorate and fill shoe boxes with basics such as toothbrushes, hair brushes, pencil and crayon sets, and bouncy balls. “I’m really proud of the efforts of the three Year 7 classes,” Mrs Haring said. “Our students put a lot of thought into the situations facing the children who might receive these shoe boxes and the items that would be appropriate for them.” Samaritan’s Purse Coordinator Janet Lester collected the shoe boxes from John Wollaston in October for delivery to a processing centre in Balcatta.
Operation Christmas Child began in 1993 and last year, teams in Australia and New Zealand delivered more than 300,000 shoe boxes to children in South-East Asia and the South Pacific. “Operation Christmas Child throws hope to children living in terrible circumstances to know that somebody cares about them, and cared enough to do something about it,” Ms Lester said. “These children don’t get an education and some work as slaves or in the streets, and I know that these boxes will be received with great excitement.”
The boxes were packed into cartons and loaded on to trucks heading to Fremantle wharf, where they were then offloaded on to sea containers which departed for Thailand in late November. “A whole orphanage will have a great Christmas because they’re possibly getting their first Christmas presents,” Ms Lester said.
JOHN WOLLASTON ANGLICAN COMMUNITY SCHOOL