Around the School

Technology in Practice

Two Year 12 AIT and Computer Science students were given an exciting opportunity to visit DUG Technology, a business that specialises in high-powered computing for data processing based in West Perth. The visit was hosted by the Perth Rotary Club, and the students had the chance to meet with the members of the club as well as the team at DUG. The tour was conducted by Marie Smyth, the Vice President of HPC solutions at DUG.

DUG technology is an industry leader in oil and gas data processing with its head office based in Perth. Their specialty is their data processing nodes that are submerged in liquid for cooling, which is an unconventional approach as normal cooling uses fans and air conditioning. For anyone who has been to a data centre, you would know that these can be quite loud!

their doors and sharing their time, knowledge, and state-of-the-art technology with us.

Mr Alex Hanssen Coordinator of Technology

Year 11 and 12 Drama

The highlight of the visit was being able to see the data room. The students were able to get a close look and feel of how they maintain their hardware submerged in oil, as well as first-hand experience in a small-scale data centre which was surprisingly quiet compared to more traditional centres! It was a unique opportunity for the students, who were able to witness the latest technology in the field of data processing and cloud computing.

A big thank you to Perth Rotary for providing this opportunity and for the wonderful hospitality, and to DUG Technology for opening

The Year 11 and 12 Drama students have been developing a scripted interpretation of their set text for Semester 1.

The Year 11 students have been studying the realist text, ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ by Tennessee Williams and have been applying Stanislavski approaches and representational design choices. This text dramatizes the experience of the disturbed Blanche DuBois who has recently moved in with her sister in New Orleans but is tormented by her brutish brother-in-law as her reality crumbles around her as we learn the crippling subtext of her character.

The Year 12 students have been studying the non-realist tragicomic absurdist text, ‘Endgame’ by Samuel Beckett which follows the cyclical journey of a blind, paralysed and domineering elderly man with geriatric parents and a servile companion. Living in an abandoned shack surrounded by wasteland in which they appeared to be trapped, they attempt to navigate through the challenges of their life. Students have been applying Anne Bogart’s physical viewpoints and exploring presentational design choices, focusing on highlighting key themes and subtext. The students were tasked to perform and adapt their scripted scene for a sitespecific theatre space. Students headed to the roof to work with the architecture and bring to life a contemporary adaptation of the text.

The Year 11 and 12 Drama students cultivated creative and stylistic choices that developed characterization and adapted the text for a contemporary audience.

The APEx students have been assuming a designer role in class, which has looked at the application elements and principals of design and how the style shapes the dramatic elements. The students also took on the roles of marketing and publicity, as they photographed ATAR actors during their performances.

Over the next few weeks, the students will continue to develop their scripted monologues and written application as they prepare for upcoming in class assessments, EST’s and their practical exams.

I am very impressed with the work ethic, positive culture and encouraging atmosphere that the students have maintained throughout the term, and I look forward to watching this grow throughout the year.

Stay tuned for more Year 11 and 12 Drama news!

Miss Jessica McGaw Dance and Drama Coordinator

Dance Perspectives Excursion

On Monday 27 March, the Year 11 and 12 Dance and Drama students attended the annual Performing Arts Perspectives. This annual event brings together some of the most talented performers from across Western Australia to showcase their skills and creativity in a dynamic and exciting performance.

One of the highlights of this year’s showcase is the focus on contemporary and innovative approaches to performance. Many of the acts featured in the showcase are pushing the boundaries of what we think of as “traditional” performance, using technology, multimedia, and interdisciplinary approaches to create truly unique and unforgettable experiences for audiences.

With so much talent on display, the students were blown away and have reinvigorated their positive and creative mindset to follow in the same footsteps as these emerging artists. Along with viewing the top performances from the 2022 practical exams, this event also develops a sense of community and collaboration as performers, audiences, and organisers come together to celebrate the vibrant and diverse performing arts community in Perth. It is a chance to connect with other artists, discover new talent, and support the arts in our city.

The students conducted themselves professionally and maturely throughout the event. I also want to thank Mrs Taylor for attending this event and for helping supervise and coordinate the students throughout the evening.

Miss Jessica McGaw

Dance and Drama Coordinator

Novice Debating

On Tuesday evening, the St George’s Novice debating team presented a thoughtfully constructed and delivered argument against the following proposal, “This house believes peace campaigns should place more emphasis on the environmental impacts of war”, and successfully defeated Perth Modern School. This was only the second debate for this team. It was amazing to note how much they had improved from their initial foray into competitive debating. Special mention needs to be made of Jarvis Doyle. The standard of his argument gave no hint that this was his first time on the floor.

Congratulations are also due to Sam Fletcher and Brandon BerberCoates; both of whom came to the evening with an exemplary level of preparation and focus.

The Novices will next debate, on 2 May, against Bob Hawke College arguing against the proposition that “This house regrets Chat GPT”. The debate is at 6:15pm, at Bob Hawke College. Feel free to come and support our novice son the night.

Mr Damien Kerrigan Head of English and Languages

UWA School of Design Exhibition

As the term rounds out it is a perfect opportunity to reflect on the amazing things our students have accomplished in Science.

The Nobel Pathway students in Year 7 and 8 are completing their rotations for the term. Mr Dempers’ students have been engineering robotic hands, and Mr Quan’s Year 7s have been busting some popular Science myths using scientific inquiry skills.

Perth Design Week is a vibrant public festival that celebrates and highlights outstanding design. The inaugural Perth Design Week was held from 23 to 30 March in Perth City and surrounding areas. Throughout the festival a variety of design talks, discussion and exhibitions were on display in different locations around Perth, showcasing the best of local design.

Our Year 11 and 12 Design students had the opportunity to visit the UWA School of Design Exhibition held at Perth Tower. This impressive showcase displayed the award-winning work of both students and faculty from the disciplines of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Design. The gallery space provided a unique setting for students to appreciate the creativity and talent of UWA students, leaving them inspired.

Ms Fabrianne Brown Head of Creative Arts (Acting)

The Year 9 Nobel students completed their Maritime and Marine studies unit this term with an excursion to the Shipwrecks Gallery in Fremantle. Our students were treated to an educational display on navigational equipment and the students were taught how they used to steer the ships at night before the invention of GPS. We are so fortunate to have such a wealth of resources available for our students to access and reflect on their learning as they see the artefacts they learnt about in real life.

Year 10 Nobel students have been challenged in Psychology this term. Completing a high-level investigation on Visual perception, students have gained further insight into how the brain processes sensation and how environment can influence our perception and, in turn, behaviour. Next term we are looking forward to further case studies to understand the biological basis of behaviour.

Mr Heath took his Year 12 Physics class to Gin Gin and the Perth Observatory, where students were able to gain hands on experience learning about gravity. The Year 12 Chemistry class were invited to UWA, where they began a set of experiments in the Chemistry Lab, preparing materials for conducting x-ray crystallography. This was a fantastic opportunity for our Year 12 students to get a taster on university laboratory procedures.

Year 11 Marine and Maritime students have continued learning their sailing and roping skills as a part of their practical component of the course.

The Year 9 cohort enjoyed an excursion to Herdsman Lake to conduct abiotic and biotic studies of the wetlands. Field work is integral to Biological studies, plus it is a great opportunity to get a bit dirty and enjoy the fresh air, and see the content they have been learning in class applied to real life scenarios.

The Year 12 Psychology students and Mr Hardman went to Perth Zoo to learn how they use operant conditioning to train their animals for their regular health check-ups. This formed the practical basis for their project work this term.

I would like to thank Science staff for organising the excursions and ensuring our students build on their classroom understandings. Next term we will be hitting the ground running with the Biology overnight camp, the annual Big Science Competition, and the Science & Engineering Challenge. Watch this space and the daily notices to learn more about opportunities to get involved in Science.

We wish all our students a safe and restful holiday and Easter period. Use this time to recoup, reconnect and be ready to start Term Two with vigour!

Ms Charlotte Donovan Head of Science

Herdsman Lake Science Excursion

On Friday 31 March, the Year 9 cohort went on an excursion to Herdsman Lake, a local wetland ecosystem, as part of their course of study in Science. Students had the opportunity to study the local flora and fauna and their importance in the biodiversity of Herdsman Lake.

Students went on a nature walk to observe the avian species that call Herdsman Lake ‘home’, carried out water testing to observe the abiotic factors which allow the rich wildlife and plant life to thrive in the area, and captured local macroinvertebrates and observed them under the microscope.

Swimming All Stars

Following on from our success in the pool at the ACC E-Division Swimming Carnival, the ACC has collated all the results from all carnivals across Divisions J-A (virtual carnival), so that the performances of every swimmer at every ACC school could be compared, regardless of the carnival division.

I am pleased to inform you that St George’s placed an amazing 13th place (out of 76 ACC Schools) in the combined aggregate for 2023! St George’s outscored many higher division schools and all credit goes to the students in the ACC Swim team for their swimming prowess.

It was a great day where students got a snapshot of what the life of an ecologist would be like. Thank you to all the staff at Herdsman Lake and Mr Dempers, Mr Heath and Mrs McArthur for attendance on the day.

The results of the virtual carnival were also used to select the ACC Honorary All Stars Swimming team. To be selected, an athlete needed to place as one of the top two performers in each event type, per age group. A full report on the Virtual results can be found here

I am proud to announce that two St George’s students have been selected in the ACC All Stars team.

Mr Peter Quan Science Teacher