Throughout 2018, representatives from Gullen Range, Taralga and Crookwell 2 Wind Farms engaged with students during school and site visits – explaining the variety of jobs they offer, what the jobs entail and the education pathways students need to undertake to get them. Check out our overview of the program here or keep reading below.
On Wednesday 22nd August, Crookwell High School hosted five primary schools from the Upper Lachlan area to participate in their ‘STEM Hook Day’. The day was designed to introduce students from Crookwell High School and their feeder schools to the STEM Industry School Partnership Program (SISP) and get them excited about the upcoming STEM Project.
On Monday 10th September, Year 8 mentors from Crookwell High School visited Year 5 students at Crookwell Public School to assist the students with their Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths (STEM) projects, as part of the STEM Industry School Partnership Program funded by the NSW Department of Education. Also joining in on the day were two industry representatives from Gullen Range Wind and Solar Farm, Isabel Nelson and Simon Zhao, and Project Officer at Regional Development Australia Southern Inland (RDASI), Camilla Staff.
Read more about the visit here.
On Monday 15th October, Nigel Hicks, Operations and Maintenance Manager at Crookwell 2 Wind Farm, and Camilla Staff, Project Officer at RDA Southern Inland, visited Binda and Bigga Public School to assist the students with their Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths (STEM) projects.
Read more about the visit here.
On Thursday 25th October, Gullen Range Wind and Solar Farm hosted Year 8 students from Crookwell High School. Throughout the morning, students immersed themselves in the renewable energy technology housed at Gullen Range Wind Farm.
The students were welcomed to Gullen Range Wind and Solar Farm by Isabel Nelson, Community Engagement Officer, Leo Pearce, Asset Manager and Simon Zhao, Site Manager. Many students are using renewable energy as part of their agricultural projects, so a tour provides invaluable experience. Gullen Range is Australia’s first co-located wind and solar farm, housing 42,000 solar panels and 73 wind turbines.
Two terms of hard work were celebrated on Wednesday 13th November at Crookwell High School, with students from the high school and local primary schools showing off their Science Technology Engineering Maths (STEM) Projects.
Year 8 students from Crookwell High School and students from five local primary schools; Binda, Bigga, Laggan, Taralga and Crookwell, came together to present their Ag STEM Projects to a number of local community members, teachers and parents.
Over 150 Year 7 and 8 students from Crookwell, Murrumburrah, Boorowa and Yass participated in the ‘Build me a Future Day’ on Thursday at Crookwell High School, with Yass High School winning the competition.
The ‘Build ME a Future Day’ was hosted by The University of Newcastle’s Science and Engineering Challenge, with support from RDA Southern Inland. The focus of the event was to build on students’ awareness of the real-world application of Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths (STEM) skills. The event is aimed at inspiring students to choose STEM related subjects for their remaining years of school and hopefully pursue a career in one of these fields. The top growth jobs in the future, Project Engineering, Ambulance/Paramedics, Mining, Clinical/Medical Research and Engineering Drafting, all require STEM skills so events like this are essential for students.
The students competed in teams of two-four across eight activities and points were awarded for effectiveness and efficiency. Challenges included constructing an earthquake‐proof tower, building a bridge and designing and building artificial fingers.
The University of Newcastle visited Crookwell Public School and Binda Public School last week to deliver their Science, Maths and Real Technology (SMART) Shows to students. Students in Years 3 to 6 at Crookwell Public School and Taralga Public School were part of the morning session. Then, all students from Binda, Bigga and Laggan Public Schools took part in the afternoon session at Binda Public School.
The first show, called SMARTBots, introduced key coding and robotics concepts, using a range of engaging pre-programmed and on-command robots.
The second show, Future Earth - Sustainability Science Show, explored the concepts of sustainability, resource conservation, recycling, power generation and energy efficiency.
