This week, Year 7 students have been busy demonstrating their talking and riding skills, participating in the annual Physics Cup and Clash of Empires Debates.

The Physics Cup

Year 7 students have been and exploring the world of physical forces and machines this term, investigating the forces that make our world ‘turn’ and the simple machines that help us harness these forces.

Their newfound knowledge came to good use, with the cohort travelling to Aussie World on Friday to participate in the Physics Cup. Groups of students combined their talents to search for simple machines and the forces they employed in the rides at Aussie World. From the pulleys in the Bombora Bounce to the electromagnetic forces at the Bumper Cars, points were gained by finding and explaining the forces and machines involved. As an added twist, teams could only gain points if the team dared go on the ride where the machines were identified. Many of our Year 7s overcame their fears to take one for the team!

After all was said, done, and ridden, the Physics Cup was awarded to Shakyra Hazelden, Lailey Reid, Annika Lowry, Kaitlyn McNulty, Sarah Caust, and Mary Dhot, with a massive 49 points! The team was a machine, and a force to be reckoned with.

Clash of Empires Debate

Year 7 students have also been exploring the Ancient Empires of Rome and China, exploring, researching, and developing comparative essays on the superiority of their chosen empire. Using their new-found knowledge, formal debates were held this week over which empire students thought was superior, with the winning empire having its staple food showcased in a feast, including (spoiler alert) how to use chopsticks! A shout-out to Lucy Porter and Jakob Gregory for their VERY energetic debating skills!

Larry McKeown, Year Level Coordinator Year 7