Youth Work & CEC News
Our Mental Health First Aid Officers had a meeting recently to talk about supporting our Prep students as they explore the larger play areas. I really appreciate all pf the work that our MHFAOs do around the school and the visibility that they provide.
I have been taking some students from Middle school to visit some Upper school spaces to get used to how they look, feel and sound. All students involved have been enjoying their explorations.
Over the next two weeks, I will be running small group circle times for year 6 students in the lead up to transitioning to high school. These sessions will provide the opportunity for students to ask the tricky questions and to air their concerns around this big life change.
Regards, Miss Dani
Queensland Science Contest
Each year, Chevallum students have the opportunity to enter the Queensland Science Contest which engages students across Queensland in STEM investigations and projects. Through this competition, students build and act on their curiosity about the world and how it works. It helps them form lasting connections with learning and develops skills in critical and creative thinking, literacy and numeracy.
Reilly Osbourne, Year 5, has participated in this competition every year he has been at Chevallum. This year Reilly won a highly commended award which was a great achievement.
His science investigation question for inquiry was - Which Food is the Strongest? The aim of his experiment was to find out which food item is the strongest or more resistant to crushing.
Reilly made a hydraulic press with syringes and scientific principles of a first-class lever, with mechanical advantage and then designed an experiment that he could have fun using the hydraulic crush. 
The food items he compared for strength were an orange, an apple, a potato and half a carrot. The strongest was determined by the food item that didn't crush or takes the longest to crush. The result was that the potato was the strongest!
For Reilly, the most important aim was to have fun crushing food with Science!
Congratulations Reilly on extending your thinking and learning outside of school and for your results!