Kids clean up rubbish at local beaches
SCHOOL WRAP
PORT DOUGLAS STATE SCHOOL
Last Sunday, March 5th, it was Clean Up Australia Day. The students at Port Douglas State School participated in their own event on Friday 3rd March.
The 2023 Port Douglas Reef Guardians ran the event, helping students from other year levels pick up rubbish and sort it into recyclables and landfill.
After sorting the collected rubbish, the Reef Guardians found 209 pieces of waste including soft plastics, hard plastics, straws, icy pole wrappers and recyclables. This is waste that will no longer end up polluting the Great Barrier Reef and an experience that the students can bring into their daily lives.
SCHOOL BUDDIES AT ST AUGUSTINE’S PRIMARY
At St Augustine's, one of the ways they ensure that students are happy to come to school is to match the younger students up with a buddy.
In 2023, a goal of the school is to have 90% of students attend at least 90% or more of the school year.
WONDERS OF SCIENCE VISITS MOSSMAN STATE HIGH SCHOOL
Visiting science specialists Vanessa Zepeda an Ambassador Wonder of Science spoke to Year 11 and 12 Science students about her journey into science and the evolving nature of her current PhD studying extremophiles.
Year 11 and 12 Students had the opportunity to learn about Vanessa’s exciting research and the career pathways STEM studies offer. Vanessa has a background in Marine Biology and a Master’s degree in Biology and Environmental Science. She talked very passionately about her studies around Biology on Earth and its connection to life on other planets.
Her talk discussed her work experience as an intern with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory where she looked for evidence of life preserved in rocks and meteorites. She is currently a junior scientist on the Mars Perseverance Rover mission that is looking for signs of life on Mars and is completing her PhD at the Queensland University of Technology.
Her research focuses on the chemistry and biology of early Earth environments.
Mossman High students had the opportunity to ask questions about her studies and how she navigated working and university at the same time. This was a wonderful opportunity for the students to hear from a real young and ambitious scientist who left the students
with a very pivotal closing message. “If you want something enough you will work hard, study and find a way, anything is possible”.