From Monday the 15th of January to Wednesday the 17th of January, Sarah-Jane Taylor, Hannah Ayres, Kimberley Masterton, Justin Fleischer, Josh Berg and Kyal Accurso attended the Strengthening Engagement and Achievement in Mathematics and Science (SEAMS) camp at Monash University. The camp was designed to give students an insight into the Unit 1 subjects that we are studying this semester, along with a taste of university life. After getting up at the ridiculous hour of 4:00AM, we finally arrived at Mannix College. We were given a brief induction and then after a few ‘getting to know you’ activities we were split into two groups. At the camp it was compulsory for us to study mathematical methods and we then had the choice of chemistry and physics.
Day 1 for the chemistry students, Sarah, Kimberley and myself, consisted of a day full of chemistry. We started with a theory lesson followed by a lesson of math. After lunch we had a practical lesson in the lab where we looked at how many mol of water had been lost, after dehydrating hydrated copper sulphate. Whilst we were doing this, the physics students spent the day doing theory. That evening, we had a pizza and movie night at the university outdoor cinema. Although it was freezing cold we all had a great evening, playing cricket, watching the movie and eating pizza.
On day 2, Justin, Josh and Kyal, had a day of physics, whilst the chemistry students immersed themselves in theory. The physics students took part in a theory lesson before undertaking their practical session after morning break. Their prac involved testing how radioactive substances were from different distances and how shielding works from radioactive beams. That afternoon we had a fitness session and were required to choose functional fitness, zumba or yoga. Kimberley and I opted for the more relaxing choice of yoga whilst the other four participated in functional fitness. After dinner that evening we all participated in a trivia night, unfortunately my team came last, whilst Josh’s team was successful and won.
Day 3 was our final day and consisted of a day full of theory for everyone. After our final class, we went back over to Mannix College to fill in our evaluations before heading home. The SEAMS camp was a great learning experience and I would definitely go back again. We would just like to say a massive thank you to Mr. Gallimore for taking time out of his holidays to take us down to Melbourne for the camp. Without him it wouldn’t have been possible!
By Hannah Ayres
