Catch up on the latest sports news.

The uniPATH IPQ course has been an intriguing and insightful experience so far.

The experience began during the final weeks of Term 4 2020, where the full uniPATH cohort travelled to the University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA) Campus on a Friday to undertake a Research Skills and Methods class. In this class, we learned about many of the fundamental skills useful in the research and construction of a report. This included ideas such as the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve and the need to take notes on sources, authoritative and non-authoritative sources and how to distinguish between them, and how to use text strings to find relevant sources using an online database. To put these skills to the test, our final assessment was a report on an aspect of one of the United Nation’s Sustainable Goals. My report centred around Sustainable Goal Seven, which is to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”. I chose to focus my topic on solar microgrids, which are a system of solar panels installed around a region, where electricity can be traded amongst its residents. This technology experimentally used in developing nations to provide clean and affordable energy. I enjoyed the research thoroughly, as I love to learn about engineering and its application to solving problems such as this. Overall, the experience with UNDA and their Research Skills and Methods course was informative and very obviously applicable to future university courses that I will embark on.

After this, the uniPATH group split into a Cambridge IPQ group, consisting of Ashton Teixeira, Rourke Barlow, Seth Hambley, Zayn Buhkari and myself and a LOGOS group. On a Friday, we go to the University of Western Australia (UWA) Crawley campus, where we work with mentors there to write a 5000-word research report which we submit to Cambridge by the end of the year. The topic is open to your own choosing, which allows us to engage in something we are passionate about. The question I formed during Term One ‘is our technology advanced enough to create a probe capable of interstellar travel?’ has me specifically looking at propulsion methods and fuel types, telecommunications, automation of the probe, and the ability to gather electrical power. I will also consider other critical challenges, such as time. Our ability to travel freely to the UWA on a Friday not only helps us with our research projects but also allows us to engage with the facilities there to assist us with our school work. Through the course we are given the freedom, not only to pursue what we are passionate about but also to excel inside of the classroom. This is what makes the experience great.

The uniPATH IPQ course has been an intriguing and insightful experience so far. The experience began during the final weeks of Term 4 2020, where the full uniPATH cohort travelled to the University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA) Campus on a Friday to undertake a Research Skills and Methods class. In this class, we learned about many of the fundamental skills useful in the research and construction of a report. This included ideas such as the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve and the need to take notes on sources, authoritative and non-authoritative sources and how to distinguish between them, and how to use text strings to find relevant sources using an online database. To put these skills to the test, our final assessment was a report on an aspect of one of the United Nation’s Sustainable Goals. My report centred around Sustainable Goal Seven, which is to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”. I chose to focus my topic on solar microgrids, which are a system of solar panels installed around a region, where electricity can be traded amongst its residents. This technology experimentally used in developing nations to provide clean and affordable energy. I enjoyed the research thoroughly, as I love to learn about engineering and its application to solving problems such as this. Overall, the experience with UNDA and their Research Skills and Methods course was informative and very obviously applicable to future university courses that I will embark on.

After this, the uniPATH group split into a Cambridge IPQ group, consisting of Ashton Teixeira, Rourke Barlow, Seth Hambley, Zayn Buhkari and myself and a LOGOS group. On a Friday, we go to the University of Western Australia (UWA) Crawley campus, where we work with mentors there to write a 5000-word research report which we submit to Cambridge by the end of the year. The topic is open to your own choosing, which allows us to engage in something we are passionate about. The question I formed during Term One is ‘how effective are our current and experimental propulsion methods at meeting requirements for an interstellar capable space probe?’. Our ability to travel freely to the UWA Campus on a Friday not only helps us with our research projects but also allows us to engage with the facilities there to assist us with our school work. Through the course we are given the freedom, not only to pursue what we are passionate about but also to excel inside of the classroom. This is what makes the experience great.

“Without challenge, there is no change.”

This was the main theme I took into Zero2Hero’s Camp Hero.

The camp certainly challenged and changed me both mentally and physically. It was a camp with 39 inspiring students from years 10 to 12 who helped me to grow on my path of self-discovery. The experience was five days long, and each day had a specific focus point.

The first day was focused on self-discovery, as you cannot help others if you cannot help yourself. The main activity on this day was the E-Colours personality test. It is a system of personality classification, based on how a person goes through life. This classified people by their dominant trait, based on whether they are a thinker, relater, socialiser or doer. The second day was about physical health, which involved several activities where we were divided into groups. It was a combination of problem-solving, physical ability and teamwork under time pressure. Mental health was the focus of the third day. This day was both about our own health and supporting the health of others. We all completed safeTALK, which teaches us the skills to identify and assist people with suicidal thoughts. The fourth day was a personal challenge, where we looked inwards. This was a day where we each considered what we hated most about ourselves and made a promise to leave it behind. The final day of the camp was focused on community impact and beginning to consider how we would transfer what we learnt on the camp into daily life.

This article is the beginning of my community impact. I want to let everyone know how incredible Camp Hero is. Although it is described as a mental health camp, it is so much more. It helped me discover who I am and who I want to be.

I have two main messages that I have taken from the camp. Get educated about mental health, so you can help yourself and those around you, and challenge yourself, as you never know when a life-changing experience can occur.

On the 29^th of March, the Year 10 Advanced Science and Engineering class had an astronomy evening at the Perth Observatory.

The excursion was part of our astronomy unit and gave us a great opportunity to observe the night sky with the facilities they have.

The evening began with us cooking some burgers on the barbeque for dinner and a chance to relax and enjoy our food. After our meal, we were given a tour of the museum by the staff where we got to see some of the first telescopes that were used at the observatory – now outdated. After the museum tour, we were taken up the main tower and shown the largest telescope at the observatory. Part of an international network of telescopes, it had helped discover several minor planets and was also used to observe gamma-ray bursts.

Once it was dark enough we were taken to the still operational telescopes to do some observations of our own. We took turns looking at various star clusters, the telescopes allowing us to do so in much greater detail than with the naked eye. After this, we had had a chance to look at the moon. Despite the cloud cover increasing, we were still able to have a decent look, the telescope allowing us to make out craters and other features clearly. Finally, we were taken to a half-constructed tower, which the observatory had intended to use to house another telescope before the project was cancelled. The part that was constructed was repurposed into an artwork, with the inside painted with a representation of many of the patterns seen in the night sky by Noongar people, along with some of the patterns seen in western culture.

By this point, it was after 10 o’clock and we were all feeling tired after a 10+ hour day. After the hour-long bus ride home, we were all eager to get to bed. Overall the excursion was a great experience and gave us all a good opportunity to use telescopes with expert guidance and be able to make our own observations of the night sky.

On the 30^th and 31^st March, boys from Yr 11 Outdoor Rec classes took the hour and a half bus trip to Dwellingup.

There we completed the Turner Hill (11km) and the Marrinup (8km) mountain biking trails. Turner Hill being the more challenging of the two. We weaved our way through the trees with minimal stacks and no serious injuries. The weather forecasted for a slight chance of rain but thankfully that was avoided. it was a good day and was followed by a much-needed servo stop on the way back, giving us a chance to refuel for training in the arvo. Thanks to everyone who organised it.

The Aquinas myFUTURE program gives Senior School students a number of ways to grow, develop and learn. Some students opted to spend their Friday time last semester in Service-based activities.

Starting out at only 14 years old, Jack Johnston is a passionate and committed Red Cross Soup Patrol volunteer.

After being introduced to Soup Patrol by his older brother, Jack started volunteering through his school, Aquinas College. He now regularly travels with other students to Fremantle in the patrol van to serve soup, bread and any other food that has been donated to those who need it.

Jack's efforts weren't going to be stopped by COVID-19, and when the pandemic struck, Jack and his family stepped up and undertook COVID-safe soup patrols together.

Jack says that volunteering fulfils him and has given him a new perspective of those less fortunate than himself.

"Volunteering with Soup Patrol has given me an insight into the lives of those who are struggling. It has humanised people who are often portrayed in a bad light on the news and vilified by society," he said.

Jack encourages everyone to volunteer, even if you just have a few hours. The experience has opened his mind and he looks forward to one day becoming a Soup Patrol driver and teaching future Aquinas students the beauty of volunteering.

"Seeing the happiness and hope that people have when the Red Cross pulls up is really special. This experience has really changed my life!"

Volunteer today! To find out more visit www.redcross.org.au/volunteer