2004 School Magazine

Faculties:Learning Resources

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FA

LTY OF LEARNING RESOURCES >

BUILDING BRIDGES >

FAG U LP/ O F LEARNING RESOURCES

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>.- in an environment of rapid individual, community, and workplace change, a static body of knowledge does not equip students with the ability to adapt, thrive and advance. The Faculty of Learning Resources consists of a number of Departments that work together with other faculties to enable students to gain confidence in skills that can be used not only within specific subject areas but in applications that extend across the curriculum and into later life The Beanland Memorial Ubrary and associated Computing and Media Departments provide flexible venues and learning experiences that encourage students to become inquisitive, engaged, questioning and motivated. The Outdoor Education Programme is also focused on engaging the girls in experiences that provide learning for life Students focus on personal discovery and resilience and find that resources of self are sometimes more important than technology Ultimately our aim is to develop the feeling of competence in students that will lead to confidence in novel situations, whatever they may be

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.^^^,^11^11^.^- bad^-^^ ^.^- n ^-^ wi +,^ a ^^bam! 6'101.00LV, 1,011 .^;CPLOOl >. The Bridge Building Challenge was conducted in Terms in and IV Teams of five or six students from each Year 8 class worked co-operative Iy to design and build a bridge, according to specifications given in the "Bridge Building Code". Using two tubes of glue and 500 paddle pop sticks, students were challenged to build a bridge that was strong but light. The winning bridge was the one with the greatest structural efficiency as measured by the ratio of the "load" taken by the bridge to the weight of the bridge. To complete the pro^Ct students needed to use a range of interdisciplinary skills and thinking processes over an extended period of time To build a "great" bridge in such a short period of time you need teamwork and a well-structured plan of action On the afternoon of the day prior to bridge building, students familiarised themselves with the Bridge Building Code, competed in competitions using their skills in perspective and drew plans for their bridge. A day was then spent building followed by testing three days later All had a great time and

Mrs A Forte Director

feedback from both Schools continues to indicate that the project 15 both challenging and eruoyable At the time of printing the winning bridge for 2004 had taken a load of 65kg

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