Sophie Poisel – Innovation Leader K – 6

K-6 Innovation

Innovation has continued to be a focus in learning experiences in the Primary School in 2019. Thank you to those of you who joined us to celebrate the innovative thinking your children have been engaged in through class projects and extra-curricular opportunities. If you were unable to attend, see the 2019 Program here: https://tinyurl.com/2019IFProgram. I had some wonderful feedback from attending parents. One of our speakers, Meg Tonkin, also reflected, “It was truly impressive to see such a high level of innovation and understanding of emerging technologies displayed by the students. It’s going to be an exciting future!”

We have continued to build connections with a range of STEAM Professionals within our school community and at universities. In the past, I have written about the important role adults play as children begin to imagine their futures, the problems they want to solve, and the possible career directions they might take. We have welcomed a range of speakers from various fields over 2019, and students’ have reflected on these visits in past Ma Nishma articles. The purpose of these visits has been to expose our students to the variety of options available to them. 

We were fortunate to welcome four award winning STEAM professionals to discuss the problems they solve in their work, what a day in their life looks like and be part of a panel discussion focused on where their passions began and the skills they need in their jobs today. In case you missed it, you can watch part of a recording here: https://tinyurl.com/2019STEAMPanel. We are currently working on a set of Emanuel School posters with Mr Messiah that celebrates the experts that have visited us, and helps us to remember some of their important messages. Some of these include:

Dr Vanessa Pirotta says let your passion lead the way. Find out what you like doing or would like to learn more about. With a little hard work and a positive attitude, you just never know where this may take you!

Associate Professor Ronika Power told us to think wildly and dare greatly – imagination is our super-power, and our greatest discoveries will come from breaking rules, making mistakes and doing things differently.

Dr Katie Sizeland told us that we need to be super curious and resilient and always ask why and never take no for an answer – you need to be able to collaborate and communicate to come up with solutions to problems.

Meg Tonkin, Social Roboticist and PhD candidate, told us that technology is your tool, wield with Empathy and Imagination to make amazing things happen.

As the term break is fast approaching, if you are looking for some great STEM activities to do at home with your daughters or sons, have a look at this resource recently released from UTS researchers. See here: www.thegist.edu.au/. Although the title suggests it is for girls, there are some great STEM home experiences outlined here: www.thegist.edu.au/families/getting-her-interested-in-stem/at-home-activities/