Catherine McAuley students visited the UNSW SMaRT Centre to view firsthand how the face mask recycling is being implemented into making tiles.
Catherine McAuley students have been contributing to the valuable work of Professor Veena Sahajwalla at the University of NSW’s Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT) through participation in an innovative pilot project which is seeing used face masks repurposed and turned into a synthetic product.
The school was asked by the Greater Cities Commission, in partnership with the SMaRT Centre, to collect used face masks, by collecting them in special bins located at the school. These face masks are then going to be repurposed and turned into a tile that can be used by students in TAS and Visual Arts classes.
On Monday last week the Student Leader of Environment, Emily Oliver, the Student Leader of Technology, Ashyra Chand and students from the STEM Club were very excited to be able to visit the SMaRT Centre and meet with Professor Veena. Emily Oliver has written about this experience:
Visiting the UNSW SMaRT Centre to see how our face mask recycling is being implemented into making tiles that can be used for a variety of applications, such as tiles for use in TAS, on countertops and as material for mosaics, was amazing. Both myself and Ashyra, Leader of Technology, agreed that it is great to see how technology is able to help environmental issues such as overflowing landfills and e-waste. It gave both of us hope for what the future holds, particularly for our generation and how we can help to make our future more sustainable.
We had the opportunity to meet Professor Veena Sahajwalla, the 2022 NSW Australian of the Year, who is heading up this waste recycling project. She gave us an insight into how solutions to the issue of landfill are already being created and implemented. For example, the UNSW SMaRT Centre turns e-waste into 3D printing filament! Professor Sahajwalla reminded us that the way everyone cares for the planet is so important and that our future requires STEM skills. She told us that “it is a fantastic project to be a part of and a great collaboration to be joining with students like us who care about our future”.
View and download photos from this event
Catherine McAuley Westmead
Author
More News
25 Nov 2022
From Facebook
Year 10 NINJAS 😀 Year 10 PASS students had their ‘ninja’ skills put to the test last week as they attended Ninja 101 in Prospect. The students attended as part of their Lifestyle, Leisure and Recreation Unit and participated in a variety of challenging obstacles including swinging monkey bars, balance beams, cargo nets and a series of difficult upper body challenges. A highlight of the course was the warped wall with students challenged to climb the 1.5m, 3.5m and 5m walls.
24 Nov 2022
From Facebook
AROUND THE CLASSROOMS ➡ Year 9 French students of Ms Nenchev have been practising conversational French. The students have been role playing how to buy a train ticket to Paris. Bon voyage girls!
24 Nov 2022
From Facebook
The Catherine McAuley Weekly Review for Thursday, 24th November 2022 is now available via this link:
24 Nov 2022
From Facebook
AROUND THE CLASSROOMS ➡ Year 9 Food Technology students of Ms Emanuel were making mocktails yesterday as part of their Food Service and Catering Unit. Delicious! 🍹🍹🍹
24 Nov 2022
From Facebook
AROUND THE CLASSROOMS ➡ To finish their study on Shogunate Japan Year 8 History students of Mrs Nicolson dressed up last Thursday as Samurai. The students worked in groups to source their materials for the dress ups which were to replicate the features of Samurai armour. Shogunate Japan was within Mediaeval times and as part of their study students have learned about the range of groups in society, including the Samurai, a special class of warriors who are still well known today. Mrs Nicolson said that the students thoroughly enjoyed showing off their creativity and in the quiz afterwards the students were able to correctly name all the features and names of the armour. To finish up the lesson the Year 8 students practised the skill of origami folding, a traditional Japanese craft. Students were encouraged to make designs that could be passed onto their families or members of the community as a gesture of appreciation and gratitude.
24 Nov 2022
Year 8 Students Build Paper Roller Coasters to Demonstrate Force Energy and Motion
Year 8 Technology Mandatory students of Mr Lennon and Mr Cavill have been looking at force, energy and motion as part of their Engineering Unit in Technology Mandatory. The students were challenged to build a cardboard roller coaster which must have as a minimum a loop and a left and right turn.
24 Nov 2022
Mercy Student Leaders Unite
Earlier this month four Year 11 Student Leaders were invited by Student Leaders from Mercy Catholic College, Chatswood to attend an afternoon tea. Student Leaders from other Mercy schools in Sydney were also invited.
23 Nov 2022
From Facebook
Meet the Year 10 Newcombe Ball Champions! 🥳🥳 Year 10 students battled it out today at lunchtime for the title of ‘Newcombe Ball Champions’! Well done to all students who participated in the series of games which ended with the Year 10 grand final. Year 7 students will have their chance to compete on Friday.
23 Nov 2022
From Facebook
FUTURE ENTREPRENEURS 💡Last Thursday Year 7 students gathered together in the Morley Centre for the Future Anything Activate Program Grand Final. The top Year 7 teams pitched their product and solution to the wellbeing issue they were trying to solve. This year the students have been taking part in this program which has seen the students involved in lessons and activities designed to empower young people with the knowledge, skills, support, and partnerships to develop innovative ideas that solve problems. The top teams pitched their ideas to two judges from Anything Activate and the whole Year 7 Form.
22 Nov 2022
From Facebook
Congratulations to the Year 8 Newcombe Ball Champions! 😀 Last Friday the final of the Year 8 Newcombe Ball competition was held with three final rounds played before the grand final to determine the Year 8 Champions! Ms Pasion, Sports Coordinator, said all Year 8 teams showed great sportsmanship with the grand final a competitive and enjoyable game. The Years 9 - 11 teams will play their rounds during lunchtime over the next two weeks.
21 Nov 2022
From Facebook
Last night was the Parramatta Diocesan Rise Up! World Youth Day Celebration Mass held at St John XXIII Glenwood - Stanhope Gardens. ✝️ The celebration of youth and commissioning of youth and school leaders was attended by a number of McAuley students who were accompanied by Ms Refalo, Ms Grigson and Ms Banks.
21 Nov 2022
From Facebook
19 Nov 2022
From Facebook
More Cupcakes!! 🧁🧁 This time it is Year 9 Food Technology students of Ms Maher who made and decorated cupcakes to reflect a theme they had chosen. Some of the themes chosen by the students included a baby shower, Christmas and Halloween. The students completed this work as part of their unit ‘Food, Service and Catering’.
18 Nov 2022
From Facebook
Our Science and PDHPE staff had a fantastic afternoon on Monday at the Western Sydney University The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development. Staff learnt about the research conducted by the Institute and potential learning collaboration opportunities for our students. Thank you to Celia Harris and Caroline Jones for hosting us - it is always great to connect with our Westmead neighbours!
17 Nov 2022
From Facebook
Around the Classrooms ➡ Year 10 Geography students of Miss Spelman were challenged to model some of the landforms along Australian coastlines which they have been learning about. The students used play dough to model the landforms as they mimicked the formation process.