Volume 92 No 11 . 5 August 2015 Insert

Important Dates Terms 3 2015 6 August Years 11 & 12 PTS Interviews

14 August Ave Maria Day

17 August Learning and Teaching Day

(student free day)

21 August Year 9 Faith Formation Day

27 August Year 7 Immunisation

4 September Year 7 Elders Liturgy

8 September Father’s Day Breakfast

Indonesia Study Tour 2015 Indonesia, a place of diversity, rich in colour, offering a myriad of experiences awakening all our senses. There is no other way I can describe the adventures and extraordinary opportunities we had throughout our 16 day journey. Each day this country revealed something new and different, occasionally astounding, often marvelling, and at times breathtaking as we wondered at the beauty of creation.

The climate could not have been better, bright and warm every day holding back on humidity, allowing us to travel with ease and comfort. No tropical downpours meant the colours of buildings, costumes and flora presented as brightly as they could, bathed in sunshine, heightening also the luxuriant green of the surrounding padi fields and forests.

As we travelled from north to south of Java we explored parts of the island that few westerners visit. From the tea plantations in Malang East Java where we learnt how green tea and black tea derive from the same plant and how tea leaves are dried and packaged for retail and export around the world, to south of the island where we had what was probably our most amazing experience. Whilst it was challenging to get to Mt Bromo using various modes of transport, to finally reaching the sea of sands where we mounted a small horse to the base of the crater, and then on foot climbed the last 200 steps up to the rim where we peered down the crater to see the molten lava. There were times where the extraordinary landscape made us feel like we were on Mars.

Earlier in Bandung we saw the efforts of local entrepreneurs in maintaining the culture and traditions of the surrounding villages by organising an after school program where children learn the art of performance in traditional theatre, music and dance. We were treated to a beautifully choreographed performance of Javanese dances followed by an angklung recital. It is still beyond us how such beautiful sound can come from shaking a simple bamboo instrument.

Interestingly whilst the majority of the Indonesian population are followers of Islam, when you peel away the layers you see evidence of times gone by with eighth and ninth century temples dotted around the country. A captivating highlight was the Buddhist temple of Borobudur as it revealed itself to us at sunrise and equally as enchanting was the Hindu temple of Prambanan with its tale of challenge and love at dusk. In the capital Jakarta we saw the Istiqlal Mosque situated across the road from the Catholic Cathedral (dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption), each congregation worshipping side by side harmoniously. The regular calls to prayer from the minarets in Java were a contrast to the quiet burning of incense and gentle aromas emanating from street side Balinese offerings.

Yogyakarta, the Sultan’s city, introduced us to local cuisine, artisans and craftsmen. Here we tried our hand at making batik, even a piece of silver jewellery, cooked a meal with

rudimentary tools fanning our little coal burners but producing the most amazing satay sauces. Yogyakarta also gave us an opportunity to really get a handle on our Bahasa, proved by the effervescent chatter of the girls as we collected them from school each day. There are so many other memorable occasions one could recall from our tour, such as the evening becak ride to the Sultan’s Palace for dinner, the horse and buggy ride through the countryside, drinking Luwak coffee and visiting local villages observing how village communities etch a living from little backyard factories producing cassava chips.

In brief, it was an extraordinary experience for everyone and I am certain that all who participated will enjoy sharing this experience with friends and relatives and hopefully carry these beautiful memories for years to come.

Mrs Carla Godoy Domain Teal Leader LOTE

Volume 92 No 11 . 5 August 2015 Insert

The University of Melbourne Endeavour Schools Program On Thursday, 23 July we were fortunate to have The University of Melbourne Engineering students come to Ave Maria College and work with Year 8 students to build robotic cars which the girls programmed to navigate a maze.

The University of Melbourne Endeavour Schools Program aims to spark an interest in Engineering and IT amongst secondary school students by educating them on the principles which underlie the field of engineering through hands-on, engaging and interactive workshops which simulate an engineering project environment and entice students to undergo the thought processes that an engineer would entail. The girls not only learnt about the field of Engineering but also discovered along the way how exciting and thought-provoking Engineering can be.

The Engineering students set us a challenge to create our own remote control cars out of pieces they supplied us with and drive it through a course in under two minutes. One of the main challenges we faced was to get our car to turn, as each wheel had a little sensor connected to it which picked up the signals from the remote. In order to prevent both wheels picking up the same signal, we taped a piece of cardboard between them, so my team managed to successfully steer our car through the course in a little over two minutes. Grace Hengel 8D

I hope that this day has inspired our students to work towards the field of science and technology.

Carmel Anile-Saade Domain Team Leader Science

Year 8 CERES Incursion On Wednesday, 22 July Jess from the CERES Mobile Energy Classroom came to talk to the Year 8 students about renewable energy. She told us all about non-renewable resources such as oil and coal and the damage that they cause to the earth. We were told that we will eventually run out of these harmful power sources and we therefore must learn to use renewable energy such as sunlight. Solar panels are a great installation and are quickly becoming a popular trend as they use the sun's endless amount of energy, making it much more environmentally friendly! We also got to see a solar oven and learn how it operated as it was a new discovery for many. The solar oven had metallic sides and if an item of food was placed in it and left outside in the sun, it could reach up to 180 degrees and cook a cake just like a normal oven! Jess also had some activities set up for us such as a bike connected to different light bulbs and a kettle. In order to operate the items, you had to pedal as fast as you can and use your own body energy. You wouldn't believe how much hard work is required just to turn on a simple light bulb for a few seconds, let alone boil water!

Monique Moore 8D