St Francis of Assisi Catholic Parish Primary School Warrawong eNewsletter

National Science Week

This week is National Science Week, and we celebrated with a Science Day on Monday. The school was buzzing with energy, curiosity, and some unforgettable reactions—both from our experiments and our students! From building bridges that stood tall to launching cotton balls with homemade launchers, our young scientists truly shone. And those DNA extractions? It was like unlocking secret codes from strawberries!

Thanks to Mr Smith and all the teachers for their hard work and organisation in preparing these hands on learning experiences for the students.

Reflections from Year 4

For Science Week, one of the activities was building a cotton ball launcher. The materials we needed were cotton balls, two rubber bands, two cardboard paper rolls, one paddle pop stick and tape. The first step we needed to do was cut the paper roll in half. Next, we had to roll the cardboard that we cut in half and tape it so it stayed tight. With the other paper roll, we needed to cut slits on opposite sides of the roll and put two elastic bands in the slits. Then we cut two holes for the paddle pop stick. We put the paper roll that we rolled up into the bigger roll. Then we put the cotton ball in the launcher and we pulled it back on the paddle pop stick and then released it. We liked creating the cotton ball launcher and playing with it.
(Fatima H, Aya, Ali, Hudson & Sara - Yr 4)

For Science Week, we collected DNA from strawberries! We used salt, dish soap, rubbing alcohol, ziplock bags and strawberries. We put some strawberries in a ziploc bag and smashed them. When we were finished, we added dish soap and salt. We then mixed it by shaking the bag. After that, we added rubbing alcohol and then put the bag on an angle in a cup and waited for a bit. Then we put a little wooden stick in it to collect the strands of DNA. FYI: DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid. We liked this experiment because we learnt a lot and enjoyed the experience. At the end of the rotations, Mr Smith collected some of the DNA that had been extracted from the strawberries and let us see what it looked like under the microscope.
(Fatima A, Chiara, Kemin & Adam)

For Science Week, one of the experiments we did was ‘Bridge Building’. To build a bridge, we used popsicle sticks, string, scissors and tape. There were different types of models that we could use to build our bridge. We had to make it strong so it could hold weights. We had to make it 30 centimetres long. We made a roof, the bottom and the sides all out of popsicle sticks and tape. We only tested one bridge and that was the bridge Isla’s group made. Bridge Building was our favourite experiment because it was a crafty activity, we had to make it with our hands and there was teamwork. The bridges were fun to build and it was like engineering. We also drew some sketches of what models there were and what we did to make our bridges.
(Alivia, Ayva, Ahmad & Zeinab)

Our favourite science experiment for Science Week was ‘Secret Messages’. We used paper, cotton buds, rubbing alcohol, a turmeric mix and bicarb soda. First we mixed bicarb soda with water and wrote our secret message. Then we let it dry and it slowly disappeared. Some of us wrote our names, some drew love hearts or patterns and some wrote their friends' names. After a few minutes, we carefully painted over it with turmeric and rubbing alcohol and the secret message slowly revealed itself. This was our favourite experiment for Science Week because it was fun, cool revealing the messages, interactive and interesting.
(Ruby, Ariam, Nicholas & Max