Whats new on our Perth campus

Year 11 students rewarded for their achievement, hard work and diligence

On Tuesday 16^th November Taylors College Perth held an assembly for all Year 11 students to celebrate and commend the achievements of students in Term 3 this year.  The top students in each class were awarded a certificate of highest achievement.

A mention of outstanding achievement goes to Hanquing WU who gained the highest achievement in Biological Science, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. He was also recognised for his diligence and consistency of effort in English.

The other awards were presented for the most diligent and consistent worker in each of the subject areas. These were to recognise those students with outstanding study habits who put in consistent effort throughout the term.

Overall it was great to see the number of Year 11 students performing so well in many subjects.

Congratulations to all students involved and keep up the great work.

Practice makes perfect – UWAFP students experience the UWA Engineering Workshops

On Monday 15th November a group of prospective engineering students were invited to the UWA campus for a personal tour.

They were greeted by Carissa Hussar who gave each participant a bag containing some vital course information along with a surprise gift of an electronic yo-yo.

The tour began with Carissa taking the students over to the Mechanical Engineering Motorsport workshop where they were able to view the motorcar work in action. Simon Williams, a third year engineering student presented past car models, which I might add have won various accolades, as well as a number of projects currently under construction.

Next stop was the Electronic Engineering area for a brief demonstration on creating a magnetic motion model. Now it was the students turn to try their hand at constructing a replica model with a motor kit provided. In spite of some false starts and one minor injury, most students were able to successfully complete the task. Congratulations to Meshal Alrawili for managing to complete his prototype first and according to our host Rainier De Lange, coming up with a new application.

A big thanks goes to Carissa and all of her colleagues at the Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics for being so welcoming. All of the students were most impressed and are now even keener to achieve their goal of study at UWA.

Taylors Students Become DNA Detectives at UWA

A group of Perth Taylors College Foundation Biology students studying a unit in Genetics and Gene Technology recently visited the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at The University of Western Australia (UWA) to undertake a laboratory in DNA Fingerprinting.

DNA Fingerprinting is a powerful procedure used as a way of identifying specific individuals on the basis of their DNA profiles and has a number of applications. Such as: to identifying paternity or maternity in criminal forensic science; to locate gene segments that cause genetic disease; or to engineer drought resistant plants to name a few.

The students found it a valuable and enjoyable learning experience which reinforced the work they have covered in class. It also gave them a great opportunity to visit the University and experience what it is like to work in a modern well-equipped university laboratory.

As one of our previous students commented, “The involvement in this DNA fingerprint experiment is simply amazing. For a foundation student like me, it is a very rare opportunity to carry out this kind of advanced technology experiment. I get to see the technology used by professionals to do their experiments. This is my first time to see and actually use a $300 pipette (a laboratory instrument used to transport a measure of liquid; also known as a dropper). Besides that, to carry out this analysis which is normally done by tertiary students or professionals is an unforgettable experience."

UWAFP high achievers setting new records in the program

On Tuesday November 2nd, an awards ceremony was held to celebrate the success of our Taylors College UWAFP students. An unprecedented thirty one students were rewarded for achieving the highest overall average in the course.

One student from each unit of study in term 3 was nominated to receive the award, however for some units we had as many as four students who managed to secure equal grades. Teachers and Program Managers alike were thrilled with the large number of students demonstrating academic excellence, with some setting new records in the program.

Campus Director David Berry was there to congratulate each award recipient individually and present them with their certificate and gift vouchers from the UWA Co-op Bookstore.

The awards ceremony also presented an opportunity to acknowledge our scholarship students and congratulate them for securing these awards that generate much competition. Scholarships are awarded to those students who not only achieve excellent in their home countries, but also complete an outstanding written application outlining their other achievements and ambitions.

Dr. Nick Spadaccini from the UWAFP Board of Studies was on hand to help us congratulate our high achievers and provide them with further motivation to succeed and secure their UWA pathway.

Congratulations once again to all of our award winners and scholarship students and thank you to all teachers and support staff for making this such an enjoyable ceremony.

Sunsets, costume competitions and a full moon at the Taylors Halloween Ball, 2010

On Friday 29th of October, Taylors hosted the annual Halloween Ball.

More than 120 students attended and for many of them it was their final chance to let their hair down and have some fun before their final exams in November. The event was held at the Ocean Beach Hotel in Cottesloe and, so the students could watch the beautiful sunset, it started at 6:30 pm sharp.

Most students put in a massive effort with their costumes. They looked fantastic and prizes were given for the two best female and male costumes.

The two female winners were Nur Ainina Abdul Sukor from Malaysia, for Poison Ivy, and Michella Carol Lima Guterres Mali from East Timor for her vampire costume.

The two best males were Ahmed Awadh Alfaki from Saudi Arabia for his Woody costume (from Toy Story) and Daniel Chai from Singapore for his Lara Croft impersonation.

It was truly a night of fun and celebrations. One of our students decided to celebrate his 19th birthday at the ball, and so we made sure it didn't go unnoticed and wished Chi Lap Wong from Hong Kong a vey happy birthday. Staff were on hand on the night to show support and also made a good effort with their costumes. There was music too, which was a great opportunity for students to show off their breakdancing skills.

As the clock struck midnight and the full moon shone the evening was over (not just because some were turning into werewolves!). A big thank you must be made to the Taylors Student Services Team who organised the venue, music, food and decorations for this great evening. It's clear from all the photos taken that staff and students enjoyed themselves immensely.

We look forward to hosting another ball in June next year.

Saudi Arabia wins soccer competition at Perth campus

Who would you have picked to win the soccer "Campus Champion" competition at Taylors College in Perth?

World Cup fever lingered a little longer at the Perth campus as teams from various nations competed for the coveted Campus Champions title.

Some countries struggled to form a complete team, but they were willing to put old rivalries aside and form coalitions. In the end the teams that competed were as follows:

• China
• South America
• Singapore/Hong Kong
• Saudi Arabia
• Vietnam/Korea

In the early rounds the teams all played three games. The final was scheduled for Tuesday 17 August and it was to be between the top two teams.

Grand final day came and the match was between Saudi Arabia and South America. It would be fair to say the Saudis were at a disadvantage as Ramadan had just begun. After a very competitive and close game the final score saw Saudi Arabia the victors with a 2 - 1 win over South America.

The players of the competition were: Saaed Alqahtani (Saudi Arabia) and Fabio Abbud (South America).

Congratulations to all involved!

A sunny UWAFP graduation ceremony

On June 8, a typically sunny day in Perth day, 132 UWAFP graduates celebrated the end of their study at Taylors College with a ceremony held at the University of Western Australia campus.

The proceedings were held in the Social Sciences lecture theatre which housed all of our graduates, their guests, Taylors teachers and a number of dignitaries. We were very pleased to welcome the following UWA faculty members: Mr Peter Curtis, UWA Registrar and Chairman of the UWAFP Management Committee; Professor Jane Long, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) and Chairman of the UWAFP Board of Studies; Professor John Dell, Dean Engineering, Computing and Mathematics; and Professor George Stewart, Dean Life and Physical Sciences. Joining these guests was a strong contingent from the UWA International Centre.

Following the awarding of the certificates, a musical interlude was enjoyed from two of our current students: Adriana Siew Yiik TIONG and Enoch Park. They performed a piece they had written especially for the ceremony - Adriana played piano and Enoch performed on the cello.

Other highlights included a rousing speech by Valedictorian Karen Lydia Fernandes who was also the recipient of the Business/Arts Dux award. Karen spoke of her time at Taylors and reminded us all of the optimism and energy of youth. Other award winners included Yang Wang, Dux for Maths / Science and Evgeniya Balanova who won the Principal’s award for campus contribution during her time at Taylors College.

We heartily congratulate all graduates and wish them the best of luck in all of their future pursuits!