What's new on our Perth campus
Taylors College High School students gets a sneak peak of University Life
On Tuesday 25 March, as part of the new Activities program our enthusiastic Year 10 and 11 students were treated to a sneak preview of what University life is all about. They enjoyed a short bus ride down to The University of Western Australia campus with their year coordinators, Norma Williams and Marc Stoitis for a 90 minute tour of the campus.
It was a mid-semester and the University buildings and grounds were alive, with students being busy with their study and recreational activities. Our students were able to check out the International Centre, Winthrop Hall, the Sunken Garden, the tropical Grove, Somerville Auditorium, the Reid Library, the Octagon Theatre and many of the Faculty buildings.
Students were impressed with the sheer magnitude of the operation on campus and had plenty of questions. Taylors College Perth builds such visits into its program to provide its young students with an early connection to the University that they all aspire to attend. On their return to our campus many motivated students made urgent enquiries to the student counsellor about possible career paths and university life in general.
All in all, a morning well spent.
High School students walking around the UWA Campus
Year 11 Students gravitate towards the Theory of Relativity
The trip of Year 11 Physics students to the Gravity Discovery Centre in Gingin (about 100 Km from Perth) provided additional learning experience on the Physics concepts they have learned in class. It also made them aware of the challenges and interesting possibilities a degree in the physical sciences would offer.
Students had a guided tour of the Centre’s exhibits adding to their understanding of concepts of
magnetism/electromagnetism, waves /gravity waves, motion, light/sound, the galaxy and milky way as well as some information on the latest researches/projects in the field of Physical science especially in Western Australia.
They inspected various demonstration equipment like gravity lens, breathing mirrors, chaos orbit, time coil, magnetic skate, Einstein orbit, Foucault and coupled pendulums,levitation and anti-gravity demo,and laser interferometer, to name a few.
There was also a brief visit to the Cosmology gallery - the biggest multi-media projection dome in Australia - with its geometric Penrose tiling on the floor and art works of famous artists hanging around its walls.
The excursion winded up with a guided tour of the Observatory Centre where a number of telescopes are housed, and where some students had the chance of viewing the sun. They were also treated to a film and lecture presentation about our galaxy and milky way and NASA’s two rover missions to Mars.
Everyone was starving at the lunch time. A very big thank you to David Berry, who worked very hard on the “barbie” (with his willing assistant- Mike, the bus driver) to get everyone fed their much needed lunch on time.
It was an all day activity so, most students were tired and sleepy on their trip back to the Taylors College.
Taylors College Year 11 students take a sneak peak in the Observatory Centre
Students gather for a picture at the Cosmology Gallery
Students enjoying lunch and taking in the native Australian landscapes at Gingin
Students awarded a Certificate of Excellence
Two UWAFP students who graduated from Taylors College in December 2007 were recipients of the Dean’s Award for Excellence from the Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics.
Each student was awarded a AU$1,500 cheque and Certificate for their outstanding academic achievements in UWAFP throughout 2007. Dr Kamy Cheng, Associate Dean from the Faculty sent the following letter to Taylors College to announce this fantastic news!
“Dear Taylors
Many thanks for your strong support to our Faculty of Engineering, Computing & Mathematics. In February 2008, we will have 12 students commencing at The Faculty through your UWAFP program and some with very good results.
Our Dean would like to give an award to your top two students entering our engineering course this semester. Along with the award certificate, there will be a cheque of A$1,500 for the award winning student. The students, as well as staff from Taylors College will be invited to our Faculty's Award Ceremony to be held during the first semester.
The two students are:
| Mr. CHIOU Jyh-Jye (Tony) from Taiwan |
 |
| Miss HUANG Qiu Jiao from P.R. China |  |
On behalf of our faculty, I like to thank you for your continuing support and I look forward to working closely with Taylors College in 2008.”
On behalf of the Pincipal and Taylors College staff we would like to congratulate Chiou Jyh Jye Tony and Huang Qiu Jiao on such a magnificent achievement and wish them good luck in their future studies at The University of Western Australia.
UWAFP students visit The University of Western Australia
On Feb 12th and 19th, the new foundation students had their initial orientation tour of The University of Western Australia (UWA).
The students enjoyed the benefits of visiting an empty campus prior to the commencement of the university academic year. The students were shown the facilities including library, Chancellery, main teaching areas and The International Centre and had refreshment in the student cafeteria.
As part of the program The University's International Centre organized some of their key Student Ambassadors to guide the students around the campus. The ambassadors many of whom were international students themselves were well informed and provided answers to the many and varied questions of our new and enthusiastic group of foundation students.
The foundation students have also been invited to attend the O’Day. On Friday 29th February over 4000 students flock to O’Day for the biggest campus event of the year. O’Day is an orientation festival for the University students and the general public alike, showcasing the university’s many clubs and societies and culminating with an outdoor concert on the Oak Lawn.
Students visited the new $65 million Molecular and Chemical Sciences building at UWA
Staff from the UWA International Centre provide informative campus tours for UWAFP students
Students outside the Geology and Geography Building at UWA
Chinese New Year celebration
On Friday the 8th February, the Perth Campus celebrated Chinese New Year. The students were treated with an amazing lion dance show and a feast of oranges and watermelons.
Both staff and students were excited to see the traditional lion dance, it is believed that the loud beats of the drum and the deafening sounds of the cymbals together with the face of the lion dancing can evict bad or evil spirits.
Students and staff were encouraged to wear red or bright colours to scare away bad fortune as per the tradition of Chinese New Year.
It was great to see everyone participate in this fantastic show.
UWAFY January and April 2007 results
Taylors College Perth wishes to congratulate the 2007 January and April foundation program students for their outstanding achievement.
- 75% of applicants have received an offer to study at The University of Western Australia (UWA), with the remainder of students being eligible for places at other universities and diploma pathways
- 76% of these students were offered their first preference at UWA
- 37% of the students who received an offer from UWA are destined for The Faculty of Economics and Commerce
- 5 students were offered a place in the Combined Law Programs, this probram have the highest entry requirement for UWA
The UWAFP Dux for Taylors College Perth, Mr. Anthony Lam Hui Hung from Hong Kong received an offer to study Medicine at UWA.
November Highlights at the Perth Campus
A UWAFP student with the Student Services Team
Grow a “Mo” to Raise Some Dough
“Movember”, the month formerly known as November is a nation-wide moustache-growing charity event held each November.
The event is sponsored by the Commonwealth Bank and proceeds go to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and Beyond blue.
If anyone visited the Perth Campus during the month of “Movember” they would have noticed many of the teachers and students walking around the grounds with a furry upper lip to support the efforts of raising money and awareness towards men’s medical health issues.
The event was led by the Campus’s Year 11 Co-ordinator, Marc Stoitis and the Student Representative Council. Students were encouraged to support the event by either growing their own moustache or for those who can’t or who didn’t want to, purchasing a stick-on moustache and going out into the wider community to raise money and awareness for this worthy cause.
Congratulations to all the students involved for their tremendous effort. The College raised a total of A$250.00 for the charities involved.
Taylors College Farewells the Graduating Class of 2008
On Tuesday 20th November 2007 we celebrated our UWAFP and Year 12 TEE student’s completion of their coursework with an End of Course ceremony.
The Graduation Ceremony was held at The University of Western Australia Club, with a beautiful outlook over the Matilda Bay Foreshore.
The students were addressed by the Principal, Dr. Shirley Bode and our Guest Speaker from UWA, Associate Professor Jane Long, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Teaching and Learning), who both congratulated the students and wished them well for their future endeavours. Following this, each student was called to the podium to receive their Graduation Certificate and a gift from Dr. Bode and Associate Professor Long.
Congratulation to all of the UWAFP and Year 12 students and to the following students for achieving the top marks for their coursework for their subjects.
| Accounting | LOU, Pei Yi (Louisa) |
| Biology | LAM, Hiu Hung |
| Chemistry | KWOK, Man Ho |
| Computer Science | LEUNG, Suk Kwan |
| Economics | YAP, Kai Min |
| English | GANESHANANDHA, Ruthra |
| Geography | LEE, Sum Yu Sally |
| Mathematics | LIU, Yi Xi |
| Media and Communications | KEY, Tamsyn |
| Physics | SONG, Wen |
The Principal’s Awards went to Rebecca Chin and Keith Huang.
The Dux of the 2007 University of Western Australia Foundation Program is LAM Hiu Hang.
The highlights of the afternoon students included the special performances by our own musical duo Rebecca Chin & Roy Sim followed by Tanpuch Wanwarang’s rendition of Green Day’s ‘Time of Your Life’.
Imarese Towuru then gave a valedictory address to the graduating class.
Melbourne Cup Day – The Race that Stopped the College
On Tuesday 6th November, the campus celebrated Australia’s Melbourne Cup Day.
As always the build up to promote the race that stops the nation was huge. There were hat competitions, novelty sweepstakes, and even the addition of “Taylor the horse” sent into classrooms to instill a little Australian culture and values onto the students.
The party was held in the College’s Lecture Room to watch the race with students. Many students joining in on the festivities wearing hats ranging from completely admirable to completely outrageous.
Geography students get their hands dirty in Regional WA
Last month, 23 geography students from Taylors College Perth left by bus early in the morning to put certain facets of the wheat/ sheep region of Western Australia under the microscope.
Along the way to the regional centre of Northam we visited various farm paddocks to observe the two main physical problems facing the farmers on this land: (a) the increasing rate of salinity and (b) extensive erosion despoiling fields which had been very productive in the past and now were useless for any form of agriculture. We also observed what is being done (in the long term) to rectify these problems.
The highlight of the day was undoubtedly our visit to a large crop and livestock farm at Grass Valley where farmer Angus Cooke instructed us in his anecdotal way in the intricacies of farming in Australia. No one would ever forget the way his sheep dog Blondi rounded up fifty large rams in a very large paddock and presented these rams to stand in front of the group of students only 10 metres away. Many photos were taken also of students on, in and by the huge combine harvester, tractor, seeder with bin and spreader.
The day was a very productive one where the students were able to form a much deeper understanding of not only the landscapes on the Great Western Plateau, but also of the human genius at work on the land.
Klaas Edel
Geography Teacher
Year 11 students go totally wild
Earlier this month the Year 11 students at Taylors College Perth embarked on an exciting journey to experience a small slice of the Australian outback! The excursion, to Caversham Wildlife Park, was led by teachers Andrew Bullen and Tanya Allen and Perth turned on its finest warm, sunny weather for the day.
By 10am, the adventure had begun and the group was on the road. There was a party atmosphere on the bus, with teachers organising music and games for the students, to help make time go by quickly on their 45 minute trip to Perth's outer suburbs.
As students stepped off the bus, it was like entering into another world, one without chaos, pollution or traffic jams. The scenery was so peaceful with nothing but large open fields with animals roaming about in their natural habitat.
The park was full of many different animals including rabbits, guinea pigs, donkeys and camels, but the main interest for the students were the animals that are native to Australia such as the koalas, wombats and kangaroos. Definite highlights of the trip would be going for a camel ride around the park as well as posing for photos with the wombat and koala – however having the chance to pat and feed a kangaroo was hands down the number one experience for the day!
Biology Students Experiment with the Building Blocks of Life at UWA
Recently one of the UWAFP Biology classes at Taylors College visited the University of Western Australia to undertake some practical work on Gel Electrophoresis, which ia a method used in biochemistry and molecular biology to separate DNA. The students are currently studying a unit in Genetics, and Gel Electrophoresis is a core procedure in certain fields of Genetic Engineering.
The laboratory session was conducted by Dr Patrick Finnegan, a cell biologist and Senior Lecturer in the School of Plant Biology. The students found it a most rewarding and enriching experience and it complemented and reinforced what they had been studying in class at Taylors. It also exposed them to the excellent facilities available at this university. In the fields of Science and Agriculture UWA is ranked in the top 50 in the world.
The Great Spaghetti Bridge Challenge
The competition was won by Andy Thomas and Bin Yan
UWAFP students undertaking the Mechanics unit of study were given the challenging task of constructing a Spaghetti Bridge as part of their assessment.
The bridge needed to be constructed entirely of spaghetti and any suitable adhesive that is capable of spanning a gap of 75 cm over ‘Taylors Gorge’ whilst holding a 400gram car.
A competitive element was introduced to build the best ‘engineered’ bridge with judging to be conducted by UWA’s Dr Kamy Cheng Associate Dean (International), Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics with certificates and prizes being awarded accordingly.
The results were outstanding with 24 bridges of all types appearing on judging day.
The overall winners were Andy Thomas and Bin Yan whose structure resembled the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Alvin Lim was the runner-up with a superb solo suspension bridge effort.
Congratulations to all involved for the tremendous effort and the outstanding results.
We look forward to the competition in 2008.
Overall winners Bin Yan and Andy Thomas receive their prizes from Dr Kamy Cheng
Grab a Hat...it's time to raise some money!
Raising money for Activ Foundation
The Student Representative Council organised Hat Frenzy Friday which was their very first fundraising activity for the year. From 9am onwards, students and staff were seen walking around the Perth campus wearing hats that could fit in the very glamorous, the very funky, the very silly or the very daggy categories. But it was all in the effort of raising money for a very good cause.
Selling items such as wrist bands, pens, key chains and other little trinkets the Council did an amazing job at emptying the staff and students pockets to raise money for the "Activ Foundation", a charity in Western Australia who helps to improve the lives of intellectually disabled people and their families. To finish off a really fun day, our Social Program Coordinator organised a well deserved BBQ for the students.
The students at Taylors College Perth managed to raise $789.00 making them the 2nd highest fundraising school in Western Australia for Activ Foundation.
Congratulations to everyone involved!
Happy 1st Birthday Perth campus!
This month marked a very special occasion for every one at the Perth Campus. It has now been one year since the big move from O’Connor to our wonderful new campus at UWA Claremont, and what better way to celebrate than throwing a Birthday Party!
The party which was organized by our brilliant Social Program Coordinator, Christina Andrade kicked off on Friday afternoon after classes had finished. By 1pm the courtyard was packed with over 300 students from our Taylors, Martin and Embassy programs as they gathered together to join in on the social activities, including a free BBQ lunch, and a staff vs. students volleyball match on the school oval.
The campus social committee was in full gear throughout the afternoon with our enthusiastic club leaders encouraging students to join the various clubs and societies. Students had an abundance of clubs to choose from which could have ranged anywhere from Philosophy to Frisbee Throwing. The Clubs on-campus serve to motivate and encourage students to develop new social networks and and making them feel more part of the College and UWA community.
But it wouldn’t have been a birthday without a birthday cake. Before the afternoon was officially over, students eagerly crowded around the massive cake with spoons and plates in the ready position as they sung ‘Happy Birthday’.
Before the crowds broke away our Acting Campus Director John De Reuck addressed the staff and students to mark this occasion as a very significant milestone for the Campus.
Even though it has only been one year since the relocation, the campus has moved forward in leaps and bounds. Our students now have access to fantastic new teaching facilities, which are supported by the new UWAFP program launched in October 2006. In addition to this, our students are now within 3km from the main UWA campus which allows them access to the UWA Library, on-campus accommodation and the Guild facilities.
These are only just a few highlights that have happened over the last year, and now that we are moving into 2007, the future looks very promising for the Campus and our students as they prepare themselves for the exciting challenges that lie ahead.
Students enjoy a BBQ lunch
Students challenge staff to a friendly volleyball game
Signing up to the College Social Clubs
Student 2006 Yearbook
2006 was a busy year for our Claremont campus in Perth. The recently released 2006 Student Yearbook is full of students' stories and experiences, photos of class trips, social activities and events.
If you'd like to see what Perth campus is like, the Yearbook is a must read!
Photos from the 2006 Student Yearbook
UWA Foundation Year students take over the University
On Tuesday 5th September, soon to be graduates of The University of Western Australia Foundation Program (UWAFP) visited the UWA Campus for tours of the different faculties. Fresh from finishing their Term 3 exams and one step closer to the reality of tertiary studies, the students were very keen and excited about the visit.
During the visit, the students were provided with comprehensive information about the facilities and courses available, and even had the opportunity to network with some of the key UWA faculty staff. The faculties visited included Architecture, Landscape and Visual Arts, Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Commerce and Economics, Engineering, Computing and Mathematics, and Life and Physical Sciences.
Course Director for the UWAFY, Mr David Enright organises the excursion to UWA for every intake so that students can get a distinct ‘feel’ for university life and to familiarise themselves with the UWA campus. Mr Enright added that ‘these trips also provide a source of motivation to students who have realised from the beginning that their hard work and study will yield results’.
And to the students asking for suggestions on just how to enter the University, Mr Enright enthusiastically replies “Be confident and believe in yourself, once your goals are set, everything you do from then on is either moving you closer towards them or further away.”
Students set for a 'Night Under the Stars'
On the evening of August 4 this year, over 160 students from the Perth campus gathered at the Parmelia Hilton Hotel to celebrate the biggest event on the school’s social calendar, the Annual School Ball. This year the Student Council chose the theme ‘A Night Under The Stars’.
When the clock struck 6.30pm the students arrived in their chariots looking very glamorous in their gowns and tuxedos. As they were ushered through the entry of the hotel ballroom their eyes widened as they crossed over into an illustrious setting of a picturesque summer’s night eloquently decorated with balloons, streamers, stars and glitter.
The evening was officially opened by our two MC’s Rebecca Summerfield and Ricky Keung, followed with a welcome by the students in different languages ranging from Mandarin to Portuguese. Highlights of the evening would have to include the talented performances of Mohamed Anuar Azahari and Mr Brendon Norris for their song and guitar playing duet, and a special mention must go to Anne Zhang and Angela Bat Enkh for their solo musical performances on the flute and piano. Our Brazilian students Valeska Marques and Ricardo Mayorga then took charge of the dance floor as they performed the Brazilian samba in front of the entire crowd. Congratulations also to Tom Huang and Goh Xing Zhi who were crowned as our 2006 King and Queen of the Stars.
The evening was certainly one to remember, filled with laughter, great dancing and fantastic food. As the clock struck midnight on August 5 the last candles were extinguished and thus ended one of the most successful Annual School Balls on the record.
Congratulations to our wonderful Librarian, Dorle Ruthrof and the Student Council for all their hard work and dedication to make ‘The Night Under The Stars’ a special and memorable occasion for the students and staff alike.
