By Saskia

As we rapidly approach the age where we learn to drive, this Health assessment has added to and reinforced our knowledge of driving safety.

What were the biggest things you learned while at the RACbstreetsmart excursion?	I learnt about the impacts of unsafe driving practises, the stories of people who’ve been affected by accidents, and strategies to prevent those accidents
What one piece of advice would you pass on to young drivers above all else? Why?	Ease into driving slowly, don’t try new things (e.g. driving at night) without having much experience, nor feeling 100% comfortable with your current driving ability. I would pass this on to young drivers above all else as inexperience and recklessness when driving are one of the largest factors that lead to accidents
Write down a pledge that you will commit to when you start driving. Why did you pick these things to commit to? How will you stick to these commitments?	I pledge to not listen to distracting music whilst driving. This is because I often listen to a lot of music for the majority of my day, and that could be dangerous when driving. I will stick to this by replacing distracting music with either a background music playlist or silence

My Campaign to promote distraction-free driving:

In Term 2 Year 8 we had to write a letter to our Member of Parliament concerning a relevant issue that they can address. I chose the subject of climate change as I believe it is a rapidly worsening issue that the Australian federal government must address. The letter I wrote is below:

11 May 2022

Mr Steve Irons MP

PO Box 1060

East Victoria Park WA 6981

Dear Mr Irons,

I am writing to request Australia’s federal government to further address the rapidly worsening issue of climate change and renewable resources.

I am a resident of WA and I attend All Saints’ College. Even with Australia’s Net Zero Emissions goal, there is much more the Australian government can do in preserving our world for future generations.

I believe this issue is the most relevant to us today and will be devastating if left uncontrolled. Interconnection causes a chain reaction that affects agricultural and rural areas first, then ravages the economy and ultimately the entire country. The children today will have to grow up in a bleak world of the future.

The multiplying effects of climate change are deadly. Warmer temperatures due to carbon emissions make weather patterns unpredictable and extreme, increasing natural disasters. The destruction of the disasters increases the average temperature. This makes climate change both rapidly worsening and terrifying.

The global average temperature has risen by 1.2 degrees in 170 years due to the Industrial Revolution. The over-popularity of coal (due to its plentifulness, efficiency, and cheapness to manufacture) and other non-renewable resources created a rising demand for factories. Massive amounts of greenhouse gases are produced through manufacturing, causing a spike in average temperature in a minimal period. This manufacturing style – while lessening due to innovation – continues today.

It is expected if the average temperature rises by 8 degrees, billions of lives will be lost. Yet this is not a problem of the future – especially in developing countries, some families cannot feed their children as farming is impossible due to the temperatures.

Even though every citizen can get involved in solving this issue, Australia’s federal government has the best position to mitigate climate change.

We are greatly fortunate as Australia is wealthy and has a sturdy workforce. We are one of the best candidates to aid developing countries from the ruin of climate change. In the past, Australia helped Indonesia and Thailand in measuring, reporting, and verifying greenhouse gas emissions.

There is the argument that developing countries shouldn’t limit their emissions as their focus is to build GDP first. However, it is possible to increase GDP while reducing emissions. Australia can continue supporting and developing technology to aid poorer countries from climate change.

One way is to invest in batteries and carbon capture technology. Battery prices decreased by 97% in the past 30 years, and carbon capture technology is also easy to acquire. Another way is to focus a larger ratio of taxes and efforts on technology and sustainability.

Limiting unrenewable fuel/resource industries and replacing them with sustainable technology on a national level would greatly help (e.g., primarily using solar energy). Sustainable livestock farming methods would also decrease greenhouse gases.

I understand that many industries solely depend on unsustainable methods and that job opportunities and workers will decline if limited. Many believe the economy will struggle if restrictions are placed. This is as many people value monetary income – and therefore non-renewable resources’ efficiency and cheapness – over preserving our environment.

I argue that setbacks in these industries will be short-term and outweighed by essential long-term benefits to the environment. An example is that traditionally fuelled car industries shifted to electric cars. The lack of jobs will quickly be overridden by job opportunities in developing technology/other works in favour of climate change.

These methods foster improvement without sacrifice. It is possible to reduce emissions while raising GDP – for example, the Czech Republic dropped CO2 emissions by 13% and their GDP grew by 27%. Better technology not only mitigates climate change but provides growth for the economy.

There is undeniable evidence that climate change is real and relevant, and it is also undeniable that the Australian federal government is in the best position to solve it. If these actions are put into place, I believe Australia will be a sustainable and prospering place for future generations to come.

Yours Sincerely,

Saskia Catalan

1. What is the project you have been working on?  What are the success criteria for the competition (i.e. how will your video be assessed)?  You may like to include a link to your video at this point (you can upload your video to Microsoft Stream).

Our video: https://allsaintswaedu.sharepoint.com/:v:/s/8Science2022WZ-8W-LeahKatherineSaskia/EVJpD25T6ZFGsaT6HST-n2QBpBn1qVCc_IhNEqo4ZjlhbQ?e=dsrZa5

At the end of Term 1 and the start of Term 2, we split into groups to make a video for the Science Sleek Geek Competition. The theme for the competition was ‘Change’, so we composed our video on the topic of climate change. The success criteria for the competition assesses how effective our video was in communicating scientific knowledge and how entertaining it was.

• How did you organise your group? Did each person have specific roles? Did each person have the opportunity to contribute their ideas?  How would you improve your work in this aspect if you had another opportunity to repeat the project?

Our group consisted of 3 people – me, Katherine and Leah. Although we didn’t concretely agree on roles, we naturally assigned ourselves tasks based on our strengths and circumstances. For example, I was away for a few sessions, so Katherine and Leah wrote the script and storyboarded, and when I came back I did the editing of the video. I believe each person had the opportunity to contribute their ideas: we collaboratively brainstormed on an online document. We ran into one problem when working on the project: we collected inaccurate information on the causes of climate change. We could improve our work if we had an opportunity to repeat the project by checking the sources of our information again.

• Did your group have any disagreements? What strategies did you use to resolve these conflicts? How would you improve your work in this aspect if you had another opportunity to repeat the project?

Our group did not have any disagreements. I think this was because we were already good friends as we chose our own group members and we had similar priorities for the project. Everyone agreed on each idea easily and we all contributed to the project using our individual strengths.

• How did your group manage your time? Did you finish the project on time? How would you improve your work in this aspect if you had another opportunity to repeat the project?

Our group managed our time efficiently and we finished our project on time. We allocated time to do each task of the project (e.g. brainstorming, production, etc.) accordingly up to the due date. I edited on the weekends to save time. In some of the first few sessions of working on our project, we weren’t very focused on our work. We could improve our time management by diving straight into work and tackling the largest tasks that needed to be done first.

Over the span of 10 weeks, a collection of mini concrete buildings were created, forming a miniature Brutalist city. In this post, I outline the process of creation, and what this experience has taught me.

– Saskia Catalan – Project X Art Student (author)

Process of Creation – Research

The first step in the process of creation was to research the Brutalist art style. We compiled our research on a word document; we included photos of Brutalist Architecture from Europe, an Eastern Australian state and WA. The genre of brutalism can often be found in buildings – it focuses on geometrical forms using concrete to form a monochrome structure. The name comes from the ‘brutal’ aura the style gives off, it is often described as ‘inhumane’ due to its unwelcoming appearance.

The target was to complete the documentation by the first week, and I achieved that goal using organisational skills – I planned out everything I needed to research and went straight to work.

Prototyping

The next step was to create a prototype for our final concrete product. Here, we used Lego as a base to create our mould out of Pinkysil, that we would eventually pour concrete into. The Lego design would be geometric to mimic the Brutalist style. I incorporated Inquisitive and Creative skills in developing the design – I made a total of three drafts. Even though the aim was to mimic Brutalism as much as possible, I wanted to create a Lego structure that wasn’t entire random and ‘alienized’. Using problem solving, I decided to go forth with my final draft which was in the shape of a geometrical heart (see the finished product below). I am happy with my decision and I feel like the design is balanced between the Brutalist style and a symbol (love heart) that is pleasing to the eye.

Creating the Mould

After our prototype, the next step was to create the mould. Our aim was to create a ‘container’ out of acrylic board to pour the Pinkysil into, over the Lego. After the Pinkysil sets, we are left with a mould that lets the concrete set into the exact desired shape of the Lego prototype.

The ‘container’ was made of cut acrylic board and a base, along with masking tape and hot glue. First, we measured out the needed lengths and widths (we aimed to have each wall of acrylic board have a gap of 1cm between the Lego prototype) of the acrylic board using an X-Acto knife. We then used masking tape to hold the board and base in place while we secured it using hot glue.

To make sure our mould was leak-proof, we poured water into the mould and watched for any spillage. If we used the Pinkysil on the first try, we run under the risk of leaking. When pouring the water into my mould, it leaked in various places. So I used problem solving to improve my mould – I patched up all the areas that leaked using hot glue.

On my second try of testing the mould, there were no leaks. It was ready to hold the Pinkysil. First, I measured the amount of Pinkysil needed to create my mould by pouring water into the mould and measuring the capacity (how much water it held). I then mixed the required amount of Pinkysil – half of each solution, part A and part B. Once they were properly mixed with a tongue depressor, I poured it into the mould. I made sure to agitate the mould so any air bubbles with come to the surface and pop.

Forming the Concrete Creation

I waited a week for the Pinkysil to set, then I took it out and discarded the mould. It was ready for the concrete pouring. We mixed an appropriate amount and ratio of concrete powder to water. We then poured it into the mould and waited for it to set. Waiting another week once again, the concrete has set.

Taking the concrete out of the mould without it breaking was a challenge. However I used problem-solving to slightly cut open the mould using the X-Acto knife to take the concrete out easier. The creative finished product is below!

Creative: Images of the final products

My individual concrete creation with the mini concrete city in the background.

Final Words

I feel like I was organised throughout the project and met my target goals. I completed the mould and concrete creations way before the due date of term 1 – I was able to make 4 creations in total. While waiting for the concrete to set, I used the rest of my class time either helping others with the project or completing other school work.

Overall, I really enjoyed working on this project. In this term of art, I learnt all about Brutalism, including stylistic characteristics and real life examples. I also put into practise the organisational, creative, inquisitive and problem-solving skills, all of which will help me in many areas later on in life. It was fun to collaborate and help each other, and I enjoyed the creative process very much.