PLC Armidale students held their own at the recent International Student Science Conference(ISSC) held for the first time in New South Wales, hosted by our sister school, PLC Sydney.
Founded in 2005 with an initial six member schools, the ISSC seeks “to bring together students from around the world in a shared science and cultural experience”.
Over the course of five days, eight of our high-performing Year 10 and 11 Science students were selected to join with students from Germany, India, Italy, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the oldest all-boys school in Tasmania, The Hutchins School, to explore the theme Bright Minds Shine a Light.
Together the group attended some amazing workshops with leaders working at the forefront of modern science and presentations from fellow students on a vast array of topics.
We asked each of our representatives to tell us about one day of the tour and their highlights.
Year 11 students Bella Waters and Anviti Sinha outlined the weekend of sightseeing for us and said the impact of the trip “not only further inspired us to facilitate a career in STEM in the future, but also gave us the opportunity to meet others, who we hope, will be lifelong friends with similar interests and aspirations. It was an experience to remember!”
” Saturday was the welcome to Sydney, where we visited many of the tourist hotspots. Firstly, we walked to Observatory Hill, then made our way down to The Rocks Discovery Museum and The Rocks Markets. We got to learn about the historical developments of The Rocks area, and were treated to some lollies at Sticky. We then made our way to Circular Quay, and visited the Opera House. Then, we ate lunch at the Botanic Gardens, later getting an in depth tour. We then made our way to PLC Sydney, watching a lighting and fireworks display after hopping on a few fair rides. Overall, this day was a fun opportunity to meet all of the people and create friends overlooking amazing Sydney hotspots.
On Sunday, we spent the day at Taronga Park Zoo, having the opportunity to learn about all of the animals we saw with our zoo guides. We walked around in teams led by expert zoologists, exploring Sydney’s scientific conservation zoo. The ferry ride to the zoo was exciting in itself, driving past the Opera House and Harbour Bridge (which we walked over on the Saturday). In the evening, we had our cultural presentations, which was an amazing opportunity to learn about all of the different cultures represented by not only the international students, but also the local Aussies. We got to taste some delicious treats and took some tokens to keep, learning dances and games as well. This was an amazing experience, full of many laughs.”
