Science | Sutherland Dianella Primary School

The Science Program at SDPS offers a consistent and connected practice approach across all years from Kindergarten to Year Six, incorporating the latest technologies.

The Science Curriculum is in three parts; Science Understanding aims to provide students with the knowledge of Science concepts across Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, Chemical Sciences and Earth and Space Sciences. Science as a Human Endeavour aims to build students’ understanding of ways in which people solve problems using Science, and the Science Inquiry Skills provide a framework for investigating problems including posing questions, making predictions, assessing variables and analysing results.

We facilitate open learning tasks and experiments that give students the greatest opportunity to succeed.

Science Literacies embedded in classroom practice

Science Word Walls are visible in all classrooms and relate to the current unit of work. Classroom teachers are provided with key Science language relevant to year groups to integrate/teach/expose within the classroom.

Science literacies are embedded in Guided Reading programs through Key Links, Into Connectors, Sunshine Books, Book Bank and Science Vocabulary Readers. These are mapped against each year group and Science topic.

National Science Week

2021 Theme: Food, Different by Design
Whole school incursion by ‘Bee Educated’
Teachers provided links to the Science and Design Technologies curriculum which specifically focus on the National Science Week theme

2020 Theme: Deep Blue; Innovations for the Future of our Oceans
Scitech incursion
Whole school collaborative project involving buddy classes building their own marine animal made from recycled plastic waste

2019 Theme: Destination Moon: More Missions, More Science
Popup observatory at SDPS – explicit teaching provided by astronomer
Whole school collaborative project involving buddy classes building their own ‘planet’.

Sustainability at SDPS

SolarBuddy

Solar Buddy provides an opportunity for students to connect with other people around the world.
SolarBuddy is an Australian charity with a target to gift six million solar lights to children living in energy poverty by 2030, to help them to study after dusk and improve their education outcomes. Students at SDPS have participated in assembling these solar lights which were then shipped to Papua New Guinea Students at SDPS Learn - Make - Donate

Learn: Students will learn about countries affected by energy poverty

Make: Students will make solar powered LED light packs

Donate: Our lamps were sent to students who live with the effects of energy poverty accompanied by a letter to the recipient of their light. In 2020 SDPS built and donated 50 SolarBuddy lights.