STEM Leaders

We are thrilled to be working with Caitlyn Evans, Yzabel Mariano and Jess Comas as our STEM Leaders for 2025. Our STEM Leaders are passionate about promoting STEM at Kilbreda and engaging all students in STEM subjects and extracurricular activities. Caitlyn has introduced herself below. To learn more about Yzabel, please head over to the Digital Technologies article.

Student Introduction

Hi, I’m Caitlin Evans and I am so excited to be one of the STEM Leaders this year. The STEM subjects I am currently studying are Data Analytics, Physics, and General Mathematics. 

Some of my favourite STEM memories from my time at Kilbreda are the day at Luna Park for Physics and all of Year 10. The excursion to Luna Park was an incredible experience that I am so grateful I got to be a part of. We had an amazing day going on all the rides and answering some questions in between them. Year 10 was full of great memories. The science electives were really interesting, and we got to do a lot of fun practical classes. I really liked Maths in Year 10 – I found the topics enjoyable, and I did well at them which always makes school more pleasant. Programming, Gaming and Web Design was definitely a highlight from the year. I have always loved programming and making games, so I enjoyed that part of the subject. I also discovered that I love web design, so I was always excited to go to class because I knew I would have fun. 

I think that STEM is important for young women because women are so under-represented in this area. The number of women who study STEM subjects and pursue careers in STEM is so much smaller than the number of men who do. So many people think that women aren’t as good at STEM as men, but it isn’t true. We are just as good, if not better! New pathways in STEM are constantly being created as modern technology evolves and it is important that young women get involved and erase the harmful stereotypes. I hope that this year I can help encourage more girls to continue STEM subjects and see just how great they are. 

Caitlyn Evans

Year 12

Luna Park Excursion

I would like to express my gratitude to Jacinta Devlin for taking the Year 12 Physics class to Luna Park, where students had the opportunity to apply various concepts discussed in class, such as gravitational potential energy, spring potential energy, momentum and friction. Thank you to Carole Downie for driving the Physics class to and from Luna Park (and for participating enthusiastically on many of the rides).

Student Reflection

On Tuesday 4 March, our Year 12 Physics class went to Luna Park to learn about motion in a fun, hands-on way. The weather was perfect for us to enjoy different rides, like the roller coasters and spinning rides, and to see how forces and acceleration work in real life. On some rides, we felt heavier or lighter, which helped us understand things like gravity and energy changes. We also timed rides and looked at how fast they moved to connect what we learned in class to what we experienced. This trip really helped us understand the physics behind amusement park rides and relate what we had learned in class to real-world examples.  It was a fun way to see physics in action and made the topic much more interesting.

Helena Siliga

Year 12

Around the Labs

Our Year 11 Biology students are shown below conducting a practical investigation into the surface area to volume ratio of various-sized blocks of agar jelly. They can be seen painstakingly measuring, cutting and re-measuring their tiny jelly cubes. These blocks were immersed in hydrochloric acid and turned clear as the acid diffused into the block. The degree of diffusion that occurred in each block was measured and expressed as a percentage of the total volume. This prac models what takes place when cells grow larger and struggle to absorb nutrients effectively. It forms part of an assessment task in which students will apply their knowledge to analyse the results and evaluate the practical method.

Sarah Chuck

Learning Leader: Science