Class 12 Colour and Light Main Lesson

The Winter Festival is a time of celebration where we reflect on our relationship with light across the changing seasons. 

In the six weeks leading up to this event, the two Class Twelve splits have encountered the Colour and Light Physics Main lesson, exploring both the lawful nature of light and the deep emotional responses it can evoke in humans through colour. After completing blacking out their classroom to ensure the best environment for their experiments, the class examined light and colour from the perspectives of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Sir Isaac Newton. Both great minds investigated the phenomenon of light, each bringing their unique understanding of the natural world.

By replicating Goethe’s method of immersion and several of the experiments he conducted, students gained an appreciation for the impact that light and each of the colours has on humans. They made observations of light at sunrise and sunset and explored human temperaments and the use of colours in advertising.  This all contrasted with the Newtonian experiments, using light boxes with mirrors and prisms to formulate the lawful and mathematical rules of reflection, refraction, chromatic dispersion and lenses. Finally, they reflected on the emotional impact of studying light and colour from each of the Newtonian and Goethean perspectives and considered how each view helped to shape their personal connection to these phenomena.

Their Main Lesson culminated with the creation of their final Winter Festival lantern, designed to both honour their Steiner school journey and showcase their understanding of light and colour. Class Twelve could be seen joyfully carrying their lanterns on their final spiral walk, before exchanging them for the spectacular fire sticks that they passed onto Class Seven.

Brett Kranz-Little
HS Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy Teacher

Class 12 Projects

Cedar Adams Practical - Invitation to participate

Esteban Parker-Holland

Hi, my name is Esteban Parker-Holland, and my project question is

“What environmentally sustainable design and eco-friendly materials available in Australia are best for passive home design?”

My project began in December 2024, when I started thinking about a topic for Year 12 as the year was coming to an end. I chose my topic within a month and began organising visits to see shipping containers so I could understand them inside and out. I wanted to build a tiny home out of a sea container, as I was also looking into the current housing crisis we are facing today.

However, I ran into some problems.  I didn’t have a property to support my plans, so that entire idea had to be set aside. At this point, I felt a bit panicked, as I had no idea what to do next. I had a meeting with my mentor, Matt Wallwork, and he mentioned an insulator called SIPs (Structurally Insulated Panels), which are panels that function as both insulation and wall in one. That sparked a new idea: I would design a passively built house.

Passive design basically means using ecological materials and techniques to make living as cost effective and comfortable as possible. So, designing homes with these techniques in mind, for example, the orientation of your building, the location of your windows and doors, the framing of the building, what the walls and floors are made of.

Over the year I have been to conferences, show rooms and design offices.  I’ve also been to the SIPS factory in Bibra Lake where I met Rob Vis, the owner. The reason I am invested in this topic so much is because I’ve always been taught not to use air conditioning because it is a luxury item. It can get very expensive, so I was taught not use it if possible. However, after moving to Geraldton in 2020, the heat was sometimes unbearable, and we were forced to use the air conditioner. What I now know is that if I still lived in Geraldton in a passive house, I’d only need a fan to stay cool, as the SIP panels act as excellent insulators against both summer heat and winter cold.

I’m quite excited to get started on the next phase of the project, creating my own passively designed model house, and bringing my ideas into reality. Thanks for reading.

Layla Cowan

Growing up I have always loved music; I began playing guitar around the age of six and I started singing when I was nine. From there my love of music grew. Towards the end of year 10 I started writing a lot of music and I had this dream of releasing an album. So naturally, when it came time for me to start my year twelve project, it had to be about music.

My project has been practical based from the start, as I knew I wanted to record and release music, so I had to build my question around it. After being in between ideas for weeks and weeks, I eventually came to the question:

“How do we record and release music now in the digital age, and how does social media influence this?”

As I have always been passionate about music, I thought that this would be a breeze of a topic. But the more I researched, the more I found that I really didn’t know that much at all. Looking into the music industry I found a lot of mistreatment of artists, some of which made me question whether or not this is the industry I want to get into as a future career. I found that majority of record labels treat their artists as money makers rather than actual people. They are viewed purely as a product that brings them the money the record companies are so hungry for. This seriously made me rethink how I want to go about recording music in the future. I know now that I would rather stay an independent musician rather than get signed by a big music production company.

For the practical component of my project, I will be recording and releasing a five-song EP, featuring original music written entirely by me. This is a lengthy process that involves writing both the lyrics and instrumental parts—including piano, guitar, percussion, vocal harmonies, and other necessary sounds. Each element will be recorded separately, then mixed, edited, mastered, and ultimately released on Spotify

For the social media part of my topic, I will evidently be starting up a social media page on Instagram and possibly TikTok, on which I will be posting covers, originals and the process of creating my EP. As the last component of my practical, I will be doing a live performance of a few of my originals.

I am very excited to be sharing all of this, as it is something I have dreamed of doing for years. Being able to do this as part of a school project is an opportunity I am very happy to have been involved in over the last number of months.