Perth Waldorf School eNewsletter

High School - Class 11 & 12

Class 11/12 Human Biology Excursion

On Monday 26^th May the 11/12 Human Biology elective class went on an excursion to the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research.

This year, after learning about cell biology and stem cells, the students have spent term 2 researching the cellular processes behind cancer development and treatment.

Their excursion to the Harry Perkins was an opportunity to see how biomedical students and professional researchers use this cellular knowledge to develop and test new treatments for cancer and other illness such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and rare genetic illnesses.

The students learned about treatment breakthroughs, including personalised medicine developed through understanding an individual's DNA, the stimulation of adult cells back into stem cells and the use of lab-grown “organoids” to help our understanding of disease processes and efficacy of treatment.

Class 11 and 12 students showed impressive curiosity, asking fantastic questions and showing their laboratory skills when growing and staining liver stem cells in the wet lab.

Suzie Moore
HS Human Biology Teacher

Class 11 Chemistry Main Lesson

In Class 11, students begin their journey into the unseen world of Chemistry. They begin by looking at how the theory of elements has evolved through time from the original Air-Earth-Fire-Water proposed by the eccentric Empedocles up to the 118 discovered and manufactured chemical elements we have today.

They delve into how the atomic model was developed in a time when photography and microscopy could not offer any insights to these structures and how the structure of the atom confers the properties of all elements and compounds that we see around us today.

They learned safe lab practice doing experiments such as electrolysis of copper chloride, precipitation of lead iodide (Golden Rain), calcium in water.

Students were able to observe the ground-breaking splitting water to form hydrogen and oxygen and learned of the important historical context of this which ended the age of Alchemy.

They finally were able to see how properties, such as differing reactivity of elements, can be applied to useful practical situations such as the thermite reaction on railway lines and extraction of iron from ore.