After a long term, ASP has come to an end – a lot has been accomplished and much has been learnt and experienced by all involved in the units. A HUGE HUGE THANK YOU to all the teachers and external presenters this term, without you, ASP could not happen and would not have the depth nor the richness that it does.

We were once again graced by Dr David Keatley from Murdoch University and Leigh and Sean from Huntstock Games. And many thanks to Ms Ramsay, especially for taking a group to Curtin Uni to show them Content Creation in action, and to Miss Smith for stepping in when Ms Xouris had to leave us. Also farewell to Mr Deakin who leaves us after only one Term, the boys have learnt much from you, we hope to see you in Term 3 for relief and then we wish you well in your new adventures in Term 4 and beyond.

Before I delve into the term that was a short review on a few of the competitions that we entered this term:

AMAZINGLY Aquinas took out 1st and 2nd in the state-wide Maths Have Sum Fun Online Competition. WELL DONE to Johnathan Vinci and Nishok Nimalan for their respective achievements. 12 Year 9 students competed in the international Ethics Olympiad (they were actually entered into the Senior School competition) and finished 6th out of 18 teams. Teams were from various schools around the state and international locations such as Hong Kong. Aquinas was the top-performing PSA school.

Around mid-term we had approximately 30 ASP students take part in a Model United Nations Workshop in preparation for the EVATT competition later this term, the workshop was an AWESOME experience with the UN Youth who presented it commenting on the excellent participation of all the boys! For EVATT, pairs/delegates are assigned a country and one resolution a week prior to the competition. They will then develop their stance on the prepared resolution from the perspective of their assigned country. On the day of their round, they will debate, amend and finally vote on the prepared resolution, and one impromptu resolution. The boys need to act as if they are the country, their own personal views and values do not matter – it is a test of not only their preparation but also their negotiating skills and interpersonal skills. This year we took 8 students (Year 9, 10 and 12) out to John Paul College in Kalgoorlie to compete in a regional round. This was an AMAZING opportunity. We do not find out if teams progress until all qualifying results are completed in August but our team representing Kenya were very strong having nearly all their amendments read out and passed on the day.

Two units which I ran had boys working with their hands to build a variety of things - Creative and Critical Thinking (Mousetrap Racers) and Bridge Building. Both units challenged the boys in multiple ways as the boys had to design, build, trial, test and then redesign things - they often did not go according to plan. It was interesting as the term progressed as the individuals and teams who started strong lost motivation while others who started slowly gained momentum.

Below are a few short reflections of term 3 from some of the boys:

This term the students participating in the ASP Mock Trial were excited to try a different programme for the term. The Mock Trial group is normally only for Senior School students but Mrs Monks gave Year the 7s- 9s the opportunity to try it out to see if it was for us. We have been instructed by both Ms Xouris and Miss Smith. Over the course of the term we read through four mock trials, each taking two sessions to complete, two of them were read through in a ‘courtroom’ ( a classroom with desks set up for each table in a real courtroom ). The most fun part of the two mock trials in a courtroom was that the kids who didn’t get a main role became the jury, and at the end of each case, they chose whether the accused was guilty or not.
Luka Patak
This term in Content Creation, we learnt and analysed successful and attractive content on the internet. We learnt different tips and tricks on making good content for people to see, learn or do. With Mrs Ramsay guiding and teaching us, we were able to learn how to create, edit and apply the useful tips and tricks for videos and photos for social media. Posters, infographics and the other many things for the internet to see and take interest in.
Gerard Hadianto
Over the course of Term 2, I have participated in the Video Game Design Unit. In which we learnt the basics of making our very own video games in Unity. We followed a set of videos that walked us through step-by-step how to make a space shooter game and let us add our own spins on it as we went along. And if at any point we were having issues, Mr Deakin, Sean and Leigh were always there to help. I thoroughly enjoyed this class and await its return.
Logan Prindiville
This term, myself and a group of other boys started learning how to create video games for ASP. We were given loan MacBooks to design our games on. We could take them home if we wanted to, so we could work on our game at home. We used an application called Unity where we created a type of game called a top-down space shooter which is basically a 3D version of Space Invaders. We followed a series of video tutorials which have been specially made for us by Leigh and Sean explaining the basics of creating a video game e.g Coding, adding objects to our game and making our game look nice. In class, we also had help from video game developers Leigh and Sean who created the video tutorials we were following and helped us with any questions or errors that we had. Although I am yet to finish the video game I still had loads of fun being able to learn how my favourite games were made. It was very interesting and I would one hundred percent choose video game design next year if it is an option.
Sebastian Masiello
ASP term two Conspiracy Theory was a blast. Linking with Term 1 criminology, students were tasked with working with Dr David Keatley with looking into conspiracy theories of the past. This term we looked thoroughly at the assassination of John F Kennedy and his brother Robert F Kennedy and how they link to other conspiracies. We researched and then created our own theories about what really happened and had to give evidence to support our stance. I enjoyed the conspiracy theory unit this term and am excited for next terms criminology two unit.
Jacob Della Bona
This term in Conspiracy Theory, we were asked to construct some theories on some long-standing, well-known conspiracies: Area 51 and The Moon Landing. After we discussed our theories with David Keatley, we then discussed the murder of US president John F Kennedy and his brother Robert F Kennedy. As we discussed JFK we were asked to construct our own theories about how and who killed JFK with the information given. We then moved on to JFK’s brother Robert F Kennedy and his assassination right before he may have become president of the US. We also discussed the motives behind this and how the CIA may have been involved in the killing and if they were the true masterminds.
Ibrahiem Niazi

That brings another amazing jam-packed term to an end. Thank you to all involved, now onto Term 3!

Mrs Monks, Directors Academic Scholars Programme