Boonah SHS lands national STEM award
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 128, 8 November 2023, page no.6
Boonah State High School, a small country school in South East Queensland, has won the 2023 Australian Educator Award for best STEM program in Australia, ahead of eight other government and non-government schools from across the country.
Jason Smith, head of science and Lead Union Rep at Boonah SHS and President and Council delegate for the Fassifern Branch, said that the award was recognition for three years of developing STEM capability, both within the school and throughout the western Scenic Rim.
“I think that the main keys to our success were that we took a school-based interest group and spread it to our feeder primary schools, and that we got so many of our students involved, especially our girls”, Jason says. Jason also attributes growth in enrolment in the sciences in years 11 and 12 to the engagement that the program has fostered.
It all started with a couple of passionate science teachers, Megan Scougall and Katherine Chisholm, who began by running lunch-time activities for younger students in the school. Before long, year 11 and 12 students were getting involved in running the sessions, developing their leadership skills as well as their own science knowledge. Ably assisted by scientific operations officer Katherine Saunders, the program grew to be a weekly event with daily activities during Science Week.
Megan and Katherine were able to connect with the University of Queensland to enrol the senior students in the Science Ambassador program, which opened up opportunities to participate in camps and other university programs. By 2023, students were participating in STEM Girl Power camp, (Future Experiences in Agriculture, Science and Technology (FEAST) at Gatton campus, and in the Junior Physics Olympiads.
When Griffith University offered a similar ambassadorship program, it was seen as an opportunity to involve the year 9 student leaders as well. They have since attended STEM events at the Gold Coast and Nathan campuses.
In 2022, Megan and Katherine explored the possibility of taking the program on the road to the local primary schools, and the Boonah SHS STEM Roadshows were born. The primary schools were excited to invite the older students in, and the first round of visits began in Term 3 of 2022. Due to the study load of the year 12s, this was mostly led by year 11 students, which was beneficial to them as they transitioned to become the school leaders.
By 2023, the word was out in the local community and demand for the roadshows was so high that more visits were organised, and more students had to be recruited to run the program. By the end of Term 3, the groups consisted of students from years 11, 10 and 9, allowing the younger leaders to learn from the more experienced students. By this stage, more teachers had also become involved, making it a real team effort.
Jason said: "We still haven’t visited every school in the catchment that has invited us, and we have even been contacted by a local childcare centre to come and spread the love of STEM to the little ones.
“What makes me proudest is that we have built this program with very few resources and do everything on a shoestring, yet we, a small regional school, have been recognised ahead of some of the most well-resourced schools around Australia” says Jason. “It just goes to show the strength of our state schools and the talent and passion in our teachers, who show up every day to do their best for their students, often working with limited resources.”
Jason Smith, QTU Council Rep and Head of Science and Digital Technology, Boonah SHS