From The Junior Secondary
Head of Department
With Ben Rutherford
In week 3, Toolooa State High School played a pivotal role in the success of the local drone competition, organised by the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA) and supported by ConocoPhillips Australia at Yaralla for both primary and secondary schools in our area. The 'STEM Squad,' comprised of 17 dedicated students, showcased exceptional leadership and teamwork, ensuring the event ran smoothly over the two action-packed days. These students were instrumental in facilitating competitions, assisting 140 young science and technology enthusiasts from around Gladstone in their drone events, providing hands-on support, technical know-how, and served as fantastic judges throughout the competition.
I am immensely proud of the students, whose commitment and enthusiasm were key to the competition’s success. Their ability to work cohesively as a unit and provide guidance to the younger participants truly exemplifies the spirit of Toolooa State High School. Without their hard work and dedication, the event would not have achieved the high standard it did. A big thank you also goes to our STEM Squad teachers, Mr. Bailey and Mr. Jones, who gave up their time to organise, set up, and supervise the competition and to Sara Hensley from QMEA for ensuring that we were able to have the competition in the first place!
As a focus for STEM drones are becoming a very serious component of industry, and it is fantastic to have the opportunity to host and support local schools in the building and demonstration of their students’ skills. Visitors from industry attended the event and ConocoPhillips Australia stated the following about the challenges and outcomes of the day:
“Some of these challenges reflect real scenarios, like the supply of logistics or a safety inspection, so it was a real opportunity for our team to share that context with the students.”
“There is a big demand for STEM-skilled workers in our industry, so we wanted to let them know about the possible exciting careers they could have if they followed a technology study path.”
I hope to see all these schools in the competition next year and look forward to having teams as closely matched as they were this year again. It was an amazing day full of amazing students!
Mr Rutherford
Head of Junior Secondary Maths and Science