Science
The science faculty wants young students to enjoy science and have a thoroughly motivating experience.
A major concern related to the study of science is the personal safety of the students and staff. The primary requirement for safety means that Transitus science has several main aims prior to students becoming involved in learning science facts and how to solve problems. The science department instructs, and subsequently requires, young students to: become familiar with the location of a science faculty; become familiar with the layout of a science laboratory; handle equipment safely; know the science safety rules; and know how to work as part of a group when performing an experiment.
The main benefit, aside from personal safety, in achieving all of the above is that when the young student arrives as an SI pupil to the Senior School science faculty they can make an immediate start on an effective learning process.
Transitus
The course starts with an introductory unit covering measuring, planning investigations, recording data and further experience of the Bunsen burner. The course is similar in intention to both first and second year by offering the young students some experience of the three discrete sciences. The Biology unit looks at ‘living organisms’, Chemistry considers ‘matter, elements and the periodic table’ and Physics covers an introduction to ‘energy’. Towards the end of the course the young students get the opportunity to become more experienced with the use of a microscope.
Each unit does have an assessment. The assessments are not meant to be onerous and discouraging for the students but are set at a level that should allow them to demonstrate their learning. Teachers also use the assessment data to monitor the progress of the individual.