Australia's Science Forum

Hi everyone, I need to write a list of things we do apart from the the day to day orders and general doing stuff for teachers. Things like the chemical register or cleaning all the electrodes or fixing broken leads. The sort of thing you don't have time for every day but need to do to keep things ru...

Well done.
Lets hope they stop and think before they ask next time.
Helen

We have been enjoying our refurbed labs for all of this year but on a number of occasions I have reported the slight smell of gas. Often the teachers couldn't smell it but they sent a plumber out to check and he said it was all ok. Last week it happened again and one of the teachers could smell it s...

Interesting that yours is different Noona. It would certainly be easier for the plumbers this way as they have just run the gas pipe through from the lab next door I guess. I wonder if the plans were changed or they just did it the easy way. Must have a look at the drawings. I still feel it is a bit...

Hi Everyone, I used the gas taps on the bench in my new prep room for the first time yesterday. Went to use them today and no gas. Checked the tap under the bench and it was turned on. Tried again a little later and it was working. I don't have an emergency isolation switch in the prep room apart fr...

In DET schools everything gets tested and tagged in our area. I don't organise it but someone turns up and we have to pull everything out for testing. It's a bit frightening how they always find a few things that are dangerous. I can't remember if it is once a year or every two years. One time they ...

So glad you weren't seriously hurt but you should have your hearing checked just in case. It must have given you such a shock. At another school I worked at a child stole a piece of dry ice and was taking it home on the bus it a bottle when it exploded. Luckily no one was hurt but the bus company un...

Tried dissolving the milk powder first but that didn't work either.
When I looked at the date on the pack it was way out of date.
It must become less soluble as it gets older as the new pack I bought worked beautifully.
Helen

I have also never heard of this group. SETA
Should we all be members?
Is there any one out there who has joined?
Helen

The bio teachers have asked me to make some agar plates with milk powder.
I had a recipe but the milk powder has not dissolved and I have bits floating around in the agar liquid.
Looks disgusting.
Any ideas?
Helen

We have two year 12 Senior science classes and two year 11 so not sure what will happen to all the kids who want to do a less taxing science.
I haven't read the info yet so can anyone tell me if EES is still there?
Helen

Hi everyone,
During all our refurbishments I have lost the number for John Read who used to do our repairs.
Does any one know if he is still working?
If so does anyone have a number for him?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Helen

We have also had problems with faulty goods. I ordered some new light boxes and when we got them not one of them was put together properly so they didn't work. Serrata did fix them but they were gone for weeks being repaired. We are still waiting for microscope slides ordered months ago. I have spok...

One of our cleaners wrote "Please put up Chairs" in huge writing on our smart board. I tried using the whiteboard cleaning solution we had on a small bit in the corner and it worked. It is called NEW LIFE whiteboard cleaning solution. Maybe you could try it on a little bit first as the boa...

Thanks Rosalie.
Glad it was fun.
I live in hope our prac. exams won't be the same week as the conference one year.
Helen

Hi Everyone,
I was not able to go to the conference last year. Am I right in thinking there was an excursion to Penrith lakes?
If so were there any notes that some one could send me?
Thanks,
Helen

Our number is:
Fax 9869 8521
Helen Larsen
Cheltenham Girls' High School

We had 4 labs done initially and tried to timetable essential senior prac. work into the other 3 labs. I spoke to the teachers a few months before and asked them to swap around the order of junior topics so no chemistry was done with juniors during the time the 4 labs were out of action. I then kept...

Thanks.
I think they are working it out between them and I found some old streamwatch stuff which is useful.
Helen

Hi Everyone, We currently have a new teacher and a casual teacher taking year 12 chemistry classes (lots of fun for everyone). Can anyone tell me what experiments they do for water testing? Neither of the teachers seem too sure and I can't remember what they did last year. We have turbidity tubes bu...

Thanks everyone,
I have some beef stock cubes and some gelatin so will give it a go with one of those.
Helen