A change of teachers mid-year did not stop a trend of success in HSC Chemistry at Trinity Catholic College Auburn.
An engineering background helped Dominican Sister of St Cecilia and full-time religion teacher at the college, Sr Susanna Edmunds, bolster the student’s chemistry results and confidence in problem solving.
FORMULA FOR SUCCESS
Graduate of the Year 12 class, Benjamin Bui, topped the Archdiocese of Sydney in Chemistry.
The future optometrist will begin a degree in the subject at The University of Sydney this month.
He said the detective-type element to Chemistry questions added to the subject’s appeal.
“There are many parts that I love about Chemistry but the main part is problem solving,” he said.
“It was tough because of COVID however I was able to self-learn as well as learn from the classroom. Online learning allowed me to effectively manage my time.”
“I’m so edified by their support of each other and their perseverance through online learning” – Sr Susanna
FAITH IN SCIENCE
Sr Susanna said the practical elements of Chemistry gave students the chance to lead the discovery process, something that is harder to achieve in a catechetical class like religion.
“It was a great chance to marvel together at the wonders of creation, down to the microscopic details where we can really see God’s providence, and that beautiful harmony between faith, science and reason,” Sr Susanna said.
“They were a wonderful class, very supportive of one another and with a very healthy sense of competition, so that made it a lot of fun.”
St Susanna said she was grateful to have the opportunity to see the class pull together during the COVID lockdown period.
“It made it very easy to get up each morning and be on the other side of the computer and know they would be engaged and want to make the most of a tricky situation.”
VOCATION FOCUS
Trinity Catholic College is one of only two locations in Australia that Nashville-founded order The Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia has a presence at.
The sisters have taught mathematics, physics, history, chemistry, and religion among other subjects across years 7 to 12.