Coding and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) help young people to learn to think creatively, reason systematically and work collaboratively, which are essential skills for life.

Coding is taught in all grades at Walcha Central School. Bee Bots, which are a type of floor robot, are used to introduce the language of programming.

Kindergarten to Year 2 use the Bee Bots to navigate grids through a sequence of instructions. Years 3-6 are beginning to learn the language of Scratch, which is a visual block based program.

Through Scratch, students can make an interactive story, build a game or make a short animation.

Robotics are being further developed in the secondary department through the use of Sphero, Lego Evo 3 and Edison.

This year teachers are embracing Project Based Learning which puts students in charge of their own learning. One form of project Based Learning is STEM which focuses on science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Primary and Secondary teachers have been provided with opportunities to team teach which enables teachers to share their skills and passion with the students and enhances the project based learning experience.

Walcha Central School has opened up communication with the University of New England and now has regular visits from lecturers in various fields coming to mentor both teachers and students mainly in the areas of STEM.

A Drone program is currently being developed to commence in Term 3.

The school has set a budget to buy drones and is developing a program that will be open to secondary students.

There are many different ways that drones can be used in the workforce and Mr Shaun Taylor is seeking feedback from prospective employers about how they see drones being used and what skills they would like students to have in this area.

The school is continuing to build their bank of iPads and laptops across the school.

There are currently 56 iPads in use in the primary and are available for secondary staff to access. The school also has two class sets of laptops and two computer labs that can be accessed by students across the school.

The school has an open Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy. Students are able to bring their own devices to school and have access to the school network, internet and printers.