ICT

WELCOME TO THE ICT DEPARTMENT

Firstly, I would like to introduce the McKinnon family to our new ICT teacher, Mr Lony Hem. He started with McKinnon Secondary in January 2026 and is already an invaluable member of the ICT faculty. A little about Mr Lony Hem:

“My name is Lony Hem, and as a new staff member, I'm thrilled to be joining the McKinnon community. I teach across Mathematics, Science, Physics, ICT, Software Development, Robotics and Engineering, and I'm genuinely passionate about every one of those areas.

If there's one thing that defines how I operate, it's that I love problem-solving. I get a real kick out of pulling apart a tough maths question or figuring out why a piece of code isn't behaving. That energy carries into my classroom. I want students to experience that same satisfaction of working through something difficult and coming out the other side understanding it properly.

My background blends analytical thinking with hands-on technology. As a hobby, I’ve built applications, built and programmed robots and developed smart devices from scratch. I've also run extension programs in coding and mathematics for younger students, which taught me a lot about making complex ideas accessible. I bring real world context into lessons wherever I can, because students engage more deeply when they can see why something matters beyond the classroom.

I'm also genuinely interested in where education is heading. Artificial intelligence, automation and emerging technologies are reshaping how we live and work and I am a person who is actively engaged with that shift rather than watching it from a distance.

In terms of classroom culture, students tend to describe my lessons as relaxed and entertaining. I use humour to keep things light and approachable, but underneath that there's clear structure and high expectations. I'm data oriented in how I track progress and I prioritise giving feedback that is timely, specific and useful. Students always know where they stand and what to work on next.

Outside of school, my interests mirror my professional life closely. I spend my time on robotics, coding and mathematics. Beyond this I also love ice skating even though I’m still new to it. I'm someone who enjoys building things, refining skills and pushing into unfamiliar territory.

I'm looking forward to getting to know the McKinnon community, learning from you, contributing where I can and being part of a school that clearly values excellence”

Mr Lony Hem 

At McKinnon Secondary, Mr Hem teaches Digital Technologies, Math Methods, Robotics and Coding. If you see him, please welcome him and say “Hello”.

GROK LEARNING COMPETITION

As a part of the ICT faculty, we offered a self-paced learning platform where students have been experiencing the joys of learning to code in a variety of ways: Block Coding and Python. 

We have a few students who are on top of the challenge with only twelve days remaining. As a recap:

BLOCKLY. COMP (NEWBIES)

Perfect for young beginners learning to code visually with blocks.

Learn how to program in a fun and friendly Blockly visual environment while you compete with students from around the world! You can also see how your programs look in Python.

The Newbies stream is designed for students with no prior programming experience. It is most suited to students in junior secondary school (ages 10—14).

BLOCKLY. COMP (BEGINNERS)

Perfect for beginners of all ages learning to code visually with blocks. 

Learn how to program in Blockly visual environment while you compete with students from around the world! You can also see how your programs look in Python.

The Beginners stream is designed for students with no prior programming experience. This level is most suited to students in junior secondary school (12 - 16-year-olds) or anyone who wants to start with the basics.

PYTHON.COMP BEGINNERS

Perfect for beginners of all ages learning to code with text. 

Learn to program in Python while competing with students from around the world! 

The Beginners stream is designed for students with no prior programming experience. This level is most suited to students in junior secondary school (12 - 16-year-olds) or anyone who wants to start with the basics.

PYTHON.COMP INTERMEDIATE

Perfect for students with some previous coding experience. 

Improve your Python programming while you compete with students from around the world! 

The Intermediate stream is designed for students who have either completed the Beginners stream in a previous year or the Introduction to Programming (Python) or Python for Beginners course or have some other prior programming experience. 

This stream is targeted at students in middle secondary school and above (14 - 18-year-olds), but experienced junior students will also enjoy it.

If any of these are of interest to you, please feel free to contact myself before the start date of these competitions. 

The competitions end on Sunday 22 March.

There will be more opportunities to participate in the Grok challenges later in the year. If design and creativity are more your thing, then you will enjoy the web.Design Challenge. Keep an eye out for upcoming competitions and events.

A LOOK INSIDE WHAT YEAR 9 HAS TO OFFER

YEAR 9 ROBOTICS ELECTIVE

As part of our Year 9 Robotics elective, the students have been learning about the technicalities of robotics in industry and beyond. The students have also been gaining hands-on experience using the VEX robotics, learning to build the basebot for it to be adapted to carry out tasks, and using the VEX platform to code the robot to work both autonomously and maneuvered using the controller. The students have also been applying their design thinking skills to adapt and design a contraption to simulate a search and rescue mission. Testimonials from students will be in the next newsletter. 

Testimonials from Year 9 Robotics Students:

“In Robotics, students have been learning how to connect and programme robots, from simple basebots to more complex versions with arms and claws for lifting. They are specifically programmed to interact with blocks, starting off simply by pushing them out of an area to then making blocks stack on top of each other. 

Students have started off learning how to simply code the drivetrain of basebots, making them push blocks off a mat. We then learnt how to use the distance sensor, which detects an object at a distance, and the optical sensor, which detects colour at close range. Students then rebuilt the basebot into a 'clawbot', which has an additional claw attached to use for lifting and carrying objects.”

Sachiel Shrestha, Year 9 

Hello! My name is Haenel Cha, and I strongly recommend picking Robotics as an elective in Year 9. Robotics is an extremely fun elective where you code your VEX bot to complete challenges as efficiently and effectively as possible. Personally, my favourite part about Robotics is the problem solving part as I love pushing myself to efficiently complete the objectives. Robotics is more than just playing around with robots, it's a subject which encourages your imagination and challenges you to think and find an effective solution. Robotics is such an amazing subject and I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I do.

Haenel Cha, Year 9 

Hi everyone! My name is Tony, and I think Robotics is a really fun elective to take in Year 9. In this class, you get to work with VEX robots and learn how to program them to complete different challenges. My favourite part of Robotics is experimenting with different ideas to see what works best. Sometimes the code doesn’t work the first time, which can be a little frustrating, but it’s really satisfying when you finally figure it out and your robot does exactly what you wanted it to do. Robotics isn’t just about building or coding robots. It also helps you improve skills like problem-solving, creativity, and patience. You get to think through challenges, try new solutions, and learn from your mistakes along the way. Overall, Robotics is a really enjoyable subject where you can learn about technology. If you’re thinking about your electives, I would definitely recommend giving Robotics a try!

Tony Ahn, Year 9

YEAR 9 CODING ELECTIVE

As part of the coding elective, students explore the basics of algorithms. Using what they learn, students will navigate the world of coding, gaining experience using Python to create programs, applying their critical and creative thinking skills in order to solve teacher-provided problems. This allows students to problem-solve using logical reasoning. Students will then extend their learning using their Python programming skills to create web apps using Anvil.

YEAR 9 ICT ELECTIVE

As part of our Year 9 ICT elective, students experience and explore the Adobe Suite, more specifically, applying their creative talents to designing and creating images using a multitude of practical hands-on skills, from layering to masking, generating animated GIFs and much more, before moving on to designing and creating websites using Dreamweaver. These practical skills enable students to capture and show off their creative flair whilst embedding file management, independent learning and thinking skills.

Warmest regards,

Ms Mary Ho

ICT Learning Area Manager