Lavington School D&T have designs on Mardi Gras

The Art & DT Department worked closely with the Wiltshire Scrap Store to provide a creative day for Year 7 students.  The Scrap Store equipped us with all the materials to recycle as Mardi Gras head dresses.  The students showed great ingenuity in turning industries waste into imaginative and colourful carnival costumes.  In addition to the workshops, students collaborated in small groups to create an original food dip suitable for the Mardi Gras theme.

The work focussed on the aims of : students working with an unfamiliar problem, desinging in teams and collaborating to solve problems

Well done Sutton Veney – K’Nex competition winners

NATIONAL FINALS FOR KNEX CHALLENGE – 2^ND YEAR RUNNING!

Lawrence Pitman and Anisah Rahman are due to compete in the NATIONAL final of the Knex Challenge after coming 2^nd in the South West Regional final in Yeovil on Wednesday, competing against 7 other schools.

Knex Challenge gets children to use plastic technical construction kit and Lawrence explained what the teams were asked to do:

We had to build an ant warehouse, 35cm or higher 35 cm wide and 50 cm long , with compartments for storing vegetables and stuff. ..We had to build a mechanism to open and lock two doors with something to carry the vegetables from one end of the store to the other

The judges praised Anisah and Lawrence for their entry and commented that they gained more points because the doors locked really well and the cranes reached every part of the barn
we wish the team good luck at the finals at the Imperial War Museum, Cambridge on the 15^th July.  Sutton Veny was second in the finals last year when Ben Lovell and Josh Trimm represented the school for the Knex challenge.  

(Photo’ attached)

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SEMI FINALS FOR LANGUAGE CHALLENGE

Charlie Wilks and Ralph Frostick have reached the semi final stage of this year’s Junior Language Challenge.

This unique competition was set up to give thousands of children across the country a headstart in learning languages.
Experts agree that the more practice we all have at learning a new language – any language at all – the better we become at picking up a new tongue. And the younger, the better.

 

They have spent the past six weeks learning Dutch to gain points towards a target score of 1800 qualifying for the next stage of the competition – now they have received their next disc and face the challenge of learning VIETNAMESE….

The challenge works by children playing games at random – in the chosen language – against a clock- to accrue points towards their scores.

All entrants are given a FREE Learn Dutch CD-ROM worth £25 in return for a £2.50 entry fee that goes entirely to charity.

 

All the funds raised by the JLC are donated to Thare Machi Education (formerly known as the Starfish Initiative). Thare Machi aim to bring basic education to women and children in developing countries who desperately need it, through the use of interactive lessons on hand-held DVD and MP4 players. The £5,000 raised by the 2007 Challenge will buy solar panels and enough of these players for ten schools in Uganda, with each school receiving ten players. Up to five children can use each player at one time. So last year’s JLC raised enough money to educate five hundred children at once!

 

 

A GIFT TO THE RECTOR STOLE THE SHOW!

At Thursday’s collective worship led by our Rector, John Tomlinson, he was delighted to be presented with a new white stole. It was designed and made by the schools Textile Club, led by Mrs. Sealy, Deputy Headteacher. John knew that the children at the club were planning to make him a new stole but was overwhelmed when he saw the end result. The stole design has small woven panels created by the individual children and illuminated with gold thread.

On receiving the gift John told the children that he would always treasure it and was looking forward to having an opportunity to wear it in the very near future.

John explained to the children that Rectors have a range of different coloured stoles, but white stoles were especially important because they are only worn at special times such as Christmas and Easter.

(Photograph attached)

 

 

SUTTON VENY CE PRIMARY SCHOOL INVITED TO CELEBRATORY DINNER AT WHITEHALL

Minster for Education, Jim Knight will be joining a dinner where Christine Folker has been invited to speak at in Whitehall, next week. The celebratory event has been organised by the National College for School Leadership to celebrate the third tranche of National Leaders and Support Schools who were recently selected to join the programme.

Sutton Veny School was selected to become a National Support School in  July of last year and there are now about 180 NLE’s across the country, from primary,

Secondary and special schools. Their role is to provide tailor-made support to suit the needs of each school they work with…not in a patronising way but in a constructive and professional way with each school learning from the other.

 

Building on Techlink Project

Wiltshire schools, joined schools in Bath to pilot an exciting development from the Techlink CADCAM project. Young school designers create Gas powered racing cars to race along a test track.

Click here

Electonics in Schools – Going Further course – February 2008

Wiltshire schools move onward and upwards with their development of electronics and control. In the very capable hands of tutor Torben Steeg, teachers from across Wiltshire have been exploring exciting ways to engage learners.

 

      

 

 

 

 During the course teachers made sustainable, batteryfree USB torches and buggies.

The major of the course focus was the development of learning opportunities for the pupils back in their schools, based on PICXE. The team of teachers ranged from the relatively experienced to the enthusiastic novices who were introducing elctronics into their school for the first time.

The excellent collaboration in the group was a key factor in the success of this training. This was particularly evident when they undertook evaluation tasks of  a range of electronic toy products

Another key success factor is the range of resources provided by the EIS development team thought their website and other related on-line sites: Enroll your school free and access this wealth of resources; http://www.ectinschools.org/enroll.php

Try this link for some excellent electronic product ideas;  http://www.steeg.co.uk/FSblog/

Torben Steeg’s Blog: full of up to date reviews and ideas encompassing  new technologies: http://www.steeg.co.uk/

UK Design Skills Development Plan

Many agencies including the government are revisiting the need to place real and greart value and importance on DESIGN SKILLS. Taking a step back so we can see the bigger picture we might see that many things are acting indepentantely which if brought together might actually begin to solve the problem we have in GB that Design Skills are not just creating pictures and patterns but about real world problem solving, creativity in bringing knowledge and understanding to  to create a better world. Designing skills are essential to an effective economy.

The review of the National Curriculum; recent media ocus on entrepreneurial skills; Govenrment’s aim to enhance designing skills to increse national capability competing in a grobal economy; the exponential rate of change our young persons are living with. These are all factor that provide more than adequate justifiaction for schools in Wiltshire to embrace this challenge.

To see more:

http://www.ukdesignskills.com/

We thought we knew it all about Wind Power

This site gives an insight into the ways that designers, scientists and engineers are still inventing ways to harness free energy. Perhaps you should ask your students if they can think of ways to use or develop this idea. Let them read and discuss the comments other people have made and see if they agree or disagree. Go on they will surprise you. Let them be creative.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4224763.html?series=37

Technology for Life – Challenges for schools 2007/08

 http://faraday.theiet.org/

“Technology for Life” is all about the impact that science and engineering make to the world of health.The programme is split into four topic zones, each concentrating on a specific area of engineering and technology that is helping to save lives.Each topic zone is fully integrated and packed with curriculum linked resources for 11–16 year olds to help you engage and inspire your students in STEM subjects. Click on the links below to find:

• Videos (15 mins) – introduce your students to real-world science and technology with our eye-opening short videos
• Short starter activities (10–15 mins) – quick, engaging introductions that lead you to the body of your lesson
• Main lesson activities (45–90 mins) – full lessons on each of the four topic areas with practical extension activities
• Games (10 –15 mins) – let your students take control of cutting-edge technology in our interactive games.
• Quizzes (10–15 mins) – quick, online, multiple-choice quizzes containing questions about the videos and curriculum subject matter
• Challenges – compete with other schools, to win £££s in our lesson-based challenges and vote online for your favourite entries.

Institute of Engineering and technology PrizeFour regional WinnersSchool wins £5000.Students win £500.Students win three places on a three day engineering course.Students take part in the filming of four ‘Faraday returns’ videos with leading scientists and engineers. Eight regional runners upSchools win £1000 and an engraved Faraday bust.Students win £500 (to be divided equally amongst each member if entering as a team).National Winner Announcements to be made at the final venue on 2nd April.Audience prize A prize will be awarded to the audience winner (entry with the highest online voting score).

Electronics in Wiltshire Schools

 Regional EISS Hub Centre setup. -  (Winter 2007) 

In partnership with Wessex SETpoint a support HUB Centre is being set up to provide a focus for the teaching of electonics and control. The centre will ;

*  organise group sessions for teachers to share and develop good practice and resources

* encourage on line communications between schools and teachers

* organise further training and development for teachers in the region. 

Electronics in Schools Scheme - EISS

Work has been developing in 8 Wiltshire schools through the Electronics in Schools Scheme EISS which began in November 2006.

The scheme is focussed on creating exciting ways to develop teaching and learning in electronics and control. After two days of intensive, high quality, training provided by Torben Steeg (for EIISS) teachers set off to create their own PIC based electonic and control for their schemes of work. This work has been submitted to EISS and is now availble throught the different links listed below.

We are now planning to build on this excellent beginning by:

1) Setting up a regions EISS ‘Hub’, in partnership with the Weesex SETPOINT at Bath University, to support the sharing of good practice and to provide future INSET for schools in the region.

2) Running ‘Going Further’  in electonics and control INSET for the  8 Wiltshire schools

3) Running ‘Getting Started’in electonics and control INSET other interested schools

Check out work from some Wiltshire schools

Bradon Forest:

http://www.school-portal.co.uk/GroupHomepage.asp?GroupID=91732

This link will get you to the photographs of Year 9 Electronic Products projects

Menu on left side of page has range of pupil help sheets.

 St Augustine’s Catholic College

This elcetronics work has also been selected for inclusion to the QCA materials on their website 

http://curriculum.qca.org.uk/curriculum-in-action/casestudieslibrary/case-studies/Engaging_electronics.aspx

http://www.st-augustines.wilts.sch.uk/departments/?cid=67

http://www.mrwalsh.co.uk/

Electonincs in Schools Website

Contains brilliant examples and case studies,  more resources than you could ever use from schools who have undertaken curiculum developments through the EISS initiative nationally.

http://www.electronicsinschools.org/