Prospect School Newsletter S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 Theme of the Week - Catch up from last Term I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : Bloodhound SSC Bloodhound SSC 1 & 2 Inventors of the future 3 Building Bridges 4 End of Year 2014/15 House Points PE Extra Curricular Activities 2015/2016 Maths Puzzle of the Week 5 6 7 Back in February, approximately120 Prospect students spent the day at The John Madejski Academy, to learn about the Bloodhound SSC project. This is a UK led attempt to achieve a land speed record of 1000mph in a rocket powered car. During the day, students took part in a variety of different STEM workshops led by members of the Bloodhound SSC team. These included: building air-fuelled rocket cars to see which could travel the furthest; calculating the velocity of a moving car using computer aided programmes and learning more about the Bloodhound SSC project and it s team.
P A G E 2 The students all commented on what a fantastic and interesting day it had been and we wish the group lots of luck in their attempt to break the World Land Speed Record of 1000mph later this year. In addition, the students who built the rocket car that travelled the furthest will have their names printed on the tail fin of the Bloodhound SSC when it is built this year. The best engineers on the day were: Catalina Gomez, Dontae Small, Maariya Shabir and Umm-E-Farwahzamaan. These students were presented with their certificates in Year 7 assembly by Dr. McCavish. More information about the project can be found here http://www.bloodhoundssc.com/project
Inventors of the future P A G E 3 All Year 9 students were involved in a STEM day, which was led by different members of the science, maths, technology and art departments at school. It began, for many, with a presentation in the sports hall where the objectives for the day were given and information regarding the creation of the Dyson brand was shared. Students were then asked to work in groups to design and build a fully functioning hoover, using a variety of different materials and parts. They had two hours to do this, with some members of the groups focusing on the design and build and others concentrating on the brand, logo and advertising. The design brief stipulated that the hoover must have a Unique Selling Point. Suggestions included being child or pet friendly or being fully water-proof. The students, however came up with much more interesting ideas for their USP, which largely centred around attaching a mobile phone to the hoover to allow users to listen to music and answer calls whilst hovering up! The students created some fantastic designs during the day and some even incorporated their study of German into their final product, giving it a German name and brand. In the afternoon students were given the opportunity to pitch their prototype to a panel of experts. The first member of the panel was Mr Line, who enjoys hovering and was keen to find out how the hoover could be of particular benefit to him. The second expert was Mr Simms, who was invited to take part in the whole day; in the morning to watch the students build their designs and in the afternoon to judge. Mr Simms is a mechanical design engineer and senior research fellow at the University of Reading. During his career he has worked for Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, British Aerospace and Gillette and he has been awarded 26 patents for new products that he created. He was also a student at Prospect School.
P A G E 4 As part of the Year 9 STEM day some students were also given the opportunity to take apart and rebuild a Dyson hoover, focusing on the design of the machine. This was led by Mr Fuller on the Loddon building. And finally Building Bridges In June approximately 60 students from two Year 7 groups experienced a science lesson with a difference an insight into the world of Civil Engineering. Liz Orchard, a Senior Civil Engineer from Reading visited the school to discuss with our students the opportunities that a career in Civil Engineering can offer and also to set the students a challenge. Ms Orchard currently works for Peter Brett Associates, a development and infrastructure consultancy with offices across the UK and Europe. We have developed links with Peter Brett Associates this year as part of our STEM initiative. The challenge presented to students consisted of building a bridge with a minimum span and height that would carry a maximum load. This challenge linked in with the students learning this year on forces. Students were given a design brief to work from and they used lego bricks to build their bridges. The final designs were then tested to destruction at the end of the lesson!
House Points for the Year 2014/2015 P A G E 5 Hamilton Holmes Moore Simmonds Year 7 21078 20339 19669 22439 Year 8 9736 13022 12172 10483 Year 9 11127 8546 11229 19489 Year 10 7997 3918 8630-1619 All Years other House 825 1175 475 700 Competitions OVERALL HOUSE 50763 47000 52175 51492 POINTS Positions 3rd 4th 3rd 2nd Festival of Sport Hamilton Holmes Moore Simmonds Year 7 2600 3200 1900 2600 Year 8 2950 3450 1450 2600 Year 9 2100 3400 2300 2500 Year 10 1750 1700 1450 2000 OVERALL POINTS 9400 11750 7100 9700 POSITION 3rd 1st 4th 2nd ALL ROUND RESULT Hamilton Holmes Moore Simmonds 60163 58750 63925 61192 3RD 4TH 1ST 2ND P R O S P E C T S C H O O L N E W S L E T T E R
Day Monday PE EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES 2015/2016 Lunch time GCSE Revision Badminton Trampolining GCSE /KS4 Dodgeball Kit/ Venue A4 hall Gym Teacher Mr Alexander Mrs Edwards Miss Haggis After school Rockets Basketball Boys Kit/Venue hall Teacher Reading Rocket Coaches Tuesday KS3 Boys Gym Handball Gymnastics KS3 Running club Fitness Factory hall Gym Field Miss Haggis Mrs Edwards/ Schofield Mr Davey Table tennis Miss Welch/ Mr John- Rose Table tennis Yr 7 9 Mr John-Rose / Miss Welch Boys Rugby Large Field Male Staff Wednesday Girls Fitness Recreational Basketball (All) Fitness Factory Hall Miss Bunyan Mr Gerrard Rockets Basketball- Girls hall Reading Rockets Coaches Thursday Basketball training KS4/5 Boys Gym Trampolining Yr 8 Hall Fitness Factory Mr Gerrard Mrs Edwards/ Mrs Schofield/ Mr Alexander Miss Bunyan Girls Football Astro Miss Bunyan Benchball Gym Friday Table Tennis Futsal 7/8 hall Mr John-Rose / Miss Welch Mr Davey GCSE Practical development hall Dance Clubs- Please see the Performing Arts Extra-Curricular timetable
P A G E 7 Maths Puzzle of the Week Each correct entry will receive a maths merit sticker (five stickers make a SPORT slip) All correct entries will be entered into a draw and one winner selected. The winner will then be entitled to choose a prize from the Maths Goodie Box! All answers should be placed in the puzzle of the week box in your teacher s classroom. Have you got the NAC? Numeracy Across the Curriculum. Can you name these parts of a circle? H D B A I E C F G Good luck to everyone with this week s puzzle. Simply put your answer on a piece of paper, together with your name and tutor group and place it in the puzzle of the week box in your Maths Teacher s Classroom by end of period 5 on Friday. The winner will be selected and notified on Monday morning. The Solution to Maths Puzzle How Far? Two men, starting at the same point, walk in opposite directions for 4 metres, then turn left and walk for another three metres. What is the distance between them? The answer is 4 metres The winner of this puzzle is: Sam Tester