Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.

• RISK IT CHALLENGE – STUDENTS TAKE PART IN COUNTY FINAL!

  Fri 14 Jul 2017

  After a successful day of researching, designing and building a device for use at sea which was held at school on 28^th June, the successful team competed in the County Final on 11^th July which was held at the Historic Dockyard at Chatham.

  The format was similar to the school challenge with the design remit of a device that would help solve a problem associated with marine pollution.

  The Stocky team of Evie, Tegan and Eleanor worked hard all day on a fantastic idea to help clean the oceans of crude oil spilt from oil tankers. They learnt about building an electronic circuit, researching the problems of crude oil, operating an electric drill safely, moulding a sheet of aluminium into a semi-circle and preparing a presentation.

  The girls worked hard all day and showed great team spirit as well as determination to overcome difficulties in construction of their prototype.

  There were 6 other schools in the final and we were not lucky enough to win, however the Stocky team were great ambassadors for our school and should be very proud of the way that they worked through the challenge.

  Ms Whitehead

  STEM co-ordinator and science teacher

  

• RISK IT YEAR EIGHT SCIENCE CHALLENGE

  Thu 13 Jul 2017

  On Thursday 29^th June one of our top set year eight classes were given a day off timetable to complete a challenge to design an innovative prototype which will be useful to people at sea – from sailors to ship mechanics, from submariners to holiday makers.

  The class had to work in ‘company’ groups of four, as the research and development department of a scientific equipment manufacturing company. The groups needed to plan an idea, develop the idea, build a prototype, cost the finished product and then present the ideas in a “Dragon’s Den” style competition.

  We were very impressed with the range of ideas, which included a car that would travel on land and sea, a specialist boat with a ramp and life-saving rings on the outside of the craft and a luxury submarine to allow people to explore the ocean bed.

  The winning team developed the idea of floating trees which would allow migrating birds a place to rest on their long journeys. The team of 4 particularly impressed the judges with their presentation which showed the distances and routes that some birds fly, the price they would charge for the item and the planning of the presentation. The winning team of Mia, Tegan, Eleanor and Evie will go forward to the County Final next week.

  Many thanks go to Medway Education Business Partnership who designed the activity, and to Mr. Platt, Mr. May and Mr. Malone who attended for part of the day.

  Ms Whitehead

  STEM Co-ordinator

  

• CHEMISTRY AT WORK 22ND JUNE

  Tue 11 Jul 2017

  A group of eight Year 9 students attended an excellent day of workshops which was held at Canterbury Christ Church University and organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

  We started with a fantastic presentation on the use of elements including aluminium for overhead power cables (even though it is not a particularly good conductor it is much lighter than copper which is used for wiring in our houses), why street lights glow orange (they use sodium vapour) and that vanadium compounds can be used to store electricity.

  We also learnt that some 2 pence coins are magnetic and some are not. This is because their design had to be changed to make them cheaper to manufacture and so they contain iron which is magnetic. We can all test our 2p coins using a fridge magnet to find out the year that iron was introduced into the coins.

  We then went to a Forensics workshop where we discovered how difficult it is to remove blood traces from a murder scene. Even though the blood may not be visible to the naked eye the investigating officers use a product called Luminol that glows blue in the presence of blood. One of our students asked how it worked and the presenters were unable to give a detailed answer! They all agreed that it was an excellent question and sent an email the following day to tell us the answer.

  We also attended a workshop on classifying and recycling plastics where we used an infrared spectrometer to identify plastics. We found that the film used to cover the plastic containers that contain meat and other food products is made of two different plastics and so it cannot be recycled.

  We learnt about how commercial tomato growers control the conditions in a greenhouse to make sure that then plants produce lots of tasty tomatoes. The tomato plants end up 14 meters tall by the end of their growing season! We had the chance to taste test the tomatoes and we can confirm that they were delicious.

  We also learnt some of the science that goes into designing and making medicines and how important it is to design something that is exactly the right shape. If it is the wrong shape the body may think it is something harmful and not helpful and that would trigger an immune response. We had to try to tie balloons into exactly the right shape to model the difficulty that scientists have!

  We also learnt about surfactants which are important in the design of pesticides because the chemicals have to wet the leaf surface rather than sit on the top of the leaf in a ball. They are also important in designing bubble mixture to allow to make large, long-lasting bubbles.

  In all the workshops the presenters commented how interested, polite and engaged in the tasks our students were, so a massive well done to Alex, Cameron, Finlay, Dominica, Lauren, Sabe, Uthara and Ross.

  Huge thanks to Deacon Ian who drove us there and back.

  Ms Whitehead

  Science teacher and STEM co-ordinator

  

• SCHOOLS PHYSICISTS OF THE YEAR

  Wed 05 Jul 2017

  Two students from our school attended the Schools Physicist of the Year Awards at The University of Kent, on 30^th June. Our winners were Aiden Huynh-Nguyen, Year 12 and Stephanie Jackson, Year 10. These students were supported by their family and friends and follow a number of previous St Simon Stock students awarded this prize over the last few years.

   

  The event was organised by the university and the Ogden Trust. The trust aims to increase the number of students taking physics at GCSE, A-level and at university and to support teachers of physics and encourage more physics graduates to become teachers, through its Schools Science Partnerships.

  The event included a brief lecture about the formation of stars given by Dr Tim Kinnear. He used theoretical physics and computer modelling.to demonstrate how gas clouds collide to form stars. Mind-blowing!

  

• ST SIMON STOCK SPACE ACADEMY!

  Tue 04 Jul 2017

  We are delighted to welcome back from the USA our Science teacher Lyndsay Hobbs, who was one of just three teachers from the UK who took part in an exciting week-long initiative run by the US Space & Rocket Centre in Alabama.

   

  Mrs Hobbs describes her amazing week here. Pictures follow beneath.

   

  “In November last year the Science Department received an email from Mr Corcoran, a former School Governor, informing us of the Honeywell Space Academy for Educators initiative. Being extremely interested in Space and Astronomy, I thought that I would apply to attend the Academy. In January, of this year, I found out that I had been selected to attend the Space Academy with a full scholarship from Honeywell that also covered my flights and accommodation. I have just returned from an absolute mind-blowing week that was attended by 95 teachers from 45 US States and 33 countries.

   

  Honeywell Space Academy for Educators was created in partnership with the US Space & Rocket Centre that is located in Huntsville, Alabama in the USA.

   

  As a science teacher, I am always on the lookout for new, innovative and interesting ways to deliver the curriculum. Over the 5 days I attended I completed classroom, laboratory and field training. Our instruction ranged from rocketry to the maths of origami and listening to NASA engineers and astronauts to zip-lining backwards into water. I now have many different ideas and fabulous information that I will be using in my classes.

   

  I also got to experience some simulated astronaut training, such as the Multi-Axis Trainer (MAT). The MAT simulates the disorientation and astronaut would feel in a tumble spin during re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. Even though I was spinning around in all directions, I did not feel dizzy or nauseous as my stomach stayed centred and my inner ear fluid did not shift.

   

  As part of Team Harmony, we completed two simulated space missions. It was like the “real thing” as anomalies with equipment were thrown in that we had to solve to ensure the success of our missions and the safety of the crew. On the missions I was the PayCom Operator, Flight Engineer and completed an EVA.

   

  My plan is to start a Space Club at school in September where we will use STEM to complete various activities and experiments. One sneak peek I can tell you is that we will be taking part in “Ship The Chip” with schools from across the globe.

   

  Our students are considered the “Mars Generation”. Will there be a St Simon Stock student there?”

   

  Mrs L Hobbs