High School Rock!

Radio Rockz Challenge

Year 9 at Woking High really enjoyed the final part of their Radio Rockz challenge on Friday 27th April 2012.  Having received a creative brief, and a budget to work to, the students were challenged to design, record and present a radio advert to a panel of expert judges.  The judges certainly had their work cut out to choose their two favourite adverts as the hard work and effort that had gone into producing them was excellent.  Not only did the students have to design and present their advert, they also had to prove to the judges that they had worked well as a team, stuck to their budget and met their customers needs by ensuring their advert was aimed correctly at their target audience.  A taste of real working life!

The two lucky winning teams will be off to Eagle Radio soon to record their advert and get a tour of the studios.

The challenge was part of the Invest in Your Success programme organised by SATRO with funding from Woking Borough Council which has been enthusiastically taken up by local secondary schools - giving their students an opportunity to think about the future.

SMASHING TIME HAD DURING EGG DROP CHALLENGE!

Two Year 6 classes from Mychett Primary School took part in a Science Day on 23^rd April, learning about Gravity & Forces in a fun and practical way, utilising the making of parachutes and dropping eggs!

From the pupil’s comments on 'what did you learn today?'…

"How masses and aerodynamics effect the velocity of an object in motion."

"That you can accomplish everything if you try."

"I learnt that you don’t have to write and complete tests to learn and have fun.  Making models and investigating things is really fun."

Sounds like the day achieved its objectives!

Channel 4 Racing meets students!

With the going definitely soft, 30 Year 8 and 9 students from Broadwater School and Esher Church of England High School are splashing their way across the course at Sandown Racecourse this morning to start their Numeracy Day. They are looking forward to taking part in the SATRO organised British Horseracing Education and Standards Trust (BHEST). Time spent measuring the course and visiting the weighing room, talking to jockeys will 'add up' to a great day.  And the day will be recorded by Channel 4 Racing so the students can look forward to seeing themselves on the small screen.

And more eggs saved by Science!

SATRO held two full-day science workshops on Wednesday 25^th April at Wallace Fields Infants School to inspire young children about physics and the world around them.  A SATRO team of 5 experienced engineers worked with the individual classes, imparting their knowledge and encouraging the children think creatively and ‘have a go’.   60 Year 1 children experimented with floating and sinking to understand different properties of materials.  This was followed by a demonstration on waterwheels and the impact of a fast or slow rate of water flow.  The children used mini waterwheels with detachable vanes to carry out their own experiments.  Year 2 had a different challenge: what is gravity and how can you slow down the rate of descent?  They learnt how to make parachutes and then had the challenge of how to drop a raw egg without breaking it!  Under guidance from the experts the children made a protective carrier for the egg to suspend under their parachute; they then had great fun dropping the parachutes from a height.  The teachers reported that the day had been a great success and the children’s imagination's were buzzing!.

How to drop an egg!

On Monday 23^rd April 120 pupils from the Year 5 and 6 classes at Mytchett Primary School had a great day of science, exploring Forces, Gravity and Air Resistance.  Led by experienced volunteers  pupils experimented with spinners to work out the speed at which objects fall ; then had the chance to make parachutes of differing sizes to test which designs work best to slow down falling objects. 

The afternoon session saw them carefully thinking about using their knowledge from the morning to work in teams of 4/5 to make a cushioned basket to hold the egg beneath the parachute canopy.  Great excitement – and competitiveness – was generated as the teams launched their finished model from a designated height onto a target on the floor beneath.  Descents were timed and eggs checked for breakages at the end of each launch.  To the amazement of pupils and teachers, only 4 of the 26 eggs dropped showed signs of damage on inspection – obviously these budding engineers were up to the challenge!

SOARING LIKE AN EAGLE!

Year 9 students at Winston Churchill had an inspiring end to their first week back after Easter on Friday 20th when Peter Gordon of 96.4 Eagle Radio in Guildford was in school to give a stimulating talk about his approach to life and the many things he has done in his career. Peter Gordon, known on air as PG, is Programme Director and presenter of the breakfast show on 96.4 The Eagle. Born in Guildford and educated at Cranleigh School and the University of York where he began his career as a presenter on the student radio station. Starting his career in radio making tea, he joined the BBC as a feature presenter. Peter has been with The Eagle since its launch and was the first presenter to speak on the new station when it went on air on 4 January 1996.
The event was part of an innovative programme for Woking secondary schools – Invest in Your Success – organised by SATRO and funded by Woking Borough Council which has also included a Careers Day and a ‘Radio Rockz’ Challenge in which students learn how to produce a good radio jingle. 
The Invest in Your Success programme gives young people a great opportunity to think about their futures at a really crucial time.

All that hard work is worth it!

Its the end of another busy week here at SATRO - something different every day and we're all about ready to collapse in a heap! But we were just looking at all the wonderful feedback we have received from events this week and felt we had to share this from a Teacher at St Bartholemew's School
'What were the positive outcomes of the day?'
Teacher - 'Children highly motivated. The activity was not something they have ever experienced before, nor could we hope to provide it. The quality of the SATRO volunteers was superb. It was important that the children can relate their learning to the real world. SATRO always delivers high quality activities and this was no exception'.
Well that says it all really - off for a rest this weekend and back for another busy week next week - thanks as ever to our fabulous volunteers, we couldn't do it without you!