Friday 14th March

Ready to Learn?
 
Several students took part in an on-line National research project.  The experiment is a major piece of educational research designed to investigate the impact of factors such as diet, sleep, and exercise on children's readiness to learn.

More than 1,000 schools signed up and over 70,000 pupils took part in the largest ever experiment of its kind.  A full report on the findings from Ready to Learn? The Experiment is due for publication in the summer term.  The students involved will also receive information about there own results to boost their learning.

The Great Egg Drop continued…

A huge crowd had gathered outside the PAC eagerly anticipating the egg launching!  After the final preparation had taken place Mr Marshall threw each contraption out of the window whereupon the relevant team had only 10 seconds to undo the packaging and release the egg.  It was then inspected for cracks!  Incredibly over half the eggs remained intact demonstrating the girl’s aptitude for Physics and creativity!  Some of the designs can be seen in the Physics lab and must be credited for their aesthetic qualities as well as ingenious design!

Year 4 'Hands-on-Science' workshop at Exeter University

The Year 4 girls had a fantastic afternoon of practical science at the Department of Biosciences at the University run by Dr Nicky King.

Session 1: The Weird and Wonderful World of Polymers
The girls made nylon, slime and silly putty and found out about the properties that make polymers useful in a variety of applications.
Session 2: The Life of a House Fly
House flies are common pests, but how much do you really know about them? The pupils investigated the life-cycle of a fly, from egg, to larvae (maggot), to pupa to adult and also found out about how flies find and consume their food - and yours!  Amazing but at the same time quite disgusting!

The University highly praised the girls behviour throughout the session and told Mrs Allen that if there had been award for conduct St Margaret’s School would have won it hands down!  Well done girls!