Newsletter 18:3 16
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ACADEMY NEWS 18th March 2016 E X P L O R E Science Week Goes with a Bang! QR to view on the web BE CURIOUS National Science Week at MBA Monday – Students entered a Kerboodle science quiz held by Miss Weightman at lunchtime to win a range of prizes. Further Science toys were available throughout the week at the Super Science Shop which traded in reception each lunchtime. Tuesday – 40 students attended the Big Bang lunchtime event held by Mr Steer and Mr Troup. Following hydrogen and flaming methane balloon ignitions volunteers lit sieved Angel Delight (other powdered desserts are available) to create a 10 foot wall of fire, providing Mr Troup with the early tan he so badly needed. Students then volunteered, yes volunteered, to have their damp hands set alight by holding propane bubbles. Many volunteered twice, despite the faint hum of singed hair. The Whoosh bottle consisting of a large water dispenser with Propan-2-ol vapour inside was then lit with a long splint to create a combustion akin to a small jet engine. Finally, a 2:1 mix of propanol and oxygen in an empty plastic coke (other soft drinks are available) bottle was ignited to create the products of carbon dioxide and water and an eardrum-rattling boom. Students left saying “Eh? What? Pardon?!” Wednesday - Students were treated to a range of current Space news by our Head of Physics, Miss Weightman. This included the adventures of British astronomer Tim Peake who is currently looking down on Earth from the International Space Station where he is observing the beautiful landscape of a harsh Kazakhstan winter and enjoying the unique experience of operating two remote control ‘rovers’ from a satellite. Follow Tim on Twitter to find out more. Miss Weightman also talked at some length about Professor Brian Cox who is her dream man. His current exploits include supporting ExoMars, an ESA funded rocket which was launched on Tuesday on a seven month mission to Mars where it is hoped they will uncover secrets of the red planet by investigating the composition of its atmosphere; it could indicate present day geological or even biological activity on Mars. The amazing photos of Pluto taken by the New Horizons satellite, which took 10 years to reach the planet, were discussed along with the Rosetta Mission which sent the Philae Lander to feed back data on the surface of a comet 67P. Students were amazed at the fact that the Phillae Lander BE CURIOUS had to track the elliptical orbit of the comet for 12 years before it was able to land on the million-year-old spinning rock! Wednesday – Students from Mounts Bay Academy along with 150 primary school students were treated to ‘Pyromania’ with Dr Roy Lowry from Plymouth University. Dr Roy has held the Guinness world record for the most firework rockets launched in 30 seconds (in excess of 56,000!). He presented a range of pyrotechnic demonstrations explaining the science behind burning and explosions. He wowed students with flame colours, ignition of gunpowder, Flash powder, torturing of Jelly Babies and finished by melting steel with a digestive biscuit (admittedly soaked in liquid oxygen). Thursday – National Space Academy – Physics HPI How can we inspire our best students to consider studying physics at ‘A’-level? How can we give our students an opportunity to spend half the day thinking like a true Physicist? Get the National Space Academy in of course! Mike Grocott from The National Space Academy held an inspiring Masterclass on Thursday for our Triple Scientists. Students were enthralled when Mike used a concoction of chemicals and dry ice to make a comet! They then discussed the famous Rosetta Mission and calculated the Gravitational Field Strength – not bad for a Thursday near the end of term! Mike showed how low pressure affects marshmallows, used a skateboard and torch to explain twin paradoxes and not forgetting the ‘Whoosh Rocket’ demo – which although is a simple demonstration, is one of the most effective visual demonstrations of rocket power we have. Well done Year 10s, you did yourself proud and really were true physicists for the day! Joke: What is a physicist’s favourite food? Fission chips! BE CURIOUS Thursday lunchtime – Many students, including the High Performing Year 10 Triple Scientists, came to learn about the internal morphology of the mackerel. The heart, liver, intestines, spleen and gonads of this beautiful fish were identified along with their swim bladders in various states of inflation. The life cycle of common fish was discussed as was the best way to age fish – count the annual rings on their otolith, or ear bone! Geevor Mine Inter-Schools Scrapheap Challenge A number of MBA Year 7 teams entered this annual competition on Thursday to build water wheels out of recycled material to pull a tram up a slope, with the fastest team winning the prestigious Geevor Scrapheap Challenge Cup. Each team worked exceptionally well demonstrating a range of essential teamwork skills to create a range of cleverly designed water wheels. These students behaved impeccably throughout the day and were rewarded with a trip down a disused tin mine where the light were turned out, now that was dark! They did themselves proud and were a credit to MBA. Friday Lunchtime. The Friday lunchtime rat dissection was clearly the highlight of some MBA students’ year/life so far and allowed the HPI Biologists the opportunity to compare the anatomy of fish with rats. After being pinned to wooden dissection boards Roland (Ratus Norvegicus) and his eight friends (aka The MBA Rat Pack) were prodded, poked and dissected by enthusiastic future surgeons, taxidermists and butchers until, like Mars they too revealed their inner secrets. Particular favourites were the cartilage rings of the trachea, lungs, liver, heart and digestive tract, although the kidneys were tricky to spot. These rodents allowed students an amazing insight into the anatomy of a common mammal, which if the urban myth is correct, is always no further than six metres away from you. Thanks to Mr Troup’s glamorous rat dissection assistant, Austen Barden. BE CURIOUS Assemblies During House Assemblies this week, Thag the Caveman, his friend Roxy, and his cousin Petrock, took a break from their clubbing tour and put in an appearance to tell the tale of how scientific progress has dictated the course of History. It was really well received with a big thanks to the very talented GCSE Drama students Sab Astley, Chloe Way, Zeev Cohen and Milly Randall for their help. Super Science Shop Thanks to the range of students who helped with the running of the Super Science Shop at lunchtime each day. We sold loads of Science toys including chemistry sets, wooden skeleton models, illuminous ceiling solar systems, foam balloons and rockets and some slime which made an unpleasant, yet apparently hilarious noise! Report by Mr Troup BE INSPIRED Careers in the Spotlight National Apprenticeship Week 14th to 18th March Students were given the opportunity of meeting with Apprenticeship Advisers Dan Garside from Truro & Penwith College and Lynne Dunn from Cornwall College Business to learn more about finding an apprenticeship in Cornwall. In addition enhancing their employment skills to help secure a placement, such as writing an effective CV and job searching websites to support finding work including:www.getmyfirstjob.co.uk and www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeships. Several Year 11 students have already confirmed offers of apprenticeships when they finish in June 2016 and we wish them well for their future. National Careers Week 7th - 11th March WPC Jody Fellowes from Devon & Cornwall Constabulary visited students to inform them of a career as a Police Officer within the local constabulary. Potential recruits were encouraged to consider the Police Cadets group in Penzance as an entry route to evidence key skills required for the force and to gain an insight into some of the duties involved. Information on local cadets group can be obtained from www.devon- cornwall.police.uk . Cadets can join from age 13. Firefighters from Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service also gave up their valuable time to share an insight into their profession with students. They learnt about the risks involved in this profession in controlling and putting out fires, the high quality training in ensuring the safety of the public, and the variety of skills that applicants bring into the profession from degree level entry in Public Services to GCSEs. Most important is having the right attitude and key skills such as teamwork, communication, physical fitness and the ability to follow instructions. Next planned Careers Event is a STEAM careers fair on the 21st April to outline to students career opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths. Further details to follow. Report by Mrs Masters BE INSPIRED Environment and Sustainability Visit Six Year 10 students have spent the day at the University of Exeter's Environment and Sustainability Institute. We have had a very informative and enjoyable day. Leading academics and scientists led the sessions, each with a common theme of discovering the biggest environmental challenge facing Cornwall today. We started the day with some GIS mapping, looking specifically at the risk of flooding in Cornwall. The students soon discovered that Mounts Bay Academy is safe from flooding even if we see a 30 meter rise in sea level! We then moved on to assessing the risk of flooding using probability. The students had to decide whether to protect themselves against flooding by purchasing insurance. Unfortunately one or two risk takers lost their homes as the odds increased. In the first laboratory we visited, a demonstration showed the process and benefits of extracting and reusing the waste chemicals from old mining sites.