Parent Update - Science Fair 2019
The Science Fair 2019
It has been an absolute pleasure to host the annual Science Fair this year and wow what a year has it been! Never has the competition been stronger with many science teachers commenting how hard it was to decide between finalists. It was amazing to see the passion and effort pouring out from so many of our diligent students who were given an opportunity to explore an area of science that they were inspired by. Often the curriculum can feel restrictive in terms of allowing students to explore areas of science that interests them.
The Science Fair is a unique opportunity for all Year 8 students to pick any science topic they wish. What was particularly remarkable was seeing how many students had blended other areas of the curriculum into their projects. From the Lego robotics arm in which we saw IT as the students had programmed the instructions for movement themselves, the links to geography where a student had built a model building from K’nex demonstrating how to make it “earthquake proof” to the Music Department who had clearly inspired a student to create a homemade flute. WCSA also clearly has a goldmine of students with the potential to become the cosmetics engineers of the future with homemade lipsticks, eye shadows and even entire make-up pallets! Our very own Mr Muhiddin took great delight in sampling the pink lipstick – although he did mention it was particularly tricky to get off!
I would like to extend my thanks to the judges who gave up their time to pick the well-deserving winners. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Miss Scott speak with such enthusiasm to Mr Dean about the winners’ projects, showing just how infectious the students’ passions were during their one-to-one interviews with her, which formed part of the judging process. It was particularly poignant that one of judges was Mrs Hayes. Mrs Hayes joined the Science Department twenty years ago and set up the very first Science Fair at Worle in her first year here. Sadly, Mrs Hayes will be leaving after Easter. It therefore seemed rather apt that she closed her time here by judging what she had begun.
This was the first year that parents were able to come and see the projects in all of their glory. The feedback was so heart-warming to hear; parents were truly astounded by the wealth of talent on display from our amazing Year 8s. It was also delightful to watch students ushering around parents and grandparents to see their friends’ projects and then hear them speak so enthusiastically about them. It is the true highlight of a teacher’s career watching sparks of passion and creativity erupting from your students and this year’s Year 8s have done that for their science teachers in droves.
On behalf of the Science Department I would like to extend a huge thank you to the parents who have supported their children with these projects at home, whether that be with words of encouragement, their own skills, or financing the resources they have needed. The end result was fantastic!
by Justine Vellenoweth – Teacher of Science