The Design Technology Department has had an exciting Stem opportunity for our year 7 students who took part in a RAF Mighty Minds event. The fun packed event involved a range of activities which challenged students and helped build confidence with their problem solving, team building and coding abilities. They were faced with the exciting opportunity to build and code robots, using Lego with EV3 intelligent bricks and iPads with software for coding and controlling their robots.

Students followed a busy schedule for the day:

• Phase One – Coding & basic building challenges
• Phase Two – Designed and built a robot in groups using attachments for sensors and motor mechanisms. They practised coding on their competition mats trying to move objects and help rescue Lego civilians
• Phase Three – Final testing of their robots and design modifications for re-runs, judges assessed students work and gave points for successful missions.
• Phase Four – The winning teams were announced to those who scored the highest in all the missions.

In 3^rd place: David, Alfie, Zaki

In 2^nd Place: Hussain, Nethran, Jay

In 1^st Place: Ishaan, Mohammed Khan, Arun Badhan

Students quoted: ‘It’s been a fantastic day we have learnt so much.’

The day gave our students an insight to the endless possibilities of what technology and coding has to offer.

During Week’s 5 session we are asked to research some fish and creatures that would make up our ‘clean-up crew’, as algae is becoming an unsightly problem in our tank. We managed to short list a good 10 members for this clean-up crew which we plan on narrowing down and ordering in sessions to come.

We also recorded some observations that were different in the tank from last week we noticed that some plants were not growing as fast as others and we plan on recording the same information next week, to discuss if we get a change in growth. As for the other plants, they seem to be thriving in the tank as our snails eat away at the algae.

After recording the growth, we then held a discussion regarding our clean-up crew, and why they are essential in a tank like ours and why it is important to choose our fish carefully as we do not want a huge fish just to dominate our tank or have fish which are too small to see. We also went through on what our shortlisted clean-up crew eat, and considered whether they would become a threat to creatures already in the tank. We wanted to go for bright coloured fish in our tank to make it more pleasing to the eye and have some very unusual looking fish in there and not just have your classic goldfish looks.

We then all went away with the task of seeing if we could add anything further to the list of crew.

Overall, this was a very good productive week.

Ben Yarnall 8G

Week 9 & 10

Week 8

Week 7

Week 6

Week 5

Week 4

Easter

Week 3

Week 2

Week 1

Introduction

STOP! BE STILL!

I would like to discuss the art of stopping. This may seem like a weird subject and one which perhaps does not warrant any time, but it is actually a crucially important part of life which is so easily overlooked by us all. In our day-to-day lives, we all attempt to promote a state of constant business. I remember as a young teacher being told by a more senior colleague to always ensure that I had a piece of paper in my hand when walking around school. The aim being to always look busy and being rushed! We assume that the person actively ‘doing’ is inherently doing the right thing. The idea of just stopping is wholly counter-cultural. By stopping, we assume it is ceasing productivity. We assume it is out of laziness and we often frown upon it.

However, stopping is essential for both our mental and physical wellbeing. I mentioned this last week when promoting Mindfulness. We need to recognise when we are doing too much of something, whether it is work, sport or anything else for that matter. This is something I certainly struggle with and as such probably means I am the least qualified person to be telling you this. However, I know I am not alone.

During the period of online learning, many of you will have sat at computers for hours, logging off one Teams call and straight onto the next, hardly moving from your desk or switching off. In addition, those students with upcoming exams will feel the pressure of constant work for a seemingly never-ending string of assessments.

It may feel like there is no opportunity to stop, but we should always try to make one.

Stopping for breaks can bring a huge number of benefits. They help you to relax and, although it seems counter-intuitive, they make you more productive. Breaks are essential to offer your brain a chance to recover. But perhaps, the most powerful thing about stopping is the ability to simply clear your thoughts and temporarily escape from external stresses. It is the one opportunity to switch off and take notice of the smaller but equally important things in life.

Therefore, the next time you are feeling overwhelmed with work or are rushing from one lesson or task to the next, just take some time to stop. Even if it were as little as 30 seconds, I would encourage you to use this time to switch off. You will feel better for it and take notice of things you might otherwise miss.

Boketto is a Japanese word, which means ‘the act of gazing or staring into the distance without thinking’.

So later today and over the coming weeks, take a moment to stop and practice the art of Boketto.

Over the coming weeks, the things that we value will return to us. Social events will be allowed; the ability to meet and mix with each other has returned and will return more freely. Life will get busier and more frenetic which is exciting but we will all need to stop too!

Stay well and safe.

Be kind to yourself and each other.

Dr Bird

21/04/2021

This week we received the remainder of our plants. We ordered them during Easter from Scaped Nature (they had previously donated many plants to us!) and they arrived in time for our session. We began by washing the plants, as they were preserved in a fertiliser solution/gel, and then separated them from each other so that we could spread them out when planting.

We had a plan as to where we were going to plant them and we used tweezers to plant them into the substrate accordingly.

Each pupil rolled up their sleeves and had a go at planting. Pupils took time and realised there was a technique to getting the roots deep enough in the soil without the plant floating up when removing the tweezers. Pupils talked about how planting was a relaxing process and were eager to see new growth in the coming weeks/months.

We planted a red variety – Alternanthera mini in the midground. In the foreground we planted Micranthemum – Monte Carlo and we hope that this will carpet the front left and right of the tank.

Hydrocotyle tripartita at the front, and we hope that this will creep up the wood as it grows.

Using cyanoacrylate glue we stuck Taxiphyllum flame moss and some interesting varieties of Bucephelandra to the bog wood.

In the back ground we planted 3 varieties of stem plants; Didiplis diandra, Rotala wallachii and Ludwigia Arcuata.

Pupils selected these based on how tall they would grow as well as the unique leaf shapes and colour varieties. Growth will most likely be more noticeable sooner in these stem varieties as they will draw nutrients not only from the soil, but also the water column. We also floated Limnobium laevigatum – Amazon frogbit in our tank as this variety would draw excess nutrients from the water column and is also a great indicator of our nutrient levels.

Mr Bansal

23/04/2021

Now that we had planted all of our plants, we were keen to boost their growth. I had been in touch with John Mitchell from CO2Art, a company dedicated to enabling aquarists in maximising plant growth! He liked our project and was kind enough to send us a CO2 kit! His kit included: a dual gauge CO2 regulator with solenoid, CO2 resistant piping, a check valve, a U-bend tube, ceramic diffuser and a drop checker!

We started our session by talking about photosynthesis and considering the need for Carbon dioxide for plant growth. We discussed how CO2 was limited underwater and then opened up the generously provided CO2 Art kit. We proceeded to attach the regulator to a fire extinguisher (our source of CO2 – also, generously donated by my brother) and then plumbed in the tubing, check valve and diffuser.

We discussed; how the regulator will allow us to see the pressure of gas inside the extinguisher, as well as controlling the rate at which gas leaves. CO2 will travel through a bubble counter so we can see the rate of exiting gas, and then through the C02 resistant tubing, past a check valve (stopping tank water from flowing in the backward direction, into the regulator). Finally, gas will pass through a diffuser which would release tiny bubbles into of CO2 into the tank. The smaller the bubbles – the greater the surface area and therefore a greater absorption of CO2 into the water column.

The diffuser was placed under the filter inlet so that the incoming water could push the bubbles around the tank, again, increasing the amount dissolved into the water column. But how much is too much!? We talked about how too much could suffocate animal life in the aquarium and also decrease our pH. John had also kindly provided a drop-checker/indicator. We placed the drop checker on the other side of the tank and the colour of this would tell us whether we were injecting too little/much CO2 into our tank.

The injection of CO2 into our aquarium marks the transition from a low-energy tank to a high-energy tank. This means our growth rate will be higher as we have photosynthesis happening at a faster rate and plants will therefore need more nutrients and light. This will allow us to get the most out of our plants and we sincerely thank CO2 art for supporting us! It also leads us nicely into the realm of plant nutrients and we will be making our own plant fertilisers in the future!

Mr Bansal

Week 9 & 10

Week 8

Week 7

Week 6

Week 5

Week 4

Easter

Week 3

Week 2

Week 1

Introduction