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Programme of events @ BGS 8th 10Q D&T class - Visit to John Crane – mechanical engineering company in Slough Also the BGS Briefing has a scientific bias, Thought For the Week will be debating Pro-Test (the arguments for and against vivisection) and there will be KS3 and KS4 & 5 science quizzes starting on Monday 13th March (1st prize of £10 + 50 house points). ............................................................................................................................................... Our reports on some of the Science Week activities
Y9 lecture on Vaccinations 14/03/06 Wyeth Visit – By Ben Moffatt Last Tuesday the pharmaceutical company Wyeth came to give a lecture on Vaccinations. This may sound boring, however this was far from being so! Wyeth told us year 9s of the dangers of viruses and bacteria, and how vaccinations work to help us. Now, let me ask you a question. How long do you reckon it takes for one new drug to be created and sent to the shops? Well this may surprise you, but it actually takes on average fifteen years and costs up to a whopping £100,000,000 to make! So next time you go to the chemist, think about all expense and time that have been put into one tiny tablet! So what exactly are bacteria? Well there are good bacteria and bad bacteria. Good bacteria can be found in natural yogurts and help the digestion system. Bad bacteria can attack the body tissue and can multiply from 1 to 1,000,000 in twelve hours! Considering one human cell takes 24hours to split this is ‘mega' fast! So what is the point of vaccinations? Basically vaccinations are small weakened amounts of the offending virus. Then our extremely clever white blood cells learn to fight off the virus and ‘Voila' you are immune. We discovered that we will not be receiving the BCG jab to protect against TB, as the Government has changed its policy – instead they are targeting at risk groups: babies, old people and people who have come in from countries where TB is still common. We're not sure whether to be glad or not. Wyeth thinks vaccinations are very important to health. Do you?
Wyeth's scientists with Mr Williamson & 2 Sixth formers at the senior Vaccination lecture ................................................................................................ HI, today we are joined by Georgina Keep and Helen Smith from Wyeth, who gave a lecture to all year 9 on Tuesday. How would explain what a vaccine is in simple terms? A vaccine is a drug which stimulates the growth of antibodies to protect against diseases and bacteria. Why is it necessary for you to have vaccinations as babies and teenagers rather then when you're older? We vaccinate teenagers and babies because it decreases the risk of catching a disease especially at those vital ages, when our bodies are developing and when our immune system is low. This year the Government has decided to stop giving the BCG's to 13-14 year olds, don't you think that if we constantly give out the jab that we could completely eradicate TB in the UK? It is more complicated because the virus is constantly mutating, therefore we need to keep developing different vaccines. Also the Government has decided to only vaccinate those people of high risk. And finally what do you think is the most interesting aspect of your job is? I think probably seeing our products on the market. Thank you very much for answering our questions. By Zahra Jefferies and Inderpreet Hundal (CC4G Club) Wyeth scientists, Dr Sue Tansey, Helen Smith & Georgina Keep with ………………………………………………….. All year 9 have as their homework this week to make a poster on the subject of vaccinations. Cash prize & a cup to be won, & goodie bags. Interview by Charlotte Forrest and Nykia Bertie, to Matron who attended the Vaccination lecture. Hey how are you? I'm fine thanks . Is it alright if we ask you a few questions on health? Yes it's fine. What was your worst incident? And how did you sort it out? Most of the worst incidents come from sport, particularly rugby, involving broken bones, when it is essential prompt and correct first aid is administered. We have also had an incident which required the Air Ambulance to land in the field when a boy collapsed, and the prompt medical attention he received saved his life, but I wasn't matron then. Which medicine or pill in your view has the best all round effect, and you hand the most, to the students? Yes definitely, paracetemol because they are the best pain killer, and they react quickly. Do students often come to you trying to get out of lessons? And which lesson do most students try to get out of? Yes they do, and they are routinely sent back to class! I'll let you guess which lessons!! Visit to John Crane for an insight into the world of engineering
Year 10 D&T were invited to John Crane for a tour of their factory, to find out more on what products they make and how, and what a career in engineering might entail. Two weeks before a couple of the graduates came into BGS to tell us about the trip and set us a task to make airtight seals around a rotating shaft and cylinder. There were 6 recently qualified graduates who showed us around John Crane. First, they gave us a Health & Safety talk, then, we had to give a presentation on our own seals, and explain about the design problems we had considered and the techniques used to construct a working model. Then we were shown around the factory – everything was very clean and tidy. Most of their seals go into pipelines around the world, keeping the oil moving along the pipeline, and their product has to be very precise due to the high pressures involved. We then had some practical work of assembling a simple seal to go inside a pump, and finished with a challenge of putting in order all the processes of manufacture. Our thanks go to the graduate team: Callum Findlay, Craig Armstrong, Tim Kingswell, Goh Soo Wei, Angeliki, Munim Abdul & Tony Greenhalgh, and Steve Harrison graduate mentor.
Above: Craig Armstrong, Reliability Engineer with BGS students Thought for the week Featured an article about Laurie Pycroft a 16 year old who started a web campaign called ‘Pro-Test', getting people to look again at the arguments why testing on animals testing might be necessary. Topics under discussion were: “because animals feel pain, vivisection should be stopped.” Science Week 2006 KS3Quiz (Sample questions) • Who was the first man on the moon? • In computing, what does ROM mean? • In the equation E=mc 2 , what does the “c” stand for? • Which animal produces the world's biggest baby? • What has three hearts, eight arms and a skirt?! Quiz sheets were given out in science lessons and to must be returned by Wednesday 22nd to your science teacher. KS4 and KS5 have their own quiz Cash prizes will be awarded at Assemblies Lonza Senior Scientist of the Year 2006 Competition
“Using Biotechnology to detect and treat disease” This was the title of Dr Kym Baker's lecture for the launch for the Senior Scientist of the Year 2006 competition, sponsored by Lonza. Year 12 and 13 Scientists are invited to write an essay of 2000-4000 words, to be handed in by Easter, which can also be included as their coursework. Finals will take place in July at Lonza. £350 & a trophy to be won! Good Luck to our Year 7 Science Club who are off to ICI Paints next Wednesday to take part in a Science competition. The title of their presentation is “Protective Coatings” and their experiments have looked at the school's rust (plenty of it on our ageing minibus!) and the type of paints that can keep it at bay. Stop Press - they won! Prime Minister Tony Blair turned down his thermostat, Olympic athlete Colin Jackson took the train and TV scientist Professor Robert Winston went without his car. Why? “Click for the Climate”, part of National Science Week, is asking you to pledge to cut down your carbon dioxide emissions and help tackle climate change. It couldn't be easier… Did you realise that unplugging your mobile phone charger when it's not in use could save 1kg of carbon dioxide over the next 7 days? That's what Sir David Attenborough did! We'd like you to join us in clicking for the climate and helping tackle climate change. Click now at http://www.the-ba.net/clickfortheclimate . Junk Art – doesn't mean it's a load of rubbish!
Year 7 students with Miss Toogood from Slough Museum making a cricket bat, wicket and ball Friday 17 th March Miss Claire Toogood from Slough Museum came into BGS for a sculpture making workshop using recycling items with 2 classes – 7A & 8A. She talked about re-using some of our rubbish, cutting our energy use and brought in some 20 th century items for the students to use as inspiration for their sculptures, and to explain their uses and illustrate the science that that was in action in their time. For instance, she showed the students an all encompassing baby gas mask (not child friendly and definitely not in pink or blue!). She also asked the students how an iron used in 1930s worked – it was a gas powered iron and didn't work that well, as it often scorched the clothes! She also showed photos of some current famous artists who are using recycled goods for their pieces. Even Selfridges in London currently have several of their famous window displays using interesting reused objects, such as drinks cans, old boots and wire. The students spent the morning with their designs, and finding new and original uses for the recycled goods: a grandfather clock, a model of a football stadium, a set of cricket bat, ball and wicket, a castle to name a few.
Year 8 with lots of paint on their old-fashioned TV! The day was a great success, and Mr Holt Head of Art at BGS commented : “ Miss Toogood's enthusiasm for her subject came shining through as we were treated to ideas encompassing history, art and science, and all in a good cause - to highlight the importance of recycling” Miss Toogood, said “I am delighted how the students worked so well in teams with their sculptures. They had many problems to solve in finding ways to make their sculptures and I am pleased by the variety of their imaginative designs” The best sculptures from the 2 classes will receive a prize at the Celebration Assemblies at the end of term. In the meantime Slough Museum is running a Science Expo, which is free and continues till 1 st April. Drop in to see for yourself – at bottom end of Slough High Street.
Using plastics, cardboard and lots of paint Some good ideas for becoming ‘greener' and kinder to our planet, which came out of the discussion at the junk art workshop: re-use carrier bags when you go to the supermarket; recycle as much paper, cans and plastic as you can; look at the packaging in your lunch box – is it all really necessary?; walk to school; turn off taps when brushing your teeth; turn off standby lights on appliances; use both sides of paper….. All great ideas – think ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle'
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