Becoming Rolls Royce Engineers

On Wednesday we were given boarding passes to let us go on a very special journey after phonics. We went to the hall to find lots of chairs set out like an aeroplane. Before we could sit down the crew checked our boarding passes. When we were seated the team from Rolls Royce introduced themselves by telling us their names and job. 

Our first destination on our trip was to Stony Rock Island. We had to call for Rocky, someone from the island that needed our help. When Rocky arrived he explained that the island was empty and full of stones so he had nowhere to sit. Our first challenge was to make ourselves into furniture for Rocky's home so that he had somewhere to sit. We made ourselves into sofa's, chairs, beds, tables and even a fridge! We got back on the plane to learn 3 buzzwords about what we had done. They were teamwork, problem solving and communication.

Our second destination was Energy Bay. This time we had to shout Dudey. He needed our help to learn how energy changes things. We learnt that object + energy = action. This is like when a lightbulb receives electricity it gives it enough energy to light up. In our teams we had to be air particles and move through the engine. We had to start out low to the floor and cramped together. Then we started to spin as we gained energy, next we jumped up and down as our energy was almost full and finally the air particles were released and we had to run out of the engine. The 3 buzzwords we learnt on this island were air, energy and thrust.

Our last leg of the journey was to the Isle of Industry. We arrived to help our friend the Professor who told us how new things are manufactured. First you have to draw a blueprint, then you have to build a model and finally you have to try it. We practiced this by making our own paper aeroplanes from a plan. When we had all made one we tested them in groups to find who's aeroplane went the furthest. We learnt 3 more buzzwords and they were design, make and test.











Finally we flew home to Derby. We thought that the whole morning was amazing, and taught us how to be engineers. In Class 9 lots of us now want to work for Rolls Royce as engineers!

By Class 9

Super Science in class 9

Three weeks ago, we began a science experiment in Class 9. We wanted to investigate whether a bean plant would grow in different materials. We planted the seed into wet paper towels, sand, water and rocks. 'At the start I thought sand might be the best for a seed to grow in because I've seen plants in the desert grow in the sand too' - Owen. We thought that rocks might not be a good place for a plant to grow in because the roots won't be able to hold onto anything.

We checked to make sure all the seeds were a similar size and were all put on the same shelf near the window to make sure our experiment was fair. In our books we had to write the prediction, equipment list and the method in case anyone else would like to try our experiment. After the method we had to draw what each seed looked like. We have been checking our seeds every week so we can record our drawings of their progress and see which has grown the best.

So far the seed in the sand is growing very quickly and may get as tall as the roof if we leave it to carry on growing!


By Owen, Sabeel and Fiza

Become a Sun-safe Supersar!

In yesterday's assembly, Mrs Dale told us all about how to keep safe in the sun. She told us a story about a boy called George who was a sun-safe superstar because he followed the five simple rules. 

These are:
Slip, Slop, Slap, Sunglasses, Shade.

• We must slip on our t-shirt to protect our shoulders. 
• We then slop on our sun-cream to prevent sunburn from the harmful UV rays. 
• We also slap on a hat to stop the bright, shining sun hurting our heads and neck. 
• We must wear sunglasses because if you look at the sun you can really hurt your eyes. 
• Shade is important to keep us cool in the midday sun.

You need to be sunsafe even if you are outside just for a little while because your skin is still exposed to the sun. We should all drink plenty of water so you stay hydrated. 

Here at Ridgeway, we are going to bring in sunglasses and a sun hat for playtimes as well as putting suncream on from the dispensers around school. Teachers should also be covering their shoulders as well as wearing sunglasses and a hat. 

By Class 9's Sun-safe Superstars!