Cramlington Year 9 Assembly – Thursday 28th January 2016

Hello Year 9.

Last week I had the pleasure of delivering assembly and introducing you to a great and inspirational role model Elon Musk.  We are influenced by people around us everyday. Many when asked this question pipe up with family, teachers, Christiano Ronaldo. All are great role models and probably all for different reasons.  Ronaldo for example is a talented footballer, but he also displays a number of great characteristics which make him stand out, like for example; determination, commitment and a passion to win and succeed in the beautiful game.  These characteristics are what make him successful, its not just his footballing ability. He is the first on and last one off the training pitch. The same could be said for great actresses, entrepreneurs anyone really who is successful.  Only a few people succeed because of luck alone!

Elon Musk… pretty cool guy eh?  I have added below the slides so you can have a look at all the videos and share with friends and family.  Also check out the company websites mentioned and their career pages. The SpaceX careers page has a load of cool jobs like: commercial director, internship opportunities, propulsion development engineer (making rockets go fast), or software development… there are lots on there.  Yes these job opportunities are in America but if this is the type of company YOU want to work for, why let the Atlantic Ocean stop you in your pursuit of job happiness?   This is however just one example of a company doing really exciting and innovative stuff.  Have a look and find out what other companies are out there and interest you, thinking also about what STEM skills and knowledge you need if you wanted to be the next Elon Musk.

See you soon!

Emma

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Heworth Grange Assemblies: An Inspirational Role Model – w/c 1st February 2016

Hello Heworth Grange,

This week myself and James will be in assembly and introducing you to a great and inspirational role model Elon Musk.  We are influenced by people around us everyday.  Year 7 when asked who they were inspired by named family, teachers, Christiano Ronaldo. All are great role models and probably all for different reasons.  Ronaldo for example is a talented footballer, but he also displays a number of great characteristics which make him stand out, like for example; determination, commitment and a passion to win and succeed in the beautiful game.  These characteristics are what make him successful, its not just his footballing ability. He is the first on and last one off the training pitch. The same could be said for great actresses, entrepreneurs anyone really who is successful.  Only a few people succeed because of luck alone!

Today you were introduced to Elon Musk… pretty cool guy eh?  I have added below the slides so you can have a look at all the videos and share with friends and family.  Also check out the company websites mentioned and their career pages. The SpaceX careers page has a load of cool jobs like: commercial director, internship opportunities, propulsion development engineer (making rockets go fast), or software development… there are lots on there.  Yes these job opportunities are in America but if this is the type of company YOU want to work for, why let the Atlantic Ocean stop you in your pursuit of job happiness?   This is however just one example of a cool company.  Have a look and find out what other companies are out there and interest you, thinking also about what STEM skills and knowledge you need if you want to be the next Elon Musk.

See you soon!

Emma

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Year 8 STEM Assembly 30th April

It was lovely to meet year 8 this morning and introduce the Think Physics project and STEM careers.  We’re looking forward to working with Cramlington Learning Village over the next couple of years and sharing the fantastic reasons to consider a future in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).  We’ll be running activities for all the different year groups.

This morning in assembly we played ‘I’m a STEM Pupil, Get me out of here’.  Everyone got involved with working out the answers, and the volunteers were excellent!

We found out that STEM is interesting, challenging and shapes the world around us.  We saw that the skills developed while studying STEM will be in high demand in the future, and that there are companies here in the North East which offer great career possibilities.

Next year students will choose GCSE subjects as part of year 9 choices.  Some STEM subject choices are compulsory (Science and Mathematics).  However, it is worth considering additional STEM subjects such as computer science or Design and Technology.

Here is a copy of the ‘5 Reasons to choose STEM’ postcard that we gave out during the assembly. Choose a future in STEM Postcard 

See you all soon!

Emma

Solar Eclipse Assembly 20 March

On the morning of Friday the 20th of March, something quite rare happened:  a solar eclipse.  Eclipses are events which only happen when the Moon is directly between the Earth and the Sun, partially blocking the light of the Sun.  During this eclipse,  it was quite overcast.  However, but as the children and I talked about the event, and what else we can witness in the skies above us, we kept an eye on the sky outside through the windows in the hall.  During the eclipse, even though it was cloudy, the hall got much darker and then lighter as the shadow of the Moon moved across North Tyneside.

During the assembly I told the children that the next really clear partial solar eclipse would not be until August 2026, 11 years from now.  The children told me how old they would be and what they might be doing: studying for A levels, an apprenticeship, going to university, travelling the world chasing Auroras, and perhaps working towards a career in space!

In the UK, 95,000 people are employed full time in the space sector and the sector is set to treble in size by 2030… about the time when your child will be looking for jobs.   In the North East of England we have a number of businesses connected to the space sector and, in particular, the satellite industry.

Some of the cool jobs we explored included becoming a:

  • Astrobiologist – scientist who investigates and searches for signs of new life and if life could be sustained on other planets
  • Aerospace engineer – designing, making and testing aircraft and spacecraft
  • Astrophysicist – scientists who investigate the stars, the Sun, the Moon, galaxies and how the Earth may have been formed by recreating the Big Bang.
  • Satellite Engineers  – designing, making, testing satellites
  • Programmers – designing and writing software for spacecraft, satellites, mission control and even the Mars Curiosity rover!

This is a very small selection of space careers, but they are real, future possibilities.  Studying subjects such as science, maths or computing, will allow your child to work towards careers in these areas.  I’ll be returning to Southridge over the next year to look at other career options with the children.

If children, from a young age, know the types of careers that they can have, they may find their dream job.  That might even inspire them to work harder through school.

Inspire them further:

We have a natural fascination with Space and its easy for us to see from our windows, or by standing outside.  Why not develop your child’s interest in Space further?

  • Go out and look for constellations.  This BBC guide will help you get started,
  • Borrow books about space from the library and talk about the topics with your child,
  • purchase a Star Map app such as: SkyView, Star Chart or the Night Sky
  • Use binoculars or a telescope to view the night sky (could be a great birthday present).

You may also consider a road trip to Kielder Observatory.  This is situated in Kielder Forest and is home to some of the darkest skies in Europe.  On their website you can find out how to take part in camp-outs, look for Auroras and observe the stars at the observatory.

Think Physics would love to hear about your Space explorations.  You can tell us about the books you read, the places you visit in the comments below, or by emailing: think.physics@northumbria.ac.uk

Space Careers Assembly 26 March

Thank you Bailey Green for a brilliant assembly on Thursday and some fantastic answers to the questions that I asked you.  I hope that you enjoyed learning more about the jobs that you could choose in the future, if you would like to have a career in space.

We talked about the science behind the solar eclipse and aurora.  Here’s a video showing what the aurora look like – I hope you enjoy it.

We also looked at great space careers: astrobiologists, astrophysicists, satellite engineers, aerospace engineers, geologists, researchers, astronomers and many, many more!

Lastly, we watched a video about the Virgin Galactic and an entrepreneur called Richard Branson.  The video talked about Richard’s dream of flying people into space, and how this dream is nearly a reality.  Maybe one day we’ll all go into space.

So remember, dream big, think big and work hard. You can achieve amazing things now and in the future.

See you soon!