Lego Robotics Competition
On the 3rd of May, Sharples students Hatim K and Sherjeel I embarked on an exciting journey to Preston College to participate in the EEP Tomorrow’s Engineers Robotics Challenge (pictured above). After months of tireless effort spent designing, building, and programming their Lego robots, the competition finally came to a head. The duo’s performance was nothing short of remarkable, and they won the Robot Presentation category. As a result, they have qualified for the prestigious National Final at the Big Bang Science Fair, which will be held at the NEC in June. This outstanding achievement is a testament to their dedication, commitment, and hard work. We couldn’t be prouder of Hatim and Sherjeel and their phenomenal success in this competition. Bravo, gentlemen!
Educake Top Scorers
Well done to everyone who completed their home learning this week. The top scores for each year group are:
Year 9: Dante H, Isabelle W, Adam E, Mohammad I, Matthew S and Khadijah D.
Year 10: Sarah N, Ayaan A and Ziyaad P.
STEM club
Next week in STEM club, pupils will be given the chance to investigate “Strawberry DNA”. Teams will be following a prescribed method and obtaining the DNA from a batch of strawberries (pictured right). Those lucky enough to complete the task in one session will then be separating the DNA of kiwi fruit. DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid. It has all the instructions that a living organism needs to grow, reproduce and function. DNA is passed on from parents to their offspring during fertilisation.
Science Career of the Week
This week’s career is ‘Field Service Engineer’. Service engineers are responsible for installing and maintaining the engineering equipment produced for the company that they work for (such as GE, Siemens or Fuji etc.) They will deliver and install new equipment and perform basic safety testing. Information about experience opportunities, providers, entry requirements and much more can be found here: Science career of the Week.
Please speak to Mr. Burke, who will provide you with more information about this, or any other, science career.
Space News
Astronomers have witnessed a star in the process of eating a planet for the first time. Researchers captured a brief burst of light caused by a planet roughly 10 times the mass of Jupiter being swallowed by its star, located about 12,000 light-years away. This type of event marks the eventual fate of many planets, including Earth. MIT astrophysicist Kishalay De was on the hunt for binary stars when he noticed a spot of light rapidly increasing in brightness, which was later confirmed to be a planet being consumed by its star. While planet-devouring stars are probably common in the universe, evidence has been circumstantial until now. The discovery provides insight into the ways stars might gobble up planets, and upcoming observatories with large infrared cameras may reveal more planet-eating stars. The Earth will eventually be consumed by the sun in about 5 billion years, but finding Earth-like engulfments will be challenging.
Chester Zoo competition results
Congratulations to the pupils who submitted the best posters for the Chester Zoo competition, who will now be invited to go on the trip. Booking your place on the trip should be available on MCAS from today. The students were: Ella K, Hatim K, Sherjeel I, Saffiya A, Isabelle W, Vivian M, Keelie M, Zulal M, Leah S, Alizah A, Esraa A, Javeriya A, Khadija S, Rukya H, Marizhka J and Danielle W.
Mr. Fowlds – Science Enrichment Coordinator
