St. Luke’s Governors Newsletter – October 2017
Manchester and the surrounding areas have seen some of the great scientific discoveries and personalities: Ernest Rutherford split the atom; Alan Turing invented the stored-programme computer; and more recently the wonder-material graphene was discovered and found to be 200-times stronger than steel. The Manchester physicist Professor Brian Cox is rarely off our TV screens!
Science is a core part of the primary school curriculum, but many schools have the resources to teach only the statutory requirement. Here at St. Luke’s, science is just as important as the other core subjects.
We have two members of staff, Miss. Nicholls and Mrs. McLaren, who lead on the teaching of the science curriculum across the school, and all our staff have undergone further training in this area. Miss. Nicholls and Mrs. McLaren recently attained an Enthuse Award for the school, in a Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) competition run by the University of Manchester. This award helps us to develop links with the University to further improve our teaching of science.
From reception to year 6, our children are encouraged to be curious and ask questions about how science can explain what happens around them.
Our teachers run a weekly science after-school club, and we’ve seen two fantastic Science Week events over the past two years. I had the pleasure of observing and working with the children during the Science Week in June.
It was a delight to see the children immersed in a wide range of hands-on activities, many run by scientists from the University of Manchester. These included a planetarium, making DNA bracelets, a scientific ‘Wow Show’, investigating the properties of slime, experimenting with thermal cameras, and a hands-on animal show. The enthusiasm and interest across the whole school was wonderful to see.
Thirty St. Luke’s children also had the chance to participate in the Great Science Share at the Etihad Stadium in July. This event inspires young people to share with others the science they enjoy in the classroom, outdoors and in clubs.
A child’s passion for science develops from an early age. The teachers and governors of St. Luke’s are committed to doing all we can to nurture that passion.
Deb Griffiths-Jones
St. Luke’s mum, Science Link Governor and Vice-Chair of Governors