Year 9 Geography

 Geography Can Save Lives

Year 9, in Mr Wait's geography lessons, have been using a computer simulation to plan to protect people from natural disasters. Mr Wait said:

This half term Year 9 have been posed with a number of questions about 'Can geographers.....?'  This week was the turn of 'Can geographers stop natural disasters?'.  Year 9 used a computer simulation to look at planning, predicting and preventing to save lives in the event of a natural disaster such as an earthquake or tropical storm. 

We are glad to say that year 9 were great planners and managed to save many lives and settlements in the simulation. 

Year 9 3R All-Stars

 Celebrating Year 9

Today we were delighted to hold our first celebration event of year 9, recognising students who have shown an outstanding commitment to our school values.

The celebration was for our 3R All-Stars: 89 students who received no behaviour points throughout September. Their positive attitude, responsible choices, and consistent commitment to being Ready, Respectful, and Responsible set a fantastic example for others.

Students enjoyed the opportunity to celebrate with sweet treats at breaktime, marking a brilliant start to the academic year. We are incredibly proud of their efforts and the positive contribution they make to our school community every day.

Congratulations to all of our September 3R All-Stars. We look forward to celebrating even more of our wonderful year 9s as the year progresses.

Well done, everyone and keep up the excellent work.

Miss Hazzlewood and Mr Fisher

German Song Project

 Languages Department, German Song Project 

I would like to share some exciting updates form the Languages department on how our Y7 and Y8 German Song project is coming along. As World Mental Health Day is fast approaching, we are on track to deliver a recording of the German song 'Ich bin ich', which is about the importance of being yourself and celebrating individuality.

Ahead of our final recording next week, we got together this afternoon for a very productive practice session, and it was lovely to see how confident students were in singing in German, and playing their instruments and how much they enjoyed the session. Everyone was so engaged, and I cannot wait to share the final product of their hard work!

Ms Kalinka

MFL Department

Opportunities for Primary Children

Join Winston's Primary Experience

"Ready, Steady, Revise"

 Year 11 Preparing for Mocks

This week, all Year 11 students took part in our “Ready, Steady, Revise" event to help them prepare for their upcoming mock exams. Students explored a range of practical revision strategies, including study cards, mind maps, Cornell notes, past papers and revision timetables. 

Students should be really proud of how they engaged with the different types of revision, and with 6 weeks until their mocks, left feeling more prepared and ready to approach their exams.

Mr Falzon

Reading: ePlatform Digital Libraries

 Reading at Home

At Winston, we are committed to providing students with access to a range of reading resources, which is why we are pleased to be able to offer ePlatform, a digital library for students that provides free access to eBooks. This is something that has been available for students for a while but not enough students know about it, so we want to shout about it!!

The benefits of ePlatform Digital Libraries:

With ePlatform, your student has 24/7 access to eBooks for free. This is a wonderful extension of our physical school library and allows titles to be checked out at home, over the weekend or during school breaks without worrying about losing or accruing late fees because they automatically return at the end of the loan period.

Students of all ages can benefit from ePlatform's reading and comprehension tools. A service like this can benefit struggling or reluctant readers, learning-challenged students, second-language learners, as well as gifted readers alike.

· Unique reader customisation with Settings Wizard, across all devices

· Introduce students to books above their reading level

· Help busy kids find time to read

· Professionally curated collection with age restrictions set by school staff

· Increase vocabulary and improve pronunciation and comprehension

· User friendly for all types of readers & listeners (e.g. reluctant, dyslexic)

Students can access ePlatform directly from the student dashboard on Frog. We have our own Winston Library page and students use their school Frog log in (single sign on) to be able to browse and borrow the ebooks available.

We are currently in the process of looking into how we can offer audiobooks for the students too, so watch this space...

Happy Reading!

The Library Team

Mrs M Jones

Discovery Space Manager

Acids and Alkalis

 Year 7 Science: Rainbow Fizz

The Year 7 students are all studying an enquiry cycle 'How Dangerous are Acids and Alkalis.'

Miss Jackson's students incorporated standard lab practice - familiarising themselves with and using various science equipment - with creating a 'rainbow fizz' which reinforced their learning of the pH scale.

Firstly, they clamped a boiling tube in the clamp at an angle, pointing it away from their faces.

They poured in 2cm depth of 0.5M Hydrochloric Acid.

Next they added a few drops of Universal Indicator solution and watched it turn red to show acid.

Skill and precision were required to carefully add just a few drops of saturated sodium carbonate solution with a pipette; too much and it wouldn't work.

The mixture gave a satisfying fizz and the sodium carbonate (an alkali) turned dark blue and sank to the bottom and a rainbow gradually appeared in the solution.

Ms Jackson/Ms Buttery