Kic.in2.Study

Success!

They’ve done it! The Duke of Edinburgh group successfully completed their assessed expedition on 15th and 16th July. They hiked for about seven hours from Hartwell, south by Castlethorpe, to their overnight camp at Cosgrove. Next morning they headed east, skirting Old Wolverton and then north through Haversham to Hanslope, returning to the Cobblers Study Centre at the end of the second day looking weatherbeaten, healthy and exhausted.

On the way they tried fishing for crayfish and had encounters with ducks, cows and a bull. They learned the importance of teamwork, of listening to others and of communicating well. They practised their cooking, map reading and problem solving skills, recognised that on a hike “..you get to see what you don’t see..” and may even do it again one day!

Year 11 on the road…..

Year 11 students attended a Higher Education experience this week when they visited three universities.

On the first day they visited the GENIE labs (Genetics Education Networking for Innovation and Excellence) at the University of Leicester. There they donned lab coats and gloves and took part in a range of interesting activities – they found the DNA of a banana, took part in the Human Genome Race, acted as DNA detectives and found out how they were “one in a million”

The group then transferred to De Montfort University where they attended a presentation about optical illusions and learned how the brain works to convince us that what isn’t there actually is! This was followed by a session using Photoshop to create a design which was printed and bonded to the appropriate material to form their own mouse mat!

The second day was spent at Loughborough University. After a brief tour of the campus which enabled them to see the Olympic size pool and to peek at the gymnastics area, they moved on to a presentation about Ergonomics which was followed by a design challenge task. The students came up with some fantastic designs for a new mobile phone and the winning group received gift vouchers as a prize.

The afternoon saw us in the Sports Department with a choice of attending a fitness testing session or one on sports psychology. This session was followed by an experience of a new sport – Rock-It-Ball – fast, furious and slightly dangerous!

After two fascinating days the students left with a clearer idea of what university life might be like, and hopefully an increased determination and aspiration to include it in their plans for the future.

Australia

The world tour ended in Australia. Students heard a little about the geography of the country and were amazed at the size of it. They tried out a few Aussie phrases – realised they were “fair dinkum” at that, and that some of them were quite familiar. Lynn told them a bit about the indigenous people of Australia – the Aborigines, and we looked at some traditional art work. They heard about the boomerang and how it had originally been used as a weapon, and more recently as a sport. Finally they created their own Aboriginal style designs for some Northamptonshire boomerangs, before tucking into hot dogs as our tribute to the Australian “barbie”.
   

The students’ evaluations of the whole programme were very positive with words such as fun and interesting being chosen to describe it. They were able to identify things they’d learned as well as making suggestions for future programmes – more cricket was requested! Scores of over 9/10 were given by the students who also expressed the wish to return in the Autumn term.

Staff identified students’ increased confidence in trying new things, an improved ability to join in discussions and express opinions, and better reflective skills.

Ireland

Ireland was the ninth cricketing nation to feature in the Steelbacks world tour this week. Anna Letts whose mother’s family are from Ireland led the session. She gave the students some background information about the country including the surprise fact that the currency is the Euro and the most popular sport is something our students had never heard of – Gaelic football. She then taught them some Gaelic words of greeting before talking about Celtic art and the meaning of the various symbols associated with it. The students’ task was to choose a name for their own “tribe” and choose appropriate symbols to decorate a shield. The results were very impressive!

This week’s food tasting introduced the group to soda bread, potato bread and dulse – a form of dried seawood popular as a snack in Ireland. (though not so popular with our students)

Party time!

It was party time for kic.in2.study students on 2nd July when they gathered in the Players Restaurant at Northampton Town Football Club along with carers, friends, social workers, key workers, teachers from the Life Chances team and Northamptonshire Study Centre staff to celebrate their involvement with kic.in2.study over the last year. We were delighted to welcome some of our regular taxi drivers too.

Certificates were awarded to acknowledge involvement with the programme; for achieving 100% attendance; for involvement with the Supporter to Reporter programme and for participation in the Duke of Edinburgh Award. In addition five students identified by staff as outstanding in some way were given Special Awards. Students also received a CD of photos and a limited edition kic.in2.study mug.

A hot and cold buffet supper was followed by some pretty skilful dancing.

Goodbye to year 6 – for the moment…..

Year 6 came to the end of their first kic.in2.study programme tonight. They were introduced to Comic Life on the Apple computers and created posters showing some of the things they’d done over the last few weeks. Their ICT skills were excellent as ever and they produced some great work.

They also visited the video diary room to give their thoughts about kic.in2.study.

We discussed what they’d gained from attending the programme – all of them appreciated the opportunity to meet other people and make new friends and to experience new things. As a group they have grown in confidence and are much more willing to express their opinions, to ask for help and to try new things than when we first met them.

They have been a delightful group to work with and we’re looking forward to seeing them again at other kic.in2.study events.

D of E practice expedition

In the hottest weekend of the year the D of E boys did their practice expedition – carrying packs almost as big as themselves, and definitely as heavy, they set off through the Northamptonshire countryside – across fields, along narrow paths, beating back nettles and branches, paddling in the river, talking to sheep and horses and sometimes each other. With regular meetings with Margaret to urge them on, and provide the occasional treat, (thanks for the ice cream) they made it through the day to arrive at their campsite, exhausted but pleased with themselves, eight hours after leaving the study centre. Tents up and gourmet (not!) meals cooked they enjoyed a much earned break and were visited by Helena to see how they were getting on.

On Sunday morning the weather was still scorching and their aim was to complete the second day in time to get home to see England play. Still feeling tired, aching in places they didn’t know they had, and with one or two blisters between them, they prepared for day two. Breakfast eaten, tents down and campsite cleared and they set off again – the rucksacks weren’t quite as heavy this time – all the food had been eaten! They made it back to the study centre with time to clean some of the kit and get home to watch the game.

Our congratulations to the boys on a fantastic achievement – they showed determination and persistence, and dug deep into their personal reserves to complete the expedition. Well done!

India

Year 9 looked at India this week. With several people absent they worked with people they didn’t usually and produced some good work. They learned a little about the size, major cities, currency and language before taking part in an activity which challenged a few stereotypes about what India might look like. Dorcas who led this activity was very impressed by their thoughtfulness and the way in which they could articulate their views. Yvonne then introduced the students to the Comic Life programme which they used to create posters advertising India and encouraging more people to visit. They demonstrated good ICT skills and produced some very creative posters. Finally they heard a little about and tasted Bombay Mix or chevda – a savoury, spicy Indian snack.

Year 6 and the England game

Year 6 had fun this week as they arrived for their kic.in2.study session just as England scored against Slovenia. They got in the world cup mood by painting flags on their faces before taking on the club challenge set by Jaimie. They had to choose players for a team, design a shirt and a logo, decide on a mascot and choose a manager. After some discussion about the qualities of a good manager they all decided that they would be the best manager for their team. An acrostic poem based on their team’s name was the final task. The group worked well, keeping an eye on the England game, but not allowing it to stop them working. They demonstrated good creativity and some excellent ICT skills.

Pakistan

This week’s focus country was Pakistan and the students heard a little about the traditions associated with it. They were surprised to learn that English was the official language, and that field hockey is the national sport, even though cricket is more popular.

After a spell on I am Learning they were lucky to have the opportunity to do some cricket themselves with visiting coach Dan before tackling the cricket tour task which required them to locate four cities on a map of Pakistan, work out the distances between them and begin to work out the costs involved.

At the end of the session the young people tried out a range of celebration sweets which might be eaten at festivals or special occasions.