PBL Week 3 – February 2023 write up

PBL Week 3 – February 2023

 

Just before February half term, Logic students engaged in their 3rd PBL week of the year. In PBL Week, we give students the opportunity to be off timetable and participate in a range of projects, activities and trips. 

The main aim is to develop their ‘Professional Competencies’, the key skills we believe they will need for their future but we also want students to have fun and develop their knowledge of the world in which we live. 

 

Year 10 and 11

 

Speed Networking

 

We invited 25 business partners, university ambassadors and alumni into Logic to meet with our Y10/11 students to look at future career opportunities. Students were in small groups and got to spend 5 minutes with each person to learn about what they do, their pathway to their role, career requirements and hints for the future. It gave our students a really good insight into the potential opportunities they could have after their time at Logic. 

 

Year 10

 

Visit to St Mary’s University

Year 10’s were given a great opportunity to visit St Mary’s University to explore the realities of going to a University. They took part in a tour of the grounds, saw how students live their day to day lives and had the opportunity to participate in a workshop about overcoming adversity. The students gained valuable insight into University life from the student representatives and learnt skills they could apply to their own lives when faced with adversity. It was a great day out enjoyed by all! 

 

Business and Creative Media Coursework Launch

The Year 10s have begun focusing on their official Business and Creative Media coursework entries. The brief, set by Pearson exam board, was officially announced and the Business and Creative Media departments decided to formally pitch the process to the Year 10 cohort in order to represent the importance of the process. The day was split between understanding what the controlled assessments required as well as guiding the students through research techniques they can use to build on current knowledge and understanding. This is a supportive day where students were encouraged to ask questions about the coursework, the journey they are undertaking and how to be successful. Overall, it was a successful day where students felt they were secure in their learning journey.

 

Year 11

 

CS Trip

Year 11’s were given a list of destinations in the form of longitude and latitude which they had to decode using their algorithmic knowledge. They had the opportunity to practice their binary, run length encoding, morse code and caesar cipher, before spending the day walking around Richmond, grabbing lunch and playing frisbee at the Deer Park.

 

Geography Field Trips

 

Year 11 Geographer’s completed both of their fieldworks in one week, measuring rivers and surveying Stratford in a couple of days. The students managed to measure the depth, velocity and width of a river despite the frosty weather. They also managed to find out what life is like in Stratford from the people who live there, using their surveying skills. 

 

History Trip

 

We took the Historians on a trip to Hampton Court Palace to help them visualise what life would have been like for the Monarchs in the Tudor period. They went armed with knowledge of Elizabeth I and were excited to explore more about Henry VIII and Anne Boyeln. They got to experience and visit the home of Henry 8th!

 

Year 12 Projects

 

STEM Day – Students were given the task of making a straw roller coaster in groups with the aim of being the fastest and most exciting (number of loops). Each team scored points for  its speed, number of turns and their team working skills. At the start of the session, we had a discussion about the types of energy we have around us, such as kinetic and potential energy, and what factors have an effect on the speed of an object. Students worked well together and enjoyed designing and making their own roller coaster. Each one was tested out and timed with a marble before announcing the winners. 

 

Rebranding 

 

The Year 12s spent the day integrating their Games Design, Digital Publishing, IT and Business (Marketing)knowledge together. They were given a project (ULEZ), and they needed to rebrand the current marketing campaign whilst developing their inter-departmental collaboration. Each student had a specific task to complete, and the project manager needed to ensure that all departments were positively collaborating and working together successfully. The Y12s developed their cultural capital, by learning about beyond Feltham, and had the opportunity to pitch their ideas to their peers to grow their public speaking. 

 

International Trading Game 

The Yr12 students spent the day in teams, each of which acted as a separate ‘country’ without any information about what to do. They had to discover for themselves what was going on with the only information that was given was the objective: To make the most amount of money possible. Countries compete against each other to ‘manufacture’ paper shapes (circles, triangles, rectangles, etc.) and sell them to an international commodity market trader at posted prices, which vary with supply and demand. Students learnt a range of intra and interconnected links to a variety of subjects and cultural capital reference points. Students were able to show personal development and resilience within the game. They were able to reflect on global inequality and its impact on development.  At Logic, we believe that shaping our students to have a broader understanding of the world is paramount to making a well rounded individual, readying them to make a swift transition into the next stage of their life.

 

Pitching for Change

 

Y12 students thought about an area within education or the local area which they passionately believed needed changing. They spent half the morning researching and developing a powerful pitch to persuade and influence others to hear their message.  Each student then bravely and individually presented their pitch to the Chairman of Governors for the school. The feedback was incredible and the students fought through their nerves and each presented really well.

 

Logic Marketing – #Student take over

Two working groups of Y12 students were tasked to create innovative content that could be used on the schools social media platforms. This content would be targeted at their demographic and inturn, peak interest in the viewers to find out that little bit more at what makes Logic so special.

 

During the day students participated in a research and analysis phase of how social media is currently used to market Logic. To also be critical in their opinion if the current content would engage their peers to view content.

 

After the planning had been completed the students went out and about recording content and editing videos ready for submission. The effort and teamwork displayed by the students was excellent with their completed offerings gaining traction on the schools social media platform.

 

KS5 Culture Day

 

PBL Wednesday saw our Year 12 and 13 students engage in a fantastic day of cultural celebration, as part of our PBL week.

Students representing over 30 countries wore traditional dress, took part in a cultural quiz, played in an inter continental football game, participated in Mehndi (henna tattooing) and celebrated with a fantastic lunch involving staff and students.

As well as providing food, students and staff also raised over £100 through lunch donations which will be donated to the Aryana Winter appeal for Afghanistan. 

Special thanks go to Julia Alemida and Sedra Saqib who planned and organised the event, along with the many students who joined in with the on the day preparation.