The students adapted their deigns as they went along, discussing the science side of things such as force, trajectory, angles and pressure. They experimented with distance, speed, height and water/air pressure and we saw some huge launches! The students had to make sure there was just enough water in the bottles and the right amount of air pumped into them before the rockets went off suddenly. The trick was to try and stand clear and avoid getting soaked!

The pupils stuck at it and refined their rockets as they went along before creating super-jumbo double/triple and mini ones to see which ones would go furthest or highest.

This week we are going to start a new project which will last over several weeks. After letting everyone have the first part of the session to finish/carry on with their own films/animations/comic books we then split them into three groups.

After a group discussion on super heroes, the task was then set for them to invent their very own super hero to star in a super hero movie. They had to take into consideration super powers, costume, name, secret identity, side kick, weakness, back story,  technology, logos etc.

Next week they will continue creating their super hero/villain.

We talked about how to attempt the various challenges which included tower building, pass the bucket, water bottle lift, brick support, memory game and balance ball.

These are the steps we took:

1. Define the situation

2. Identify the task

3. Describe the action

4. Explain the result

By looking at solving challenges in different ways, the students also used communication, co-operation, negotiation, teamwork and leadership skills.

Kenan: I enjoyed the water bottle challenge the best. It was difficult to get the string around the bottle and move it without it falling. In the end I wrapped the string around the bottom of the bottle sideways.I am pleased I did the balance board on my own.

Kris: I liked the balance board. We had to work together to go fast and slow and tilt it to get the ball in the bucket.

We are very lucky to have James Clarke who is a writer based in Northampton lead the two days. James has written a number of commissioned stage plays for young people and in 2002 was long listed for a BAFTA with a short film he produced for television. James has written a number of books about film and has worked extensively with young people in community filmmaking. His writing has also been published in various magazines and other outlets. James studied Film at the University of Warwick and the University of Bristol.

The two days will aim to engage the children in the whole process of planning and script writing and even creating posters for their films. We will be looking at story development, scripting, storyboarding and even looking at resources needed for filming. These activities will boost literacy skills through reading, creative writing, speaking & listening.

The course will take place on a Wednesday 6^th June & Thursday 7^th June from 9am – 3pm. The cost of the course is £45 with cheques payable to: Northamptonshire County Council. There are a limited number of spaces so please send your cheque with the attached completed flyer into us ASAP to reserve your child’s place.

Parents/carers are responsible for getting their children to and from the centre and students will need to bring their own lunch.

Everyone had to deliberate and decide on which 10 items them would choose to help them survive on the island and justify their reasons. Then the whole group used their speaking and listening skills to argue persuasively as to why their items should stay. This involved communication, co-operation, reasoning, justifying and compromising skills. Eventually 10 items were agreed upon, including an axe, medicine, rope, knife, matches and a flare.

Here is some of the students discussion, choices and explanations.

Flare – if any boats or planes come near the island, they’ll know we’re there  – Tommy and Chris.

Medicine – If you feel ill or get bitten by a bug, you could get infected – Adam.

Bandages – get rid of these as we have medicine already – Tommy.

Matches – they light up really fast and make fire to cook fish – Dontell.

Axe – to cut down trees and chop up food before cooking – Tommy and Chris. Adam – I agree, the axe can be used to make shelter too. The knife isn’t as good for that.

Gun  – you can aim the gun to catch food but not the axe – Dontell. Chris – it’s too loud and would scare the animals. Adam -  use the knife and sneak around the animals rather than the gun.

Chris and Tommy – use the compass to find out which direction you are going in and to find your way back. You need a map with it too. Keep the map – Dontell.

Bottled water  – get rid of it as most plants have water in, coconuts have milk – Chris

Blankets  – they protect against insects – Adam. Use them to cover the shelter – Chris

Clothes – all agreed, we can set them on fire to signal a ship if we need to, we’d have the clothes we arrived in.

Torch/candle – we don’t need these as we have matches. Chris. Adam – I’d rather have a torch but the batteries might wear out.

Rope  – we can use it as a fishing line and to help make shelter – Adam.

Fishing rod  – we don’t need it as trees are made of wood and we have the axe to cut it down, use the knife to smooth it – Adam.  But we need the hook from it, we can’t make that – Chris. We can use worms and maggots for bait – Dontell.  We could make a spear – Tommy.

Fruit – We wouldn’t need this as there would be fruit on the island – Chris. It would be good to have a bowl though – Adam

Hat – we don’t need that, we can use the clothes to make one. We don’t want to get sunstroke – Tommy

Scissors – to cut the fish – Adam.

After taking over the giant iCon building screening room in Daventry, Dale, Chris and Graham (students from the Cobblers film club) presented the different student showcases to the audience, talking about the different clubs and what they do.

We also had a guest speaker from Film Northants who talked about this years competition and how to enter.

To close the evening, the students from the Cobblers Advanced Animation Club, premiered their Firstlight Funded short film ‘Accidentally in Daventry’ to the public, before the lads closed the evening.

It was a great evening and a massive congratulations to all the students that took part.

The event will be held at the Daventry iCon Building tonight at 6pm and will include films and animations produced by students from the Steelbacks Animation Club, Cobblers Film Club and Study Centre daytime and holiday programs.

The evening will also include the Premier screening of the Cobblers Firstlight short film ‘Accidently in Daventry’, which was made by students from Danetre Secondary School and Abbeyfield Secondary School at the centre last year.

The evening is open to everyone and if you are interested in supporting local young talent please let us know.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at the Cobblers Study Centre or Steelbacks Study Centre on 01604 759864

Hope to see you there!

The students did extremely well to complete the course as they hadn’t seen it beforehand  and it can be very disorientating. Everyone had a go and then worked against the clock to see who could get the best time without a blindfold.

These are the students’ comments:

Peter: I used flexibility, I stayed with Tommy for a while then ditched him.

Kris: I used independence, I did it myself , it was harder with blindfold

John: It was harder with people attached to you, I relied on myself

Dontelle: It was easy guiding Anna, I told her where the rope was, she didn’t listen always

Tommy: I don’t care about getting muddy. Everything was easy and difficult at the same time. I liked dangling in the spider web.

This weeks Advanced Club had the opportunity to try out some new software. We gave them the task of making a news story using a news studio and inserting outside broadcast into it.

After splitting the group,  the ‘news room people’ worked with Ash in one room that we had set up as an indoor news centre. We had two news presenters, an interviewer and interviewee, a director, audio cue engineer, floor manager and three weather girls! They had to work on a script that would introduce several news stories from outside reporters and end with a weather forecast. This also meant writing the auto cue and getting the speed right for the broadcasters, practising the script,  as well as getting all the timings right for the final ‘live’ bulletin.

The outside broadcasters split into three groups and had to film a short piece that would slot inot the main bulletin. They had to script their piece and then go out into the cricket ground to film their shots before editing it and adding music.

Both groups did extremely well under the pressure and found out exactly how hard it is to work to a deadline.

We looked at food groups and discussed healthy and unhealthy food before moving across to the Yurts kitchen. We discussed hygiene and the use of seperate coloured boards for different food groups and the need to wash hands and keep hair tied back (if necessary).

Each person was given a different job, either to cut up the meat or vegetables into small chunks ready to put onto skewers. Meanwhile potatoes and corn on the cobs were put in the oven. Peter kept an eye on the kebabs turned them occasionally and with the help of Tommy checked the food in the oven and the rest of the group loaded the skewers ready for cooking. Everyone had a hand in clearing and washing up before we sat down to our feast.