Careers | Chantry Middle School

Big Bang Science Showcase Event

2nd June 2015Mrs K Shutler

Since the start of the year, twenty-one Year 7 students have been working towards the British Science Association’s Bronze CREST Award in special after-school sessions.

On 22 March, we hosted a special showcase event, for students to present their completed projects and discuss ideas with professional scientists and engineers.

The standard of work was very high and we’re pleased to confirm that all of the students’ project work has been selected for exhibition at the regional Big Bang Science Fair in July.

Well done to all of the students involved and a big thank you to everyone who supported the event.

Enterprise activity for Year 5

1st May 2015J Edwards

5H & 5I have been taking part in an enterprise activity led by Business Ambassador, Carole Richards. Three Business Ambassadors supported the session, two of the Ambassadors were from NCC and one was from Active Northumberland.

Students worked in teams of 6 to design and manufacture products and agreed their roles within each company group. Students experienced being a Sales Executive, General Manager, Buyer, Production Worker, Accountant or Quality Controller.

All students developed their leadership, decision-making, negotiating, teamwork and listening skills during the session as well as learning about the world of work and employability.

Careers Speed Dating event for Year 8

27th April 2015J Edwards

At this event students got the chance to talk to a variety of people from a wide range of workplaces and find out more about their careers. In their work booklets, students recorded information about:

Career paths from school
Qualifications & skills
Clothing for the job
Usual working hours
Typical customers and expectations
The best part of their job and the part that they enjoy the least

Organisations represented were:

Sainsbury’s
Barclays Bank
Drager
EGGER
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC)
NCC legal
Talking Point Events
Active Northumberland
Ashington Community Trust Charity

Visit Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station

21st April 2015Mrs K Shutler

A group of 28 Year 8 students took part in a visit to Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station. The facility, which is owned and operated by EDF Energy, has two advanced gas-cooled reactors and can generate sufficient electricity for 3% of the UK need.

The visit began with a look around the new Visitors Centre, which included a range of hands on electricity-related activities for the students to take part in. This was followed by an introductory presentation about the history of the site and how electricity was generated there.

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Campus Explorers for Year 5

17th April 2015J Edwards

5B and 5C got the opportunity to take part in Campus Explorers.

In this activity students got the chance to take part in a virtual tour of the campus of Newcastle University through an interactive map. Throughout their journey through the campus they got the chance to play fun, educational games and activities.

This activity contributes towards our Careers Education Information and Guidance (CEIAG) programme and introduces the concept of Higher Education.

5I and 5H will get the opportunity to take part in Campus Explorers in June.

Newcastle University Careers Day for Year 8

15th April 2015J Edwards

Recent graduates from the University of Newcastle led a visit to enable Year 8 students to find out more about going to University.

The graduates did a presentation about Student Life and ran a workshop called Universi-Tree. The presentation covered all aspects of student life from the reality of student finances to the wide range of societies on offer. During the workshop the students thought about the range of qualifications needed for a wide range of careers. Students found out more about the importance of their choices within education from GCSE to A-Level and then Degree and beyond.

All students had a tour of the campus in small groups by a current Newcastle University student. This was a great opportunity to ask questions and find out more about the significance of the statues in the Plaza and see the Hatton Gallery, Library, Students Union and a wide variety of sports facilities. The tour included several Schools within the University and links to the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) and Great North Museum were made.

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A visit from author Janis Mackay

30th March 2015Mrs K Shutler

On Thursday afternoon, students in Years 5 and 6 were treated to an hour of interactive fun with Scottish author, Janis Mackay.

Janis used her story telling and acting skills to transport the students to their own imaginary worlds and inspire them to write time travel adventures of their very own.

Our students were keen to get their hands on signed copies of her latest series, the first of which – The Accidental Time Traveller – won the Scottish Children’s Book Award for younger readers. This series is full of funny misunderstandings and gripping action, perfect for children up to 11 years reading in the yellow band (book level 4 – 4.9)

Janis is currently visiting schools in the region as part of the forthcoming Hexham Book Festival

Click here to see an example of the exciting events on offer.

British Science Week Komatsu Visit

11th March 2015J Edwards

Some of our Year 7 students got to visit Komatsu as part of our British Science Week celebrations at Chantry.

Students found out about the history of the Japanese company and were shown where Komatsu have sites in the UK, Europe and around the rest of the world.

After a safety briefing the students got to do a full site tour where they got to see the production process of hydraulic extraction machinery. The students got the chance to see every stage of the production process starting with boom fabrication and finishing with the electrostatic painting system.

All students got the chance to test drive one of three diggers in the factory demonstration area.

7W & 7S Enterprise

27th February 2015J Edwards

7S and 7W took part in an enterprise workshop on Friday morning. Students had the opportunity to work with Carole Richards, Business Ambassador for Northumberland County Council. The students also worked with six other Business Ambassadors that volunteered to take part in the session.

We were delighted to find out that two of the Ambassadors were parents of students that currently go to Chantry Middle School; Mr Crumplin from BRIC and Mrs Cuthbertson from Proctor & Gamble (P&G). The other four Business Ambassadors were both from NCC, Sainsbury’s, Active Northumberland and Tyne Met College.

Students found out about the skills and attributes of a variety of roles within a company and calculated the profit for their group using their own records of expenditure and revenue of their own company. The students quickly realised the need for quality control in terms of their production and developed their negotiating skills when buying and selling stock.

Well done to “Duck N Stool Ducks” from 7W that were the overall winners. Members of the winning team were:

Piper Clarke

Lewis Cuthbertson

Molly Brown

Evan Dunn

Eleanor Clark

British Science Week 2015

26th February 2015J Edwards

CMS BSW 2015 2 We are really looking forward to all of the events that we have planned for British Science Week 2015.

The majority of the events for this year take place on Friday the 13th of March but with so much to pack into just one day, we have had to include some satellite events that fall either side of our big day.

Many thanks to all of the parents that have provided us with links for site visits or have offered to come in themselves to deliver a session on Friday the 13th.

Please check the newsletter and school website to see how all of the events for every year group went.

Please get in touch with Miss Edwards if you are available to help on the Alnwick Garden or Komatsu visit with year 7 or Great North Museum visit with year 5.