STEM Ambassador Opportunities – December 2015 – Bristol, Bath and Somerset

Dear STEM Ambassadors,

Welcome to December’s STEM Opportunities newsletter – the last edition of 2015! I’d like to say a big thank you for all your hard work over the last year – we’ve had volunteers going into nearly every secondary school in the region and plenty of primary schools too. I’m looking forward to continuing working with you all in 2016!

If you are interested in any of the opportunities on this newsletter then just reply to this email. We will be able to provide more info and put you in touch with the right people. Opportunities in Somerset are highlighted in red.

Don’t forget to tell us about other activities you’ve been doing this term. This could have been arranged through your company/department/friends/other STEM providers – we like to be in the know!

Coming up in this month’s newsletter…

Feedback

Opportunities in Secondary Schools

  • December 2015
  • January 2016
  • February 2016
  • March 2016
  • EDF Inspire STEM Days in Somerset

Opportunities in Primary Schools

Other Opportunities

Networking and Training Opportunities

Feedback

If you’ve taken part in any STEM activity recently, regardless of whether it’s been organised through us or another route then please click hereto fill in the feedback form.

We are reviewing the way we send the newsletter, so if you have any feedback about what you like and don’t like about this email, please get in touch.

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Opportunities in Secondary Schools

December 2015

Hans Price Academy, Weston-super-Mare (BS23 3QP) – ASAP until mid-January - The school are taking part in the BP Ultimate STEM Challenge where students have to come up with energy-efficient solutions to real world problems. They are looking for ambassadors to support sessions to help students link the challenge to careers options in STEM. If you could help the team for one or more sessions, please get in touch ASAP!

Beechen Cliff School,Bath (BA2 4RE) – 8th December, 7.30pm – Give an evening talk for students and parents about your work in STEM (could be academia or industry). The talk could be up to 45 mins but shorter if you’d like. Other dates are available:

  • 12thJanuary, 2ndFebruary, 8thMarch, 19thApril, 10thMay

IKB Studio School, Keynsham (BS31 1PH) – from December – This new school (part of Wellsway School) is looking for STEM industry work placements for Year 12 students, every Monday from now until May 2016. Employers will then have the opportunity to have the same student from September 2016–May 2017 during their Year 13 placement, so the students could make a great contribution to your work. Go to general information or contact Clare Barclay ( 07497 205535) if you’d like to get involved.

Crispin School, Street (BA16 0AD) – from December – Be a mentor for students taking part in the Cisco Little BIG Awards. Cisco is challenging pupils to develop ideas related to what happens when you connect everyday things to the internet. STEM Ambassadors are being asked to provide industry experience and guidance to the students. Get in touch to register your interest in being a mentor.

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January 2016

Bristol Free School, Bristol (BS10 6NJ) – 6th January, 3.30pm –The school will be planning their space themed STEM day in March and are keen to involve ambassadors with expertise in this area in the planning process. If you want to help teachers design an off-timetable day for every year group, come along!

Kingsmead School, Wiveliscombe (TA4 2NE) – 15th January (Yr10) or 24th February (Yr8), all day or half day – Run a 40-min interactive discussion about your STEM industry, including (if possible) a typical mock task from your work.

Churchill Academy, North Somerset (BS25 5QN) – 19th January, all day – Give a talk as part of a STEM day for Year 8 pupils. This would be repeated with different classes and ideally have an activity element included.

Bristol Brunel Academy, Bristol (BS15 1NU) – 19th January, time tbc – Take part in a Tea with a Scientist activity for interested pupils.

Bristol Free School, Bristol (BS10 6NJ) – 21st January – Take part in a speed networking session for Year 9 students as part of their “Pathways Day”. They will also be meeting with sixth form and UWE students so they can think about pathways to different careers.

Gordano School, North Somerset (BS20 7QR) – 26th January, 3.30-4.30pm – STEM Ambassadors with a science background are invited to take part in a speed networking event for students interested in science careers.

Bradley Stoke Community School, South Gloucestershire (BS32 9BS) – 27th January, 6-8.30pm – Take part in an evening speed networking session for students and their parents. There will be 2 sessions, 6-7pm for Year 8 and 9 students, 7.30-8.30pm for older students.

St Katherine’s School, Pill (BS20 0HU) – 29th January – Support Tomorrow’s Engineers: Around the World STEM activity day, all activities provided.

Digitech Studio School, Warmley (BS30 8XQ) – from January, Tuesdays/Thursdays, 3.30-4.30pm –support the school’s enrichment programme by giving talks, running workshops or taking part in Tea with a Scientist/Engineer. If you’d like to get involved, get in touch with your availability and what you’d like to do.

Beechen Cliff School, Bath (BA2 4RE) – from January – The school are taking part in the Cospace Rescue robotics competition which is designed to engage students in programming and algorithm development. There is more info here: If you have any knowledge in this area and could support the students please get in touch.

Churchill Academy, North Somerset (BS25 5QN) – from January – Run a workshop for A Level students about maths in physics topics.

Churchill Academy, North Somerset (BS25 5QN) – from January – If you studied maths and/or physics A Level you are invited to give a talk to Sixth Form physics students about your career and how studying those A Levels helped your career.

Writhlington School, Radstock (BA3 3NQ) – from January, Tues or Wed, 3.30pm (dates flexible) – Give a talk about your career for interested students after school. The school are looking for someone with a maths, physics or chemistry background. Ideally the talk would also include a practical activity for the students to do.

Oasis Academy Brightstowe, Shirehampton (BS11 0EB) – from January (dates flexible) – The school is looking for ambassadors who could run after-school projects in the STEM club. There are very few staff members in the DT department so they need your support! If you have an idea for a project that you could run for a few weeks, get in touch.

The Blue School, Wells (BA5 2NR) – from January - Careers and Croissants.Short morning sessions enabling Yr9 / Yr11 students to engage in short, informal chats with STEM professionals and increase their knowledge of STEM jobs. Times will be approximately 8:45am- 9:30am, dates are negotiable.

Crispin School, Street (BA16 0AD) – from January, monthly, times negotiable – be a Raising Aspirations mentor. The Raising Aspirations programme, run by Somerset Community Foundation, pairs up mentors from the community with Year 7 students to help the students develop self-belief, confidence and aspirational life goals. STEM Ambassadors with an interest in mentoring and an ambition to develop a longer term relationship with a school would find this a particularly rewarding opportunity. For more information, get in touch.

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February 2016

Oasis Academy Brightstowe, Shirehampton (BS11 0EB) – 24th February, 9.30am-12.45pm – Female engineers are invited to a Speed Networking event for Year 8 students. The session will be just before their GCSE options evening and will be for both boys and girls to help challenge stereotypes in engineering. At the moment, no girls take engineering in Yr 9 upwards and the school wants to change this.

Worle Community School, Weston-super-Mare (BS22 8XX) – 26th February (all day) – Run a STEM workshop as part of the school’s off-timetable day for Year 10 students. The workshop would need to be around 40 mins long and would be repeated with groups of 30 students. Any topic welcome.

Fairfield High School, Bristol (BS7 9NL) – w/c 29th February – The school are holding a maths week and are looking for ambassadors to run workshops on applications of maths. Dates/times flexible in the week and it’s up to you which year group you’d like to work with (Year 7-11). If you have an idea for a workshop that you’d like us to help you develop please get in touch.

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March 2016

Fairfield High School, Bristol (BS7 9NL) – w/c 7th March – The school are holding a science week and are looking for ambassadors to run workshops on any science related topic. Dates/times flexible in the week and it’s up to you which year group you’d like to work with (Year 7-11). If you have an idea for a workshop that you’d like us to help you develop please get in touch.

Mangotsfield School, South Gloucestershire (BS16 9LH) – 9th March, 10.45-3.45 – Take part in a speed networking activity with Year 10s as part of the school’s science week to inspire more students about different STEM careers available. You will be speaking to different groups throughout the day and after school all students will have time to meet you.

Chipping Sodbury School, South Gloucestershire (BS37 6EW) – 23rd March, 1.15-3.15pm – Give a 10 minute talk followed by a 20 minute activity for groups of 15-20 Year 10 students as part of the school’s STEM day. All STEM topics welcome!

Bristol Free School, Bristol (BS10 6NJ) –23rd March, all day – Support the school’s space-themed STEM day for the whole school. Activities tbc but they will be looking for ambassadors with knowledge of space to support students throughout the day.

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EDF Inspire – STEM Days in Somerset *NEW DATES ADDED!*

As part of Inspire, EDF’s Hinkley Point C school’s engagement programme, we are working with EDF and STEMworks to provide STEM Ambassadors with opportunities to help out with STEM days in schools across Somerset. You will be helping groups of Yr8 or Yr9 students with a hands-on STEM activity and discussing how STEM skills are vital to your job. Sessions are usually a whole day (some may be shorter) and all materials are provided – no preparation is required! Get in touch about any of the upcoming date for more information:

  • St. Dunstan's School, Glastonbury (BA6 9BY) - 12/01/2016 and 23/02/2016
  • Haygrove School, Bridgwater (TA6 7HW) - 26/01/2016 and 03/02/2016
  • Chilton Trinity, Bridgwater (TA6 3JA) - 27/01/2016 and 28/01/2016
  • Whitstone School, Shepton Mallet (BA4 5PF) - 01/02/2016
  • Kingsmead School, Wiveliscombe (TA4 2NE) - 24/02/2016
  • Court Fields Community School, Wellington (TA21 8SW) - 26/02/2016
  • Robert Blake Science College, Bridgwater (TA6 6AW) – 29/02/2016 and 02/03/2016
  • The Kings of Wessex Academy, Cheddar (BS27 3AW) - 01/03/2016
  • Stanchester Academy, Stoke-sub-Hamdon (TA14 6UG) - 04/03/2016
  • Wadham School, Crewkerne (TA18 7NT) - 07/03/2016
  • Huish Episcopi School, Langport (TA10 9SS) - 08/03/2016
  • Frome Community College(BA11 2HQ) - 15/03/2016

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Opportunities in Primary Schools

Fair Furlong Primary School, Bristol (BS13 9HS) – 5-8th January – Support the school’s engineering week. How you support the week is up to you, you could give a talk, run an activity or just be the expert in the room. They are covering the following topics:

Year 6 – Cars

Year 5 – Bridges

Year 4 – Trains

Year 3 – Boats

Year 2 – Aviation

Year 1 – Propellers

EYFS (reception) – Balloons

Get in touch with the topic you could help with and your availability.

Worle School, Weston-super-Mare (BS22 8XX) – Tuesdays from January – The science department are running workshops for local primary schools about rockets. They will be doing a variety of activities including water rockets and stomp rockets. They are looking for experts to help bring the activities to life. They will be running these workshops nearly every week until the end of the school year so get in touch with your availability.

Churchill Academy, North Somerset (BS25 5QN) – February 2016 – Run a STEM workshop for a group of local primary school children (sessions hosted at Churchill Academy) as part of their “Month of STEM”. Any STEM topic welcome – get in touch for more info.

Blaise Primary School, Bristol (BS10 7EJ) –from January– The school is looking for people who would like to run activities about materials, e.g. comparing materials based on simple physical properties, changing the shape of solid objects, thinking about suitability of everyday materials for tasks, etc. This is to help teach these topics but also to enthuse pupils about science. Dates/times negotiable.

Oasis Academy Longcross Primary, Bristol (BS11 0LP) – The school is looking for Ambassadors to help enrich of the following science topics: simple forces, incl. magnetism (Yr3), sound (Yr4), gravity, the sun moon (Yr5) and light & the eye (Yr6). This is to help teach these topics but also to enthuse their pupils about science. Dates/times negotiable.

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Other Opportunities

My Future My Choice – Support engineering activities at various secondary schools in the Bristol area on the topics of aviation. Your role will be to mentor small groups of students through engineering challenges and talk to the group informally about your job. You’ll be needed for the full school day but no preparation is required and full instructions are given on the day:

  • Bristol Technology and Engineering Academy, North Bristol (BS34 8SF) - 15-16th December with Year 11s
  • Churchill Academy, Churchill (BS25 5QN) –14th January with Year 5s from local primary schools

Prince’s Trust xl Programme Support, various locations – from December – An opportunity has come available for STEM ambassadors to work with local students in challenging circumstances. The xl programme for students focuses on employability and life skills and the Prince’s Trust are looking for STEM Ambassadors who could run short, hands-on workshops to engage the students in STEM topics. There are a number of opportunities at schools locally for pupils out of mainstream education. Opportunities are available at:

Marlwood School, Bedminster Down School, Worle Community School, Heathfield Community School and Knowle DGE Learning Centre.

If you’re looking for a new challenge as a STEM ambassador, please get in touch for more information.

Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, Bath (BA1 2HN) – from December – The Institution runs workshops for local children on the second Saturday of every month and outreach workshops at various locations around Bath during the week. The workshops are based on a variety of STEM topics and you can commit to as many sessions as you like. Contact Paul Thomas () to volunteer and for more info go to:

Cisco Little BIG Awards - from January– Cisco is inviting schools to take part in the Little BIG Awards, challenging pupils to develop ideas related to what happens when you connect everyday things to the internet. STEM Ambassadors are asked to provide industry experience and guidance to the students. Schools are registering their interest now and we are looking for Ambassadors to be mentors – get in touch to register your interest and see for more information.

Love Plays – Creative, sustainable community playgrounds, Bristol - from January - This pilot project is looking for volunteers to support workshops, provide technical guidance and mentoring support for groups of children involved in the design and construction of creative and sustainable playgrounds in their local area. This is a project with an international dimension as Bristol students will interact with students in Tanzania involved in the same task. To find out more, get in touch!

Raising Aspirations Careers Fair, UWE (BS16 1QY) – 2-3rd February, 9-1pm – Run a 15-20 minute talk and activity about your career or company for Year 9 students from across Bristol.

South Gloucestershire Libraries – 11th-20th March – To celebrate British Science Week, South Gloucestershire are looking for small exhibitions about industries in the science sector to go in one of their libraries. If you could help put together an exhibition about your company or organisation, contact

Your Green Future, UWE (BS16 1QY) – 17th/18th May –This event for secondary schools inspires around 500 students every year about sustainability and careers in a low carbon economy. Your Green Future are looking for companies to support workshops, run a stand in the exhibition space or sponsor part of the event. For more info please get in touch.

Imagineering at the Royal Bath & West Show, Shepton Mallett - 1-4 June 2016 – Last year over 26,000 people experienced the Imagineering zone at the Royal Bath & West Show – an exhibition for children and families highlighting the range of opportunities available through STEM across the West and South West of England. In 2016 the organisers are looking for companies to sponsor the Imagineering zone and provide an interactive stand to engage the thousands of people attending England’s biggest country show. For more information, get in touch!

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Networking and Training Opportunities

STEMNetworking – STEM Clubs and Space, ss Great Britain, Bristol (BS1 6TY) – 1st February, 4.30-6.30pm – This is an opportunity to meet with our network of teachers and ambassadors to discuss STEM Clubs and how you can support them. We will be showcasing some resources, including a number that are space themed to coincide with Tim Peake’s mission to the ISS. The event will include a planetarium show in a mobile dome! All ambassadors welcome.

For tickets and more info go to:

Extension Training – Save the Date! BRLSI, Bath (BA1 2HN) – 16th March – We will be holding a training session for Ambassadors to give you the opportunity to get some knowledge and ideas for running your own STEM activities. An Eventbrite invitation will be sent around next term with more info.

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Have a great Christmas!

Best wishes,

Ellie