🧪 British Science Week 2025 – Science Comes to Life at St Joseph’s!
British Science Week at St Joseph’s Primary got off to an exciting start as we welcomed visitors from the Glasgow Science Centre! Pupils from P1 to P7 took part in hands-on activities, exploring everything from how our bodies work to the effects of healthy and unhealthy choices. It was fantastic to see so many parents join us and get involved in the learning too!
🏃 Exploring the Human Body
Each class rotated through different activities, giving everyone a chance to investigate and discover the wonders of the human body. Some of the highlights included:
🍏 Healthy Foods vs. Unhealthy Foods – Discussing which foods help keep our bodies strong and which can cause harm.
🏃♀️ Large and Small Intestine Race – Teams worked together in a fun relay to understand the digestive system.
🔬 Incredible Investigations
Pupils also had the chance to see science in action with some fascinating experiments:
👅Smoker’s Lungs vs. Non-Smoker’s Lungs – Real pig lungs showed the difference in colour and function between healthy and unhealthy lungs.
🧠 Brain Control Centre – Learning how the brain keeps everything running smoothly.
🧩 Organ Puzzle – Placing organs in the correct part of the body.
A huge thank you to the Glasgow Science Centre for making science so exciting! It was brilliant to see pupils engaged, curious, and having fun while learning. Thank you to all the parents who came along too – we loved sharing this experience with you!
🔎 STEM Leaders Take Charge!
On Thursday, our STEM leaders – Thorin, Myra, and Ava W. – took it upon themselves to plan exciting science activities for the whole school!
🌊 P1-4 Buoyancy Challenge
In the P1-4 classroom, they taught a lesson on buoyancy, explaining why some things float and others sink. Each pupil was given a square of foil and challenged to design and build their own boats. The goal was to see how many cubes each boat could hold before sinking.
🥇 Winners: Katie and Rebecca, whose foil boat held an amazing 116 cubes before it finally sank!
🏗️ P5-7 STEM Tower Challenge
Meanwhile, upstairs, P5-7 pupils took part in a STEM tower-building challenge using only newspaper and tape. The goal? To build the tallest free-standing structure!
Pupils split into three groups and put their teamwork and problem-solving skills to the test.
🥇 Winning group: Ross, Ry, Ava G, and Nanci-Rose, with a tower over 1.2 metres that stayed standing!🏗️ Robin, Danielle, Gregor, and Kamil built an extremely solid base but used too many materials early on, leaving them with not enough for height.
🏗️ Primary 7 girls started with a strong structure but lacked stability as it got taller.
It was a fantastic afternoon, and we want to say a huge thank you to our STEM leaders, Thorin, Myra, and Ava W., for their brilliant organisation and leadership in teaching both classes!
🌍 Science, Skills & Wellbeing
Science Week has been a fantastic success, with pupils developing their skills, asking great questions, and having fun with hands-on learning.
🔹 UNCRC Rights:
- Article 28 – Right to education → Pupils engaged in hands-on learning through science activities.
- Article 29 – Right to develop talents and skills → STEM leaders took initiative to plan and teach activities.
- Article 31 – Right to play and relax → Pupils explored science through fun, interactive challenges.
🔹 Sustainable Development Goals:
- SDG 3 – Good Health & Wellbeing → Learning about healthy choices and the effects on the body.
- SDG 4 – Quality Education → Science workshops and STEM leadership opportunities for all pupils.
- SDG 6 – Clean Water & Sanitation → The buoyancy challenge linked to water-based learning.
🔹 Meta-Skills Demonstrated:
- Collaborating → Pupils worked in teams during the buoyancy and tower challenges.
- Critical Thinking → Investigating the effects of smoking on lungs and solving STEM challenges.
- Creativity → Designing and testing boats for the buoyancy challenge.
- Leading → STEM leaders took responsibility for planning and teaching activities.
- Adapting → Pupils adjusted their designs in the buoyancy and tower challenges.
- Initiative → Pupils took ownership of their learning, asking thoughtful questions and problem-solving.
- Sense-Making → Pupils connected scientific knowledge to real-world applications (e.g., smoking effects, buoyancy, digestion).
🔹 SHANARRI Indicators in Science Week
- Achieving → Pupils developed problem-solving skills through experiments and activities.
- Healthy → Learning about healthy vs. unhealthy lungs and making informed choices.
- Included → STEM leaders planned activities for the whole school, involving all pupils.
- Safe → Pupils learned about healthy and unhealthy choices (e.g., the impact of smoking).
- Nurtured → STEM leaders supported younger pupils in their learning.
- Responsible → Pupils took care in handling resources and following instructions during experiments.
- Respected → Pupils’ ideas were valued, and they had the opportunity to express their learning.
🔹 Strands of Faith in Science Week
- Signs of God → Pupils explored the wonders of creation, learning about the human body, health, and nature through scientific discovery.
- In the Image of God → Understanding how the body works and how we are all created with unique abilities that we can develop.
- Word of God → Learning about responsibility for our well-being, making informed choices about health and lifestyle.
