It’s a New Year, in a relatively new department (where physical location is concerned). This month we reflect on what has been happening in the Design & Technology Department since their relocation in August 2013.
The new rooms have felt like ‘home’ for a number of months now and thank you to all our new neighbours who have made us feel very welcome.
It has been business as usual since taking ownership of our new premises. Pupils in all year groups have been patient, understanding and continue to produce fabulous work. The following highlights a number of areas where I have seen fantastic examples of pupil work.
S1: It was great seeing the pupils working on and completing their ‘Soma Cube’. Personal highlight for myself was watching pupils try to figure out 1 solution for this mathematical puzzle only to be told there are 240 possible solutions!
The ‘Celebrating Scotland’ of work was also a great success. Pupils embraced the new software that came into the school with the upgrade to Windows 7 and produced professional looking work using some of the new features available on the software.
S1 – S6: With the upgrade to Autodesk Inventor 2013, pupils have been taking advantage of the department’s subscription to 3dmadeeasy.com. The Website offers pupils access to a wealth of video tutorials to learn about how to use the new version of ‘Autodesk Inventor’ (3D modelling software) we have in the department. A number pupils have downloaded this ‘industry standard’ software at home from the ‘Autodesk Student Community’ website and are now able to take advantage of this subscription at home also.
S2: Certificates and Awards
Congratulations to the following second year pupils who have received Certificates of Excellence from the Design & Technology Department for their outstanding work in term
Pupils nominated for Merit:
2/1 Paul Codona, 2/1 Meghan Hill, 2/1 Bobbi Kennedy, 2/1 Daniel McMillan, 2/1 Lisa Megahy, 2/1 Stuart Murphy, 2/3 Jamie Brooks, 2/3 Jamie Brownlie, 2/3 Calum Dunn, 2/3 Nicole Dunning, 2/3 Chloe Hall, 2/3 Nathan Harkin, 2/3 Christopher Jack , 2/3 Jenna McFarlane, 2/3 Gemma Muir, 2/3 Carly Murray, 2/3 Charlie Smith, 2/3 Caitlyn Thomson, 2/4 Rhys Brown, 2/4 Cameron Gray, 2/4 Leah Hannah , 2/4 Ross Hayhoe , 2/4 Adam Hogan, 2/4 Nathan Wale 2/5 Melissa Arnott, 2/5 Sam Campbell, 2/5 Nikola Carswell, 2/5 Jack Gregor, 2/5 Brandon McCorquodale, 2/5 Paige McLelland, 2/6 Lauryn Brown, 2/6 Chloe McKean, 2/6 Kayleigh Moon,
Pupils nominated for Endeavour:
2/1 Nicole Busby, 2/1 Aleksandra Komarek, 2/1 Annabel Rae, 2/1 Lewis Scott, 2/1 Rachel Taylor, 2/2 Reegan-Jaye Boal, 2/2 Lisa Conlon, 2/2 Kayleigh Hart, 2/2 Stephen Morton, 2/3 Louise Cumming, 2/3 Ailiesh McInnes, 2/3 Jason McLeary, 2/3 Megan McLelland, 2/4 C Chelsea Armit, 2/4 Jamie Clydesdale, 2/4 Callum Hamilton, 2/4 Rebecca Martin, 2/4 Rachael McEwan, 2/4 Abbie Nelson, 2/4 Leah Turnbull, 2/4 Jay Wilson, 2/4 Kara Wilson, 2/5 Arran Dickson, 2/5 Rebecca Kilpatrick, 2/5 Sasha McKenna, 2/5 Sophie Paterson, 2/5 Amber Proudfoot, 2/5 Megan Thomson, 2/6 Kerr Brown, 2/6 Claire Forrest, 2/6 David McMillan, 2/6 Karah Millar, 2/6 Rachel Murdoch, 2/6 Ashleigh Park, 2/6 Linzi Penman, 2/6 Nicole Rogan, 2/6 Amy Speirs, 2/7 Ryan Boyd, 2/7 Euan Bradshaw, 2/7 Katelyn Campbell, 2/7 Laila Dougan, 2/7 Ellie Louise Forsyth, 2/7 Katelyn Kenmuir, 2/7 Zoe Knox, 2/7 Amy MacFarlane, 2/7 Amy McLeod, 2/7 Kira Melville, 2/7 Aaron Miller, 2/7 Jaqueline Sweetin.
S1 ENTERPRISE CLUB:
The Enterprise Club continues to be well attended by a number of S1 pupils meeting on a Friday at lunch time.
During the weeks leading up to Christmas the pupils decided to create and donate a ‘Nativity Scene’ to our senior community friends at the Law View Sheltered Housing Complex in Wishaw which was gratefully received.
Elizabeth Hendrie and Lucy Whitehead wrote the following on behalf of the Enterprise Club:
We are in the process of making wooden Easter products which will be sold to pupils and staff at Easter. So far we have enjoyed making and designing the products and we hope you like them too. The enterprise club make and produce products to sell for all occasions. If you have any ideas for this please inform, Elizabeth Hendrie, Lucy Whitehead, Hannah Devine, Laura Douglas, Emily Lang, Kym Crawford, Mr McDonald or Miss Pathmanathan or feel free to come along on a Friday lunchtime
I think that the temporary accommodation for Design & technology is quite useful. Although it is very different from the previous area the teachers have tried hard to rearrange the computer suite and the workshop in a way that the pupils are able to continue their learning and further their knowledge in the subject. The new computers are more advanced and are much faster than the old windows. The courses are also better especially the ‘3D Made Easy’ it really does make the work on inventor much easier. The videos are easy to follow and it has really helped to boost my confidence while using inventor! I am looking forward to seeing what the new technical department is like!!
I think that the temporary accommodation for Design & Technology is different in a way that now there is only one workshop, whereas before there was more. I think that the teachers have tried hard to make the classrooms as similar to what they were, by putting up posters and decorating the walls. Since the old department was demolished, we have had new computers with Windows 7. The new department was created within the summer holidays, and the rooms are a good size. I am looking forward to the new Design & Technology Department in the new school.
My thoughts on the new technology rooms are generally O.K. I find it better having it better having my graphics room in the middle of the school because then I don’t have to climb or descend many stairs.
I also like the new D&M Room. It has a lot more space and it has new vices which are better than the old ones. I like the new windows program too. The old ones were slow and unresponsive most of the time, but the new ones are fast and they look and handle a lot better than the previous computers. The change hasn’t really affected my leaning which is good. I can’t wait to see new rooms in the new school.
In my opinion , the temporary accommodations for Design and Manufacture are better than the old Technology Department. The course work is more interesting with the class having to switch between different place like going from the workshop to the ICT department. Being in the computer suite is more relaxing and makes me concentrate more than what I did in my first 2 years in Technical. Also being in the computer suite gives you 2 things to do, work on ideas on the computer or sit at a table and do your work on paper. This means you can switch between the 2 which I really enjoy doing. The physical location is much better because we don’t need to go all the way to the department if we are on the 3rd floor which makes going to and from Design and Manufacture easier. The workshop is in the P.E department which is okay because I have P.E the next period. Altogether the temporary Technical accommodations are better than the old Department. I am looking forward to the new department an what it has to offer.