Foundation Magazine 2021-2022 | Mount Kelly

ACADEMICS
STEM - SCIENCE
ACADEMICS
PREP
CLASSIFICATION
Year 6 pupils learnt about animal
classification in Biology and they put
their knowledge into action by classifying
specimens in the laboratory.
LIVING THINGS
Pupils in Year 7 studied the characteristics
of living things in Biology, with a focus
on animal and plant cells. They looked
at real life onion and skin cells under
microscopes this week and were asked
to design and create a cell of their
choice. Some of the results were most
impressive.
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Year 7 pupils studied Energy Resources
and discussed the argument for
accelerating the use of renewable energy
resources, such as solar, wave and wind
power. They wrote mock-up letters to the
rich and famous to request donations for
powering an island paradise. They have
also designed, built and tested their own
wind turbine.
MOUNT KELLY’S COP26
Pupils at the Prep were involved in their
very own Conference of the Parties,
COP26 Summit, discussing what they
can do at home, school, locally and
globally to reduce their carbon footprint
or to raise awareness of the climate crisis
and encourage action. Following an
‘Earthshot’ assembly, pupils learnt about
COP26, its attendees, aims and agenda
and the causes and consequences of
climate change. They were challenged
to think about the action they can take
to reduce their carbon footprint by
designing bold and informative posters,
writing speeches to propose achievable
and affordable suggestions and writing
persuasive letters to parents or MPs.
NEUTRALISATION METHODS
Year 8 completed their work on
neutralisation by looking at the reaction
of a metal oxide with an acid. Firstly,
they added the metal oxide gradually to
the acid until it was in excess (checking
the pH). Then they filtered the solution
to remove the excess oxide. Finally, they
evaporated the filtrate to remove the
water and recover the metal salt.
ELECTROMAGNET
INVESTIGATION
Year 8 investigated electromagnets, they
attempted to determine how to make the
strongest electromagnet by varying the
number of turns of wire and the voltage
in two separate investigations. The
dependent variable in the investigation
was the number of paper clips that the
electromagnet would attract: the record
was eight.
SCIENCE QUIZ CLUB
CHAMPIONSHIPS
Four pupils took part in the Science Quiz
Club National Inter-School Championships
on Tuesday 30 November. Year 5 pupils
Beatrix Rainsbury and Kardos Lau, and
Year 6 pupils Alistair Shipley and India
Caldwell, represented Mount Kelly in the
competition whilst their peers also had a
go at answering the questions with Mr
Davidson in the Wortham Hall.
60 | THE FOUNDATION 21-22 THE FOUNDATION 21-22 | 61