Monday 27th April

Hello all. I hope you had a good weekend. What did you get up to? I spent most of my time in the garden, I even planted some more seeds - hopefully they will grow, like the sunflower seeds.

I did spend some time keeping up-to-date with the latest guidance regarding the Covid19 response. I had heard some rumours about schools reopening so I wanted to check on the facts - the government have not told us when schools will reopen or what it will look like when they do. Families, please be assured that we will follow government guidance on this matter and keep you informed of any developments as soon as we know any factual information.

Whilst I was reviewing all of the guidance (believe me there is a lot of it and they keep updating it at midnight - I like to be asleep at midnight, not reading documentation) I began to reflect on the role of the scientists who are advising the government at this time. I bet they never thought they’d be in a situation where they had to do a press conference every day.

I know some of your online learning has involved science lessons. Mrs Higgins and Miss Macaskill, who are both science leads at Olive Hill, work really hard to make sure your teachers know what scientific knowledge you need to gain in each year group and support your teachers to deliver the science curriculum in an engaging way. Have you thought about becoming a scientist?

There are many professions that involve studying science: archaeologist, astronomer, biologist, chemist, computer scientist, engineer, geneticist, geologist, marine biologist, mathematician, meteorologist, physicist, psychologist, zoologist and many more. Click on the link to find out more about each of the careers listed: jobs in science.

Science is the study of the world around us. Scientists learn about their subject by observing, describing, and experimenting. There are many subjects and branches of science. Some study outer space like astronomy. Other sciences study life (biology) or the earth (geology) or even matter and energy (physics). The process of science often starts with a question (e.g. Why do bears hibernate in winter?). Scientists then use observations and experiments to describe how and why things happen the way they do. I know there are lots of excellent scientists at Olive Hill, and many of you asked some great questions during our recent Science Fair.

So, how are scientists helping the government with their response to Covid19? There are many questions that people are asking about the coronavirus: Where did start? How is it spread? How can you stop the spread? What are the symptoms? Can you prevent people from catching it? And many more. It is the job of the scientists to try and find out the answers to these questions and then advise the government on what they could do to protect the health of the nation. I am sure you will agree that they have a super important job.

Thank you scientists.

Stay safe everyone.