EDUCATION: KRISTIN SCHOOL
Game Over! At the end of Term 3 our NCEA Level 2 physicists took physics out of the classroom and onto the racetrack. Talking about speed, velocity and acceleration is one thing but putting it into practice is more fun, especially when the teacher earns a podium position, even if it was third. To help the students prepare for their upcoming internal on cornering and safety features of vehicles, they headed to Game Over. Here they received an expert talk from the owner and international rally car driver on everything about going fast… safely. Walking the track, the students could apply their knowledge of centripetal force to identify the best line to take through the corners allowing them maximum velocity and minimal skidding. After a safety briefing on the importance of helmets, sprung barriers and rubber bumpers, applying their knowledge of how momentum and impulse can save us in an accident, it was time to take to the track and experience the difference centripetal forces on the corners for themselves. Then, having put the pedal to the metal,
there was time for some final questions before putting pen to paper for their report.
Wanaka crew on the mountain.
Kristin’s Wanaka Alpine Experience The first two weeks of the July school holidays saw 18 students and two staff journey to Wanaka for the Alpine Experience, where they enjoyed ten days on the snow at Cardrona alpine resort. Here, they participated in lessons improving their skiing and snowboarding skill sets. Some students did ski race training, others did freestyle training in the terrain park and others did general ski or snowboard lessons around the mountain. With a two-day break in the
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middle, several students and staff enjoyed the offerings of the worldfamous Kawarau Bungee Jump and everybody was able to take in the beauty of the Queenstown and Southern Lakes environment. While the early starts and long days were challenging for some, it was great to see all students make great improvement over the two weeks of the trip. It was an awesome trip with some great snow and the weather played its part perfectly.
Issue 123 - September 2021 www.channelmag.co.nz
