For the second year running I returned to this friendly school, but this visit I was doing my first rocket workshop for them.
I had spoken to Marian a few times and we arranged that I would come early to fix their rockets for the up coming display and then teach the 20 children in the afternoon.
The interest for the rocket workshop was high so the week before Marian had asked me to supply a question, and the first 20 children to get the question right got a place on the workshop.
The question I set was - What does N.A.S.A. stand for ?
I arrived just after 11.00am and was taken by a technician to a empty classroom while she went off and told Marian that I had arrived as she was busy teaching a class.
She soon appeared and after a quick chat she returned to her class as it was nearly finished before returning with a whole cupboard full of rockets in various states of repair.
For the next hour I spent gluing and repairing the various rockets with some help from a few 6th formers.
Lunch time soon arrived and a number of children arrived to help make the new rockets which the school had brought for the Saturdays display. I soon was again in workshop mode and helped the kids build the bandits and other rockets which the school had purchased.
The time flew by and too quickly is was 1.30pm and the time I was to start the rocket workshop.
Marion had noticed that I had brought more kits than I needed for the workshop and asked if I could take a few more, I quickly counted the kits I had and after finding out that I had 37 kits I agreed to another 10 in the workshop.
What seemed like seconds Marion found another 10 students and at just after 1.30pm I had a class filled to capacity of eager kids wanting to build a rocket.
For the next two and a half hours Myself and Marion and Ben taught/helped the 30 children to make a windy City Rocket, before going to the field and launching them.
All the rockets were launched and apart from a few small glue failures and tangled parachutes all the rockets were recovered safely..
The kids really enjoyed it and before I left the Teachers mentioned that I might be asked back later in the year for a second workshop. - I will look forward to it.