Are you an employer in Swansea?

Remember, remember the 3rd of November! 

Steam Powered Stories has got involved with Maesydderwen Comprehensive School, Swansea, to work together on a very exciting project that will take place on the 3rd of November. 

To ensure that the event is very successful and innovative for the pupils involved, we need your help! If you are a business, or know an employer in Swansea that would like to take part on this exciting new project, please contact Hayley today on 01685 723255, or email us on steampoweredstories.janro@gmail.com. 

Finance and Entrepreneurship Day at Builth Wells High School

Heading back to school doesn't have to be boring, as year ten and eleven Builth Wells High School pupils proved last Friday! 

Steam Powered Stories and the Learn and Grow team administered a Finance and Entrepreneurship Day where over 150 year ten and eleven pupils had the opportunity to talk directly to various employers about their jobs generally, and fore mostly, about how maths is used in their everyday working lives. 

Four employers kindly came along and spoke to every student, demonstrating how maths is used in their job roles and answered any questions pupils had.

• Maxine Day, Hairdresser  

• Builth Wells Police Service 

•       Builth Wells Health Service 

• Builth Wells Fire Service 

The event was hugely successful in changing pupil's attitudes towards numeracy, and to begin to obliterate the belief that maths you learn in school will never be used or needed in your working lives because as we all know- maths is used in every job role whether you are a hairdresser, a fireman, or even a farmer!  

To ensure our services are kept up to date, relevant, and the best they can be, during the event we conducted a questionnaire where pupils were asked to score from 1-3 how much maths they believed was needed in a variety of occupations. 

 After reviewing the evaluation forms, we discovered that 85 pupils thought that if you were a footballer you would not need maths. We were overwhelmed by the high percentage of pupils that believed this, and we are now working with more employers and businesses to assure that on our future Finance and Entrepreneurship workshops we have a footballer, or someone in the football profession that can attend and prove how they use maths.

We are also looking for employers in Builth Wells, Swansea, Neath, Carmarthenshire, and Pembrokeshire that work in the creative arts industry as from reviewing our feedback, we found that many pupils believed that to be a musician and a photographer you would not need maths.  

If you would like to get involved in the scheme, feel free to get involved with us by emailing us on steampoweredstories.janro@gmail.com, tweet us @SteamStories, or send us a message on Facebook.com/SteamPoweredStories 

Thanks to all employers that attended, we really appreciated your attendance and co-operation. To all pupils that took part, we hope you enjoyed the day, we look forward to working with you all in the future! 

Time for a catch up!

It's September which means the start of a new academic year!

September for us also means it's time for back to school as we prepare to head to Builth Wells High School tomorrow to run a workshop that promotes numeracy in the workplace. Six employers will be attending the workshop where they will speak to year ten and eleven pupils to demonstrate how they use maths in their everyday working lives. Stay tuned for a blog post next week on this event!! 

September also marks a development for us as an organisation as we are moving office soon, we will inform you of the change of address so you keep in touch with us. 

We've also completely revamped our blog changing the layout, the colours, and fonts which we hope will make it easier for you to access, explore, and enjoy. Don't forget to check out our 'PHOTOGRAPHY' page to see some photographs from a recent event SPS' Emily and Hayley attended. 

You've probably noticed on our Facebook and Twitter that we have been designing merchandise to promote the What you say COUNTS! numeracy project. We have designed a purple WYSC! wristband, a book mark, and purple WYSC pencils that we can't wait to give away! 

We also tried out our new sky dancer and arch today that will be used for promotional purposes! 

Stay tuned for more from Steam Powered Stories and thanks for reading! 

Maths Fear to Maths Fearless!

Happy National Literacy and Numeracy Week! 

National Literacy and Numeracy Week aims to raise awareness of the importance of reading, writing, and mathematics skills and celebrate learning. 

To show our support for this special week with a message very close to our hearts, we have a special post today that was kindly written by Lynsey Handscomb that currently works for Steam Powered Stories' sister company, JanRo.  

Titled 'Maths Fear to Maths Fearless', Lynsey's piece aims to educate, entertain, and ultimately inspire everyone to believe they can be Maths Fearless just like she is now! 

Below is Lynsey's piece. Hope you enjoy! 

Maths Fear to Maths Fearless 

As a child, maths made me cry on a weekly basis. Sunday night would roll around, during which my exasperated parents would try to help me learn my times tables between my snotty sobs and sniffles. I struggled throughout my education with the more difficult maths challenges we are faced with in school such as equations, trigonometry, geometry etc. Most of these weird and wonderful things, to me, meant nothing. A Pie Chart was a creative way to record my favourite type of pie fillings - top of the chart being a pork pie, with corned beef being a definite last! I sighed through lesson after lesson where the numbers swam on the page in front of me, dodged my weekly homework, and shirked my revision. When GCSE season crept around, my parents decided to get me a tutor (for which I am still very grateful). I huffed, they puffed, but my maths reluctance blew down. I am proud to inform you that I did manage to get a C in my exam! Now a C may not mean much to some, but to me it’s the best grade on my certificate (helped by the fact it meant I did not have to re-sit!)

Now I’m an adult, maths no longer makes me cry. I actually enjoy working something out for myself and daily maths is actually, dare I say it, fun! I enjoy doing a quick long multiplication sum and I actually understand how to do long division now – my 10 year old self would be so proud! I really understand how confused maths can make you feel, but it is so worth sticking with it and learning how the logic works. When that method clicks and you understand how to get the answer, it’s a massive relief.

I did learn my times tables, and even though for some odd reason I still don’t like 7s or 8s, they are etched in my brain ready for everyday use. Percentages are another proud accomplishment. Knowing that dress is actually £5 cheaper thanks to a 20% discount is wonderful (although slightly detrimental to my bank account). Daily questions such as “I only have 235 calories left of today’s quota, can I have 3 sneaky biscuits with my cuppa?” are answered so much more easily when you have the confidence to do a bit of mental maths.* Once, and only once, I even understood a maths joke!

So if like me, maths was a scary prospect that you loathed with a passion, try to put those feelings aside and pat yourself on the back for all the maths you do without even thinking -  telling the time, counting your change, portioning a cake so everybody gets some, working out medication dosages. These are all ways of telling maths we are boss. Maths is not something to be afraid of; it is something to be picked apart and understood. And if you take the time to do this, the rewards will be endless!

*Answer: Yes I could, and they were delicious!

Thanks for reading and don't forget-

Thanks for your support so far!

It's been another extremely busy week for the Steam Powered Stories team. Not only have we been designing and receiving new merchandise, but we have been out in the community promoting the What you say Counts! scheme and gaining public support. 

Yesterday, yes you've guessed it, we headed to Neath's Family Fun Day in Gnoll Country Park. Despite the freak downpours of rain, it was a fantastic day and we thoroughly enjoyed meeting parents and children who came along. 

Emily provided excellent face paints as always, whilst Hayley and Jess raised awareness of the scheme, helped children as they completed their free maths activities, and spoke to parents about how SPS could benefit their child.

During the summer holidays, we have been aiming to recieve feedback from parents, employers, and children regarding the WYSC! project and how Steam Powered Stories, and Learn and Grow Ltd govern the scheme. We would like to thank all parents that have taken the time to share their opinions and show their support for the project. 

The conducted questionnaire (still ongoing) asked parents if they thought it was a good idea to bring employers into schools to show children how maths is used in the workplace.

We can reveal today, that out of all parents asked, every parent agreed that bringing employers into schools for projects was an excellent idea!

To thank parents for taking part, and to raise more awareness of the project, we are in the process of creating a parents newsletter. If you would like a copy of the parents newsletter, feel free to fill out our contact form on the left hand side of our blog. 

Additionally, we are still giving away FREE maths packs that are designed specifically for your child's age and capability. If you would like a maths pack, fill in the contact form and we will be in touch! 

Tomorrow, Hayley and Emily will be heading to Builth Wells promoting the WYSC scheme and an upcoming project in the area. If you acquire further information about the project, feel free to tweet us @SteamStories 

DON'T FORGET! Next week is your last chance to meet the SPS team in Gnoll Park, Neath, so come along and get involved. We can't wait to tell you about the WYSC scheme! 

Thanks for reading! 

Everyone CAN succeed in maths!

It's Wednesday which means its time for a new Steam Powered Stories blog post!

To begin this post, Maryam Mirzakhani should be mentioned and praised for being the first woman to win the Fields Medal, the maths equivalent to the Nobel Prize. Mirzakhani is the perfect role model for us all to aspire to, she proves that everyone can succeed in maths!



(Photo from Telegraph.co.uk- To read full article head to http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/southkorea/11030122/Iranian-Stanford-professor-first-woman-to-win-top-maths-prize.html )

To ensure that everyone can be confident at maths, Steam Powered Stories and Learn and Grow are determined to change negative attitudes towards maths, and change the hearts and minds of the younger generation along the way. To do this, we provide free maths resources on our community days out, or through signing up for our FREE maths resource pack designed for your child's age group right here on our blog (CONTACT FORM TO THE LEFT <<<<<) 

We also provide inspiring workshops and projects for young individuals by coming directly to your school. To ultimately change attitudes towards maths, we bring employers from various professions into schools to show the younger generation how vital maths is in the workplace.

This week, a few of you may have spotted us out in the community. SPS attended Erwood's Summer Craft Festival last Thursday and Friday providing information and valuable free maths packs to society. A big thanks to Hayley, Emily, and Bryony for taking the time to engage with the community and for being so committed to promoting the WYSC! scheme.

SPS headed back to Neath's Family Fun Day again yesterday which was our busiest event to date! Many families came along and had a fantastic day. Our maths activities designed for every age group were very popular and children completed the maths activities independently. We also gained public support from parents who requested maths packs for their children, and signed up for our newsletter.

SPS' Emily provided professional face painting which was very popular and parents were pleased and contented that their children were having fun but were still learning.

 

 SPS' Hayley and Emily will be in Builth Wells tomorrow promoting the scheme and distributing leaflets! If you are an employer or company that would like to take part in the scheme feel free to contact Hayley directly now on 01685 872385.

Thank you so much for all your support so far and your continuing support as the WYSC project develops. If you would like a free maths pack fill in the contact form on the left hand column of the blog stating the age of the child you are acquiring the pack for.

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr .
Also- head back to our blog next Wednesday for another update! 

SPS and the community

As the summer holidays arrive, the Steam Powered Stories team are determined to ensure that your child can do maths and have fun in and out of school.  To do this, Steam Powered Stories has been out in the community raising awareness of the Welsh government What you say COUNTS! scheme.

SPS attended both Neath's Family Information Service's Family Fun Days on the 22nd July and 5th August, and Swansea's Teddy's Bear Picnic that was held on the 23rd July. 

Neath's Family Fun Day was held in the beautiful Gnoll Country Park where SPS held a stall providing information about the WYSC project, and free maths resource packs that children could take home to complete during the summer holiday.  This assured that children were continually developing their numeracy skills at home in a relaxed and reassuring environment. 

Parents were pleased to receive our free numeracy packs, and many children began completing their packs whilst they waited for their face to be painted by SPS' Emily- our training advisor and office support member and not to forget - our experienced face painter. With requests from children wanting to be transformed into a tiger, a butterfly, and a difficult request to be a snake, the queue for face painting weaved down the field!!

To keep young people of all ages occupied, we provided colouring sheets for younger children, and quick maths activities for older children to complete ultimately engaging the hearts and minds of the community. We conducted a questionnaire that asked parents if they thought it was a good idea to bring employers into schools to show how maths can be used in the workplace. Every parent believed this to be a good idea and we would like to thank all parents that took the time to take part and share their opinions. 

We also attended Neath's Fun Day yesterday,  providing inciting maths activities and face painting which meant Emily was a busy bee again!! The day was equally as successful as the previous events we have attended and we would like to thank Neath's Family Information Service for kindly letting us attend- we look forward to working with you in the future- next Tuesday to be exact!! 

Swansea's Teddy Bear Picnic was another enjoyable and successful event. The day gave us the opportunity to engage with a new community to ensure everyone knew about the WYSC scheme and what SPS has to offer. We distributed information and maths activities for children along with informing parents about the scheme and how we aim to work with other secondary schools in Swansea in the next academic year.  

Both events enabled us to engage with the community to show that maths can be fun and easy whether you're 15 or 53!

Keep an eye out for the purple WYSC banner and our friendly SPS team this Thursday and Friday as we attend the Erwood Summer Craft Festival so make sure you're checking our Facebook and Twitter for updates! 

If you would like to receive one of our free maths packs that your child can complete at home, fill in the contact form on the left! 

If you have any questions perhaps about our services or if you would like us to attend an event, tweet us @SteamStories! 

Thanks for reading!