Blackhall :: Friends blog

We have been trying to find out ways to save energy we came up with some pretty good ideas. We got into  two teams and we got a Ideas trail .We had to think of 50 ideas the first team got 50 the second team got 42.We used sticky notes and the best were put on a energy poster.

blackhalls sky is blue

there is no toxic goo.

the grass is green

and nobody is being mean.

the birds are singing

the school bell is ringing

we use the recyling  bin

so are bins are not filled to the brim

if there is polluition

we have a soluition

do a liter pick with your hat and stick

most of us walk to school

so we dont use much car fule

we turn of the light

when it is bright

we go out doors

to do are wildlife chores

if you are an eco school

then you are a cool school

blackhall is a eco school

so we are a cool school. 

projecter

lights

radiators

smart board

computers

speakers

head phones

hoovers

secruity cameres

cd player

security lights

switches

cooker

remotes

printer

phones

coffee machine

chargers

libary computer

tv in drama room

p1 tv

  

How can we find out if we have managed to save energy?

Energy meter - how much energy used in a week? Find out and see if we can make it less.

Look at energy bill - see if it is less.

Measure how much one appliance uses in a hour?

Plan an assembly

Make posters

Plan challenges to do at home.

Energy monitors

Think of a goal - how much energy can we save? 

 

 

We are thinking about our new Eco Schools Area - Energy

 

Here are our first ideas about saving energy:

Turn off projectors

Turn off class lights when at gym or drama

Think about energy at home

Turn off power when not needed

Turn off toilet lights when no one is in

Renewable sources of energy - Use solar panels, wind power

Think about sources of lights

Only use lights when needed - open the blinds to let light in

 Turn off the red power switch off (in extension) when not in use.

Turn off hot taps

Fit shelves above radiators

 

Think about energy at home.

Don't put things on standby - turn them off.

Turn heating off when you don't need it. Keep doors and windows closed to keep the heat in.

Close blinds and curtains at night to keep the heat in.

 

Shut down computers when you are finished with them. Turn off at the wall at end of the day.

Gym hall lights turned off

 

 

 

I was always so impressed by the enterprising skills of the young children who were in the village. Although they had no premade toys, they were so ingenious at making up their own games and building their own play things.

This is a little boy, who made his own 'roller' to push along the path and the second photos is of some slightly older children who have recycled a bottle to make into a car.

   

My toys were rather peculiar to the youngsters..especially my Teddy! When I first showed him to the children they ran away, thinking he was a real animal! But with a bit of encouragement and some words of explanation from Alefa, the children came around for a play and a cuddle!

     

Click on the link below to view P6's animations that were inspired by their Jacobites project.

P5 have been very busy creating short, animated films inspired by their Victorians Project. This was the first time we ever got the chroma screen to work (a bit like the blue screen technique used in Star Wars etc).

P5A Animation

P5B Animation

Are you sitting comfortably? Get ready to enjoy this story told by some of our P1 children.

The Secret Princess [document/unknown] 

 

We made these animations as part of our Human Body Topic.

P4a animation

P4b animation

P3 have been writing their own Christmas songs. We hope you enjoy this one which was written by Daniel in P3, music by Mrs Caulder.

Christmas is Coming [document/unknown]

P3 have been writing their own Christmas songs. We hope you enjoy this one which was written by Daniel in P3, music by Mrs Caulder. The 'I Want' Christmas Song [document/unknown]

P7 pupils planned and carried out interviews with some of the residents at Strachan House. They recorded the interviews and edited them to create this podcast. We all learned something new from sharing the residents' memories.WW2 interviews [document/unknown] (Size: 15.3MB)

My first day at the school was quite emotional.

I had been left with my host family the previous day and so I felt nervous and anxious about being in this remote village, away from people that I knew. It was such a big adventure for me.

When I first went to Malawi I was not sure what I would be able to offer teachers there. But after my first day at school I realised that I did have skills that I could share that could make a big difference.

The classroom was so full, sometimes with over 100 children and they were squashed with not many resources.  But I could see how committed the teacher, Mr Mangochi was to using lots of active ways to get them to learn, rather than giving out lots of pencils and books and making them write lots of things down.

Infact, sometimes when I saw resources, I realised that they were not always effective.

 

The girl in this picture had a biro but it did not work because of the cold weather, She kept sucking on it to let the ink run but in the meantime she was missing all the learning in the lesson. 

With a class so big, marking was hard work! There would be long queues to see the teacher and then time was wasted waiting rather than getting on with further work.

When I saw things like this I had some ideas how I could help and over the three weeks in the village I saw classes change dramatically with the dedication of Mr Mangochi and Mr Chimthiko to try new ways of learning and teaching. 

I used to wake up in Malawi at around 6.15am. I always used to hear the animals outside and the chatter from the villagers.

I would wander outside and see the sun shining on the mountainside and Alefa doing her morning sweep.

Then I would head towards my shower and toilet, shown below!

And this was my actual toilet. It was a pit latrine, basically a large hole dug in the ground. We had been warned not to look down it but curiosity got the better of me and I did look!  It was about 2 or 3 metres deep and you could just see the horrible stuff at the bottom!

Despite the toilet not having a flush facility it did not smell, and apart from a few spiders and ants, there were not many bugs. I was brave enough to manage it in the middle of the night too, with just my headtorch for light. I would always stop on the way back from my loo trip, turn the torch off and gaze at the astonishing star-filled sky. So beautiful without any light pollution.

Ms Sangarabalan, a teacher at Blackhall Primary, went round the classes telling and showing pupils the kind of food she had when she stayed in Malawi for six weeks.

She stayed with a family in the mountains, of Malawi. Every day for lunch and dinner she had a type of curry with rice and a type of corn bread. The pupils were shown a picture of this food and were asked if they thought it was healthy or not. Opinions were mixed as some people thought it was healthy just because it was home-made or because it looked like it had vegetables and rice in it. (Remember, the pupils didn't actually know what was in it.) But others thought the meat would have a lot of fat.

Miss Sangrabalahn then explained what was in it and also how they got the food. Goats and chickens which were living just outside the house and were soon made into the food that she ate every day. To make the corn bread all the corn was collected and left to dry and harden and was then scraped and mixed with water.

 Then she showed the pupils pictures of the city that she also visited. The photos showed supermarkets and fast food restaraunts and asked the pupils if they thought that the Malawans should have access to this food. This was a very difficult question to answer for the pupils. Some said that they need that because they need to come in touch with the modern world and get used to it. Others said it would be unfair if they don't get allt that and we do. Pupils that thought otherwise said they wouldn't be used to it and would get very fat very fast or others said, it doesn't matter because they can't afford it anyway.

 I would just like to say a big thank you to Ms Sangarabalan for going to the work to share her experiences in such an interesting way, that we all enjoyed. You've been great!!!!!!!!

On Monday during Health Week in assembly two representitives from the 'Edinburgh Capitals' came in to talk about ice hockey and healthy eating. They told us what a normal weakend would be like and it sounded very hard and tiring but also exciting. Jason who played for the Capitals and who also played for Scotland Under 19's told us about what they ate during a week. They said how important nutritional value is and the right amount of quantities are. The told us some of the basic rules like how many players per team. They then chose a pupil from p6 to try on all the gear and it looked like you would get very sweaty in it. The information was very very useful and i am sure you have inspired lots of the children to play ice hockey. A very BIG thank you to the representitives from 'Edinburgh Capitals' and Anna Bisset for organising it!

Last week a Harvey Nichols chef (Stuart Muir) came in to Blackhall primary school to show us about healthy eating. He showed us lots of interesting skills that would come in handy in the kitchen. We were introduced to lots of different exotic fruits and vegetables. Every class that took part in this delightful workshop had to create an exotic and delicious fruit smoothie.Once we had decided what we wanted to put in the smoothie we put all the fruit in the blender then once it was ready we poured it out between us and then we tried a sample. Stuart let us try vanilla, smoked salmon and cinnamon.Thanks very much to Stuart and Chris we all enjoyed it thoroughly.

Last week Mrs Duncan came in to Blackhall Primary, for health week, to show the pupils, from the older classes, the difference between an economy burger and a healthy home-made one.

Mrs Duncan started off by explaining how the pupils were getting more responsibilities to chose what they eat when they go out. She told them that they need to consider what goes into their food.

She showed all that went into an economy burger and why it was unhealthy. Only a little proper meat went into the burger. The rest was fat, flavourings, colourings, and even water. After being out for just two minutes it went grey. 

It was a bit hard to watch for some people but it was a very rewarding experience and i hope they have taken away a new responsible, healthy way of thinking. A big thanks to Mrs Duncan of "Good Beginings," it was a very interesting workshop that we all enjoyed.

Last week during Health Week the pupils of Blackhall joined in lots of sporting activities and learned about healthy eating. Every class in the school had an aerobic session with Miss Jeavons. Aerobics is a challenging yet rewarding activity and is very good for your body. Each session was 45 minutes long and we were all puffing afterwards. I am sure everyone thourely enjoyed it as i loved it! A very BIG thank you to Miss Jeavons, you've been a star! P.S. I hope you enjoyed as much as we did!

The children at school are always amazed when they see this picture of Alefa's kitchen.  Compared to what we have, it is extemely basic.

Alefa is preparing nsima, the staple diet, made from corn flour.  After gathering it from the farm it is dried, kernels broken off, pounded and sieved before being added to a pot of boiling water, where it is made into a dough like substance.

 

Transport Action Plan [application/msword]

Blackhall Primary School Eco Schools Group

Date: 14-11-08 present: 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a,7b, Roza & Mr Galloway   Mrs Laurie

Agenda

Mark Simmons – travel what we need to do to have safer routes to school

Matters Arising

-    Travelling to schools safely and healthily, do we have completely safe roots to school ?
-    How can we get dryer areas for bikes and scooters
-    Think of how to make shelter for bikes and scooters
-    To raise awareness of road safety, the environment and health
-    The JRSO need to collect travel figures more often (i.e termly, monthly)

Action points

-    JRSO need to update notice boards more often and have an assembly to raise awareness of the JRSO
-    Try to find a link with a business (Sainsbury’s) or Derek Laign – “Blackhall cycle”
-    Climate challenge fond collect information from JRSO
-    Think of how to make shelter
-    Assembly poster competition
-    Speak to local shops and have a community event – eco fair
-    Invite Mary Erskines and Stuart Melville to the eco fair
-    Advertising papers for eco fair
-    Competition banners design – find out who makes banners for a fair price
-    Try to get a notice board in Sainsbury’s / local shop
-    Share information from parents
-    Ask Sustrans to help with shelter

Over the next few months I shall put up a few photos from my stay in Malawi.

This was my wonderful host family.

 

This was taken on my last morning in the village. Baby Enock is clutching his toy Nessie, that was one of my leaving gifts. My home is to the left of the photo.

Zakaria and Alefa were both farmers and grew maize, potatoes and turnips and had some goats and chickens too. The animals would wander around the village and there was many a time I had to shoo them out of my house! 

Thanks to all those who came to 'Ngwaya and Nsima'.  It was such a wonderful night for me to be able to share such a inspiring experience with you all. Many thanks for all the lovely words on the feedback sheets and for the offers of help. They'll be taken up over the coming months!