Today  all the boys and girls from Kirkcolm were paid a visit by the councils Compass program. Compass specialise in looking after our health and well-being and our heads in particular and work with adults who have suffered brain injuries. Leanne kindly came in and spoke to the boys and girls of Kirkcolm about how important it is to look after our heads and to always war a helmet when necessary!

We were a bit shocked to see there are definitely some guilty parties when it comes to wearing our helmets regularly so we talked about why it is so important. From looking at dangerous jobs which require us to keep us heads protected (builders, Policemen… miners!?) and finding out that simply wearing a helmet reduces your chances of getting a serious brain or head injury by a staggering 80%!? 

We looked at how helmets protect our heads by taking the blow and acting like an external skull to protect our brains! We got to get to grips with what a brain feels like in a jellied form (don’t worry – it was literally jelly!), feeling the weight of an average human brain and dropping an egg within a helmet to see the impact! We realised now just how delicate our brains are and why they need so much protection especially considering the hugely important job they do of running us 24/7.

Some interesting brain facts for you all include; 

• the average brain weights the same as half a bag of sugar 
• there are over 100 billion neurons firing through our brain and it would take us approximately 3000 years to count them all!?
• a jelly fish literally has no brain
• brains stop growing and developing at 25 (everybody was quick to point out that Miss McNicoll has officially had it now!) 🙁 
• The best way to look after yer noggin’ is to; eat well (lots of veg!), sleep regularly, get lot’s of fresh air and stay hydrated!!

Finally, we watched the story of Joe which was a remake of a real life story about a boy who fell on his bike and developed a serious brain injury from hitting his head due to no helmet and how he is still feeling the effects of it to this day and having to relearn everything. 

On a more cheery note – Compass are committed to ensuring every child in Dumfries and Galloway has a helmet to wear to keep them safe. So, if you find yourself in a sticky situation without a helmet (or with one you have perhaps out grown now) please get in contact with the school and we can see about having Leanne back to supply you with your own helmet!

Pupil Comments:

Zack – “I liked watching the video to see the impact of wearing helmets.”

Emma – “I learned to always wear helmets”

Abbie – “I now know  to always wear a helmet.”