Tag Archives: Eco Schools

Wind Turbine Challenge!

As part of our topic work, we have been learning about Renewable and Non Renewable energy sources.  We discussed the advantages and disadvantages of these and which ones would work best in Shetland.

Last week, we worked in teams to design and create a wind turbine using a selection of materials.  The turbine had to turn when  we used a hair dryer on it and it also had to lift a plastic cup!  Lots of things to consider in their designs!

It was lovely to watch everyone interacting and taking turns to contribute.  Everyone showed consideration towards the ideas shared and compromises were made as to what the design would look like and how it would work.

It was important to try little tests now and again, to check if any changes needed to be made.  Some groups found that when the hair dryer was switched on, the blades of their turbine were not strong enough and required further reinforcement.  Some found that there blades were the wrong size or shape and some discovered that they needed to attach their cup differently so that it would lift without getting tangled in the turbine blades.  Lots of learning going on!

We tested all the designs and everyone had the chance to add their thoughts on what they thought had worked well and what could be done to improve their designs further.  I was impressed with how the children were able to make suggestions in a such a positive, caring and considerate way.  Look out world…some future engineers here!

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Having fun together

Over the past week we have been sharing thoughts on how to stay positive and how we can help other people feel good about themselves.  On Monday, everyone decided on some positive words to paint on to a rock and chose a design to accompany it.  These will be displayed outside the school next term for all to enjoy.

We have also been finding out even more interesting facts about Space and enjoyed looking at some of the PowerPoints that were created during Online Learning.

On Tuesday we visited the frog pond in the nature garden.  It was good fun trying to find the frogs hiding in the heather.  They were very camouflaged!

On Wednesday, we had lots of fun with our literacy Escape Room challenge.  It was very active!  Each team raced to find clues hidden outside and then brought them back indoors to solve as a team. Everyone did really well to take turns and involve every team member in the game.

Just before the next rain shower came, we squeezed in an Easter egg hunt and had fun re-hiding our eggs for someone else to find!

Phew!  What a busy time and still two more days to go! Well done everyone!

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Creative Class!

Primary 5/6 spent another lovely day being creative on Wednesday!  We took a wander down to the beach in the sunshine  in search of some interesting natural items to use back in the classroom.  We had great fun “purlin in da ebb” to look for crabs, fish and other interesting living things.

Just look at these some of the fantastic pictures P5/6 made using the items they found!! More photos to be added so keep an eye out for them coming very soon!

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Group Presentations

P5/6 have spent many weeks researching an area from our Biodiversity topic and have been preparing a PowerPoint presentation to share their learning.  It was wonderful to finally see their presentations this week and give each other feedback as to what we thought went well and what could be done to make it even better.  Each group looked at the importance of plants and how they benefit society in different ways.

Well done P5/6!

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Leaves all around us

As part of our Biodiversity topic we have been classifying living things, including ourselves!  We made classfication keys about our class members and more recently looked at a range of different types of leaves from our nature garden and Mrs Henderson’s garden!  We sorted them into groups according to texture, size, scent, number of leaves, edges etc,  Then we tried to see if we could identify the tree they came from, just by their leaves.  Some were very obvious, but some were quite tricky to identify.

 

Biodiversity Bingo

We had a super afternoon exploring our school grounds, searching for a variety of living things.  Everyone had a bingo board with a range of living things to find.  It was great fun taking a closer look for signs of life in the trees, under stones, pieces of wood and in the long grass.

After our bingo game, we had time for a quick game of hide and seek in the “forest”!  The trees are growing so well that it was very hard to find people!!

We ended our session with a visit to the nature garden and pond.  We patiently sat and waited to see if there were any frogs and we were not disappointed!  It was very exciting to see them hopping about in the heather.

Biosecurity

On Wednesday 5th February we enjoyed an afternoon of Biosecurity activities. Biosecurity is the protection of a species from other non-native invasive species.

We learned about the Storm Petrels on Mousa and the importance of keeping the island clear of any predators who would be a threat to them.

Afra Skene, a Biosecurity Officer in Shetland, provided lots of games and activities to get us thinking more about Biosecurity and how to spread the word to others in our community.

The children were asked to think of the ways in which they enjoyed learning and to invent activities, songs, games and challenges to try and teach others about Biosecurity. Hopefully some of our ideas will appear in a teaching resource being produced for schools in Scotland!

 

 

Outdoor Classroom Day – Tree planting

On Thursday 17th May, Primary 5/6 had a great morning planting up a new area of the school grounds with the Woodlands Trust trees that we received last autumn. The grass was strimmed and John made planting holes to put the saplings into. After a quick demonstration  the children soon learnt how to bed the trees in and by break time we had a whole new forest planted up. We can’t wait to see how they grow.