This week we had a visit from West Lothian Drug and Alcohol Service to talk to us about tobacco and smoking.

Ellie: “I learned that there are between four and five thousand different chemicals in each cigarette, one of which is tar.”

Jay: “I learned that smoking affects the whole body. For example, it affects your teeth by making them turn yellow.”

Jack: “It can make you really unhealthy because it makes you unfit and you can’t run very far.”

Lauren U: “It can give you lung cancer because all the tar builds up in your lungs and there is less oxygen.”

Callum: “It can affect your hair and make it fall out or turn yellow.”

Declan: “It can make you more likely to have a heart attack because it is harder for the blood to move around your arteries.”

Jay: “It can affect your veins and skin by making them turn black or darker.”

Antonia: “It increases your chances of dying quicker than you would normally. If someone stopped smoking they could add ten years to their life.”

Lauren C: “It increases your chances of having a stroke which is when a part of your brain stops working and it can cause serious damage.”

Paul: “Another effect is that it can affect your mental health and make you stressed.”

Chloe: “It increases the risk of you going blind or deaf as well.”

Finlay: “We worked out that someone who smokes 20 cigarettes a day spends about £2500 a year on cigarettes!”

Jay: “We learned also that nicotine is the part of the cigarette which make sit addictive.”

We also researched and discussed the death penalty this week and we wrote discursive essays on them.

Taylor: “The death penalty is when someone goes to court and they are given the punishment of being put to death. It is usually for the crime of murder.”

Adam: “Over the years types of capital punishment have been hanging, beheading, lethal injection and the electric chair plus a few others.”

Flyn: “I learned that in America a boy under the age of 18 was given the death penalty. I’m not sure what the crime was but my opinion would depend upon what he did.”

Jay: “I learned that in some countries you can get the death penalty for small things like reading the bible or for looking at things you shouldn’t on the internet. I think that is very sad because there might be Christians who live in that country who can’t read their bible.”

Lauren U: “I learned that 1 in 25 people who are given the death penalty in America are actually innocent. That makes me feel sad because those people didn’t do anything wrong and can’t just be brought back to life.”

Declan: “I learned that in China they don’t tell other countries how many people they have given the death penalty to but it is estimated at over 2000 a year. I think that is shocking because it is a lot of people.”

Olivia: “I learned that a man got the death penalty for being gay in Russia. I think that was unfair because it isn’t his fault.”

Paul: “I learned that in Saudi Arabia sometimes people end up getting the death penalty because they don’t speak the language and can’t defend themselves.”

Nathan: “I learned that there are 32 countries which still have the death penalty 130 that used to have it which don’t anymore.”

Harry: “I learned that in America 32 of the 50 states still have the death penalty.”

Who has impressed?

Flyn: “Lauren Kirk impressed me by standing in and doing William’s lines during our assembly.”

Antonia: “Olivia impressed me because even though she doesn’t like singing she sung her best at the assembly.”

Chloe: “I’m impressed with everyone in the class for doing so well in the assembly.”

Lauren U: “I’m impressed by Summer in p2m for getting two certificates at the assembly this morning.”

Ellie: “The whole class impressed me by doing amazingly with our assembly this morning.”

Paul: “I’m impressed with the class and the lyrics we made up for Don’t Stop Believing.”

Lauren K: “I’m impressed with Emily because she finished in the top 5 for Young Writer of the Year out of 8500 pupils.”

Flyn: “I am impressed with myself, Callum, Finlay and Paul for getting onto step 5 this week.”

Mr Berginis: “I am very proud of the class for performing so well in their last ever assembly at Balbardie. I really hope they remember the message of the assembly and that they never stop believing in themselves because I never will stop believing in them.”