2010 schoolgen report

8/8/2019 2010 Schoolgen Report

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Prepared by: Murray McMillan

Position: Classroom teacher

Date submitted: 17 th December 2010


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Total solar electricity generated this year

Comparison of electricity generated in 2009 and 2010

Cca

During the past 12 months 2262 kWh of electricity was generated by our schools solar panels.

During the past 12 months we saved 0.441 tonnes of carbon dioxide by generating electricity from the solar panels

This year the data collected from our schools solar panels supported a number of different learning experiences. In term 3 the junior and middle school home groups used the data to support their statistical enquiries. Data collected over the space of a week was used to teach the students how to create a bar graph. As part of our Sun Smart

programme in term 4, the amount of electricity generated by our

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solar panels throughout the day was used to illustrate the hours of theday when students need to take precautions to protect themselves

from the harmful effects of the sun.

Above is an example of a worksheet that used by the junior school to help them determine what the weather was like on a particular day of the week.


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Students or staff involved in Schoolgen

This year one of our major accomplishments related to the Schoolgen programme was establishing a Schoolgen lead team. The group consisted of gifted and talented students ranging from year 4 to year 8.

The 2010 Clifton Terrace Model School Schoolgen lead team


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At the beginning of the year the Schoolgen lead team was fortunate to work alongside Maggie Twaddle. Maggie provided the group with a

greater insight about solar panels and the types of environmental projects they could explore as a group throughout the year. The group

decided to call themselves the Electro Kids and after much deliberation decided that their major project for the year was to create a display outlining energy saving tips that the school and theschools community could benefit from. The project was code named Operation Sunbeam, and to complete the project The Electro Kids met every Tuesday afternoon throughout term 3. Firstly, the lead team identified those electrical appliances that were used regularly throughout the school. Once this was completed a selection of the lead team used the internet to research various energy saving tips that

related to the appliances. These tips were then re-written to accommodate the particular needs of the project. It was decided that the display would be placed on the schools fence and thus other members of the group set about creating a visual display for theenergy saving tips. Each member of the lead team was responsible for a different aspect of the project. These responsibilities included researching information, designing, creating graphics, and painting the display.


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Above is an example of the action plan created by the Electro Kids as part of their term 3 project Operation Sunbeam.


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Above is the plan created by the Schoolgen lead team for their visual display about Energy Saving Tips.

Above is the final visual display created by the Schoolgen lead team that was placed on the schools fence.


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Educational Highlights

In 2010 a selection of the Schoolgen learning resources were employed to support the students investigation of how to use electricity safely,ways to reduce electricity usage, types of renewable energy sources,and carbon emissions. The Schoolgen teaching resources that supported these studies included Solar Energy: Schoolgen Data, What Does It Tell Us (Levels 1-2), Decision Making Reducing GreenhouseGas Emissions (Levels 5-6). Energy Efficiency: How Can We Use Less Electricity In Our Classroom? (Levels 1-2), Understanding Carbon and Calculate And Reduce Your Carbon Footprint (Levels 5-6).

A wall display created by the junior school in response to the Teacher- Led Activity How Can We Use Less Electricity In Our Classroom?


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Throughout term 3 the middle and senior school completed a major study that examined the impact of carbon emissions on theenvironment and the various methods the students could employ to reduce that impact. A selection of the Schoolgen teacher resources

that related to this topic were used to create various learning experiences. However, because there was little or no teaching resources pitched at level 2 concerning carbon emissions, thoseresources created for levels 5-6 were modified to suit the learning needs of our year 3 and 4 students. Furthermore, it was felt that theactivities that were suggested to support the learning intentions at levels 3 and 4 were insufficient at building upon the learning experiences. More activities were required to allow the students theopportunity to gain knowledge of the various concepts explored.

Above is the lesson plan used in the middle school home group in week 3 of term 3.


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Above is the weekly lesson plan used in the middle school when they used theSchoolgen data collected in the weather journal for their statistical investigation.

To support our mathematics unit on statistics in term 3 the junior and middle school home groups used the Schoolgen teaching resourceSchoolgen Data, What Does It Tell Us? The students collected data using the weather journal and used the results to learn how to createa bar graph. The students also interpreted the data from the solar

panels to determine how the weather influences the amount of electricity our solar panels can generate during the day.


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Above is the lesson plan used in the senior school home group in week 8 and 9 of term 3.


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Above is a lesson plan that examined the various ways carbon emissions could be reduced by using renewable energy. It was created by a teacher trainee and was used in the middle school home group.


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Communication Highlights

This year we continued to keep our community informed about our schools solar panels through our weekly newsletter Events.Information shared with the community included the amount of carbon dioxide we saved by generating electricity from the solar

panels and the total kWh of electricity generated over a specific amount of time.

Above is an example of one of the regular solar panel updates that appeared in our school newsletter throughout the year.


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This year one of the key initiatives for our involvement in theSchoolgen programme included updating our school website to provideinformation regarding our commitment to the programme and our solar panels. Information highlighting these two aspects is now an

established feature of our school website which is regularly updated.

Schoolgen lead team members Constance Striling and Annie Dancer making a presentation at a school assembly.

Weekly assemblies oragnised by the students at our school provided the members of the Schoolgen lead team the opportunity to makeregular presentations. Presentations often included a quiz that contained questions related to solar power. Special mention was also made when our solar panels were generating the highest amount of electricity during some morning periods.


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Key milestones and reflections

Maggie Twaddle and the Electro Kids during one of Maggies visits in 2010

The key highlight for Clifton Terrace Model School in 2010 was creating our Schoolgen lead team. The formation of the team allowed a group of gifted and talented students to gain a greater awareness of renewable energy and environmental issues. Furthermore, using this heightened knowledge the students were able to contribute to theschools community by informing them about energy saving tips through the visual display they created.


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Sun Facts wall display created by Jenny Austin junior school teacher

For 2011 our schools intended focus will be to develop sustainability initiatives throughout the school. This will mean aligning our commitments to the Schoolgen programme and the Enviro Schools

programme to achieve those goals.

We have recently signed a sister-school agreement with a primary school in Mexico. Part of strengthening that relationship will involvesharing some of our key initiatives and learning experiences related to environmental issues.

In 2011 we will have a large number of new students enrolling at our school. Therefore, time will be needed to develop programmes and up skill those new students about our schools solar panels and being energy efficient.

2010 schoolgen report

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