Nature at school

Organising an activity day in a school is no mean feat, so deciding to dedicate one whole week to extra-curricular activities is even more challenging. This has not, however, deterred St Ignatius College Primary School of Luqa from dedicating the last week of May to waste management, with Waste Management Week being capped last Friday, Nature Day. But what does organising a school activity week really involve and why bother? To find out more I traipsed along to Luqa to meet the school head, Karmen Tedesco, and the man behind most of the organisation of this mega event, assistant head Saviour Saliba.

"This is a week which has involved all our school. We dedicated Monday through to Thursday to activities from each class, with Kinder 1 and 2 on Monday, Years 1, 2 and 3 on Tuesday, Year 4 and 5 on Wednesday and Years 6 and 7 on Thursday. Friday involved all the school, all of our 278 students."

Staggering down events meant opting for special age-dedicated activities which the children and their parents could appreciate, starting from action songs and play acting by the very young, through to a visit by American Embassy representatives who spoke to the older classes about global warming. "We also coordinated talks being held by WasteServ and Medicology for parents and the children, to help them understand better the concept and methods behind such contemporary issues as waste separation and climate change."

The Waste Management Week didn't land on the school in a shock wave, since the children have been experiencing varied educational initiatives to help them get into a "greening" mode throughout the years. A walk around the school premises and precincts, which experienced a radical four-year-long renovation project finalised two years ago, gives away a series of dynamic ideas that have helped educate the children in an enjoyable manner. An "All On Board" noticeboard gives away a lot with its environment-related notices ranging from newspaper cuttings chosen by the children themselves, to novel ideas on waste management, news about the "Green Talk" involving BirdLife talks or pictures from the latest school "On Reserve" activity that recently involved bird watching at a nature reserve.

A novel idea is seeing the school embarking on a compost-making exercise through the "Let It Rot" scheme. Mr Saliba explains how students are encouraged to deposit fruit and vegetable leftovers which they can bring from home, into the school's WasteServ compost bin set up in the garden. "It is a way of showing children how they can contribute with very little effort, to a very healthy and cost-effective environmental idea."

The school has also contributed to tree planting through the "Help Us Grow" school campaign which has seen the sponsorship of three trees within the 34U afforestation scheme.

In between building bird nests and stocking up the school bird tables, the children were also busy writing letters to the Minister responsible for the Environment. "Dear Minister" has landed one of the school's students the opportunity to read just such a letter at the children's hearing within the forthcoming Children's Parliament.

The Waste Management Week has been a first-ever for the school, renown for its penchant at organising successful mega events for its whole population. In keeping with this practice, Friday was dedicated to Nature Day and as such all 278 students took part in exhibiting projects, crafts and drawings and taking up varied dynamic activities.

"Nature Day will be a perfect preamble to our Open Day on June 7. We use our open air precincts to the full, allowing children to enjoy our traditional Maltese game area which includes the passju. We also have the facility of synthetic turf on the sports ground and the fresh air will be a refreshing breather for the children and visitors who are involved in things happening within the music, drawing, science and PSD rooms."

It is all ultimately about empowering children, encouraging them to take up challenges and being pro-active about them. Ms Tedesco goes on to show how the Pupil of the Month Award has helped boost students' spirit, "Each month, each class nominates a child for something in particular.

"We look at different merits, not merely academic ones, and the nominees are awarded certificates during a special assembly in the hall. It is heart-warming to see how their fellow classmates cheer them on, especially when the 'less likely' children get credited for something special they have accomplished.

"The full collaboration of our excellent staff members is naturally fundamental to this success. It is all in the spirit of the school and we hope it is helping our children grow up to be better adults."

• St Ignatius College, Primary School, Luqa, is today organising an open day. The public is invited to attend and experience the dynamic ambience of this school.