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The EcoCode was create with contributions from Yr 4, 5 and 6 classes after the EcoSkola Committee decided that we should create an acrostic of the word WASTE. Each class was asked to draw a letter from an envelope and create a statement using that letter. The committee then designed the EcoCode poster.

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EkoSkola committee members were assigned the task of selecting a book video from a list to share with their classes to further raise awareness about waste-related issues. The most opted for video book was Here Comes the Garbage Barge.

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'Here Comes the Garbage Barge!' read by Justin Theroux

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March: Raising Awareness through Storytelling

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March: Raising Awareness through Storytelling

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World Book Month: Robyn Saliba Butler, Skye Rose Smith Egan Neve and Caitlin Mallia read the book Ġiġi Jħammeġ to Kinder 2 students. Luca Spiteri Zahra and Sam Mizzi read the book Il-Ħut u l-Iskart to their classmates.

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March 2026: Meeting with ERA representatives

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March 2026: Meeting with ERA representatives

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On the 12th of March, the EkoSkola Committee met with a representative from ERA - Environment & Resources Authority for a short information session about waste. During the meeting, students took part in a fun and engaging quiz and received tokens as a reward for their participation. The knowledge and insights gained from this session will be shared with the rest of the school community during the morning assembly in the coming days.

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A big well done to all students who participated in the EkoSkola activity creating their own Carnival floats using reused and recycled materials.

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Feb 2026 - Carnival Floats from Recycled Materials

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Feb 2026 - Carnival Floats from Recycled Materials

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The EkoSkola committee is encouraging students to create Carnival Floats made from recycled materials.  Students can use materials that they already have at home such as shoe boxes, cereal boxes, milk cartons and yogurt cups.  We are not after perfection, this is just an opportunity for students to get creative while learning about reducing, reusing and recycling materials instead of throwing them away.  Carnival floats should reach the school by the 9th of February 2026.

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Jan 2026: Batteries for Hospice Campaign

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Jan 2026: Batteries for Hospice Campaign

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We are pleased to announce that in January 2026 our school placed among the top 10 schools in the Hospice Batteries Collection Initiative!

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In relation to our efforts to cut down on waste, we encourage you to save the Christmas Jumpers that no longer fit you or any other members of your family for an activity that we have planned for next year.

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Cutting down on waste during the Christmas party

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Cutting down on waste during the Christmas party

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Congratulations to the School Council for cutting down on waste during the school Christmas party - no take out boxes were used this year.

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Christmas decorations from used materials

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Christmas decorations from used materials

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As a result of the EkoSkola Committee’s initiatives in the past scholastic year, the parents forming part of the School Council proposed decorating the school hall using recycled materials. A Facebook post was therefore published to encourage the school community to contribute suitable materials. The School Council used to collected materials to create decorations for the school hall.

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Following our recent appeal for food donations as part of the food collection initiative organised by the HSBC Malta Foundation and the Malta Food Agency, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone for your generous contributions.

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As part of our Ekoskola Committee’s ongoing efforts to reduce waste, we are encouraging all students to bring their own towel to school to use after washing their hands. This small step will help us reduce the use of disposable paper towels and support our goal of creating a more sustainable and environmentally friendly school.

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May 2025 - WasteServe representative during assembly

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May 2025 - WasteServe representative during assembly

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Following a request by the EkoSkola committee, a WasteServe representative visited the school a talked to the school about different ways in which we can manage our waste by reducing, re-using, and recycling it!

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Following a request by the EkoSkola committee, on the 11th April 2025, the Mqabba Mayor visited our school to discuss how the work that is currently being done at school by the committee can also be extended with the locality. The committee talked about this year's theme and work. The Mayor invited the committee to run an activity at school in relation to Jum l-Imqabba celebrated next October 2025. The committee expressed the wish to have a WasteServe representative visit the school during morning assembly during the next WasteServ's Roadshow Trucks visit to Mqabba.

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Year 2 students visited the EcoHive complex in Marsascala to learn more about Waste separation and Recycling through interactive activities and games. They also wrote sentences and drew pictures about what they saw.

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March 2025 - Yr 3 - Sustainable Development Session

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March 2025 - Yr 3 - Sustainable Development Session

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In line with this year's theme and SDGs, Yr 3 classes participated in a session dedicated to discussing the Malta Sustainable Development Strategy for 2050 led by the Sustainable Development Directorate. In preparation for this the students were given a copy of the document and asked to go through it at home with their parents and then upload a video clip of themselves talking about 1 thing they learned using MS Teams. During the session the students had time to discuss and give their feedback. The students also participated in a VR workshop led by the Saving Our Blue VR team.

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Yr 1s - Learning about Recycling through storytelling

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Yr 1s - Learning about Recycling through storytelling

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In collaboration with NLA Year 1 students participated in a storytelling session based on the story The Blue Coat by Hugh Lupton. This Jewish tale is about Tom and the beautiful new blue coat his mother makes him. Tom wears his beloved coat all the time, until it starts to fall apart. The story teaches us how things can be re-purposed.

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The EkoSkola Committee students made use of an AI feature in Canva to create images that can accompany the EcoCode to make it more appealing to the school community on the school noticeboard. This activity taught the students how AI can complement our work but emphasised that we still need be careful to select the content that suitably serves our purpose.

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BCRS visit.mp 4

On the 20th February, the EkoSkola committee visited the BCRS clearing plant as this relates very well to this year's theme, Waste Separation and Management. At the plant we listened to a presentation about the process at the plant and we were then taken for a tour of the plant to see what goes on there, how the plastic bottles are sorted and processed using different machines. We also had turns at using a bottle machine and received our own vouchers.

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During the morning assembly 2 EkoSkola Students addressed the school to introduce the classroom posters. The posters are intended to help students to decide which bin they need to use when they need to throw away something in class, thus helping our students to sort their waste properly.

To view the posters please click here: ekoskola posters.pptx

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Yr 2 Lupettu follow-up: sorting our waste

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Yr 2 Lupettu follow-up: sorting our waste

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As a follow-up to the Lupettu joħlom bl-oċean storytelling session Year 2 students participated in an activity about the importance of sorting our waste.

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Storytelling in collaboration with Seħer l-Istejjer - Yr 2

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Storytelling in collaboration with Seħer l-Istejjer - Yr 2

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In collaboration with the Seher l-Istejjer programm Year 2 students participated in a story telling session focused on the book Lupu Lupettu joħlom bl-Oċean. In this book Lupettu goes on an adventure at the bottom of the ocean where he comes across dangers and pollution.

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Kinder 1 students visited the EcoHive complex in Marsascala to learn more about what happens to our waste once we throw it away and it is received at the waste plant.

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The EkoSkola Committee has come up with suggestions for the School Council in relation to the San Martin celebration and the Christmas party. The EkoSkola Committee will pass on the suggestions to the new School Council soon.

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Now that Christmas is fast approaching we thought about what kind of waste is usually generated the most during this time. We did some research about this and then put our findings in a video clip for our school community. The video was shared on the school's social media.

https://ilearnedu-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/wendy_decelis_ilearn_edu_mt/Eb53_JgZ9PBFgTM-BXqz0k0BT1AD6VMDINTMoZO8ep4UyA?e=xOqAOp

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The EkoSkola committee members informed the school about a competition that is related to our EkoSkola theme.

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The EkoSkola Committee for this scholastic year has decided to work on the theme of Waste Management, in line with Global Development Goals 11 and 12, Sustainable Cities and Communities and Responsible Consumption and Production.

This idea was sparked from the concern about too much use of paper towels in the school bathrooms. The EkoSkola members also noted that classroom waste is sometimes not being sorted in the the right bins.

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The EkoSkola committee held an election for the President and Vice-President. The committee members voted in an online election.

Congratulations to:

President  Skye Rose Smith Egan Neve

Vice-President Grazianne Abela

Zya Mifsud Borg will once again be the committee secretary.

Thank you to all committee members.

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At the beginning of June we addressed the school to remind students about the importance of drinking water to beat the heat as recommended by the health authorities. We also reminded to students to use the water fountains responsibly by:

filling only the required amount

not letting the bottle overspill

drinking water leftover in the bottle after school or

using the leftover water for plants

Posters were prepared by students from the EkoSkola committee and put up next to the water fountains to further spread the message.

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During the month of May, in collaboration with the Digital Literacy Support teacher Ms Gilson, Year 5 and Year 6 students used J2Code to create dialogs focused on the theme of Water Conservation.

The students' work can be accessed here:

Year 5.1: https://st-benedict-college-mqabba-primary.j2webby.com/?cat=28&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR14a1cz56wFEeQylcghObK-sZC06RceyH-YvxBl6xWaRr_sNBV3baB-_FA_aem_-MmdnopdWA9f1lJFUOKKLw

Year 6.1: https://st-benedict-college-mqabba-primary.j2webby.com/?cat=44&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3_3M9xGoD_o8ta0korOJSoPT_2rPNMJpG3SXbFlBAtzZ4hzGo4pUCjVFY_aem_oebMKzEiH2wKV3o7LrbyRQ

Year 6.2: https://st-benedict-college-mqabba-primary.j2webby.com/?cat=36&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR14a1cz56wFEeQylcghObK-sZC06RceyH-YvxBl6xWaRr_sNBV3baB-_FA_aem_-MmdnopdWA9f1lJFUOKKLw

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In collaboration with the Pupil Council we managed to collect over 100 used books from the school community to donate to ALS Malta's charity shop. Each book included a message from the EkoSkola committee explaining how buying second hand books helps reduce the water footprint.

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Following our World Book Day assembly, where we encouraged students to become members in the Malta Public Libraries to be able to borrow books rather than buy new ones, we registered over 30 new memberships.

https://maltalibraries.gov.mt/iguana/www.main.cls?surl=MaltaLibraries

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Follow Malta Libraries’s official Facebook Page and additional social media platforms to view what’s on across our network of national and public libraries. If you wish to join our database and start receiving news about Malta Libraries events via email just let us know by messaging events.library@gov.mt.

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World Water Day is celebrated during the month of March. To celebrate this day during our morning assembly students were reminded about how we can reduce our water foot print. In collaboration with the Energy and Water Agency and EkoSkola Malta our students were given Water Saving Kits to take home in order to further raise awareness to the wider school community (one kit per family).

HSBC Catch the Drop campaign also provided our students with informative leaflets for parents and booklets for students.

https://www.facebook.com/MaltaEWA https://www.facebook.com/ekoskola

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064480070544

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21st March 2024: Our water foot print on World Book Day 

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21st March 2024: Our water foot print on World Book Day 

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In preparation for World Book Day (April 2024) students from the EkoSkola Mqabba committee talked about activities that we can do to celebrate this day but at the same time reduce our water footprint.

You can learn more about water footprint here: https://energywateragency.gov.mt/watch-ghajn-educational-resources-the-water-footprint/

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During the months of January and February, the EkoSkola Mqabba Committee held meetings to discuss The Children's Policy Framework 2024-2030. The EkoSkola Mqabba committee decided to focus on Priority 1: Improving Child Wellbeing and we discussed the questions:

What makes you happy?

What makes you feel upset?

What makes you feel better and healthier?

How can the school help you feel healthier and happier?

More information about The Children's Policy Framework 2024-2023 can be found at: https://socialsecurity.gov.mt/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Childrens-_Policy_Framework_2024-2030_EN.pdf

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For more information about water please visit:

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For more information about water please visit:

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GHAJN opened its doors in April 2017 with one key aim: to educate the people of Malta about the challenges facing the water sector on the islands. The centre supports national educational initiatives on water management and conservation, while offering a community-friendly environment in the Nigret neighbourhood in Rabat.

The GHAJN Water Conservation Awareness Centre has become a national information point, raising awareness about the importance of water and how it can be used sustainably in the face of the emerging environmental challenges that Malta faces.

The Centre uses audio-visual presentations, augmented reality technology and interactive games to convey its message in a fun and interactive manner. The presentations and installations also feature themes concurrent with the present national curriculum to support the learning of visiting school groups.

The GHAJN National Water Conservation Awareness Centre leads the way in sustainability. As one of the first zero-water buildings in the Maltese Islands, the Centre sources almost all its water from water saved and reused at the site. To minimise water demand, special fittings are installed both inside the Centre and surrounding it to reduce wastage from actions like toilet flushing. All glass panes at the Centre have solar filming, which naturally cools the inside of the building without the need for air conditioning, and photovoltaic panels on the roof generate renewable energy.

The Centre also features a rainwater harvesting reservoir with an approximate capacity of 500m ³ to collect rainwater runoff, which is then used to irrigate the landscaping around the grounds. All the plants, shrubs and trees found on the GHAJN site are indigenous to the Maltese Islands, providing natural shelter to the local fauna and requiring minimum watering throughout the year.

The GHAJN Centre has launched a series of online educational resources about water conservation and sustainability. Below you can find a series of short virtual lessons aimed at primary school students (aged 7 to 10 years old), which feature short sketches involving puppets. These can be used for at-home learning or as a resource for teachers.

The GHAJN Centre has launched a series of online educational resources about water conservation and sustainability. Below you can find a series of short virtual lessons aimed at primary school students (aged 7 to 10 years old), which feature short sketches involving puppets. These can be used for at-home learning or as a resource for teachers.

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GHAJN opened its doors in April 2017 with one key aim: to educate the people of Malta about the challenges facing the water sector on the islands. The centre supports national educational initiatives on water management and conservation, while offering a community-friendly environment in the Nigret neighbourhood in Rabat.

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Water foot print of a car - Mattia  Farrugia Yr 3

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Water foot print of a car - Mattia  Farrugia Yr 3

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Mattia Farrugia did some research about the water footprint and prepared this powerpoint presentation. Well done and thanks Mattia.

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Various students looked up information about the water footprint of items which we use everyday. Students were encouraged to share their research with the rest of the school. Students' creations were displayed on the EkoSkola Noticeboard.

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During the morning assembly the EkoSkola Committee talked about Waterfootprint. The committee encouraged the school students to look up the Waterfootprint of items we use on a daily basis and create a drawing depicting the amount in litres used to make/produce that item.

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President

Valentina Micallef

Vice-President

Ethan Gauci

Secretary

Zya Mifsud Borg

Members:

Ella Coleiro

Matteo Camilleri

Carl Farrugia

Emma Spiteri Zahra

Angelika Perera

Millan Zetek

Elayah Carter

Skye Smith Egan Neve

Valentina Farrugia

Nicolai Schembri

Skyler Cruz Ellul

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We are proud to present our school's EcoCode that demonstrates our commitment towards Water Conservation.

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The EcoCode is now displayed on the EkoSkola Noticeboard.  A copy of the EcoCode has also been given out to all classes by the EkoSkola Committee members.

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Yr 4 - Yr 6 classes were invited to work on the EcoCode. One letter from the word WATER was drawn by a student from each class. The classes then came up with a phrase that contains that letter which will be used to create the school's EcoCode.

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Interviews following the Water Diary activity

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Interviews following the Water Diary activity

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Click here to see some of the interviews: https://ilearnedu-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/wendy_decelis_ilearn_edu_mt/EYIhYs16661LvR-8X1_MBzMB9KYbOo1Mw3F3mVMsNRykjA?e=bYvP99

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Water diary follow-up ... planning student interviews

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Water diary follow-up ... planning student interviews

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The EkoSkola committee invited Ms Nancy from Missio to talk to our classes about access to water in different countries visited by the missionairies, such as Ghana and Kenya.

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Year 4 students learning about Water Saving tips

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Year 4 students learning about Water Saving tips

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Year 4 students participated in a class activity about Saving Water.

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Water Cycle models by Yr 3 students following visit to Għajn Water Conservation Centre

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Water Cycle models by Yr 3 students following visit to Għajn Water Conservation Centre

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Yr 3 - Visit to Ghajn Water Conservation Centre

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Yr 3 - Visit to Ghajn Water Conservation Centre

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Year 3 classes visited the Għajn Water Conservation Centre in Rabat and learned about the Water Cycle.

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Students kept a water diary and then presented it to the class to discuss with their classmates. The students also played 2 interactive games related to water conservation.

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During Seħer l-Istejjer sessions with K1s the animator read the story Ilmina u l-Vit tal-Iskola to the students to help raise awareness about water conservation

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During Seħer l-Istejjer sessions with K1s the animator read the story Ilmina u l-Vit tal-Iskola to the students to help raise awareness about water conservation

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Following EkoSkola committee's suggestion, new water saving taps are currently being installed in our school bathrooms.

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Brief presentation on World Water Day - Students were encouraged to keep a water diary to appreciate how important water is in our lives.

Younger students: can write or draw events in a day when they make use of water

Older students: provided with a table that indicates various activities during which we use water together with an indication of the approximate amount of water in litres that each activity uses.  Students should fill in the table and work out the total for a week or a day.

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Meeting with EkoSkola teacher about Sustainable Development Goals - 22 Feb

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Meeting with EkoSkola teacher about Sustainable Development Goals - 22 Feb

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Our SDG - SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation

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Reminding students to read Ejja Nsaqqu l-Pjanti - Feb 2023

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Reminding students to read Ejja Nsaqqu l-Pjanti - Feb 2023

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All members of the EkoSkola committee were assigned classes to visit during break time to remind them about the book suggested during the EkoSkola assembly and encouraging to draw/write something related to that book.

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Presentation of survey results during morning assembly - February 2023

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Presentation of survey results during morning assembly - February 2023

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During this presentation we shared information about the data collected from the EkoSkola Survey and we also encouraged students to read the book Ejja Nsaqqu l-Pjanti available on Octavo or other books related to this year's theme, Water Conservation.

EkoSkola Assembly.pdf

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The EkoSkola committee launched a school survey that was meant to understand the views of our students about the importance of water in our lives.

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Bathroom posters handed to cleaning staff - Feb 2023

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Bathroom posters handed to cleaning staff - Feb 2023

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Valentina and Nicolai presented bathroom posters to cleaning staff to display in bathrooms.  The posters, designed by Ella Briffa, are intended to remind students to turn off water taps after use.

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During the second week of December, the EkoSkola Committee carried out observations in student bathrooms to check for water taps that were on but not in use. All observations were recorded to be discussed in January's meeting.

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The EkoSkola committee members unanimously expressed their concern about water taps that are left running after use in students bathrooms.  Thus, it was decided that for this scholastic year the committee will focus on Water Conservation.

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During the morning assembly 2 EkoSkola Students addressed the school to introduce the classroom posters. The posters are intended to help students to decide which bin they need to use when they need to throw away something in class, thus helping our students to sort their waste properly.

To view the posters please click here: ekoskola posters.pptx

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Christmas decorations from used materials

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Christmas decorations from used materials

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As a result of the EkoSkola Committee’s initiatives in the past scholastic year, the parents forming part of the School Council proposed decorating the school hall using recycled materials. A Facebook post was therefore published to encourage the school community to contribute suitable materials. The School Council used to collected materials to create decorations for the school hall.