Please don’t be alarmed if you notice an increase in discussions on bullying this week. As part of the Stay Safe programme, the relevant classes have all been discussing bullying and what exactly it is. As I moved through the school I overheard several conversations about bullying. When I spoke to the children thankfully it wasn’t bullying and we had a conversation about what bullying is. Have a chat with your children and see if they know what it is. Hopefully by next week when 6th class leads our school assembly on the theme we will be able to identify it as behaviour that is deliberate, repeated and unkind.
Our wellness committee are working on the kindness antidote to this and I will allow them to give more details below.
Rang 3 agus 4 were getting ready for the upcoming Peace Prom performance and creating links with our neighbours in Griffith Barracks Multi Denominational School yesterday. I got a break from the office and got to enjoy a lovely walk along the canal followed by some very impressive singing and dancing. I was particularly impressed with the dance moves the children choreographed themselves. For those of you going to the show on the 4th February, you are in for a treat.
Thanks to Therese Coogan and Jenny in Griffith Barracks for making it happen.
Ranelagh Gaels academy is back this Saturday. If you are interested in joining, details are attached with this newsletter. Have a lovely weekend everyone,
Paul
Green Schools Tips- Vehicle Types
From 2035, all new cars and vans registered in the EU are required to be zero-emission. This effectively bans the purchase of a new vehicle that uses petrol or diesel from then.
Currently there are a range of ways in which a vehicle can be powered but from 2035, the choice will greatly narrow down. We're in a period of transitioning away from vehicles emitting carbon dioxide.
ICE: Internal Combustion Engine
Currently, the majority of our vehicles are powered by the Internal Combustion Engine using the fossil fuels, Petrol and Diesel. A small number of ICE vehicles run on Autogas (Liquid Petroleum Gas).
The Climate Action Plan 2021 sets out to raise the proportion of Biofuels to at least 20% Biodiesel in Diesel (B20) and 10% Ethanol in Petrol (E10) by 2030.
HEV: Hybrid Electric Vehicle
These are powered by an internal combustion engine in combination with one or more electric motors that use energy stored in onboard batteries. The batteries are recharged when braking and going downhill as well as from the ICE.
The electric motor is used at low speeds, at higher speeds the ICE takes over. The popular Toyota Prius HEV has been available for over 20 years now.
MHEV: Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicle
These contain a smaller battery and motor than a HEV and the system adds a small boost to the internal combustion engine. This smooths out stop-start driving, slightly improves acceleration and helps with fuel economy. The Ford Puma is available as an MHEV.
PHEV: Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle
With a PHEV, the onboard battery can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external electric power source. The battery can also be charged the same way as a HEV.
The electric motor is more powerful than in a HEV and is combined with a larger capacity battery pack. They can drive at high speeds on battery power alone. To get the best out of them, they need to be regularly charged externally as their range on battery power is limited. So easy access to charging is necessary. The Kia XCeed is an example of a PHEV.
BEV = Battery Electric Vehicle
Tesla are famous for kickstarting the move towards BEVs, but nearly every manufacturer now competes in this sector. BEVs don’t incorporate an internal combustion engine and are entirely powered from their battery pack. So they meet 2035 emissions standards.
Initial cost and charging access are currently an issue, so they don't suit every household. Range is actually less of an issue, as most regular journeys we do are short. The VW ID.4 is an example.
Roland Ramsden
Andrea Scott
Green Schools Committee Parent Representatives
Kindness week!
Next week is kindness week.
The whole school will be doing a compliment thing where one person puts their head down and everyone writes a nice compliment about them. The reason their head is down is so that they don't get embarrassed. The other thing we’ll be doing is everybody will pick a stick and get one person to show acts of kindness to. There are other ways to be kind like walking your neighbour's dog or making dinner for your family. Make sure to always be kind because it makes a difference in someone's life.
We have new student council representatives. In the student council meeting we talked about how we could improve the yard. We have some new games, snakes and ladders, chess and ring toss. We are deciding where to put them. We also talked about the new company ‘The lunch bag’ coming to the school. People will be arriving next week to explain how it works but basically ‘The lunch bag’ is a system where you order the night or week before and someone will come to our school to deliver it to us!
