KISU NEWSLETTER

We still continue to move back towards normality and it was very pleasing to see Key Stage 2 back in the Auditorium to celebrate the end of Earth Week. Unfortunately we are still not able to invite parents to assemblies but I am sure that that will come soon.

Some interesting facts about greenhouse gases that might surprise you;

Did you know, for instance, that we create far, far more greenhouse gas emissions through the manufacture of cement than the entire total emissions from the aviation industry?

Cement is responsible for a double-whammy of carbon emissions: first, through the chemical reaction you need to carry out to turn limestone into lime and then, on top of that, further carbon emissions attributed to the fossil fuels that power the cement kilns themselves.

Put those two together (each is roughly 3-4%) and cement accounts for anywhere between 6 and 8% of global emissions - that's more than the entire combined emissions of every plane in the sky, every train on a track and every ship in the ocean.

However, the combined emissions of the iron/steel industry and chemical sector are similar or greater, depending on what you're including (10.8% if you only consider the energy powering these plants, a whopping 13% if you include the emissions puffed into the sky from chemical plants).

If you want to know more details the visit Climate change: Net-zero cannot be achieved by planting a few trees or keeping lights switched off a bit more | Climate News | Sky News

Friday 23rd April, was the last compulsory day of lessons for DP2. It has been a privilege to watch them grow into the wonderful young ladies and gentlemen they have become. We all wish DP2 the very best for the future and I am certain they will all go out and make a positive impact on our world. We know you will study hard to ensure you get the grades you really deserve in your exams! Please remember that if you need us, we are still here for you.

Here are a few photos of their time at KISU.

Earth Week was a success in primary school with the planting competition sparking students to plant a total of 137 plants in a single week. Year 6 Green took the lead for the ice cream party, with runners up year 4 Gold and a Year 1 class taking the consolation prize for having the most students participate (7). We recycled single use plastics to make eye-catching decorations, tried our hand at Earth-themed quizzes, and celebrated the Earth with special songs in Music lessons.

For earth week I took action and used a reusable water bottle as opposed to a plastic one because it reduces both your carbon footprint and helps reduce the plastic burden on landfills, oceans, streams and other places that plastic waste ends up. I also bought a small tree for 5,00 ugx to plant in my backyard. I planted a tree because they give us oxygen, store carbon, stabilize the soil and give life to the world's wildlife. They also provide us with the materials for tools and shelter.

Reducing food miles

By shopping locally, you are buying goods produced in your local community. When you shop at a supermarket or at a mall for example, the goods you get there have probably travelled over 1500 miles to reach your location. Shopping locally allows you to cut down on these miles, reducing the environmental impact of the transport of these goods. Local produce does not generate large carbon footprints through overseas plane travel or long truck trips food imports do.

Protecting land and local wildlife

If you buy local, you support the local community. Local farmers can keep their farms and preserve the environment. If the local farmer is not supported, usually they would sell it to developers and essentially this is where the problem is. Local developers could completely transform the land, devastating the wildlife that calls it home. Or, big business producers could buy out the farm and incorporate inhumane and non-eco-friendly farming practices.

Fresh produce

Local farmers usually tend to keep off pesticides and preservatives. Pesticides for instance can be toxic especially when they end up washing in drainage systems. Normally there are used by big business producers who are concerned a lot about the amount of produce they make. If you promote a local small business farmer, you are therefore supporting the environment.

http://www.gogreen.org/blog/the-environmental-benefits-of-buying-locally

https://uwaterloo.ca/food-services/blog/post/how-can-buying-locally-benefit-environment

Eco - friendly straws are always the best option to keep our environment clean. Since reusable straws are made of recyclable materials, they don't need to be produced in such huge quantities as plastic straws and also do not contribute to environmental pollution since they can be easily recycled. My straw is made of bamboo and is very hard so it wont break and also can easily be cleaned.

Plastic straws cause pollution and damage to the environment during their entire lifespan. This is because plastic is made from oil (a non-renewable fossil fuel). Plastic pollution can harm or even kill a large variety of marine animals.

3 MAIN REASONS WHY PLASTIC STRAWS ARE BAD FOR THE EARTH

They harm marine wildlife and ecosystems

They expose us to unhealthy and chemical toxins

They are increasing everyday and are killing creatures in the ocean.

I carry the same water bottle to school every day and keep reusing it. This means I don't throw away a plastic bottle every day. My sister does the same thing. In addition, we take old liquor bottles and fill them with water and put them in the fridge so we have cold water. My dad buys glass soda water bottles that are taken back to the place he got them and reused. For drinking water, we buy 5 litre Ruwenzori bottles and those are given back, washed, refilled and resealed.

My family saves all of our bags. We use them for shopping and whatever we might need them for. This reduces the plastic we throw away and they are useful for different things. I reuse Ziploc bags and all of our egg cartons and cereal boxes are given to the art department at school.

We compost our food waste and it is very nutritious for growing plants. We have a small garden that we grow some herbs in and we use compost dirt for it. We also collect rainwater in a barrel. This rainwater is also used for watering the plants instead of sink water or drinking water. Our dog food includes little bits of vegetables that we don’t eat, the dog food is also stored in old strawberry containers.

Overall these different things my family does reduces what we need to buy from the store, this reduces plastic used as things bought are wrapped in plastic. Using rainwater means that it isn’t just washed down the drain, it is useful later.

A few weeks ago Primary launched Spelling Shed as a fun and interactive programme to help children practice their spellings at home easily. I am pleased to say that the Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 children have fully embraced this resource and are practicing regularly and achieving well. With the aim of improving spelling attainment across the Primary School, Spelling Shed is motivating children in all year groups to fight for the number 1 position on our Leaders Board. Year 6 ran away with the winners’ cup this week and our Primary Individual Speller of the Week is Francessa Wijaya (Year 6) with a total point score of: 106304968.

Like Francessa, pupils will receive a personalized certificate and a medal for achieving the highest score in the school over the past seven days. With this in mind, it is worth noting that children’s scores can go up and down since their total is always an accumulation of the past seven days and not just a running total – it won’t include scores achieved further back than the last seven days.

In our first socially distanced Primary assembly of the year, we celebrated children who have been critically thinking.

This week our ‘Primary Super Learners of the Week’ are:

KG2: Jaya Maussion and Raphael Museke

KG3: Precious Mirembe and Aciwin Waru

Reception: Roxanne Kirabo and Liesel Msukwa

Year 1: Hridhaan Raval and Arjun Vishwanathan.

Year 2: Athavi Pater and Simon Sichilyango

Year 3: Hamid Tarig and Karen Ssesanga

Year 4: Samwiri Karugire and Abhav Midha

Year 5: Nour Harig and Hawi Monye

Year 6: Ariana Mwanje and Remy Curtis

Well done to all children for using their deeper thinking powers to problem solve, rationalize, make logical assumptions, answer thought provoking questions and think outside the box.

Next week our super learning skill is ‘KNOWLEDGE’.

Year 5 has been busy studying the Ancient Greeks for the last two weeks. We have thoroughly submerged ourselves into this wonderful world... reading all about the Greek history and enjoying some myths and legends.

We can tell you the highlights of Greek history all the way back to 2200 BC up to 146 BC, and even created a class timeline together ordering the important events over that time (see the photo!).

Our map work has been excellent and we were intrigued to learn about the places that used to be in Ancient Greece that no longer belong to the Greek empire, like parts of Turkey. If you ask us to locate Greece on a world map we can now do it within 5 seconds!

We can't wait to find out more about the Greek Gods and Goddesses soon and are especially excited to find out about the Olympics.