E e H O i trM ESR eC nc IN T OL BIRK E OL HO BDAIL K D AE RMEDIA TE T SC L RIN vEe lS for xcE D I AET el Birkdale Bulletin Weekly Newsletter of Birkdale Intermediate School Providing a quality education in a caring environment 24 April 2015 We are very thankful to Genesis Energy for coming to our school and installing these solar panels because now we can learn about solar power, energy efficiency, and save a great deal of money that we would have spent on extra power! Zoe, Rosie, Ethan and Zoe Issue No. 10 School Gen is a programme developed and Hagrid and his friends from the Harry Potter series, Fluffy supported by Genesis Energy. The goal of the and Buckbeak, are visiting our library. They are on the programme is to raise awareness of solar energy shelves to encourage students to read a wide range of books. and energy efficiency for students across New Parent Workshop 12 May 2015, 7.00 – 8.30 pm (plus time for questions) Venue: Owen Goodwin Theatre, Birkdale Intermediate School 200 Birkdale Road Zealand. In 2014 Birkdale Intermediate School entered a competition to win an installation of solar panels. We were excited about this because it meant we would be able to generate our own electricity and learn about solar energy. Birkdale students made a video highlighting the special features of our school and Genesis Energy told us they were coming to our school in person. They came and interviewed some of the students involved in the video. Shortly after our school was told that we had won, and solar panels would be installed in 2015. A team of painters are working in the school Painters are working on the Technology Centre, Theatre and Library, giving them all a new coat of paint to keep our buildings in top condition. Skip forward to 2015. On Monday 20th April, an exhibition kindly provided by Chris Bass for our “Lest We Forget” Quest was set up in the Kereru nest. It is a display of the weaponry, tools, food and accessories which the US and Japanese forces had to use in World War II. It includes a light machine gun, a RBZ radio receiver, a portable flame thrower and a US MZ mortar. There is also a display case showing the accessories the US military had, such as gum, tobacco, mirrors, flasks, first aid kits and insect repellant. In the first week of Term 2, Genesis Energy came to install the solar panels on top of Rooms 15 and 16. We decided to interview the installers to find out a bit more about the solar panels and how they would work in our school. We first wanted to know how the panels work. We were told that the the panels have silicone in them so when the sun hits the solar panel it creates DC energy which is then converted into into AC energy before it is pumped out. This energy isn’t stored. It uses something called the Grid Tide System so all the energy that is generated goes straight into the classrooms but all the leftover energy gets sold to the supplier. They told us that because we are a school, we Birkdale Intermediate is very thankful for the opportunity to probably won’t have any leftover (except over the school holidays). enjoy this exhibition. Thank you, Mr Bass, for lending your collection to the school. It was interesting to learn that each panel can collect 250 Asta, Alex and Austin Room 1. Please remember to order your child’s class photo by Monday 21 May 2015 to take advantage of the free delivery period. You can order online or envelopes are available at the office. If you are using the envelope system please note that you cannot pay at the school office by eftpos. If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact the office staff who will be happy to help you. Dear Parents Hagrid visits our library! Order your Class Photos watts of power, but the sun gives out 1000 watts per square metre. That made us curious about how much power a classroom uses. We learned that if a classroom has 10 lights of about 100 watts per light and a heat pump of about 1000 watts the total power used per day is around 12,000 watts. Using the solar panels we have saved 4000 watts. If we cut down on our electricity use we would be able to make more use of our solar panels. The last question we had was, “Have the solar panels improved since previous designs?” The answer was “yes.“ The better they get, the closer they get to collecting 1000 watts (the amount the sun can give), the more efficient they are the less money we have to spend on power. Enrol now for drum, piano or guitar lessons at School in Term 2 Spaces are still available for drum, piano or guitar tuition at school during the school day. To enrol or make further enquiries, contact the Music Education Centre on 444-5654 or http://www.musiceducation.co.nz/enrol-for-lessons/ Photolife Class Photos Come to a friendly, informal presentation which is designed to give you the information you need to understand your children’s needs and to support them at home. The presenter, Ross Lugg, is a leading Educational Consultant and Dyslexia Specialist. It will include: •Understanding learning difficulties (including dyslexia, dyspraxia). •Identifying if your child has problems – and what to do! •Supporting your child at home (assistive technology, educational software, appropriate strategies). •How to use the Steps programme to support your child’s literacy. •Particular emphasis on literacy and numeracy skills. •Coping with homework issues. •Most importantly – a chance to ask questions! There will be an opportunity to see leading NZ and UK educational software programmes covering literacy and numeracy and also to get information about other resources which may be appropriate to your child. To Register: Contact Yolanda Choromanski at Birkdale Intermediate 09 483 9168 or [email protected] All the best for the coming week. Richard Coote, Principal Important Dates 27/4 28/4 30/4 1 May 6/5 13/5 18/5 ANZAC Day observed Y7 (B) Football Y8 (B) Football Mufti Day $2 Y7 Mathex R11/14 Writers festival Y8 Mathex Y7 (G) Football 18/5BOT Meeting 19/5 Y8 (G) Football 21/5 HPV No. 2 25/27 ERO visit 27/5 Rugby (B) 29/5 Science Road Show 1 June Queen’s Birthday 3/6 Yr 6 Open Evening
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