P3

Today Helen O' Neil came in to tell us a bit about Chinese New Year. Mrs O' Neil and her family lived in Malaysia before coming to Orkney. We managed to fit all of the P2 classes into one classroom. She showed us some of the decorations you might see in places that celebrate the Chinese New Year and told us some stories about the 12 animals involved in the Chinese New Year. We even got a chance to do a lion dance. The costume was great fun and we made lots of noise!

We had a visit from Jonathan Porterfield to show us his electric car so we could compare it to a fuel vehicle.  There are quite a few differences!  Can you remember any? This is the charger he uses to plug into mains electricity.  In Orkney most of our electricity is made by wind turbines, which makes it very friendly to the environment.  We always have plenty of wind - it is renewable! He lifted the bonnet to show us the engine and where he plugs the charger into. What is missing from the back of an electric car?  That's right - there is no exhaust so no fumes and pollutants to spoil our fresh air.  When he switched on the car we couldn't hear anything!

As part of our Energy topic, Mr Linklater took us under our classroom to see the boiler room, so we could find out how our school is heated. The oil is stored in two big tanks.  It then goes to the oil burner and heats a big tank of water, the blue tank. The hot water then goes into our radiators and our taps. Only when the weather is really cold do both burners get switched on.  Usually one of these is enough to heat the radiators to keep us warm and the water in our hot water taps. This peedie door leads underground to all the classrooms in P1 and P2, and even the Infant Hall!   Can you remember what the silver covering on the pipes is called and why it is there?