Our newest additions to the Senior School brush up on their knowledge of Fire Safety.

"On the 7^th of December 2011, a fire officer called Steve Smith came to the school to talk about fire safety to the S1s." - Cameron

"Steve told us a lot about fire safety, like not to charge your phone overnight and to keep a clear exit when there is a fire. In case of a fire, always keep your door shut when you go to sleep at night to keep the smoke out of your bedroom. Always leave keys beside the door or a place where you can find them because if you’re in a fire, you won’t be able to get out." - Warren

"He told us how to keep (prevent) ourselves from making a fire. He told us, “You should check that your fire alarm is working every week.” When you are going to sleep, make sure you switch all your stuff off. You should keep a spare pair of keys beside your exit. If there is ever a fire in your house and it’s in your room and you can’t get out, you should phone someone to get help if you are able. If you can’t, you need to use plan B and jump out the window, but it would only be your last resort." - Ciaran

"He showed us a clip of people who were blinded by gas created by the fire. Some other important advice he gave was to close doors to stop the fire spreading so fast." - Cameron

"I liked when Steve told us a story about how a little boy was in a fire and his pet cat was still in the house, so the firefighters went in and got the cat, but it was dead. The boy started to cry, so Steve held the cat and gave it C.P.R. and the cat became alive again. So, the boy was really happy and thanked Steve." - Warren

"The best story he told was when he had to give a cat C.P.R. and made it come back to life. It was amazing." - Ciaran

Learning about Electricity: Straight from the Wall Socket

We recently grabbed some plugs in Mr. Cavers' class to do a little bit of DIY and learn how to wire them. So, with our handy colour code, the girls and boys got stuck in and started taking their plugs apart.                                 

                                                     

We learned that the fuses in the plugs protect the flexes (or cables) from overheating and got to take a closer look at the thin piece of wire that comprises the fuse, helping us to understand how it "blows" when too large of a current passes through it. We also learned how to select the correct fuse for an appliance by checking its power rating. The power rating also determines the size of the cable we must use, as it needs to be large enough to avoid overheating.

This the face of concentration (I think).

Later, we learned about the Earth wire, a safety device which enables electricity to flow straight to the ground if a fault develops, saving us an electric shock! However, appliances with plastic casings are "double-insulated" and present no risk of electrocution. We also brushed up on our electrical safety by discussing potentially dangerous situations that could occur. Mr. Cavers was on hand when the going got tough and gave everyone demonstrations for the trickier sections.

As time went by, the students became more confident in their capabilities and carried on mostly independently, focusing intently on their work, as you can see below.