2008
MAD Activities
Brighton Primary School | The Cottage School | The Don College | Gagebrook Primary School | Kings Meadows High School | Launceston College | MacKillop College | New Norfolk Primary School | New Town High School | New Town Primary School | Queechy High School | Reece High School | Rose Bay High School | Rosetta Primary School | St Patrick's College Trevallyn Primary School
Project/Activity title: POP Group (Protecting our Planet)
Grade level of students involved: 5/6
No. of students: 115 (initial learning sequence); 30 (POP group)
Our Vision: Individual action CAN make a difference.
Our issue of concern or interest: We were concerned about the environment and sustainability. We wanted to actively do things that would improve the environment and raise awareness of the current issues that are faced in the world.
What we have done: We have done a range of things in our classes/group to address our issue:
- Along with Green Corps, Conservation Volunteers, Forestry Tasmania and
the Brighton Council we planted trees at a local parklands.
- We tie-dyed and then sewed and decorated calico bags so that these
could be used instead of plastic bags.
- Each upper primary class created a visual message on their classroom
windows such as “Think global; act local” to raise awareness.
- A whole school environmental audit was co-ordinated.
- We recorded energy consumption in our school.
- We organised a MobileMuster collection box for the school so that we could
collect mobile phone handsets, batteries and accessories for recycling.
- We created a food scrap collection system for all classrooms. Students
took the collected scraps home for their pets.
- On many occasions we spoke at both primary and early child
hood
assemblies and asked everyone to think about a particular focus, such as
turning off lights when not needed.
- Our ‘Green Day’ raised funds which we donated to Bonorong
Park to help them care for orphaned native animals.
- All Grade 6 students (87 in total) worked with an artist to create a
wall mosaic using recycled material, such as tiles and crockery, which
featured native animals.
Project/Activity title: Fair Trade
Grade level of students involved: 6
No. of students: 13
Our issue of concern or interest: We were concerned abut child labour and fair trade.
What we have done: As a class we decided to research coffee and cocoa production around the world and learn about the concept of fair trade. We were amazed by the large number of children who work in this industry as child labourers and get paid very poorly. We took the information that we gathered and shared it with our friends and family to raise awareness about the inequalities and the issue of how little the producers of coffee and cocoa actually make compared with the big companies that sell the coffee in developed nations. We made PowerPoints and posters to convey our message. We also had a fair trade day where we made fair trade chocolate muffins and coffee and we sold them to teachers and parents. We used the money that we raised to buy a fair trade soccer ball. We also spent time researching sweatshops.
Project/Activity title: Climate Change - A Local and Global Inquiry
Grade level of students involved: primary/ secondary/ senior secondary/ tertiary
No. of students: 180
Our vision: is for our school and wider communities to have an increased understanding and knowledge of climate change.
Our issue of concern or interest: is to create greater collaboration between scientists, experts, politicians and primary, secondary, senior secondary and tertiary students and their teachers around the globally significant issue of climate change.
What we have done: We have established Climate Change Clubs at The Don College, Ulverstone High, Devonport High, Miandetta Primary, Nixon St Primary, and at our sister-schools in Japan and Thailand. Our students are mentored by scientists from UTAS, AAD, CSIRO and BOM and we are informing ourselves and our communities via scientific inquiry, guest speakers, field trips and collaborative projects. Specific investigations have focused upon profiling of local beaches, sea level rise, sea acidity and temperature changes, krill, greenhouse gases, ice sheet movement, and Antarctic weather. Highlights of our project have been the inclusive nature of understandings developed between students of all ages and abilities and the empowerment of individuals to further empower and influence others.
During 2008 Gagebrook Primary ran the ruMAD? Program throughout the school. Students were divided into 3 groups of approximately 70 students and every Monday each group dedicated 90 minutes to their MAD Project for the entire year. After an investigation into the values of each group and their visions for the future, much of Term 1 was devoted to researching the selected issue. By May, students were ready to launch their MAD Projects which they did during their MAD Week. Each recess and lunch time a group organised and presented an activity to raise awareness of their project focus. These activities included:
- a competition to identify how many drains and downpipes there were
in the school grounds;
- a recycling awareness activity with students
displaying posters and a variety of recyclable materials;
- a ‘Hunt the Bandicoot’ game where papier-mâché bandicoots were
hidden for others to find;
- completing bandicoot jigsaws which had been made by students.
Following MAD Week, students were ready to progress to the 'Action' stage. Project details follow but a more detailed account of ruMAD? at Gagebrook Primary can be found here.
Project 1: Reduce-Reuse-Recycle
Grade level of students involved: Prep – Gr 2
No. of students: 70
Our vision: abraKADaBra wants Gagebrook Primary School to have less
rubbish and nicer gardens by becoming a recycling school.
Our issue of concern or interest: We decided that rubbish was a
problem in the school and that Gagebrook Primary needed to become a
recycling school. We also decided that recycling and the school gardens
were connected.
What we have done: We found out a lot about recycling and reusing.
We went to the Glenorchy Waste Disposal and Recycling Centre. At school we collected
lots of different recycled containers and designed and made musical
instruments, Mother’s Day gifts and toys. Helen Pryor from the Sustainable
Living Centre came
to show us how to make our own paper and she even
showed us how to make our own envelopes. We brainstormed a letter to the
council asking them to help us with our recycling. Brighton Council have
supported us by giving us 3 recycling crates and a large wheelie bin.
When we went to the tip our teacher picked up a second hand worm farm.
Using recycled polystyrene boxes from the supermarket, we made 2 more. We
now recycle all food wastes to either worm farms or the compost bin which
we’ve set up in the school. After visiting the community gardens at Lenah
Valley we created group gardens. We filled recycled polystyrene boxes with
good soil and planted vegetables which we had grown from seed.
Project 2: Water
Grade level of students involved: 3/4
No. of students: 60
Our vision: Units H, E and Pathways want to help the RSPCA and the
Derwent River by creating a sustainable environment for all animals and
humans.
Our issue of concern or interest: is that too much rubbish from our
drains gets carried into the Derwent River.
What we have done: Mr Heyward, from the Brighton Council, explained
to us how they try to keep the Derwent River clean, and where all the
water from drains and downpipes goes. We discovered a lot about water and
the Derwent River on an excursion. We went to Risdon Brook Dam and found
out about the water supply from the dam. At the Hobart City Council
sewerage plant we learnt what happens to toilet waste. Finally, we went to
Cornelian Bay to look at the storm water pipes that feed into the bay.
We did some cleaning
up around the drains in Gagebrook and decided that we
would like to paint an environmental message alongside some of them. We
had to get permission from the council to do this. We organised a ‘MAD
Hair Day’ to raise funds for the purchase of a drain stencil and paint.
The message we chose to use was ‘ONLY RAIN GOES DOWN THE DRAIN’.
As part of our public awareness campaign we also designed water wise
pamphlets and distributed them to households, and placed water wise
posters in the public domain.
Project 3: Endangered Species
Grade level of students involved: 5/6
No. of students: 70
Our vision: is for a world where endangered animals and animals in
general are saved.
Our issue of concern or interest: is the impact that a community
can have on endangered animals, especially the eastern barred bandicoot.
What we have done: We created a bandicoot habitat at Mangalore by
planting out specific plant species for the eastern barred bandicoot. We
used native grasses and shrubs to create an understorey. We needed money
to buy materials so we held a milkshake and icy pole day. $200 was raised
which we spent at Bunnings on materials such as stakes, plastic tree
guards and chicken wire. In years to come we hope this will be home to
many eastern barred bandicoots.
We also planted native plants to enhance our school environment a
nd raised
awareness about endangered species in our community. We distributed 'Save
the bandicoot' and 'How to minimise cat predation' pamphlets to households
and we placed ‘Save the bandicoot’ posters in the public domain.
We read an article in the newspaper about a new breed of cat, the Savannah
Cat, which may be introduced into Australia. We were concerned about the
effect that it may have on the eastern barred bandicoot so we wrote to the
Hon. Peter Garrett MP to express our views. The Minister replied saying
that he agreed with us.
Project/Activity title: ROCKS Mural
Grade level of students involved: 10
No. of students: 30
Our issue of concern or interest: is our school environment. We wanted to do something to improve the aesthetic of our school. We decided to create a mural to brighten up the grounds.
What we have done: During Term 1 we worked together as a group to actually design what we would like to be on our mural. During the design phase we approached the Door of Hope and they volunteered the help of 4 artists to work with us on our mural. We also had help from our school art teacher. We wanted the design to reflect our school motto of ROCKS – Respect, Organisation, Commitment, Keeping Safe and Sensible Behaviour. The images and words had to reflect and support this. Our initial design was quite complicated and when we went to have it approved we actually realised that we had to make some changes to the image in order to make it work. Then when we were all ready to actually paint the mural, it was the middle of winter and the weather made it too hard to start the project. Luckily in Term 3 the weather improved and the project is well on the way. It has been a great project to work on and has really improved the school environment.
Project/Activity title: Global Gourmet Day
Grade level of students involved: 11 and 12
No. of students: 30
Our issue of concern or interest: is that all members of the Launceston College should feel part of the school community and have their cultural backgrounds acknowledged in a positive way.
What we have done: Global Gourmet Day was held on Thursday 22nd May. A group of students prepared a range of foods from different nationalities and cultural groups which were then served at lunchtime to students. Aside from it being a great taste sensation it was an opportunity for students from different cultural backgrounds to work together, learn about and value the diversity within the school community. Currently at LC there are over 11 nationalities and cultural groups represented from Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, USA, Denmark, France, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Burma, Bhutan and more. In the lead up to the Global Gourmet Day VET Catering students worked alongside student representatives from the cultural groups to choose recipes typical of their cuisine and discuss cultural influences on their cuisine. The day was a huge success! The lunchtime gourmet event engaged all the senses - taste, sight, smell, touch and sound!
Project/Activity title: Catch it if you can!
Grade level of students involved: 7 - 10
Our issues of concern or interest: are the critical sustainability issues facing humanity on many levels.
What we have done: We have identified areas where we could incorporate sustainability measures within our school activities and have developed a school environmental management plan (SEMP) based on the AuSSI template. Read more about this project here.
Project/Activity title: Corumbene
Grade level of students involved: 5/6
No. of students: 50
Our vision: We value the time we get to spend with our families. We only get one so we should make the most of it. It is important to us that we are always there for our mates (human and animals) and in return they are always there for us. We believe that life is extremely important, but we need to live a healthy life to have a good life.
Our issue of concern or interest: We were concerned that there are many people who are lonely and don’t have close family or friends to support them. We wanted to make a difference to people at Corumbene Nursing Home by being a buddy to them and visiting them regularly.
What we have done: We decided that we would break into groups within our class and work on making a difference to the residents of Corumbene. One group visited the residents each week in the lounge room (buddy type system). We danced with them, played bingo, talked and taught them some skills on the computer too.
The second group were focused on fundraising and had competitions to raise money for Corumbene. We put heaps of lollies in a jar and then went around to teachers and students and got them to guess how many were in the jar. After 2 weeks we announced the winner (the Principal) and we had raised $58.00 to put towards buying Corumbene a DVD player for the lounge room.
The third group worked on a performance for the residents (an ABBA concert) and the fourth group did some art work on canvas to brighten up the home. Not only did we develop good relationships with the residents, but we made new friends, brightened their lives and made other people happy. The residents loved our visits and we enjoyed them too. Many of us will keep going even though the project will end soon.
Project/Activity title: Our Creek, Our Planet
Grade level of students involved: 8/9
No. of students: 30
Our issue of concern or interest: We were concerned about the environment and the negative impact that we have on our precious ecosystems. We formed the Green Team in an attempt to try and address some of these negative impacts in a proactive and positive way.
What we have done: Since 2007 we, the dedicated “Green Team” students, have monitored water flow and quality of the rivulet bordering our school. We have met on a weekly basis to clean the rivulet, and have been involved in weed removal and tree planting. During October the team embarked on a blitz on the creek with help from Conservation Volunteers Australia and the Hobart City and Glenorchy City Councils. Volunteers assisted us with the rehabilitation of the New Town Rivulet through weed removal and planting of native trees and shrubs as part of the Green Schools Connect Program. Our creek is in much better shape than it was when this project first started. It is cleaner and healthier and we will continue to rehabilitate it.
Project/Activity title: The Derwent Estuary Penguin Project
Grade level of students involved: 3/4
No. of students: 26
Our Vision: We all completed individual vision statements – too many to mention.
Our issue of concern or interest: We were concerned about the little penguins and other animals that were experiencing problems because of habitat loss and other threats. With the spread of Hobart’s suburbs, little penguin colonies are in danger and we
wanted to help fix this
problem.
What we have done: Helen Pryor, from Sustainable Living Tasmania,
came and talked to us about the plight of the little penguins and the
Derwent Estuary Penguin Project. She brought lots of information and hand
outs for us and we learnt all about the issues. We decided that it was
important for us to raise money to actually build more burrows on the
Derwent to make sure that the penguins were safe. We brainstormed ways to
raise money and decided to make some little penguin finger puppets to sell
at our school. We made them out of felt and put them on paddle pop sticks.
We also did many beautiful paintings and drawings of the little penguins.
We raised over $150 dollars for the burrows project. We also learned a
great deal about what we can do to help and how the penguins’ survival
depends on us.
Project/Activity title: ASG (After School Group) School Improvement
Grade level of students involved: 9
No. of students: 25
Our Vision: At Queechy High we aspire to create a productive, friendly, polite school environment that is caring and shows respect for others. We aim to develop a physical environment that is bright, environmentally friendly, an atmosphere that is comfortable, inviting and sustainable. We seek to improve our image and reputation amongst the wider community by fostering positive relationships, having a sense of pride and providing students with the opportunities to make a difference.
Our issue of concern or interest: is our school environment. We wanted to do something to improve the look of the school as well as the local environment.
What we have done: Every Wednesday for 1 to 2 hours per week our ASG group meets (in our own time) to make a positive difference to our school grounds. We initially broke into subgroups and each worked on one particular aspect of the project. We had to do fundraising in order to buy garden supplies. We also went and sought out donations from local businesses. We have been actively involved in the garden redevelopment and soon the paving will be done too. We have made a positive difference to the school environment - the look and feel. It has been an excellent project to work on.
Project/Activity title: MADDD MONTH making a difference - Disease, Differences and Disabilities
Grade level of students involved: 9
No. of students: 30
Our issue of concern or interest: We were concerned about a range of issues and therefore we embarked on diverse projects from diseases to differences to disabilities. Consequently we all got to investigate and make a difference to things that mattered to us.
What we have done: We arranged a range of activities and fundraising ventures to increase awareness of Disease, Differences and Disabilities over a one month period this year. This included assisting in traditional annual events plus creating different ways of raising awareness. The 3 main areas of focus included:
Disability Awareness
A disability day was organised and we had students simulate disabilities
such as blindness, loss of hearing, loss of limbs and loss of touch.
Some students persevered with these simulations the entire day with the
assistance of a ‘student carer’, while others took pictures and filmed
reactions from their peers and people in the local community. Students
found that it was difficult to write, listen and move around. Overall
the day was an excellent learning experience giving us and others a
greater understanding of what it means to live with a disability.
Leukaemia Awareness
Our group was passionate about making a difference with leukaemia. We did
this by selling jelly cups for $1.00 each outside a concert by Monique
Brumby. We managed to raise $140. We also made a slide show about
leukaemia. We felt satisfied that we raised some money and raised
awareness for an illness that affects so many people in the world.
Supporting Jeans for Genes
We participated in this annual major fundraiser as it contributed to
further research for understanding of diseases like cancer, epilepsy and
birth defects. We raised over $594 and gained great appreciation of the
range of medical issues.
Project/Activity title: Allanah and Madeline Foundation
Grade level of students involved: 7
No. of students: 10
Our issue of concern or interest: Our class decided that one of the most extreme forms of the bullying of young people is violence, aggression and abuse in the home. Domestic violence often goes unseen and unreported and can take the form of both physical and emotional abuse. The main victims of this form of bullying are children. We therefore decided to support the Alannah and Madeline Foundation. This foundation cares for children who have experienced or witnessed violence and runs programs which prevent violence in the lives of children.
What we have done: We researched the Alannah and Madeline Foundation and decided that we wanted to raise money to actually buy some buddy bags. The buddy bags are distributed to children who are taken away from violent homes and they contain a range of things:
- toothbrush + toothpaste
- pyjamas
- singlet
- underwear
- socks
- face washer
- pillowcase
- book
- photo frame
- money box / wallet
- cuddly teddy bear / educational plush (age dependent)
- toy (age dependent)
- colouring-in/activity book (age dependent)
A buddy bag costs approximately $120 to put together but the cost can be
lowered if ite
ms are donated to put in the buddy bags. Our class, 7A
fundraised for the Alannah and Madeline Foundation by holding a crazy hair
and free dress day on September 5th and we donated the funds. We also put
a basket at the front office so we were able to collect donations to put
in the bags. We raised over $500 to buy four Buddy Bags. We also raised
awareness around the issue of bullying, aggression and violence.Project/Activity title: Sustainability Expo 2008
Grade level of students involved: 5/6
No. of students: 30
Our issue of concern or interest: Our class is concerned about the environment and we wanted to raise awareness about issues that affect our local and global environment.
What we have done: After we attended the Firestarter Youth Environment Conference our group formed. We are called the ESRC (Environment School Rep Council). The ESRC gives hints in the school newsletter each week on sustainability. We were also responsible for planning and running activities at our recent Sustainably Expo. We did the following activities:
• made origami boxes from recycled paper;
• sketched Tasmanian animals;
• observed and classified creek critters (we do not have a healthy creek);
• made paper.
We raised awareness about the environment and had a large number of students actively involved in fun activities. We also performed an explanatory play about biodiversity to raise awareness.
Project/Activity title: Tamar River Siltation Project
Grade level of students involved: 7 to 12
No. of students: 15
Our issue of concern or interest: We were concerned about the siltation issue in the Tamar River. We wanted to understand why it has happened and if there is anything that we can do to help solve this issue.
What we have done: The Environment Committee at our school researched the history of the Tamar River with a specific emphasis on the siltation problem. We were surprised to discover that, periodically, siltation has been a problem with our river and that it takes a large flood to flush the system out. Humans may have caused an increase in the siltation problem – but we are still investigating that. We interviewed politicians and local people about their attitudes towards the problem with the Tamar River and asked what they felt we could do. We also did a survey of grade 7’s at St Patrick's to see what they thought of the issue too. We collated all that information and displayed our findings at Firestarter and YAC 2008. We have raised awareness about the siltation problem and brainstormed possible ways to overcome the issue. As a result of our project, the Mayor of Launceston asked that we write up a report and send through our results to him. He was very interested in our findings.
Our Vision: is for a world where we care for our family and friends. We look after all domestic, farm and wild animals. We are able to enjoy leisure times. We show respect to all living things in our local and global community. We can show love to others and work towards peace throughout the world.
Grade level of students involved: 5
Project 1: Tassie Devils No. of students: 10
Our issue of concern or interest: is the Tasmanian devils because the facial tumour disease is spreading through Tasmania. Many Tasmanian devils die from this disease every year. If a cure cannot be found, this animal may become extinct.
What we have done: We have done research on the tumour. We organised a raffle to raise money to help the Tassie devils. We made a poster to advertise their problem. The facial tumours are ugly.
Project 2: Cancer Council
No. of students: 7
Our issue of concern or interest: is that anyone can die from cancer at any age and some people don’t realise that.
What we have done: We decided to sell Daffodil Day merchandise. We rang the Cancer Council and ordered some merchandise. Miss Cane then went and picked it up for us. Then we made a poster showing the different things we were selling and their prices. We then advertised the merchandise in the newsletter and at line-up.
Project 3: Native Animals
No. of students: 10
Our issue of concern or interest: is that many native animals are being killed by cars, loss of environment and disease. Lots of animals are dying on the roads, especially kangaroos, wombats and possums.
What we have done: We researched on the internet about particular native animals. We ran a ‘guess how many lollies in the jar’ competition and we organised a morning tea to raise money for native animals. We worked on posters for native animals and to advertise our morning tea.
Project 4: RSPCA
No. of students: 7
Our issue of concern or interest: is that the RSPCA might not have enough money to buy food for the animals, and that dogs and cats are not getting enough food and are starving.
What we have done: We have collected cat and dog food for the animals and have made a poster to put up to advertise how people can care for animals. We have also researched what the RSPCA does as an organisation.
Project 5: The Shelter Box
No. of students: 7
Our issue of concern or interest: is people who have suffered in different countries around the world.
What we have done: We researched on the computer what we could do. We made a poster and ran a raffle to raise money for the ‘Shelter Box’.
Project 6: Farm Animal Sanctuary
No. of students: 9
Our issue of concern or interest: is farm animals that are locked up in battery farms and crammed into cages together.
What we have done: We wanted to tell people about how badly some caged animals are treated so that more can be done for them. We found information about the farm animal sanctuary. We made posters about the battery farms and about the farm animal sanctuary. We held a crazy hair day to raise money for the sanctuary.