Earthquake Evacuation Drill

During our Dynamic Earth unit, we learned all about earthquakes.  However, none of the students had ever actually been in an earthquake because they don't usually occur in Northern Ireland.  Part of what they learned about earthquakes involved what to do before, during, and after an earthquake in order to stay as safe as possible.

One of the best things to do in preparation for an earthquake is to have a survival bag that contains some basic necessities so that if an earthquake does occur, a person can just grab it and go to a safe place.  The students were given the task of creating and bringing in their own survival kit in a backpack or small bag.  Items that were included in most bags were water, food, first aid kits, blankets, and flashlights.  The students were also told to include something to entertain themselves with, because if they were really trapped somewhere after an earthquake they would want something to do.  Many students brought dolls, books, and board games.

On the day the students brought their survival kits into school, we had a grade-wide evacuation drill to the assembly hall.  The students made sure to duck and cover during the "earthquake", and then we made our way through the hallways, making sure to avoid falling debris and jumping over cracks in the floor.  Once everyone made it safely to the assembly hall, the students were placed in groups and each person discussed what was in their survival kit and why.  Below are some pictures!

A lot of fun was had by everyone!  The students were great about entertaining themselves, and also discussing what was in their survival kits.  Some even created a sort of triage area with first aid supplies!

Thanksgiving

I am a few weeks late with this post!  If you're from America, you know that a few weeks ago we celebrated Thanksgiving.  However, it is an American holiday, so no one in Northern Ireland celebrated.  This meant that I had to go to school and teach on Thanksgiving!!

It wasn't all bad though.  One of the lessons that I got to teach that day was about Thanksgiving.  I showed my students a video clip on how Thanksgiving first started with the Pilgrims.  We talked about the first Thanksgiving, and how it was a huge feast celebrating the friendship between the Pilgrims and Native Americans.

We also watched clips from the 2013 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  My students loved the balloons, especially the one of Toothless from How To Train Your Dragon!  In Belfast there is a parade with floats and balloons on St. Patrick's Day, but my class said it is nowhere near a big as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

It was a lot of fun talking about all of the different things we eat on Thanksgiving, the football that people watch, and the parade.  I also told the students that a large part of THANKSgiving is talking about what we are thankful for.  I told the class that I was thankful for my family, friends, education, and the ability to travel.  As an activity, the whole class made turkeys by tracing their hand, and then wrote things they were thankful for on the "feathers".  Here are some pictures of the turkeys!

Hand turkeys from P6T

Our Thanksgiving Board in the classroom

Stay tuned for the next post on our earthquake evacuation drill!

Dublin

The other weekend I got to go down to the south of Ireland, to the capital city called Dublin.  Dublin is bigger than Belfast is, and it has a more urban feel.  There was definitely more hustle and bustle!  All of the American students who are student teaching in Belfast got to go on this trip.

There was a lot to do in the short time we were there!  I took the open-top bus sightseeing tour.  It was freezing and very windy when we were in the park!  I went to the Guinness factory, Trinity College where I saw the Book of Kells, and to St. Patrick's Cathedral and Christ Church Cathedral.  My days were jam-packed!!  Here are some pictures of the Old Library at Trinity College.  It was the coolest library I have ever seen!

 Old Library at Trinity College

 Old Library at Trinity College

Everyone speaks English in Ireland.  Although, sometimes it is hard to understand them if they have a very thick accent.   However, some of the people who live in Ireland do know a different language.  Americans usually refer to it as Gaelic, but the people from Ireland call it Irish.  There are a few schools where everyone only speaks Irish, and all of the teaching is also done in Irish.  In Dublin, almost all of the street signs are in both English and Irish.  Below is an example of what Irish looks like.  

An example of Irish

Stay tuned for my next post on the lesson I taught about Thanksgiving!

Superhero Day

As I have talked about before, the students over here are required to wear uniforms to school everyday.  Here is a picture of what they look like:

Some of my students in their uniforms

However, sometimes the school has special days where the students don't have to wear their uniforms.  The other Friday was one of those days.  It was officially Superhero Day, and the students came in dressed as their favorite superhero.  We had everyone from Spiderman to 007.  Even the teachers dressed up!  Since the students have to wear uniforms most of the time, they get really excited about wearing different clothes, which makes that entire day more fun!

This day was even more special than usual.  If the students came to school dressed in something other than their uniform they each had to pay £1 (this means one pound, which is the form of money here.  £1 is equal to $1.56 right now).  This money was collected and given to a charity in the UK.  The charity that this money went to is called Children in Need.  This charity helps children who are sick, have a disability, and/or are disadvantaged. 

Below are some pictures of us all dressed up!

My class and I on Superhero Day

Myself and Ms. Ream (the other American student teacher).

She was Kung Fu Panda and I was Super Tourist

My class with their teacher, Mrs. Thompson, doing a silly pose!

Stay tuned for my next post about my trip to Dublin!