Outdoor Edinburgh Week

On the week commencing the 11^th – 15 May we went out with Rachel Avery. This was for S4 and 5^th years who was not doing exams. At the end the week doing the outdoor Edinburgh we got a John Muir Award certificate.

On Monday 11^th May we walked from Currie to the visitor centre at Slateford along the Water Of Leith. We all had a lovely time walking along there and enjoyed the lovely sounds and the pretty flowers and trees while we were walking along. We tasted some wild foods and we saw a heron the in river. We all played pooh sticks. Some people hadn’t played it before but some had. It was also great fun!

The heron

Team photo by the place we tried to skim stones - Mr Ingham is an expert!

On Tuesday 12^th May we went to the Botanic Gardens. We went to the glass house and the Chinese Gardens. We saw some beautiful plants and flowers while we were there and we did a bit of drawing there too which was really good fun!

In the glasshouses

Some sketching using oil pastels with Mrs Richardson

On Wednesday 13^th May we went to the Pentland hills. We were asked by the ranger to put wood chippings on the Juniper trees. We had to push 4 wheel barrows and 4 spades up a big hill where the juniper trees were. After we pushed the wheel barrows and spades up the big hill we had to go and find out where the wood chippings were kept. When we had found the wood chippings we had to put it in the wheel barrows and put the wood chippings around the juniper trees to help them grow. After we had done that we found a lovely picnic spot and had our lunch there.

At Harlaw Reservoir

Pusing the wheelbarrows through the fields...

...and down steep slopes!

Collecting the chippings 

The newly planted juniper trees with a mulch of chippings to help them grow

Our school!!

On Thursday 14^th May we went to Jupiter Artland to see the wonderful art there and learn more about the artists.

This was one of our favourites: Suck by Anish Kapoor

Weeping girls by Laura Ford

Stone coppice by Andy Goldsworthy

Exploring the amazing life mounds by Charles Jencks

On Friday 15^th May we were in school writing up what we did. Some people did a power point and others did a poster.  We presented our experiences to lots of staff at lunchtime on Wednesday 27 May as the Share part of our John Muir Award.

by Eden Anderson S5

One World Show!

This lunchtime we had an amazing One World Show in the assembly hall. Over 180 pupils and staff came to watch. There was an exhibition of art work from all years S1 to S6. 

S3 mirror and clock designs made out of recycled materials

Senior fashion designs inspired by the natural world

S4 corsets inspired by nature and made using recycled materials

S4-S6 eco architecture. Sustainability focussed and nature-inspired....

John and Jenna were our comperes for the event

Two S1 classes had African dance lessons in PE today, alongside live drumming, and some brave volunteers gave a public performance of the Kpanlogo dance from Ghana that they'd learnt

Elaine O'Donnell read her powerful poem 'What is?' that she submitted for the John Byrne Award competition

The Junior Drama club did short sketches they'd developed on the theme 'Its Not Fair!'

More from the Junior Drama club

The Fair Trade group did a presentation on why Fair Trade matters

Pupils modelled some amazing fashion designs inspired by our world and nature, created for Higher and Advanced Higher. 

Many thanks to everyone involved in making it a fantastic event!

Earth Hour 2015 at CCHS

This year the Eco-committee wanted to mark Earth Hour in a special way. WWF came up with an idea to create bunting to help us remember the things we appreciate most about our natural world. The brief asked us to use the phrase ‘For the love of…’ and complete the sentence about your favourite place, animal and anything that is special to you in our precious planet. WWF encouraged over 4500 schools across the UK to make the bunting in an attempt break a world record. 

Currie High School approached this challenge and the Eco-committee meetings were spent cutting out bunting out of recycled fabric to be transformed into wonderful bunting. Pupils in Art and SDE classes helped to create the design on the bunting. We are displaying our part of the bunting in school before the end of term and then it will be shipped to London to be put together with the bunting from other schools in a huge display.  We also plan to have all lights off in school P1 on Friday 27 March, before the global Earth Hour on Saturday 28 March.

By taking part in this challenge we are hoping to raise awareness of climate change and other environmental issues in our school; as well as to help support WWF raise awareness of climate change globally. We also celebrated all things eco at the One World Show on 26 March which showcased eco art, drama, music, poetry, dance and design.

By Sophie McVinnie and Abigail Odetayo, Eco Committee

The Eco Committee ripping up our donated old bedsheets

and cutting up the flags

to be decorated beautifully!

Our foyer looks great!

Big Schools Birdwatch

Pupils from Science and Biology classes participated in the RSPB Big School’s Birdwatch over the last few weeks, along with pupils from thousands of schools across the UK.  We watched birds coming to the feeders outside the canteen in shifts for a whole hour, and recorded the maximum number of individuals of different species seen at the same time.  

We saw a large variety of birds, including 23 beautiful Goldfinches with bright red heads and golden wings. They seem to particularly enjoy the niger seeds we put out for them.  

We also saw a small brown bird with a red forehead that we were able to identify as a Lesser redpoll, a relatively uncommon species and a new record for CCHS!  

Our final results have been submitted online and will help RSPB monitor populations of birds across the country. 

Bird species	Max number seen at any one time
Chaffinch	26
Goldfinch	23
Magpie	7
Blackbird	2
Woodpigeon	2
Collared dove	2
Crow	2
Lesser redpoll	1
Bluetit	1
Dunnock	1

    

First weeks back after the holidays

We've enjoyed some lovely weather after our return to school and doing some learning outside the classroom!  The vegetables grown by Health & Food Technology pupils in the greenhouse are now ripening nicely and being used in recipes.

 

A new gardening and wildlife club has started after school on a tuesday and did an amazing job this week weeding and clearing the area around the vegetable beds.

 

S1 classes have been out investigating the biodiversity in Roley's Wood as part of their Sustainable Development Education classes. These pupils found 12 different species of tree in their survey, well done folks!

 

Pre-summer holidays clean up

Pupils from across the year groups have been helping with a big pre-summer litter pick of the school grounds over the last few days of school.

These S4s tackled a particularly tricky section of dense woodland planting with lots of jaggy hawthorn bushes, with Mr Atha. Thanks guys!

These S2s did a wonderful job of the upper section of the burn just at the entrance to the school.

The wildflower meadows planted by pupils a few years ago are in full flower and look brilliant

Thanks to everyone who got involved.  The grounds now look brilliant and it's great to be leaving everywhere looking so lovely over the summer holidays. Have a good break and see you back on 13 August!

Currie Ecology Nest Record Scheme (British Trust for Ornithology)

Trials and Tribulations for the Roof-nesting Oystercatchers !

One of the adult Oystercatchers was found dead on the ground at the back of the school a few days ago. The cause of death is not known but it left a real challenge for the remaining parent to feed and protect both chicks.  When it is away collecting food on the playing fields it cannot protect the chicks from predators such a gulls.  Soon after the death of the parent both chicks seemed fine but within a few days the one on the right of the picture, which was slighlty younger and smaller than the one on the right, had died - probably of starvation. In other words the single parent could not cope with providing food for both chicks and the older dominant one took the lion's share of what food was available.  If there is anything good from this it is that the remaining chick is growing well (now not far off flying)  and is still looked after by the one attentive parent.

Good news on Camera Box Blue Tits!

Many people have enjoyed following the Blue Tit nest in the Quad.  All the chicks have fledged successfully and have left the box.  On the 5th June one chick was seen by one observer doing "a lot of wing whirring" - flying practice!  By the next day it was gone and by the 9th June all the chicks had fled the nest!  They will be looked after outside the nest by the adults for a week or so and will then be independent.  Wonder if one of them will come back to the nest box next year.

By Molly

CurrEco Nest Records (British Trust for Ornithology Nest Record Scheme) - the Oystercatcher story.

This is the first glimpse of our two Oystercatcher chicks on the roof.  They do not have much shelter so like to tuck-up against the bricks when hiding.

BTO ringers came in to ring them last week, so each now has a unique number which could be found where ever they fly to in the future.

As everyone in the school can hear from their loud alarm calls, the parents are very attentive.  They often sit on the parapet of the roof calling to those of us below to keep away!  The photo on the left are not our ones, but just like them.


                                                                           

 

There were originally three eggs in our nest, which was no more than this thin scape of stones. One egg was probably infertile as it never hatched.  Now that the parents are busy looking after the chicks the egg has been abandoned and has signs that it had been pecked at by a predator, probably a gull or crow.  Notice the perfect design of the egg - good size for growing a chick but pointed so it does not roll away.  Nicely camouflaged too.

CurriEco Nest Records 2014 - British Trust for Ornithology Nest Record Scheme

It has been a good start to the spring 2014 breeding season!

The roof-nesting Oystercatchers have returned and laid three eggs.  Two have hatched and we now have 2 chicks running around the roof!  The parents continue to defend them vigorously from predating gulls and crows.

In the quad the old box has not been used though Blue Tits inspected it earlier in the spring.  Instead they chose the old camera box for the first time in years.   Blackbirds have again nested in the flowering clemetis bushes in the quad and are busy feeding four large chicks. They nest there most years.

One of the new boxes put out in the winter in  northern woodland boundary strip has Bluetits in occupation, when we last looked there were nine eggs with the female brooding the eggs.

The Roley's Wood boxes have still to be properly inspected.

We are running three record cards at the moment and will make it four if we can get the quad camera to work.

If any staff or pupils wishes to see the birds close-up please speak with Mr Walton and we'll arrange a visit.

Earth Hour this Saturday

WWF’s Earth Hour is this Saturday at 8.30pm. It’s a chance to show your care for our beautiful planet by joining millions of people all across the world in turning lights off for one hour. We’ll be having our own school Earth Hour Period 2 on Friday to show our support.

Eco Committee pupils from Currie at last year's launch of Earth Hour at Edinburgh Castle

RSPB big school's birdwatch

This winter, the bird feeders outside the canteen have been being kept stocked up by our S1 school grounds volunteers and are regularly attracting many visitors.  S2 pupils recently took part in the  RSPB Big School's Birdwatch during a Science lesson.

Teams of pupils kept a close eye on birds visiting the feeders over one hour, and recorded the maximum number of each species that were seen at the same time. We have sent in our survey results to the RSPB as part of their big nationwide survey that will help track whether populations of our common garden birds are going up or down.  These are our results.

We saw at least 20 individual birds, including 5 beautiful goldfinches that love the niger seed we put out for them.

Mr Walton has also done the school's bit for Nestbox Week this week by mending three nest boxes that were damaged and putting them up in the woodland strip at the back of the school.  Pupils will be involved in monitoring the success of any nests in these boxes this spring, like they did with Mr Walton's help last year.