School pupils from Ysgol Hirael in Bangor recently raised nearly £500 to adopt a Polar Bear through the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Dosbarth Goleudy has been learning about the effect of climate change on our planet and how the Earth’s poles are warming faster than any other place on the planet. Disappearing ice and glaciers in the polar regions is putting the lives of many animals, such as polar bears, at-risk and they are becoming endangered.
Class teacher Mrs Nia Walker asked her pupils to come up with an idea to raise funds for a worthwhile cause. After looking at all their suggestions, the children decided on an idea by pupil Robyn Goldsmith, choosing to adopt a polar bear for Ysgol Hirael through the WWF.
The children worked hard on their ‘Adopt a Polar Bear’ campaign, undertaking several challenging tasks: from sending emails to the board of governors, a presentation to the governors and pupils, internet research for best polar bear raffle prize, campaign posters and information leaflets for pupils.
To ensure they kept track of any money raised for their project, they created an excel spreadsheet to track funds collected.
Mrs Walker contacted the WWF, and they were thrilled to hear the amount raised. Mrs Walker also told them that Hirael School would be adopting eight animals altogether – a polar bear for Dosbarth Goleudy to start and then an animal for each of the seven classes in Hirael school, thanks to the great funding rasing efforts of the pupils.
The class enjoyed this project immensely. As well as developing good educational skills, the pupils developed essential life skills, in particular, developing their ability to work as a team.
This project was an excellent example of setting the four purpose of the new Curriculum, in particular ‘ethical, informed citizens. The children (with the help of the class teacher) came up with the motto: “We Are Ethical And Informed Citizens, We Care, We Want To Make A Difference”
