Dwardu's Scoops: Fighting smoke with fire

Volume 3

Number 3

16 November 2023

Dwardu’s Scoops ST EDWARD’S COLLEGE NEWSLETTER

Courage is fire, and bullying is smoke

By Anti Bullying Alliance

Learning to understand and manage conflict is an important part of growing up. Bullying is not simply a 'falling out'. Research shows that experiencing bullying can have a significant impact on a child's life well into adulthood.

Bullying needs to be swiftly and correctly identified to prevent lifelong trauma.

The Anti-Bullying Alliance has a shared definition of bullying based on research from across the world over the last 30 years.

“The repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the

relationship involves an imbalance of power. Bullying can be physical, verbal or psychological. It can happen face-to-face or online”.

There are four key elements to this definition:

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hurtful

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repetition

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power imbalance

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intentional Continues on Pg 4

All things

Hallows Pages 6,7,15,16

A Perfect Day Page 2

Democracy Camp Page 10 1

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Picture Perfect

By Daphne Camilleri

On October 26th, Year 6X and 6Y

visited the Argotti Botanical Gardens in Floriana and the Archeological Museum in Valletta. The objective of this outing was to enrich the students’ knowledge and offer them hands-on experience on topics they are covering during

this first term; Plants in Science and Pre-History in History.

Argotti is the Commonwealth’s third oldest botanical

garden. Its development as a botanical garden dates back to the 19th century. It maintains a botanical collection of many different plants and trees, including endemic species and some poisonous examples as well. The latter raised a lot of interest among the students and many questions were asked! A guide explained that each section of the garden offers a unique combination of botanical specimens and that the botanical collec-

tions are organized according to the species, light and water requirements.

The next stop was the Archeological Museum in Valletta where the students could appreciate a spectacular collection of artefacts dating back to Malta’s Neolithic Peri2

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od, 5900-2500BC. In the Neolithic Period section, there is a vast selection of tools and vessels which were used by the pre-historic people in their daily lives. The highlights at the Museum were the Sleeping Lady, the Goddess of Fertility and the artefacts which belonged to the islanders.

A walk to the Barrakka Gardens for a well-deserved lunch break brought this first Year 6 outing to an end.

Celebrating St Martin’s Day

By Samantha Abela

On the 11th November we celebrate the feast of San Martin. It is a very popular and traditional feast here in Malta and many children look forward to waking up on the 11th to find their ‘Borza’ of San Martin. This year, the

Middle School boys had the opportunity to order their San Martin Bread which was blessed by Father Manuel, our School Chaplain, after mass on the 9th November. Father Manuel explained the meaning of the feast of San Martin which is: sharing with others and giving back to society. The spirit of San Martin is that of fostering charity with those in need and in light of Advent, which is fast approaching, this message is truly inspirational.

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From Pg 1

Bullying behaviour can manifest itself in many ways. It can be physical such as pushing, poking, kicking, hitting, biting, pinching etc. Then there is verbal which includes name calling, sarcasm, spreading rumours, threats, teasing, belittling. Emotional bullying involves isolating others, tormenting, hiding books, threatening gestures, ridicule, humiliation, intimidating, excluding, manipulation and coercion. Sexual bullying involves unwanted physical contact, inappropriate touching, abusive comments, homophobic abuse, exposure to inappropriate films, among other things.One of the most prevalent forms of bullying is online /cyber – posting on social media, such as the sharing photos, sending nasty text messages, social exclusion and the Cancel Culture.

Baiting and bullying To 'bait' someone is to intentionally make a person angry by saying or doing things to annoy them. Baiting is a pro-

vocative act used to solicit an angry, aggressive or emotional response from another individual. Baiting can be

used in bullying both on and offline. It can be used to bully someone to get 'a rise' out of them and it can be used to antagonise those who might be bullying others to get them to bully. Sometimes baiting is used secretively to try and get a person to explode in a rage or react negatively/loudly so that they get in to trouble.

It would be wise to advise children that if someone is baiting them, they should not take the bait or argue with a person or appeal to their sense of reason or logic while they are baiting their vic-

tim. They want the target to rise to it so teach the children not to retaliate and fall into a trap.

Children and young adults can learn to recognise baiting for what it is and immediately talk to an adult and explain what they are doing and why they think they are doing it.

Banter or Bullying?

Where do we draw the line between acceptable language and unacceptable language? Chris 4

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Gibbons, Director of inside

inclusion at the Anti Bullying Alliance explains:

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Understanding the four

elements of bullying is vital to knowing whether something is bullying: intentional, hurtful, repetitive, involves a

power imbalance

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Just because ‘banter’

doesn’t constitute all the elements of bullying doesn’t mean it’s acceptable.

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All offensive, threatening, violent and abusive language and behaviour is always unaccepta-

ble, whatever your role

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This includes any negative language or behavior in relation to / referring to a protected char-

acteristic under the Equality Act 2010 i.e. age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex (gender), sexual orientation

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Language and behaviour can have different meanings, in different contexts. If you’re unsure,

ask what was meant

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Just because someone uses certain language to refer to themselves it doesn’t necessarily

means it’s acceptable, nor does it make it ok for you to use it

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Just because you think something is banter or a joke doesn’t mean other people will

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People won’t always feel confident to speak up if

they are offended by something. They might even go along with it so as not to draw attention to themselves Third parties might be offended, even if they’re not part of your conversation False friendships ‘False friendships’ describe relationships where someone pretends to be a friend, or is your ‘friend’ sometimes, but actually uses their power to bully.

Continues on Pg 9

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Memoreen—aka the memories of Halloween 2023

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D.O.C.—Our own Olive Oil! The benefits of spacious grounds are not simply aesthetic or for recreational value.—they provide all sorts of learning experiences.

In this case it was a very practical one - picking olives which ma-

tured on our trees, taking them to the press and having them pressed into olive oil. This will then be left to sit and eventually can be consumed.

This whole process was piloted by Ms Malani and her team of

keen gardeners. They worked hard at picking the olives, making sure not to bruise them in the process. This was done with diligence and dedication during break times.

Clearly the boys were having fun!

And this was also a proud moment for the Headmaster !

International Presence

By Sylvana Debono

The scholastic year never lets up and November always starts with a bang—the ICEF Berlin fair. This is an international congregation of educators, agents and service providers meet, network and discover new products and markets. This year was no exception and Icef Berlin 2023 has been the largest over the past 3 years since COVID. With over 3000 people attending, the fair was buzzing.

So was the stand set up by St Edward’s College.

For two days, a procession of 40 agents and service providers who came over by appointment to discuss the possibility of enrolling students at the College. Apart from these appointments, we had drop-ins as well as meetings outside the stand to see what services were on offer. All in all a very busy but fruitful couple of days.

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Sometimes bullying isn’t as straight forward as someone openly being horrible to another person. It can be much more complicated than that. False friendships

can sometimes be hard for adults to identify.

Bullying UK found in their 2016 survey that:

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73% of children and young peo-

ple had seen social bullying taking place 55% of children and young people had experienced social bullying

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Some children are more likely to have

false friendships, for example disabled children, it is especially important that

disabled children understand what makes a good friend.

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If your child doesn’t have many other

friends, you could encourage them to get involved in extra curricular activities or activities outside of school – for example drama or a sport – so that they might be able to develop other friendships and improve their confidence.

Personal development Over the scholastic year, all educators have Early Years had specialized PD training with Ms. Bezzina (Education Officer). The team had the opportunity to share practice and develop further their skills on the emergent curriculum. Today's focus was documentation and creativity.

We are very grateful to Ms. Bezzina for coming to college and sharing her knowledge with us.

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Democracy Camp

By Henry Wang Yr 9X

The democracy camp was an outing for young people hosted by Aġenzija Żgħażagħ. The intention of the camp

was to learn about democracy and participate actively in a democratic society. The camp organized activities, meetings, discussions, and voting.

We arrived at the camp at nine to put our personal belongings in our dorm, we started our first activity at 10:00, the activity was about making the rules to obey in the camp.

At 12:00, we started preparing lunch, we were split into 3 groups, the first group was in charge of preparing the dining room for lunch, the second group prepared the food, and the third group washed the dishes and cleaned after we all finished lunch. After lunch was a two hour long break.

We played a few small games to learn more about each other. Then we discussed the types of governments, what characteristics they had, and what they were like in reality. After that, we needed to create our menu for the lunch tomorrow.

At 16:00, we prepared pizza, we were free to put any ingredients on our own pizza, after dinner we voted for tomorrow’s lunch. Then we rested and had a hike.

The next day, we woke up at 7:00, had breakfast, and discussed stereotypes and discrimination, we ate lunch and ended camp at 16:00.

In my opinion, the camp was a great learning experience, I learned about the democratic system, improved my critical thinking skills and problem solving skills.

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My beach and other animals

By Daniel Caruana Smith

This month, the Y11s

completed their final fieldwork adventure, this time immersing themselves in the captivating

worlds of geography and biology at the stunning Ghadira Bay. The fieldwork, organized by Ms

Wilkinson and Mr Caruana Smith, aimed at combining theoretical knowledge with hands-on exploration, giving

students a chance to apply their classroom learning to the real world. Ghadira Bay, with its micro-ecosystems and

notable geological features, proved to be an ideal setting for this educational trip.

All the students eagerly delved

into the sciences, studying the coastal features, landforms, and geological processes that shape the bay. Under the

guidance of their teachers and Mr Javier Formosa, the students explored the intricacies of the coastal environment, and how the bay initially formed thousands of years ago.

The enthusiasm of the students was evident throughout the fieldwork. It wasn't only about geography and biology, but also about forging bonds that will be cherished beyond academic years.

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Physics in a context

By Ann Cassar Torreggiani

Part of the IB Physics course includes an internal assessment component. This is an integral part of the course and is compulsory. Each student chooses a topic of interest to them and

researches the physics background context to it. They then develop a research question and plan out an experiment to test their hypothesis. This allows the students to demonstrate their application of skills and knowledge developed earlier on in the course without the time limitation or stress associated with written examinations.

This year our second-year students chose a variety of experiments ranging from the measurement of beer head at different temperatures to the frequency at which a gel coils when poured from a certain height. Others built their own projectile launcher or paper cones in order to test their hypothesis.

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Podium for College U16 Basketball

By Paul Ferrante

In the Interschool U16 basketball tournament held in November 2023, the team fom St Edward’s College placed 3rd . There was only one match difference which separated St Edward’s

College and San Anton School with the latter obtaining second place and the winning trophy going to St Michael’s Foundation. The team, though relatively young when compared to the competition did fantastically well and augurs well for the future.

Swimming as an option

By Paul Ferrante

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Highly Educational and well worth a visit

By Graham McLeod

Dedication and love

Mr Ayrton Senna Spiteri with the boys

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Of Ghouls and Torture – Halloween Activity with a twist

By Samantha Abela

This year’s Halloween activities in the Middle School took a spooktacular twist when our Ms Abela, Ms Agius and Mr Spiteri started concocting the perfect sinister evening for our boys in collaboration with Ms Vanessa Ciantar and Mr Dylan Cauchi and the Heritage Malta Team at the Inquisitor’s Palace. The first victims were the Year 8 boys who kicked off their afternoon on Monday 30th October by carving out the most uncanny looking pumpkins. After a heartly meal they ventured with their suitcases down to Birgu where they were

greeted by the eager staff. The palace is hauntingly beautiful in the evening and the good auspices of the by-standers were quite riveting. The boys were taken to the top floor where Ms Rachel presented them with the primary source

drawings from the 1749 revolt against Grand Master Pinto.

This revolt of the slaves ended up with latter being tortured, exiled or imprisoned. The drawings narrate the events that marked those days and the boys were able to learn both history and the social contexts at the time. Being up close to these primary sources was also an enthralling experience in itself as few people are able to access them. Following this, the boys were divided into groups and each group had a mission to solve for the Inquisitor. One was in the Kitchen and Garden Area, one was at the Piano Nobile and one was in the Cells Complex. A series of quests were presented to the group in a role-playing setting. The boys had to solve riddles, puzzles, maths questions and more. They had to put their inquisitive minds together and work as a group. It was a challenge but they succeeded. Then in the darkness of the court yard, they helped the Inquisitor release

the ‘souls’ of three spirits trapped in the Palace to move on to Continues on Pg 16

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eternal life. Following all this, the boys were treated to some cool science experiments from elephant paste to lava lamps etc… By around 10.30pm the boys were divided into

groups and were assigned ‘cells’ where they had to sleep just like the prisoners did in the 16-17-18th centuries. In the morning they received breakfast, the typical ‘November bone’ and a small sweet treat. The Year 7s also experienced the same on the 31st October however they had a ‘ghost tour’ of the school and a Halloween craft activity instead of the pumpkin carving. Each participant also received a Halloween goody bag prepared by SEC to remember the experience.

We hope that all the boys will remember Halloween 2023 forever as few are those ‘alive’ that can say they have slept at the Inquisitor’s Palace! This activity wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Heritage Malta and especially Ms Ciantar and her team who are very dedicated and professional with all our boys.

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A drive to reduce waste Waste - such a problem especially since we do not think about it each time we buy something. Not our students though. They are taking part in a drive which, the college, in collaboration with WasteServ to reduce packaging waste and to effectively separate waste. This is their artistic take, led by their art teacher Mr Ian Stilon.

November SMOTM—The man with the big dog!

And here he is: the man of the month: Mr Etienne Deguara. Also known as The Man with the Big Dog,

Mr Deguara is always there when you need him. Smiling and dependable, Mr Deguara is much loved in the college community for his willingness to lend a hand and help out.

Always quietly. Always unobtrusively.

Which is why he has been awarded

Staff Member of the Month. Well done Mr D! 17

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Good food, cool company—and it does not break the bank The food at the college canteen is not only nutritious and varied, it is

designed for children’s palates, offers a wide choice and does not break the bank. For children in the early years, parents can order the food and send the labelled lunch box with the pupil. This will be taken and filled according to the parent’s

choice. The menus vary from week to week but the choice is wide and healthy. So, if you are interested, log on using the QR code in this notice and you will be directed

on how to choose and how to pay so that your children will not have to handle money. What’s not to like !

Founded in 1929, St Edward’s College is an all-boys college for both day and boarding students. Boarding is offered between the ages of 11 to 18. At nursery and kindergarten as well as at post-secondary level, the college is co-educational. As a private educational college, St Edwards offers excellent teaching facilities, high teacher-pupil ratio, a very wide range of sports facilities and scrupulous personal attention to the students.

St Edward’s College Malta Triq San Dwardu Birgu BRG 9039 Citta Vittoriosa

At St Edward’s College, students receive a well—rounded education ending up in the IB Diploma. Most of the students go on to study at world class universities. Our top students are leaders in society ranging from Science and Business to traditional professions and the arts. Most Edwardians retain a love and appreciation of sports throughout their lives.

Phone: +356 27 88 11 99 Editor: Sylvana Debono Email: communications@stedwards.edu.mt

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