A hot-bed of activity
By NollaigMacAnBhaird Headmaster
Schools are always dynamic busy places! Some weeks more so than others. This past week saw two Compliance visits, one for Early Years and Junior schools and one for Middle School and Senior School. We will have the reports after the Easter break but the ‘mood music’ for both visits was positive. Both sets of visitors commented on the facilities we have, the polite good nature of the students and were generally impressed with what St Edward’s is doing in terms of education.
Outside my office right now I can hear the excitement of boys energetically engaged in their Easter egg hunt! No stone left unturned! This past Friday we had the IB (International Baccalaureate) arts evening where students presented their artwork, we had a play written and performed by IB students, and not to forget, the band that played, ably accompanied by drummer extraordinaire, Mr. Galea.
I also must mention the Early Years and Junior school concerts that took place this week and will continue after the Easter break. The amount of time, energy and patience that is put into these concerts by teachers, LSEs, parents and above all Ms. Brown, is not just commendable, but astonishing!
Wednesday saw the Middle, Senior and IB Sports day, again, a huge debt of gratitude to all staff involved, particularly Mr. Ferrante and the sports department. Shots were put, jumps, long and high, were jumped, discus thrown and naturally races were run. I will leave it to your child to let you know which house won …
Hot off the press is the news that the teachers came back from 2 – 0 down against the students to win, 3 – 2. An exciting and extremely competitive game! All that remains is for me to wish everyone in the St Edward’s community a very Happy Easter.
L-Għid it-tajjeb lil Kulħadd!
MEDIA LITERACY
Over the past few days I had the opportunity to discuss newspapers with a group of older students. The had an array of British newspapers, both broadsheet and tabloid and we discussed layout, visuals, headlines etc. The students had some pertinent comments, some of them very perceptive ones. However I was struck by a few points:
• Fact Checking is not an automatic response to information. Too much is believed at face value. This underlines the need for Media Ethics in the media profession as well as more critical thinking on the side of the readers.
• Self-awareness with regards to reactions to visuals is still lacking. In the media a visual is not chosen because it is ‘nice’ (only) but because it passes a message. Visuals have a language which needs to be deciphered.
• Attention-spans are rapidly declining, even among the cleverer people. Which is why such emphasis is being made on adroit headlines and, at a pinch, sub-heads. BUT...these rarely tell the whole story.
In conclusion, my brief stint confirmed my long-held belief that media literacy is as vital as the air we breath.
EDITORIAL
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Lighting up the Sky
ByMassimoMagriYr8X
A pyrotechnician is a type of engineer that specialises in Fireworks and sets up Firework displays or helps in preparation of a display. In Malta pyrotechnicians are quite popular and can be found making fireworks in special rooms 200 meters away from any buildings in case of an explosion.
As a child, possibilities of hobbies are endless but some are not so common. My hobby is as a pyrotechnician and I help in the making of Maltese fireworks with my family members. Fireworks in Malta go back to the times of the knights of Saint John to commemorate victories or times of happiness and joy. Fireworks in Malta are now used to celebrate a town/villages local feast.
How it all started
When I was 10, I was introduced to fireworks by my uncle who had started making them over 30 years ago. He showed me the basics , for example rolling the fuse papers and making taps for the fireworks. When I was 11 I went to burn my first Maltese firework and it was awesome. The firework I burned was a lightning shell that is a mixture of noises that are timed differently and with a different sound. Before making a firework I needed to make sure no one is in a nearby field as if a light strobe lands on him it can seriously damage the person physically. After that I had to load in the firework and make sure the paper cover was off so that it can give me time to run to take cover. When I lit it up I felt great and when the firework was timed perfectly it was even better. My uncle told me when I would grow up I would be exactly like him. Now that I’m 12 I am not going
to light up fireworks because I still need a license to even step inside the fireworks factory, Instead I helped them make the papers and the capsules of the fireworks so when we go to fill everything up with the explosive and colourful powder we can find them ready and not be late for the local feast.
When the summer starts a lot of fireworks start to be made. Some types are the lightning Fireworks that make a series of noise. These are lit in the day and sometimes in the night when a colourful shell is added at the end. Another type of firework is a star Firework. These hardly make any noise because it is only used to make a series of patterns out of different coloured shells. Some designs that are used are words , different shapes and also colour changing shells. Common shells that change colours start from blue, move on to red and end with a white strobe. Each colour has to have over 300 shells and 600 more with different sizes. A ball of balls is one of the most popular Fireworks but one of the most hardly seen in the Maltese skies. This is because 19 balls has to be added to a even bigger ball. This has a diameter of 10 inches by 10 inches. When lit up ( usually by a electric current ) it rises and only explodes once. 5 seconds after all this happens a large dome of small fireworks is released. Every firework has a small plastic cup is filled with a substance called “ Tir “ in Maltese is placed uber the firework and connected to the main fuse that is going through the firework. This fuse is
a fast one but the one on the inside is very slow because every capsule has a different timing to explode. Sometimes a small whistle (that Is activated by the gunpowder and stars is placed at the sides ) to give a indication that it is going to be impressive or be very big. Some fireworks vary in size, some can fit in the palm of your hands while others are taller that 2 people stacked on top of each other.
Ground Fireworks
Ground fireworks are also part of a village feast and are much safer than fireworks that explode in the sky. This is because nothing explodes but only lights fire to different coloured gasses. Gasses are like star shells but have different elements added to them. Ground fireworks turn with fountains. Fountains are a mix of star powder and gunpowder. The stars slow the gunpowder down instead of it all suddenly making gunshot noises it also gives it a blueish colour when it is burning. Gasses are made with a 8 millimetre thick cigarette filter and a brown paper ( this step has to be repeated for 10,000 or more times ). Later it is filled with the different coloured star powder and topped with a small explosive charge that doesn’t let the powder out. When all the gasses are done they are put into a nail ( the filter makes it go in easier) and is hot glued on the stick. A piece of fuse is then attached and taped to them. They are put in a piece of paper so that when another ground firework is being ignited no sparks or lit up residue is put in the fuse and ends up lighting it all. The fuse is also perfectly engineered to be faster when it goes inside the brown paper this is because oxygen levels are lowered and creates a combustion so that the fuse gets faster and lights everything up at once. The fuse connects the whole thing and doesn’t show any colour and is connected with all the gasses. It looks like a small fence.
Where it is made
All fireworks are made in in a factory 500 meters from any building or road. The brown paper can be made in a “ Mahzen “and can be made in a home if you know how to make it. The black fuse is made out of a charge, cotton and string. It is hung and left to dry. The fuse comes in different sizes. Some can be up to 20 meters long and is cut to fit the paper. The fountains are made of a type we call “ Trikki Trakki “ and is used to make the fountains. The fountains are filled with any colour that you want and the black powder.
The fireworks that change colour are hard to make and need to make a lot of changes to the formula which can make them explode or catch fire. The colour you compress first is always the last to catch fire. Some balls can be up to 9 millimeters thick or 2 centimeters thick. The timings are based on the thickness of every powder. The chemical formula for the colour blue is CuCl2 and contains red litmus paper and black copper. Red is NaNO3 and contains lithium salts and even traces of 24 karat gold the better the karat of gold the more bright it is. The timing of the lighting shells are made
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with a type of fuse which is called the main fuse. Every millimetre is 1 second. When the fuse is put in the hole it is sealed using wood glue twice. The reason for this is to not let any powder leak and light up the shell before the set time. When the second layer of glue is put on it is immediately put in a tray of saw dust to make the glue stronger. When all the small shells are done they are placed on top of each other to make the desired effect of the person making the firework. Over 2500 shells fit in a section of the firework depending how big the section is. Most of the time it is put in this order : Separation shell which separates the 4 shells , lightning shell (x3) which makes the loud sound and a last bomb to signal that the firework is over. The last bomb usually explodes last and is dangerous for people that are firing them. In some cases this explodes on the floor or 2-6 meters above the floor (usually dirt).
What happens after the explosion
After the firework finishes not all the small shells explode and are sometimes fired 90 meters away from the site it is fired from. The usual things that are left are traces of the separating powder black taps for the small shells. Round wheels that are used to support the bottom of the firework and acts as a foundation, if you get lucky a full shell would have fallen on the floor (don’t pick it up) .If it has black paste on it, a red fuse and both black taps on it is dangerous because it is still warm and can explode with no warning. Multiple people have been killed or disabled for life because of unexploded shells.
Jelly-bean learning
ByMariaGerada
The boys in year 2Z were super excited to conduct their experiment with toothpicks and jellybeans. The boys needed to use their knowledge about forces and shapes to build a structure.
They did a super job and worked well together to build some amazing structures. The boys then wrote their observations in their science journal describing all of the different elements. The boys also tried to describe their structure in Maltese as part of a show and tell activity.
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JA exchange in a cold climate
ByElaineBusuttilGili
Junior Achiever (JA) Malta recently took part in an Erasmus Exchange with two schools in Norway and Sweden. Amongst the 28 participants, 5 students from St Edward’s College and their link teacher got selected to take part in this great opportunity. The activities took place in Storlein (Sweden) and Trondheim (Norway). The objective behind the exchange is entrepreneurship and cultural immersion. Our hosts organised winter wonderland games, and sledging, a visit to a biathlon school, team building workshops, site seeing and more.
The students found themselves transported to a culture where all activities have to be factored around accessibility due to climate. Coming from a sunny island where ‘miserable weather’ generally constitutes a day or so of rain and wind and where temperatures never fall below zero, managing snow was a completely different experience.
From an entrepreneurial point of view, our students not only exchanged views and ideas but were also exposed to different value systems which motivate these budding businesspersons.
All in all, a very challenging and positive, sometimes even magical, experience.
Collective Agreement
A meeting was recently held at the College as part of the process of negotiations for the new collective agreement for the teaching staff. The two sides headed by the Headmaster Mr Nollaig Mac An Bhaird and the President of the MUT Mr Marco Bonnici continued to explore ways in which sustainable improvements to the teaching staff’s conditions of work could be made.
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Traditional Maltese games
ByBerniceZammit
Since the beginning of the scholastic year, the Maltese lessons have been reorganised to be delivered in a theme-based way. Studies have shown that this teaching approach, which consists of combining different curriculum areas around a single topic, takes advantage of the interests of the students and gives the classroom a sense of direction and community. Young people’s attitudes, skills and knowledge are meaningfully developed by drawing on their interests and life experiences. A desire to learn more, prompts inquiry and conversation, which leads to fervent engagement in the educational process.
During the past couple of weeks, the theme chosen for our Year 5 students has been that of traditional games. The children worked on a reading comprehension text portraying different Maltese traditional games like the passju (similar to hopscotch), skipping rope, playing marbles, to mention just a few. Afterwards, the children were given time to have a go at these games themselves. At a later stage, this was linked to a Social Studies lesson where students coming from different countries were also encouraged to present to the class their own traditional games.
New Arrival
New kid on the block, indeed! Graham and Camilla Macleod have welcomed a new addition to their family. Weighing in at 2.89kg, this little bundle of joy is set to enrich not only the life of his parents but also the wider community.
Welcome to the St Edward’s family, little one!
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A selection of photos from the impressive portfolio of Mr Jeremy de Maria. Photos of the medalists will be found on the website and more photos of the day will be uploaded soon.
This is London calling
BySamanthaAbela
Trips abroad are, in my opinion, the best experience for young people to learn new skills in a short time. From packing all the necessities and things in case of emergency, to taking care of personal documents, to handing in forms, exchanging currency and responsible spending, to boarding a plane or a ship alone and doing the check-in… regardless of whether our boys are frequent travellers or not, trips with school are a different experience altogether. The level of independence they gain and the satisfaction of ‘having made it back on my own and with all my luggage’ is an impressive feat for most of them and even more so for their parents! For the latter, it is understandable that they worry about their children, however I am always met with immense gratitude and our school community is aware that all our educators care for the children as if they are their own flesh and blood.
I’ve been organizing trips for several years and a lot of planning is involved. It is an exciting process but also a huge headache. Yet, the thrilled smiling faces full of anticipation at the airport makes it worth it! The tired feet, the rosy cheeks and the never ending list of mischief you hear about days after you return; its priceless.
One of the most sought-after trips is the one done in Year 8 where we visit London. We try to go about the city and experience both public transport and also do a lot of walking (almost 2hrs daily!). We check out the major landmarks and the trip has both educational and fun aspects. It is also the last trip during which parents are invited to join. This year we were happy to have a nice group of mummies with us who helped our boisterous group of 21 boys!
From Westminster Abbey, to Madame Tussauds, the Natural History Museum or the National Gallery; we feel that we made St Edward’s College proud. The boys were engaged, asked questions, and behaved responsibly. New friendships were formed and loads of memories were made some of which immortalized by glazed selfies or synched up Tiktoks for sure! The best story tellers though are the boys themselves, so here are a few anecdotes from their end!
A special shout out and thanks to Ms Annette Agius and Mr Javier Formosa for accompanying me on this journey.
Henry Wang, Yr 8X writes:
The London Trip was really fun and educational. We went to the National Art Gallery, the Madama Tussaud’s Wax Museum, and the Westminster Abby. The National Art Gallery has plenty of paintings that were drawn by famous artists, and we got to learn about their history. The painting that I liked the most was Sunflowers by Van Gogh.
The Wax Museum was very entertaining too, we saw many wax statues of many main characters and movie scenes. Being personally on the scene feels unique and exciting.
Then the Westminster Abbey, it was a giant cross-shaped building with a splendid golden interior. There were also tombs of many kings, queens, and other celebrities.
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Timmy Ellul Year 9x writes:
On the 3rd March 2023, I went on an amazing school trip with 20 other boys. After spending four days together these boys have become my friends! We visited Buckingham Palace, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, the National Gallery and the Sherlock Holmes Museum. However, the highlights of my trip were definitely visits to Westminster Abbey and Madame Tussauds, and the Harry Potter walking tour.
Westminster Abbey is a beautiful cathedral. This is where St Edward the Confessor is buried. I was very lucky to have been chosen to visit the shrine of St Edward together with Ms Abela where we said a prayer for our school. At the Madame Tussaud wax museum we saw many celebrities including Queen Elizabeth and King Charles, singers such as Freddie Mercury, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish and Ed Sheeran, actors like Emma Watson, Hugh Jackman, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, characters like ET the Extra Terrestrial and Shrek, and other famous people like movie director Steven Spielberg and Winston Churchill. I struck a pose with many of them and took some smashing photos. The Harry Potter tour was the highlight of my holiday. We met up with Mike our tour guide wearing a bright yellow rain jacket and a yellow umbrella. We followed him round many streets used in the filming of Harry Potter movies like Diagon Alley used in ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ and the Ministry of Magic from the movie ‘Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows Part 1’.
This trip created so many memories which I shall never forget!
It was always a dream of mine to go abroad with my friends and the London trip was the right opportunity. On the first day, we went to visit Buckingham Palace and after we went to see the Westminster Abbey. The placed that I liked the most was without doubt Madame Tussaud because I took a lot of photos with celebrities and with famous footballers such as Paul Scholes, Pele and my idol Cristiano Ronaldo. We visited a lot of Museums such as the Nature and the Science Museum. I felt very sensitive when I helped a homeless man and suddenly I saw a big smile on his face and then he was able to go and buy some food. One aspect that I enjoyed the most was when we stayed at the Hotel in the room playing games and having fun together, playing pranks on each other, visiting each others’ rooms and eating sweets; it was a blast! It was a really joyful experience which I shall never forget
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Deyan Pace Year 8Y writes:
Olympic ambitions
By Samantha Abela
On Friday, 24th March, the Year 7s and Year 8s were visited by the young sailor XXX who is one of Malta’s representatives in the upcoming Games of the Small States of Europe which will take place on our island between the 28th May and 4th June 2023. In total the athletes will take part in 10 different disciplines which are: Athletics, Basketball, Judo, Rugby Sevens, Sailing, Shooting, Squash, Swimming, Table Tennis and Tennis. Over 1000 athletes, coaches etc… will be visiting Malta during this event. We are lucky that this is the 3rd time hosting, the first being in 1993 and the second in 2003. The Games will welcome eight other countries – Andorra, Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro and San Marino. The mascot chosen is ‘Puka’ a derivative from the typical fish ‘Lampuka’. It is colourful, cheerful and reminds us all of our Maltese culture and friendliness. The Logo is also the ‘Luzzu’ eye, also very typical and synonymous with our islands.
The students learnt not only about the nature of the games but our young speaker who is only 16 years old inspired them to continue working on their sporting achievements and yet also focus on school. He is, at the moment, juggling his GSSE commitments whilst also attending orals and future exams for his MATSEC exams. He spends hours of training a week (some at sea and some at the gym) and is also friends or in a competitive rivalry with some of our Edwardian sailors too. He highlighted the need to always have a back-up plan and a career that it is not only sport oriented. Work-LifeSport balance is key and not easy but thankfully he finds support from his teachers and even his family.
This was a truly unique experience for our boys, most of whom are aiming at excelling at different sporting disciplines. For decades, St Edward’s College has in fact been very proud to have helped in producing top tier athletes in multiple disciplines. Currently we have very successful sailors, footballers (even of Futsal), basketball players, water polo players, trilithon competitors, synchronized swimmer and more!
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Revenge of the ...Teachers!
When a game gives you lemons, make lemonade. This is what the teachers’ team did in the annual footie match with the outgoing Year 11s. From an ignominious scor of 2-0 in favour of the students, the teachers pulled their socs up and turned the tables to a 3-2 win. Well done both!
SAVE THE DATE!
We may not have had a spring fête this year but we intend to celebrate the coming of summer properly with what may be the first BBQ of the season. Why come, you ask? Well, here goes:
• Good food and plenty of vino
• Family games
• Safe children’s area
• Group activities including treasure hunt
• Art auction
• Music and dancing
So, get your 1920’s glad rags together and make sure you’re part of the crowd we’re expecting.
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Jake Desira Paris Year 8X writes:
My experience in London was a very good one. It started off a bit weirdly as for the first time I spent a whole flight on the airplane sitting near two strangers. I was feeling very excited about the trip as it was a little bit long. Ms Abela and the other teachers took very good care of us even all the parents that came to London with us. One of the most exciting places for me was Oxford Street. I had heard of the good shopping experience
St Edward’s College
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 postsecondary level, the college is coeducational. 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.
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.
St Edward’s College
Triq San Dwardu
Birgu BRG9039
Malta
Email:
Communications@stedwards.edu.mt
Editor: Sylvana Debono
From Pg 13
you could have there and I was not disappointed because I bought the shoes that I has been dreaming about from Nike. Some places that for sure I am going to remember are the Museums and the National gallery of art because I learned a lot from them. Some of the things that I am sad about was when I lost the wax hand that I bought from Madame Tussauds. It was unfortunate but I was a bit careless. What annoyed me the most is because Mr Javier had a lot of patience and took a lot of photos of the whole process for me and afterwards I had to tell him I lost it! Eating out was also a highlight for me. We went to different restaurants but the one I liked the most was the Chinese restaurant. The ambience was fantastic and the food was delicious! Looking forward for another trip because I had a lot of fun.
QUALITY ASSURED. The College has just hosted a group of experts from the Education Department’s Quality Assurance Department. Aim of their visit was to assess compliance by the college in terms of standards and norms in education. Headmaster and Senior Staff members were involved in this meeting.
