Flick the Switch at JULIUS JANONIS GYMNASIUM (LITHUANIA)

Our Gymnasium organised a "Flick the switch" conference during which we explained the main aims of this project to the school. Students made presentations about electricity consumption and lighting, some even made video presentations. Overall, during the conference all students discovered new ways to save electricity.

 

The school held a competition to design the following logo “switch off the light“. The logo design which was awarded first place was used to create stickers. These stickers were then displayed in every classroom to remind us all to switch the lights off. This is the logo which won the first place.

 

 

 

Here are some other logos which were presented for the competition.

 The main objective of the project, in our school, is to provide students with the necessary data related to our energy consumption. A 17 year old student is responsible for collecting data from school administration and posting it on the school notice board for all students to view.

 

This is the diagram showing the power consumption in our school. You can see the power consumption for 2009, when the Flick the Switch project stared.

 

On 15th of January, 2010, students measured the lighting of work places in most classrooms, with the use of a luxometer. The normal rate is 300 lx. The lighting in many classrooms met the requirement while in some cases it even exceeds the normal level. Therefore, the conclusion was drawn that our classrooms are properly lit, however, all lights should not be switched off during the lessons.

 

Julius Janonis gymnasium also participated in the “Išjunk šviesą“(Flick the switch) poster competition. All posters were very original. In fact, one girl even made a model house full of handy tips about energy saving.
 

The school organised a "Flick the switch" conference where we explained the main points about electricity consumption to parents. So during this conference, parents learned some new ways on how to save electricity.

Highlights of the “Flick the Switch” Project being Implemented at Skaudvilė Special Boarding School.

In February 2010, the students of Skaudvilė Special Boarding School enrolled in the European project “Flick the Switch”. The project objectives and tasks, the project “leader” Flick the Switch, and his gadget friends were introduced to the school community. The students debated and suggested the project implementation measures for the whole school. Primarily, the entire school community agreed upon saving electricity and water. The three most diligent school students were selected to observe if lights were left on when not need and, if necessary, to turn them off. These students were presented with markers with the inscription “Save” displayed on them. This energy saving action was announced to all students and teachers.
 

The Poster Competition was another activity of the project that our school took part in with students designed energy saving posters. We organized an exhibition of their drawings at school whereupon the two best posters were chosen for participation in the regional stage of the “Flick the Switch” poster competition.
 

The students attended a presentation given by employees of Lithuanian electric energy suppliers “VST”. They explained how electricity can be both, a “friend” and a “foe”, described the hazards which lurk in playing or messing around with electricity and also gave advise on the ways to saving energy. During the lesson, the children pledged their friendship to electrical power by giving fingerprinting and promised to save electricity and not to monkey around with it.
 

Class teachers assisted their students in collecting material on the causes and consequences of global warming. The students learned that one of the contributing factors to this is the heat emitted by light bulbs and that they could also contribute to global warming mitigation by means of their petit occupations. During class hours, the students played Flick games which taught to reduce energy loss and efficiently methods of using electricity in school, school dormitory and at home.
 

After school, the students and their tutors collected information about alternative green energy. One of the most popular types of such energy is wind power. The students then made windmills.
 

The school electric meter record was another activity that was under the spotlight of children. The students recorded monthly electric meter readings and compared the data obtained prior to the project and during the course of the project. They were very glad to see the results of their energy saving and to the delight of the children, the estimated monetary value showed that a considerable amount of money had been saved.
 

Due to participation in this project, the students broadened their theoretical and mental outlook, deepened their knowledge by engaging in interesting activities, used the project website where they found interesting and clearly presented information, and overall were happy to have contributed to both the well-being of the school and the solution to the global warming issue.

"I will use less light !"

The pupils and teachers of Istituto Comprensivo Statale-Gagliano de Capo in Italy would like to inform all Flick the Switch Schools about a very successful and enjoyable event they organised on the 12th February called “I will use light”

As part of the activity, the pupils also created some hot air balloons, with the assistance of their teachers. They began by researching information about hot air balloons and learned some interesting facts about them - for example: Did you know that hot air balloons are the cheapest flying machines?

The paper that they used for creating these hot air balloons was first decorated by the pupils with energy saving messages, the slogan “I will use less light”, their school name and the Flick logo.

In preparation for the “I will use light” Event, the pupils of ICS Gagliano, guided by their teachers, carried out preliminary work on the topic of “saving energy”. They designed posters and prepared some popular songs using the original music but substituting some of the words to include messages about saving energy! The pupils chose a Christmas song and a pop song called “We are the world, we are the children”. They included words in Italian to encourage everyone to save energy and change their energy behavioural habits.

On the 12th February, they organised a launch ceremony for the hot air balloons that was attended by teachers and parents. A short speech was given by the school’s Head Teacher. With the assistance of an expert, the pupils successfully launched the hot air balloons up into the sky.

It must have been a wonderful sight to see all the hard work and creative efforts made by the pupils of ICS Gagliano resulting in the successful flight of their hot air balloons!

The pupils even created a life-sized costume of “Flick”, which one lucky pupil wore while going from class to class spreading the message of energy savings and distributing Flick the Switch stickers that could be placed by light switches as a reminder to save energy!

All the pupils of ICS Gagliano very much enjoyed this event and most importantly they learned a lot about saving energy in the name of “Flick the Switch”.

Well done ICS Gagliano in Italy!

“FLICK THE SWITCH” Project Success

An article by Kuršėnai Stasys Anglickis Basic School in Lithuania

The community of Kuršėnai Stasys Anglickis Basic School took active participation in the entertaining international project “Flick the Switch”. The School Principal Danutė Lotiukienė returned from the Flick the Switch Campaign Closing Ceremony in Rakvere (Estonia) with the Regional Winners Flag which currently decorates the school lobby. The active period of the project implementation having now ended, one can begin to contemplate its outcomes and follow-up actions.

It is significant that the participants continue with the project activities by themselves. The project activities have instilled a need among students to save electricity at home and at school. The effective result of the project certainly is a more diverse and a more efficient school operation: integrated classes in electricity, energy saving techniques, interesting post-curriculum activities which involve both the students and their family members. However, we believe that a more important result is that students have found themselves able to help their school through their capability to contribute to its financial matters, after all, electricity saved is money gained for the school. The project ideas have been brought home and reported to parents and other family members by their children.

While reading information on the project website, the students, in liaison with the children of other countries, enjoyed their active contribution to the solution of the worldwide topical issue of saving energy resources. Thereby, young people practiced citizenship. Hence the “Flick the Switch” project has developed the students’ moral attitudes.

The final event of the project took place in school at the end of May featuring the song “Flick the Switch” which had been created by the students themselves and has already gained in popularity. According to the students, the song lyrics express that the project activities would proceed and be never ending.

Becoming a Flick the Switch Regional Finalist School

Marilena Sibechi, a teacher at Eco School Ion Creanga in Suceava, Romania describes what it was like to take part in the campaign and become a Flick the Switch Regional finalist!

“As we all know the world is changing, but not necessarily in a good way. How can we justify spending billions of dollars a year to further inspect the moon, asteroid belts and the uninhabitable planets of the solar system when our own planet is struggling? Searching for the words „problems of the planet‟ on Google gives you 63,000,000 results, of which global warming is one of the most serious.

For the situation to improve, for the whole world to change, we need to begin with ourselves. We need consistency and discipline. When millions of people say together “I‟m a responsible person” the message is more powerful and goes further, changing our way of thinking and our behaviour.

Wanting to be the change the world needs, I started looking for websites supporting my cause. One click led to another and I found the Flick the Switch website. I was intrigued by its funny characters and I was sure the children would love them so I registered my school for the campaign! The main idea of this project is to unplug all electric equipment which you don‟t use and which is left in stand-by mode. This can include printers, TVs, phone chargers, microwaves, toasters, radios, etc. Many people didn‟t know that electric equipment left on stand-by still consumes 10% of household energy. We also encouraged people to buy equipment with low energy consumption. It‟s not complicated.

Furthermore, we held presentations and had debates with pupils and their parents. The pupils managed to express the campaign‟s ideas through the poster competition. From almost 50 posters we chose the most beautiful to represent our school in the final poster competition, in Estonia.

During Flick the Switch week, in March 2010, a week full of events took place at our school. It started with a show called „A beautiful sprint for Earth.‟ The show represented the collaboration between our team working on Flick the Switch and the „Life Link‟ team. For this occasion an exhibition of posters made by pupils was organised. On Thursday 25th March, our school, represented by 2 pupils, participated among another 14 schools from Europe in the second edition of the on-line Flick the Switch Energy debates.

But the surprise was yet to come because later Ion Creanga School was picked as the regional winner for Romania! That‟s why I was invited to participate in the Flick the Switch Closing Ceremony, which took place in Rakvere, Estonia. At this event I received the Regional Winner‟s Flick the Switch Flag and certificate. I was proud to learn that the 2 prize winning schools in the Flick the Switch poster competition were also Romanian schools.  I have officially given the flag and the diploma I received at Rakvere to our pupils. In the end I asked every "flicker" to raise their hand. My students did this with joy and enthusiasm. I looked at them, pleased with myself, like a cultivator who just planted seeds in their land. I have planted ideas for a healthy life in my students which will sprout when they become adults.

Flick the Switch was a project which educated both students and parents. It was a dynamic, funny and youthful project. I am proud that I was part of it and I look forward to seeing it continue.

Romania flicks the switch! Let‟s flick together.

Flick the Switch School Champions - Secondary School Category

Vilnius „MINTIES‟ Gymnasium from Lithuania won the Flick the Switch Champions competition at Secondary level.

Project coordinator at „Minties‟ Gymnasium, Dziuljeta Jonikiene, tells us about the efforts that took place at the school.

“The students at Vilnius „Minties‟ Gymnasium joined the Flick the Switch campaign in December 2009. Our enrolment in the initiative was prompted by the goal of the project itself, which at first glance seems very simple - to get students into the habit of turning off lights and electrical appliances when not in use.

During the project, the students were not only saving energy but were also searching for information on efficient ways of saving energy, energy-saving devices, economic bulbs and alternative energy sources (wind, solar, hydro). The students became better informed about the negative consequences of excessive power wastage, addressed such issues as the impact of light pollution and smog on wildlife and then shared this knowledge with others.

I am delighted that our students did not stay indifferent to the issue of energy saving. Educational and short feature films which were produced by the students themselves proved this. Students also created posters and drawings reflecting the idea that it is worth saving the earth, not only for ourselves but also for others.
The students have accomplished a lot during the project. Overall, 70 PowerPoint reports were created and delivered (organised by D. Jonikienė), 18 short films were presented (organised by D. Jonikienė and V. Spundzevičienė), more than 80 drawings and posters were painted (organised by L. Varnas), B. Miglė held a photo exhibition (organised by V. Spundzevičienė) and two students participated in online debates (organised by A. Malinauskaitė).

The students acknowledged the benefits gained from the project work. They have acquired new knowledge and perceived not only the financial value of energy saving but also their contribution to the welfare of wildlife and vegetation.”

Flick the Switch School Champions - Primary School Category

St. Francis Primary School in Cospicua, Malta won the Flick the Switch Champions competition at primary school level.

St. Francis School was awarded the title of Flick the Switch Champion in the primary school category during the official campaign closing ceremony. Their achievements in organising activities related to energy saving and teaching their pupils to switch off lights and electrical devices made them clear winners.

Two schools from Malta were Flick the Switch regional finalists, namely St. Francis School and Kullegg San Benedittu Sekondarja Subien Kirkop. Both schools were present at the official closing ceremony. They were both awarded for their achievements towards energy efficiency with the official Flick the Switch regional flag.
After giving out the awards to the regional finalists, St. Francis School was also awarded the Flick the Switch School Champion award at primary school level. The school received the official Flick the Switch winner‟s plaque to honour their outstanding achievements during the campaign. Besides getting involved in a large number of energy saving activities, St. Francis School also prepared a Flick the Switch colouring booklet, energy related dialogues in language classes, a Flick board game, bookmarks, the Flick the Switch song: „Together we can save the world‟, a check-list for a student energy audit, as well as various exhibitions, excursions and public discussions for parents and students.

Head of School, Sr. Claudia Zammit, said: “Being aware of global warming and the urgent need to reduce our energy requirements for our children‟s future, our school decided to participate in this campaign. All staff and students did their best to organise various energy related activities during this scholastic year.”

On 18 June 2010, St. Francis School organised a School Open Day to celebrate receiving the Flick the Switch Champions award. The students‟ work, models and other campaign materials were exhibited at the event. The Maltese Minister for Resources and Rural Affairs, Hon. George Pullicino, was also present during this event and congratulated all students and teachers for their outstanding achievements related to saving energy and reducing CO2 emissions.

The Flick the Switch campaign was embraced in Malta, with more than 65 schools and over 12,000 students getting involved. The Maltese campaign was supported by local campaign organisers,

The Flick the Switch Workshop

The Flick the Switch workshop was held on Thursday, 23 September 2010 at the Five Lakes Hotel in Maldon, England. Guests came from across Europe to attend, including the project partners, representatives from local organisations, students and teachers from local primary and secondary schools and even Flick the Switch himself! 

A European marketplace was prepared by the project partners for the workshop attendees. The marketplace displayed typical foods of the different countries involved in the project, including Spain, Croatia, Lithuania, Estonia, Italy, Malta and the UK. Attendees could also see Flick the Switch material in different languages and some creative student contributions to the campaign, such as posters and board games. The winning posters from the Flick the Switch competition were exhibited around the room and were of great interest to all attendees. 

The big surprise of the morning was the appearance of Flick the Switch, who entertained all the students (and the adults too!). He encouraged the students present to take part in the competitions and games about energy saving that had been prepared for the day. 

The older students took part in energy negotiations, in which students represented different countries and bargained with each other in an attempt to draw up energy use agreements. Finding a consensus proved challenging for the students, but gave them a useful insight into the importance of energy at a national and international level. Meanwhile, the younger students took a ride on the ‘bicycle blender’, which is a regular bicycle but with one big difference – it has a blender attached above its back wheel to make fruit juice! Students had to calculate the amount of energy required to blend the fruit and then attempt to generate that energy and activate the blender by pedalling the bicycle. These activities proved to be enormously successful and students enthusiastically told their teachers about them at the conclusion of the workshop. 

While students were taking part in these activities, other attendees listened to presentations about the Flick the Switch project and other energy saving initiatives that target children and schools. Student contributions to Flick the Switch from across Europe were showcased in a presentation by the project organiser, IPIC. This was followed by presentations from the representatives of different organisations, including the Foundation for Environmental Education, Eco-Schools, Young People’s Trust for the Environment, Climate Energy and PC Powerdown. Overall, the presentations reminded everyone of the importance of educating children about energy saving and the very important role that children play in helping save the environment. 

Once the workshop activities concluded, all attendees, including students, had the opportunity to revisit the different marketplace stands, speak with the project partners and enjoy some lunch. 

Flick the Switch has brought together students and schools from across Europe with his energy saving message. The day was the perfect conclusion to the project and a good reminder that simple actions, like turning off electrical devices when they are not in use, can make a big difference.

The Flick the Switch Campaign Closing Ceremony

Flick is pleased to announce that the Flick the Switch Campaign Closing Ceremony, which took place in Rakvere, Estonia on the 21^st May 2010, was a resounding success. The event was co-hosted by Flick the Switch consortium partners Rakvere Gümnaasium and Rakvere City Government. There were approximately 150 guests in attendance at the ceremony, including regional school representatives from all over Europe, Rakvere City’s Mayor and Vice Mayor, representatives from Flick the Switch project partners, the Councillor of the Ministry of Education, a representative from Tallinna Saksa Gümnaasium and the Project Manager of Eesti Energia. They were joined by students and teachers from host school Rakvere Gümnaasium.

The objective of this event was to mark the official closing of the Flick the Switch European-wide campaign and energy saving initiative, which ran from October 2009 to the end of April 2010, and to honour and award the most active and energy-conscious schools during this campaign. This excellent platform not only showcased the success of the campaign, but also offered all attendees a unique perspective on the Flick the Switch energy-saving messages combined with a display of Estonian culture and humour through inspiring performances from the students of Rakvere Gümnaasium. The student presence throughout the ceremony served as a reminder of the important role schools and their students play in saving energy and their desire for the Flick the Switch campaign message to continue being embraced in the future. What wonderfully talented students!

The life-size costume of Flick made a special guest appearance and was on hand to entertain and thrill the audience as can be seen from the video above.

Flick the Switch would like to congratulate all winning schools for their efforts and encourage them to continue to save energy. Flick the Switch would also like to thank Rakvere Gumnaasiun and  Rakvere City Government for organising this memorable event and for providing a welcoming atmosphere and a unique taste of Estonian culture. Special mention should also go to the students of Rakvere Gümnaasium for their talented and highly entertaining performances during the ceremony.

To find out who the winning schools were and the awards they received, please visit www.flicktheswitch.eu to find out more.....!

Welcome to Flick the Switch !

FACT – There are loads of lonely light bulbs being left on, in empty rooms,even during the day!!
LOOK – How many light bulbs does it takes to light your school?
IMAGINE – How much electricity wastage occurs in your school?
CONSIDER – You could save €40 in the life time of every bulb and save energy at the same time.
KNOW - that you and your school can make a difference by changing your habits.



FLICK THE SWITCH is a European Energy Saving Campaign (starting in October 2009) encouraging Primary and Secondary Schools from all over Europe save energy. HOW? By encouraging students and teachers to do take simple behavioural actions such as switching off lights and devices when they are not in use.

The main character of the Campaign is "Flick" and you can follow the stories of the FLICK THE SWITCH Campaign on this blog! Please write us an email for any question, at: info@flicktheswitch.eu
Thank you!