What Does Islam Say About the Environment?
The Olive School Hackney celebrated a wonderful and inclusive Spirituality/Personal Development Day today. The theme of the day was: What does Islam Say About the Environment? The learning throughout the day was themed on this on this topic. Children learnt about the 3 Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle and Islam’s teachings in relation to looking after wildlife, caring for animals and birds, conserving water, recycling, planting trees, the wonders of nature and a lot more! There were a whole host of activities including:
- Mobile Animal Farm- Reception children learnt first-hand about the importance of respecting and treating animals with kindness. They also learnt of stories of different animals/insects mentioned in the Qur’an (e.g. the bee).
- Lights Out! Staff and children were challenged not to use any devices that required electricity for half an hour (except if there was an emergency). It was a really useful reminder of how grateful we should be for this blessing as there are many around the world who have to manage with very little or no electricity at all.
- Our Amazing Earth- Year 3 children visited Allens Gardens in Hackney where they participated in wonderful workshops aimed at getting them to appreciate the unique, wondrous and awe-inspiring nature of the Almighty’s creation.
- Smoothie Bike Challenge- Our children used specially adapted bikes to make smoothies! It taught them to appreciate the gift of fruit and green energy sources. The smoothies were sold to parents to raise money for charity.
- Planting! Each of the 12 classes at the Olive School Hackney planted a seed in a large pot. They learnt about the religious and scientific significance of planting trees and the key ingredient to a successfully germinate a seed.
- Lunchtime Recycling- All the children sorted lunchtime waste into (1) recyclable waste (2) food waste (3) general waste. The class with the most recycled waste was Ibn Ali in Year 3. Congratulations!
- Eco Wudhu (Ablution) Challenge! A few children from each class were asked to take part in a challenge: to make wudhu (ablution) with the same amount of water as the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to use. This is approximately 775ml of water (just slightly larger than a conventional yoghurt pot) and is known in Arabic as a ‘mudd’.
- Jungle Walk! The school hall was transformed into a ‘jungle’ which children and their parents/carers walked through. The purpose of this was to highlight (visually) what a healthy, vibrant rain forest/jungle would look like if humans looked after them as they ought to.
- Charity- The children, staff, parents/carers and governors raised an amazing £619.65 on Spirituality/Personal Development Day! This is an amazing achievement and everyone should be commended for their efforts. The proceeds from the day went to planting olive trees (we are the Olive School after all!) in impoverished parts of the world.
Please see the amazing photographs from the event here.
The parent information leaflet on Spirituality/Personal Development Day can be read here.
Food for Thought: The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) happened to pass by the Companion Sa’d as he was performing wudhu (ablution). At this, the Prophet said, “Sa’d what is this waste?” Sa’d replied: “Can there be waste in ablution?” The Prophet said: “Yes, even if you are by the side of a flowing river.”
We’d like to thank Peter and Toby from the Camden Garden Centre for their generosity in helping to transform our hall into a vibrant jungle. We are also indebted to the amazing staff and volunteers at Children’s Scrap Project for their creative ideas (and patience!).
“I wanted to offer my heartfelt congratulations to all the staff and teachers who made the spirituality day a possibility. Not only was it well planned and well thought out, it was an amazing success! Personally I feel the success of any event lies in whether learning took place. There were a vast array of learning opportunities throughout the day.”
Mrs Sayed, School Governor.
“The feedback from our children has been astonishing; we can see that they have learnt so much regarding the environment. Since that day they seem to have a growing passion to recycle more, to do gardening and have even suggested that we walk to school rather than taking the car… So once again thanks to all the staff, the display work was also mind-blowing we have seen that they have put in so much hard work, energy, enthusiasm and have gone beyond the call of duty into making the Spirituality Day a wonderful, educational and fun experience for our children.”
Mrs Abokar, Parent
Added By: Olive Hackney | Date Added: 21st Mar 2016 | Posted In: Latest News