Junior School
Eco Warriors
Save the Bees Campaign
This year the Junior school have been working together to try to achieve their second Eco Schools Green Flag Award. The Eco Warriors have completed a follow up environmental review which shows how much of our initial Action Plan we have achieved.
This review was carried out by Nasreen, Libby, Alfreya, Hannah, Rhiannon, Frances, Josie, Lucy, Chloé and Mrs Campbell.
Completed May 2011
LITTER
* We don’t have a major problem with litter although Eco Warriors monitor the situation and give out reminders when necessary to the pupils.
Our Future Matters Art Exhibition 2011
* To maintain awareness on our impact on the environment the school now hosts an annual Art competition. All local schools are invited to enter at three levels – Foundation, KS1 and KS2.
Our Future Matters Art Exhibition 2011
Our Future Matters Art Exhibition 2011
The exhibition is also open to the public. The 2011 theme was, “Our Future Matters” Every child in the school contributes to their entry for this competition.
Future plan – We still need to look at adopting an anti – litter policy.
ENERGY
* All electrical light bulbs are being replaced by low energy ones as needed.
*Through the School Council, all classes are reminded on a regular basis about switching off lights and computers when not in use.
Overall our gas and electricity consumption this year has increased. The main increase happened during the prolonged wintry weather which produced weeks of heavy snow and freezing temperatures.
SCHOOL GROUNDS
* Apple trees and fruit bushes have been planted
* We have planted onions, cabbages, cauliflowers, peas and beans in the raised beds. Strawberries and potatoes are grown in tubs.
* Tomatoes and cucumbers have been planted in the recycled plastic greenhouse.
Y3 planting peas and beans in the school garden
Eat what you grow!
* We are composting a small amount of food waste.
BIODIVERSITY
* We have made a Bug Hotel to provide insects with nesting and hibernation sites.
* Foundation Stage has worked with Darlington Park Rangers to produce a detailed study of water voles in their riverbank habitat.
In the future we hope to use their expertise to encourage wildlife like water voles and otters into our pond.
WASTE / RECYCLING
We have increased the ways we recycle materials. Examples include –
* Collecting stamps to help save the albatross.
* Collecting Christmas cards for the Woodlands Trust recycling scheme.
* Collecting ink cartridges to support Great North Air Ambulance.
* Recycling mobile phones.
* Recycling aluminium
* We recycle some waste from the school kitchen in our compost bin and wormery.
Eco Warriors Recycle glasses for Vision Aid
Constructing the plastic greenhouse
* Collecting glasses for Vision Aid Overseas.
* We collected over 1500, 2xlitre plastic bottles and have recycled them into building two greenhouses.
Our plastic greenhouse
* We have taken part in campaigns like, Switch off fortnight, Earth Hour and Green Britain Day.
* We have reduced the number of exercise books needed each year.
Certain subjects like History, Geography, RE, Music Making Art and Technology are using their exercise books over two years instead of giving out a new one each year.
* January 2010 - the Eco Warriors are pleased to announce that 98% of our Junior weekly Newsletter is now emailed and 100% of the fortnightly Senior School newsletter is emailed.
TRANSPORT
* We have raised the awareness of car sharing or walking to school by supporting the Darlington Borough Council’s Medal Motion campaigns over the last five years –
October 2009 – 95 pupils participated
May 2010 - 122 pupils participated.
* 98% of our Year 6 pupils successfully participated in the local Bikeability scheme 2011
* 80% of our Year 6 pupils successfully participated in the local Bikeability scheme 2010
* Three members of staff now car share whenever possible to travel to school.
* Our new school minibus allows our netball teams to travel together instead of asking parents to use their cars. This reduces pollution and congestion.
HEALTHY LIVING
* Mr Bell and his kitchen staff have been awarded a 5 star Tees Valley Food Hygiene Award rating.
Eat what you grow!
Eat what you grow!
* Bottles of drinking water are available to buy from the Junior School office. We are now researching the possibility of buying our water bottles from One Water to help fund Play Pump water systems to provide clean, fresh drinking water for communities in Africa.
* We have enjoyed eating some of our fruit/vegetables which we have grown in our new growing garden area and has been prepared by Mr Bell and his staff.
PUPIL PARTICIPATION
* All of the school community voted to work towards the five goals to help us become a Fairtrade school.
* All of our pupils were involved in producing collective pieces of art work for our Art Competition entitled, “Our Future matters”. All local schools were invited to submit entries and an exhibition of the art work was open to members of the public.
* Our Eco Warriors and School council members work very closely together with all of the pupils and staff to promote environmental issues.
* In May 2011 every pupil in the school planted sunflower seeds to continue to support the, “Save our bees” campaign.
* All pupils in the school have been involved with the decision making and or development of the garden growing area.
* Junior pupils have also produced their own articles all about the environment in our termly newspaper, “Polam Press” and the Eco Warriors have contributed to the “Pod”.
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
* We have raised the awareness of Fairtrade to the school and wider community through assemblies, Polam Press, Buttercup News and the Pod.
Cakes & Biscuits made using Fairtrade products
Selling Fairtrade products
* The Eco Warriors have sold Fairtrade produce at the Christmas Fair and also during Fairtrade Fortnight when they made biscuits and cakes using Fairtrade products.
* Year 3 pupils in their Technology lessons have worked hard and submitted an entry for the Fairtrade Snack Attack Challenge.
* This year we raised £75 on World Book Day to Support Book Aid International.
* We continue to recycle aluminium cans to help plant trees in Africa
WATER
* Our water butt from Morrison’s vouchers has proved very useful when looking after the seeds and plants in our garden.
* We are hoping to trial a Little Foot flush bag which you fill up with water and place in the toilet cistern. It displaces 1.2 litres of water, therefore saving water with every flush.
Wednesday 18th May is Green Britain Day.
To celebrate this we are going to give everyone the chance to plant and take home with them a sunflower seed. Hopefully when it grows it can be planted in their garden to provide nectar in the summer for insects and seeds in the winter for birds.
We have also invited some special guests including the Mayor and Chair of Governors, to our Eco meeting in the afternoon so we can share our school’s progress with them.
We would like to thank everyone very much for their continued support in helping to make our school and the world a better place and we are looking forward to hearing more suggestions on how Polam Hall Junior School can become even greener!
