St Francis Catholic Primary School, Morley

Eco Ambassadors

 1. To reduce energy usage across school.

2. Ensure our school is litter free.

3. Develop recycling throughout school.

Progress we have made so far towards our targets:

 In Spring 1 we developed our new initiative of Eco Monitors across school. Each week a child in each class is chosen to be the monitor for the week. Their responsibility is to ensure that any energy sources are turned off when they are not in use for example turning the classroom lights off when the whole class goes to worship. Look out for our monitor signs and energy posters next time you visit your child’s classroom.

In Spring 2 we organised litter picking during lunchtime with Year 1-6 as part of The Great British Spring Clean. Everybody who took part wore gloves and used our brand-new litter pickers, so we were not actually touching any litter. We also washed our hands afterwards! Have you seen our new litter posters displayed around the school grounds?

During Science week we supported Mrs Fedzin with launching the Big Plastic Count in assembly which give families the opportunity to take part. As a school we were part of hundreds and thousands of people across the country who counted their plastic waste. The evidence collected nationally showed that the only way to tackle household plastic waste is to reduce the amount we are making to begin with.

A little bit about Eco Schools

After achieving the Eco Schools Bronze Award several years ago, we are delighted to announce that we are working towards achieving the Eco Schools Green Flag Award. We are very excited to be renewing our pledge to the environment to help make our school do its bit to live more like St Francis!

Eco Schools is the largest global sustainable schools programme – it starts in the classroom and expands to the community by engaging the next generation in action-based learning.

It is an ideal way to embark on a meaningful path towards improving the environment in both the school and the local community while at the same time having a life long positive impact on the lives of young people and their families.

Introduced in 1994 in response to the 1992 UN Rio Earth Summit, Eco Schools is operated globally by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) and is managed in England by Keep Britain Tidy.

So why are we doing it?

It makes a difference….

Eco Schools empowers pupils, raises environmental awareness, improves the school environment and engages the wider local community.

Making a difference to pupils’ lives…

The Eco Schools programme provides a unique opportunity that empowers pupils to lead change within their school and have a positive impact in their wider community.  The programme encourages pupils of all ages and abilities to work together to develop their knowledge and environmental awareness.

Independent research into the Eco School programme in England found evidence of the positive impacts on pupils, including increased confidence, development of leadership skills, improved pupil well-being and behaviour and greater motivation at school.

If you would like more information regarding Eco School, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Iddison (Eco Ambassador Lead).  

Introducing Reggie Recycle

In the Summer term we have made great progress towards further developing recycling throughout school. During assembly last week Mrs Iddison briefly introduced our new recycling superhero “Reggie Recycle.” From September he will be available in all classes.  To ensure we are recycling correctly we are introducing the support of weekly recycle monitors in each class. This new initiative will still run alongside the energy monitors which we introduced early this year.  Look out for “Reggie Recycle” and our new recycling monitor signs when you visit your child’s new classroom in September. 

Our Eco Code

As part of our ongoing work towards achieving Eco Schools status we have produced our St Francis Eco Code which we would like to share with you all. Our Eco Code will be displayed around school for all our school community to see.

Congratulations to Year 3!

During Health and Fitness Week we held a Walk to School Week Competition. This saw each class competing to see which class could walk, scoot or ride their bike to school each day to win a prize for their class.

Well done to Year 3 who were the winners of our competition and will join an extra outdoor activity!

A big thank you!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the PTA for purchasing fifteen litter pickers and bin liner hoops. This now means we have a set in school for a class to use in pairs to enhance their learning across the curriculum particularly in RE, Geography and Science. The new equipment has already allowed for more children to help during lunchtime litter picks. It has been lovely to see children from across all year groups getting involved particularly as we are currently working on the virtue of service.