ECO-NEWS DECEMBER 2024

This month UKS2 have been weeding and planting shrubs in the Hedgehog Garden. We are very grateful for the kind donations of the shrubs. KS1 then planted some daffodil bulbs amongst the shrubs. LKS2 planted daffodil bulbs too and potted up some Aloe Vera plantlets. Of course, the bin weighing continues as does the collection of used pens.

ECO-NEWS NOVEMBER 2024

The Sustainability Day was a great success. Children enjoyed the drama about air pollution within our Sustainability Day Worship and trees in worship, making paper, learning about the importance of trees and about fair trade. The lunch menu was also very popular! The Eco-reps voted to select our meat free menu for the day.

ECO-NEWS OCTOBER 2024

Eco-reps collected the seeds from last year’s Sunflower competition. The seeds are going to be planted in the school garden next Spring.

The bin weighing competition is underway once again! Results from Term 1 show that lots of effort has been made to reduce waste in most classes.

ECO-NEWS JULY 2024

This month the UKS2 dug up their potatoes to see whose potato had produced the greatest weight of tubers. The winning potato produced over 400g of new potatoes!

ECO-NEWS JUNE 2024

The Eco-Council led a worship on World Environment Day to remind us all about reducing our food waste at lunchtimes. Cathy Mears-Martin an environmental activist led a fascinating workshop for the eco-council about composting. The Eco-Council are also monitoring the total waste each class sends to landfill each term. We are hoping to reduce this over time.

ECO-NEWS MAY 2024

Our grateful thanks go to everyone who came in on a Saturday to help look after our Adventure Garden. Our insect hotel was renovated and logs made available for woodlice. The Eco-Council We have continued to collect pens and batteries for recycling. KS1 have been litter picking and bean picking.

ECO-NEWS APRIL 2024

Discovery Club, our after school eco-club once again has been full of enthusiastic members. Our thanks go to Tiffany Lewins from Kingfisher Ecology for kindly giving up her time to lead the club and provide all the resource free of charge. We have made edible geodes, planted and observed seeds, painted using natural resources, carried out a biodiversity survey of the school grounds.

ECO-NEWS MARCH 2024

We have now begun the restoration of the front garden. One half will be our “Bird Garden” where plants are selected to encourage birds to return to the garden and the other half will be our “Hedgehog Garden” which will provide an additional space for outdoor learning opportunities. The eco-council have been helping to plant a hedge for the birds in the Bird Garden. We have also reviewed and updated our eco-code.

ECO-NEWS FEBRUARY 2024

On 21st February we held a “SWITCH OFF DAY” to remind us all that we need to REDUCE the amount of energy we use by switching off all electrical appliances when not in use.  We were learning how to reduce our carbon footprint. Everyone had the opportunity to take “The Carbon Footprint Challenge”. The Eco-Council carried out a transport survey that day to find out how children travelled to school.  The class with the most children walking or cycling (at least part of the way because we realise some people live in villages around Downton) was Squirrel Class. The eco-council decided to award every child in Squirrel class a packet of wild flower seeds as a prize. In the school we will had no electricity in class so we didn’t use the smart boards, laptops, lights, photocopiers, printers, iPads, or heaters. The school offered a delicious meat free lunch that day as part of our effort to reduce our carbon footprint and we were delighted with the number of children who opted to have school lunch that day to reduce our carbon footprint. Every individual at school made a pledge to reduce their carbon footprint in some small way. Together our small changes can make a big difference!

EC0-NEWS JANUARY 2024

This term the eco-council has carried out an environmental review to develop an action plan. One of our actions will be to choose an international charity that supports people and animals in other parts of the world. We are also reviewing our eco-code. Reducing waste is a key aim for us all at school. Our bin weighing competition is hotly contested and we now have trophies to award to the class in either KS1 or KS2 with the least amount of landfill waste. To support this competition we are creating new labels for the bins to remind everybody about recycling.

ECO-NEWS DECEMBER 2023

We were delighted to be presented by Mr Peter Thompson from Salisbury Bid with our award as Runner’s Up in the Salisbury Education Challenge 2022-23. Not only have we been awarded £50 to support our “NO IDLING” campaign, we have also received a Salisbury Gift Card! The current eco-council have decided to support the idea from last year of buying bird feeders. These feeders will be placed in the new “Bird Garden” that will be planted in the Spring near the blue front door. We will also have a new outdoor learning space called the “Hedgehog Garden”. Our thanks go to Downton Horticultural Society who are donating three trees for these gardens. We have also been successful in our application for some native species hedging from The Woodland Trust, again for planting in the new gardens.

ECO-NEWS NOVEMBER 2023

As part of our “NO IDLING” campaign the eco-council have been displaying some posters to remind people to switch off their engines when loading and unloading outside school.

The Eco-council and friends have been weeding our playground tubs and then planting some curry plants. Our thanks go to Ms Curtis for taking the cuttings from our curry plant in the Adventure Garden.

Below are a sample of photos from our DISCOVERY CLUB. We are hoping to offer the club again after Christmas. Our thanks go to Mrs Lewins for leading the club and to Kingfisher Ecology Ltd for donating all the resources.

Our new Eco-Council are now in the process of renewing our Green Flag Award. We are carrying our an environmental review at school and preparing a plan of action.

ECO-NEWS OCTOBER 2023

Downton Primary School were runner’s up in the Salisbury Education Challenge with our “NO IDLING” campaign. We were awarded £50 to support our campaign. To help us learn to live more sustainably we had a day focusing on actions we can do every day. UKS2 held a debate about taking climate action, LKS2 redesigned our playground to improve the biodiversity of our school site, KS1 focused on recycling of glass, metal and plastic into new objects and EYFS focused on farming by growing their own cress and learning how bananas get to the supermarket.

ECO-NEWS SEPTEMBER 2023

A new team has been elected to be Eco-Council Reps. The new team are continuing the “NO IDLING” campaign., weighing the bins and ensuring everyone reduces waste and recycles when possible.

ECO-NEWS JUNE 2023

Downton Primary School Eco-Council are writing to Downton Parish Council to ask if we can display posters reminding to switch off their engines when parked to prevent air pollution. Air pollution from cars stays at the same height as wheelchairs and buggies. Did you know …….2020 research from Transport Research Laboratory shows that idling for just 30 seconds produces twice as much pollution and wastes more fuel than switching off and restarting your engine.

ECO-NEWS MAY 2023

During May the Eco-council have been working on a project for the Salisbury Education Challenge 2022-23. The Eco-Council have been thinking about keeping our air clean as well as the impact of pollution locally and nationally. They decided to concentrate on the issue of some cars being parked with their engines running (“IDLING”) to keep the car warm or cool as appropriate and the impact this has on pedestrians of all ages. KS1 created a poster to remind people to switch off their car engine, LKS2 are sharing ideas with organisations beyond school by writing letters and UKS2 have made a film.

ECO-NEWS MARCH 2023

On Sunday 26th March2-4pm, Downton Green Group are hosting “SEEDY SUNDAY” in Downton Memorial Hall. This is an opportunity to share seeds and cuttings, make contact with Lover Repair Cafe, get gardening tools sharpened ready for use as well as have a cup of tea.

ECO-NEWS FEBRUARY 2023

Thank you very much to the families who came and helped tidy up the garden last weekend. The garden learning space is now ready for action because flower beds and paths are now bramble and weed free. Also, the raised beds are prepared for Year 5’s potato planting next week. Y5 are planting “Earlies” and competing to see whose potato tuber produces the most potato (in grams) by July.

SWITCH OFF DAY 2023 Once again we held a “Switch Off Day” to remind ourselves that we should “WASTE NOT WANT NOT” when using energy. Whilst we acknowledged we need energy in our way of life, we were reminded to use as little as possible to help reduce global warming which has a negative impact on the habitats of many animals around the world. Year 6 thought about the changes in ocean habitats over millions of years and wrote a story for younger children called “Kevin The Cephalopod” and composed a rap entitled “Waste Not Want Not” . Reception explored butterflies and their habitat and Year 5 began work on a banner THINK GLOBAL ACT LOCAL. For inspiration Stags and Owls went to the garden to find natural shapes and used these ideas to create a letter design. A selection of these designs are being painted onto silk scarves to create the banner. Some Eco-council class reps also did a grand job helping to tidy up our school site by going “litter picking”. Lastly, to remind ourselves about conserving electricity, we didn’t use electrical appliances such as interactive whiteboards all day. The school was without heating and lighting which made it chilly in some classrooms and very dark everywhere! However, we are now challenged to remember to “switch off” lights, ipads, tvs, etc everyday when we’ve finished using them. Some children in LKS2 analysed data showing our usage of electricity at school in February over the last 3 years and they were pleased to find out that year on year we have been using less electricity.

ECO-NEWS JANUARY 2023

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE. The year has got off to a flying start. Mrs Lewins a “Sustainability Consultant” came to talk to the Eco-council about making our school more sustainable so that we use fewer resources and leave some for other people yet to be born. Mrs Carlton also visited the eco-council to discuss ideas about composting our food waste for bio-fuels, changing our blinds to reduce the need to turn the lights on and recycling soap containers. Mrs Carlton showed the eco-council the figures for the amount of energy used in the last two years. It shows that we have reduced our energy consumption greatly through closing doors and windows, adjusting the temperature of individual rooms using radiator valves where possible as well as turning off lights and appliances when not in use. WELL DONE!

Eco-News November 2022

In November we had a class Eco-worship where we reflected on the things we already do to live more sustainably. Our pen recycling now goes to support a charity “MEDIC TO MEDIC” which raises funds to train doctors in Malawi.

Eco-News October 2022

Learning to Live More Sustainably….

On Tuesday we focused on learning how to live in a more sustainable way. After our Sustainability Worship every class explored the themes of RE-THINKING, RE-PURPOSING, RE-USING or REDUCING our waste by reusing existing resources to make something new. Thank you very much to the volunteers who came to help. Such fun! In the afternoon we were delighted to be supported by Lover Repair Cafe, Share Salisbury, Dr Jenkins at our “pop up” cafe where we sold cakes, fairtrade tea, coffee and chocolate crispies. We raised £203.45 for WaterAid. Thank you very much to everyone who supported this venture.

On Tuesday October 11th we are having a special day learning about living more sustainably. Lover Repair Shop are joining us in the hall after school where we will be hosting a pop-up cafe (3-4.15pm). We hope you can join us. Also, this month The Bridge Project have led sessions for LKS2 highlighting the teachings in the Bible that encourage us to look after the world and live sustainably. Three children from breakfast club decided on their own to make posters reminding children not to waste food. Their idea has been shared with the eco-council who will include this in their next Worship.

Eco-News September 2022

Fantastic news. Once again Downton Primary School has been awarded a Green Flag but this time with distinction! The judges commented, “It is wonderful to see that your children are keen to protect the environment”. The willow tunnel is growing well. Our thanks go to all the staff who came to school in the holidays to water the willow so that the new willow rods could make roots. Our grateful thanks also go to the volunteers who removed the weed and prepared the pond ready for lessons this term. The bin weighing competition is underway. This year the challenge is reduce landfill waste to less than 50g. We have already had a class worship to learn about the positive impact for farmers if we buy fairtrade goods: THINK GLOBAL ACT LOCAL. Fairtrade Class Worship

Eco-News July 2022

Eco-council reps have been carrying out the annual Environmental Review ready for next academic year. The bin weighing competition has intensified as the year has progressed. Classes regularly achieve just 50g of landfill waste on the day. Classes have been collecting pens and emptying glue sticks for recycling. Bournemouth Water have visited school to talk to Year 2 about reducing water consumption. In the garden Rabbits and Squirrels have made ”boutique” bug hotels and After School Club have been helping with garden maintenance. Downton Primary pupils were commended for their entries in “The Young Vet’s Cartoon Competition” and one was chosen to be the winner. This cartoon will feature in a future edition of the Young Vet’s magazine.

Eco-News June 2022

Key Stage 1 have been enjoying outdoor learning for Mathematics and English in the Adventure Garden as well as lots of bird watching and bug hunting as part of their topic on Garden Animals. Year 6 have been rehearsing for their play “A Midsummers Night’s Dream in the Pond Garden. We have re-homed some newts who seem to be doing well and cleared some pond weed this month. Our wild flower area has been very colourful and the hedging plants are becoming established.

Eco-News May 2022

The swift cams are ready to install but sparrows are now nesting in our nest boxes so installation has been postponed! The Eco-council, Foxes, Dormice and After School Club have been watering the willow tunnel and raised beds. Pond dipping has been really interesting. As well as water mites, pond snails, pond skaters and diving beetles we also found mayfly larvae. Year 5 have enjoyed working with Wessex Rivers Trust learning about the biodiversity in our local river and how to look after it.

Eco-News April 2022

We are working on our plans to put cameras in our swift nest boxes to enable classes to watch a live feed from inside the boxes. Our grateful thanks go to Downton Green Group for 2 cameras. The Eco-council has been updating our environmental review and KS1 representatives have been litter picking in the front garden. With the support of the teacher, eco-reps have shared an eco-worship in class. With the help of Wiltshire Wildlife trust we have replanted the willow tunnel in the Adventure garden. After school club have been weeding our raised beds and planting seeds in the playground planters. Eco-Council made recycling posters to remind everyone to reduce, recycle and re-use for the DPSA to use in the cafe and at the barbecue stands for the Cuckoo Fair.

Eco-News March 2022

Switch off day was a great success. Apart from the curriculum lessons learning about the impact of global warming, Year 4 learnt about hosting a sustainable birthday party and Years 5/6 enjoyed a talk from a representative of “Share Salisbury- A Library of Things” a local charitable organisation, that operates like a library but loans items such as gardening tools, gazebos, glasses and games. Everybody made a personal pledge highlighting a new habit they would form to reduce their use of energy. This month we have also been updating our environmental review. Rabbits, Squirrels and Badgers have been planting potatoes. Badgers are having a competition to see whose potato produces the most tubers (in grams). Key stage One have also been litter picking on site.

Eco-News February 2022

Thank you to all the parents and children who helped tidy up our gardens on Saturday 5.2.22. It has made a tremendous difference to our school environment. The eco-council finally met as a complete team for the first time in months. They enjoyed feeding back comments from their class discussions. Squirrels and Rabbits have been providing more shelter for invertebrates inside our bug hotel. On 17th February we are having a “SWITCH OFF DAY” to remind us to use less energy. Apart from the usual reminders to switch off appliances etc when not in use; Rabbits, Squirrels, Dormice, Foxes and Hedgehogs will be focusing on saving energy through recycling, Hawks, Kestrels, Owls and Stags will be focusing on upcyling or re-using items with Badgers and Falcons focusing on ways of reducing the amount of energy we use.

Eco-News January 2022

The landfill bin weighing competition is having an impact reducing the amount of waste. With the return to normal, Y6 are weighing the bins across the school after lunch so that it is fair and includes all the packed lunch waste. The winning classes seem to send between 50-100g waste to landfill per day. Classes are now collecting used felt tip pens for recycling once again. Year 3 took part in the RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch. Click on the link for a spotting sheet! Thanks go to Miss Abel who provided the Eco-council with the resources to make bird feeders for the front garden. Preparations have been underway for the restoration of our willow tunnel. Wiltshire Wildlife trust will be replanting it for us on Wednesday 9th March. If you are free 9-10am on 9.3.22 and would like to help make holes in the ground for the will please let us know!

Eco-News December 2021

Classes revised our school eco-code and ensured that it is displayed in all the rooms. Y5 suggested some ideas for bee friendly planting for the Adventure garden. The Eco-council asked for new bins for the playground so that we could separate composting waste from landfill waste. Before Covid we raised money towards purchasing a camera to put in a bird box to present a live feed for the children. Our thanks go to Downton Green Group who have generously matched the money so that we can now purchase the camera and arrange installation.

Eco-News November 2021

Y6 are now weighing our landfill waste on random days so that we get a fair representation of how much waste we are accumulating as a class and as a school. The Eco-council led a Climate Worship on 4.11.21. In support of our school value of LOVE the eco-council reminded everyone that our actions impact our planet and that we can show our LOVE for everyone on the planet through our individual actions. Thank you to all the community contributors to our climate conference.

Eco-News October 2021

Our thanks go to all the parents, children and friends of Downton Primary School who came to help with the garden tidy up. It has made a tremendous difference to our outdoor learning space!

Eco-News September 2021

Mrs Carlton has been leading the way with our school eco motto “THINK GLOBAL ACT LOCAL”! Over the summer improvements were made to the school facilities. New taps were installed and new light fittings throughout the school so that we use less water and energy. Our new representatives have been elected and the eco-council has met several times. This term our focus has been on ensuring that electrical appliances are switched off when not in use and that we re-use and recycle as many things as possible so that we reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. On 30th September the Eco-council led a worship all about waste and introduced a new “bin weighing competition”. From October 2021 the class with the least amount of waste going to landfill will be the winner. Click on the link to see some images from our worship. Unfortunately, the swifts didn’t choose to next in our swift boxes this year but we are hopeful for next year. Our thanks go to Mr Savage for closing the swift box doors ready for the winter so that the swift boxes will be available for swifts next May and not invaded by sparrows!

Eco-News July 2021

Our grateful thank you to everyone who helped with the garden tidy up last weekend in preparation for the visit by the RHS assessor. The car park and hedge area have been weeded and the Y5 potato bed is now looking spick and span giving the potatoes room to grow over the summer. The Y6 radishes look ready to eat! Also this term the eco-reps have shared in an eco-worship all the actions that have been going on this year such as writing to Wiltshire Council about the source of our energy supply, working with Wessex Rivers Trust to learn about looking after rivers as well as advising the school on how to save water after a visit from Waterwise (Wessex Water). In the future our electricity supply will be provided by renewable sources on energy.

Eco-News June 2021

RHS In Your Neighbourhood Competition

DPS are supporting the village entry for the RHS In Your Neighbourhood Competition. It was decided that our contributions should comprise of upcycled ex-army boots planted with nasturtium seedlings and displayed on the white fences at the entrance to the school car park. Our thanks go to Jeremy Parsons from the village who kindly tackled the task of putting drainage holes in the boots and Wilton Garden Centre who supplied the seeds and soil free of charge. Since Easter, children and staff from across the school have planted nasturtium seeds, repotted and watered seedlings, washed fences, weeded both the car park flower bed and pond garden as well as made signs to show what we are doing. It has a been a big team effort! Judging for the competition takes place in July.

Eco-news May 2021

During May Y5 worked with Wessex Rivers Trust. they had a fantastic time learning about looking after river habitats such as the River Avon. They went river dipping, played games to learn about the lifecycle of salmon, made will ow sculptures as well as mayfly aquariums. Y6 have also been weeding the raised beds. They planted lettuce and radish seeds. They also planted a sunflower and some runner bean seedlings that had kindly been donated.

The school are supporting Downton village’s entry for the RHS Competition “In Your Neighbourhood”. We are going to decorate the white fences located at the entrance to the school car park on The Borough, with upcycled army boots full of nasturtiums. Thanks go to the Army at Boscombe Down for donating the boots and Wilton Garden Centre for donating the soil and seeds. Our grateful thanks also go to Jeremy Parsons from the village who has given up his time and used his ingenuity to drill drainage holes in the extremely tough army boots. Despite the very cold weather our seeds have eventually germinated and so after half term we will be potting up the seedlings ready for the competition. In other news, the Bin Weighing Competition has continued and we are now monitoring the total amount of paper recycled by the school. In Term 6 we will also be weighing the bins that go to landfill. Watch this space for the results for both bins.

Bin Weighing Results

Having collated the KS2 travel survey results, Y6 later collated the whole school travel survey results. We are pleased to note that most people come to school using a sustainable method of transport.

How Do We Travel to School?

Eco-news April 2021

On return to school classes have been entering the bin weighing competition as usual. The aim is to reduce the amount of paper that is thrown away so the class with the lowest figure wins. After a slow start with the new system (due to Covid precautions) classes have risen to the challenge and competition is fierce!

Eco-news March 2021

We had a very successful “Switch Off Day”. The day before the Eco-Council led worship to remind everyone of what they could do to reduce the amount of energy they use. On the day we had no heating or lighting and used no electrical devices for teaching and learning. Everyone had to think of a change they could make to reduce the amount of energy they use. Eco-Worship power point.

Eco-News FEBRUARY 2021

Work in the pond garden is coming along. Volunteers from Year 6 have been preparing the ground ready for seeding with grass. We are also planning to hold a “SWITCH OFF DAY” in March to remind ourselves to reduce the amount of energy we use.

Eco-News DCEMBER 2020

In December the Eco-council held an Eco Worship to share with everyone at school all the great news. We are delighted to share that of the Key worker children from the first lockdown have been awarded a Blue Peter Green Badge! They wrote letters about looking after the environment. Hedgehogs made some fantastic Christmas decorations from recycled materials this year and have adopted a hedgehog. Also Mrs Carlton has applied for permission and funding to put solar panels on the roof of the new building. We hope she is successful!

We have a link with a school in Malawi. Like the children in Malawi, Y6 had already shared a project on endangered animals so with our E-Christmas card some children sent pictures of animals you find in the UK. Sadly, we found out some animals in the UK are also endangered.

Eco-News NOVEMBER 2020

Well done and thank you to everyone who submitted an entry to the THINK GLOBAL ACT LOCAL poster competition. The judges were Mrs Carlton and our Eco-council Community Link Member Chris Carter. They both said that selecting just 3 posters was a challenge! In the slide show below are the winning posters.

Lots of children have been busy in the garden. The Eco-council are planting a new hedge in the pond garden. We hope this hedge will encourage more birds to visit our garden. Foxes have been watering the raised beds, Stags have been planting bulbs outside the rear entrance to the school and Squirrels/Rabbits have been pond dipping. Owls and Falcons were amazed at how many potatoes they had grown from the tubers they planted earlier this year.

THINK GLOBAL - ACT LOCAL

Harvest 2020

As part of our Harvest Celebration we have been learning about the impact of our actions when shopping and how we can make a positive contribution to the lives of people far away if we are able to buy products with the FAIRTRADE logo.

Eco- News October 2020

This term the eco-council have been busy in class reminding everyone about recycling paper and other materials. We have had an eco-worship based on work done by the eco-council last year. We reminded everybody that it would be better to use re-usable containers for packed lunches.

AUTUMN TERM 2019

Recently, we have been busy apple picking, relocating stones to ensure that the frogs can climb in and out of the pond, flattening crisp packets so that they can be recycled, weeding the raised beds as well as planting herbs and bulbs. Downton Green Group have also come to a meeting to give us advice where to locate their gift of new bird box. This bird box is to encourage either blue tits or great tits to nest at school in the Pond Garden. We have also plan to relocate a robin nest box in the Adventure Garden.

Today some of us were learning about worms. We dug up four squares of turf to find out if there were any worms and if so how long they were. In total we found 6 worms. The shortest was about 1 cm long and the longest was nearly 8 cm long. We didn’t find many other invertebrates in the grass. We have submitted our data online so that the BTO can analyse the data in relation to the bird species found locally.

Weekly Waste Competition

Each week we have a competition to see which class wastes the least amount of paper. This term the Eco-Council have unanimously voted to extend this competition to the landfill bin as well. In future the class that wins the trophy will be the one with the least amount of total waste from both bins!

What’s Under your feet?

Once again we are surveying the school grounds looking for invertebrates and submitting our data to the British Trust for Ornithology. The BTO are investigating the decline in garden birds in relation to their source of food.

GREEN FLAG RENEWED!

Everyone is delighted because our green flag status has been renewed for another two years. Our Eco-assessor said, “Thank you so much for a wonderful visit last week during my Eco Schools Assessment. I hope by now you have heard from the Head office and been told the good news that your flag is to be renewed. Please can you pass my thanks on to your wonderful Eco Council for showing me around. They were very enthusiastic and knowledgeable and know they will continue to take action for the environment..”

Swift Box Camera

We are delighted to announce that from the cake sale in October and the sponsored skip last Summer we have raised enough money to buy a camera to put in one of the swift boxes!

Garden Tidy Up

Thank you very much to all the parents who have helped look after our Adventure Garden by restoring paths, weeding and removing the the debris! We hope to have another session in the pond garden in preparation for the Spring.

Eco-Warrior Visitor

Isobel Mack visited the Eco-Council and Y2 to offer advice on how to generally reduce our waste by suggesting alternative ideas. Everyone really enjoyed the sessions and came up with one “eco-promise” each for reducing waste.

ANTARCTICA DAY “THINK GLOBAL ACT LOCAL”

Once again we have designed flags to be flown in Antarctica on 1st December. This reminds us that acting locally by reducing waste and reusing items helps other places in the world such as Antarctica. Year 6 also wrote a poem together. The Eco-council led a worship about Antarctica on 5th December and how our actions affect the animals that live there. “THINK GLOBAL ACT LOCAL” We are waiting for good Summer weather in the Antarctic so that our flags can be flown!

SPRING TERM 2020

Worldwide Veterinary Service Project on Endangered Species.

Year 5 are supporting the work of the Worldwide Veterinary Service this week by doing a cross curricular project on endangered species. We are going to share and exchange our work with a school in Malawi. On Thursday 9th January a volunteer from the WVS (Worldwide Veterinary Service) is coming to talk to the whole school about the work the vets do looking after animals all over the world.

FLIP THE SWITCH DAY - Thursday 13th February 2020

Once again we will be having a day where we do not use the heating, lighting or other electrical appliances. This is to make us think about saving energy and alternative power methods, like solar power.

In the school we will have no electricity apart from in the kitchen and the office so your child can still have a school lunch. We would like your child to wrap up warm on the day so your child stays warm. They should wear school uniform and over the top they may add: hoody/jumper, coat, snow boots, thick socks, hats, scarves, gloves, “onesies”.

Plastic Packaging

Currently, we are investigating ways to reduce the amount of single use plastic used for packed lunches and as general food coverings. Our thanks go to Chris Carter from Downton Green Group for supporting the eco-council with this work. Watch this space for the results of our investigations!

Swift Boxes

Thanks to Daniel and Richard from The Salisbury and Wilton Swift Association “doors” have been put on our swift boxes. This will ensure that the boxes are available as a nesting site for swifts rather than sparrows because as soon as swifts are seen in Downton we shall open the doors ready for swifts to nest.

Prayer Garden

The eco-council are teaming up with the worship council to create the prayer garden. This quiet, reflective space is to be situated within the pond garden. Work on this is now underway!

Downton in Bloom 2020

At school we are excited to be supporting the village entry for Downton in Bloom 2020. We have been asked to decorate our fences with up-cycled wellies full of flowering plants. As we need lots of old wellington boots we would be grateful if you would donate any old wellies of any size or colour! We would like donations on Monday 16th March in preparation for planting on 31st March 2020. Ideally we would like the wellies to already have drainage holes drilled into them but if that is not possible please just send in the wellies anyway. Thank you very much for your support.

Volunteer Gardening Morning 7th March 2020

We are very grateful to all the volunteers from the village, parents, children and staff who came to help prepare the Adventure and Pond Garden for outdoor learning. Thank you very much indeed.

Planting in the Adventure Garden

Y2 planted some bean seeds in pots a couple of weeks ago and this week have been planting them out in the raised beds. Y5 have planted potatoes too. Yr helped to broadcast some grass seed in the Adventure Garden. Some of us have also made seed pods to take home and plant. The pods are full of wildflower seeds.

Pond Dipping

Y6 have been identifying the invertebrates that live in our pond.

Out in the Gardens….

During the good weather last week, we spent a lot of time in our school gardens. We went pond dipping, bird watching, weeded around our potato plants and prepared the raised beds for planting some leeks. We are very grateful to a local family who donated lots of leek seedlings. We are now on the look out for some delicious leek recipes!

Earth Day 22 April 2020

To celebrate our wonderful world, in school we created a shared painting. The younger children then put the paintings together like a puzzle. We also tried the CBCC Earth Day quiz; https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/52357230

Summer Term 2020

During lock down we have been looking after the broad beans, leeks and potatoes that we planted in the Spring.

Busy Bees

We found a bees nest outside the First Aid Room. Bees being precious, we rang a local bee keeper. She took them away to give them a hive as a new home. She is hoping later in the year to return to school with some “Downton honey”!