Eco School

November each year is Energy Month and students participate in a variety of events to raise awareness of their energy use.  Students in Years 7, 8 and 9 were encouraged to keep a log of their energy use by recording when they remembered to turn items off and not leave them on stand – by.  A new heating system has been installed and this has been monitored to note changes in energy use and reductions have occurred.  Members of the school are encouraged to be aware of energy use and switch off lights and appliances and this is monitored by the eco group who were particularly vigilant during energy month.  Energy use is monitored by the Site Manager and energy bills have reduced.  Graphs are displayed on the eco notice board so people are able to see the energy use across the school.

The Red Dot system is followed in school.  Red dots are placed onto light switches in rooms and this raises awareness of which lights should be switched on last, as these are identified as those that are closest to the windows.

Alternative energy sources are investigated by Year 9 students in their geography lessons in order to assess the impact of population and resources and the need to preserve the environment.  As part of this activity, students investigate the issues of Peak Oil.

Students and staff participate in the WWF Earth Hour each March by pledging their commitment to turn off lights and reduce energy consumption for at least one hour.

A range of energy initiatives have been designed and used, including audits during lunch times of any rooms with electrical appliances on and this is then reported to try to encourage all items to be turned off when the room is empty.  This is fed back to Curriculum areas.

Commonwealth Links – A Commonwealth Club is on offer to all students every Thursday lunchtime and is open to all year groups. Students meet and discuss different elements of the Commonwealth and work with The Royal Commonwealth Society on a variety of activities including their yearly competition. Awareness of the importance of membership of the Commonwealth has been shared through assemblies and as a result of our work we have been privileged to attend a number of prestigious events:

• Opportunity through Enterprise workshop in Cambridge. Four Year 8 students attended this event at the Pitt Building in Cambridge where they were part of a workshop of five schools and were able to present their findings to and also meet HRH The Prince of Wales.
• Attendance at the Commonwealth Day Observance Service in Westminster Abbey. This is the largest multi faith service in the country and students have represented Southfield at a number of services.

The ‘Send My Friends to School’ campaign – Each year we participate in creating a variety of display information to explain why primary school education is needed for all children across the world. This is an element of the Millennium Development Goals as agreed by World Leaders in 2000. The displays created are then sent to our local MP and also to the Prime Minister as recognition of our global responsibilities.

We have a link with an orphanage/school in Munnar, India and we communicate with them through a pen pal scheme which is open to all students. We are able to donate money to them so they are able to purchase items for their school, by holding fund raising Mufti Days. There is also a penny pot scheme in school and we are encouraged to put any pennies into the pots and the money is sent to Munnar to go towards their food. It costs 2p for a meal for each student there.  Awareness is raised through displays, assemblies and tutor time activities. We also welcome Julie Foster, a previous student, to our school at regular intervals as she visits Munnar and is able to pass on news and information.

MacMillan Coffee Mornings – Each October staff participate in this event and raise money for this very important cause.  October 2016 was a very successful event and staff took part in their very own ‘bake-off’ with a challenge for the best cakes.  Staff created a variety of wonderful cakes which were enjoyed by all with coffee and tea provided.  In conjunction with a mufti day the total amount donated to this charity in 2016 was £1184.11.

Students raised money to sponsor Guide Dogs for the Blind and raised money to sponsor Fifi, Eddie and Fargo.

Students participated in the ‘Rocket Science’ experiment with Tim Peake and grew different seeds as part of an experiment to see if there was a difference.

Students in the Eco group received a Community Education Award in 2016 for their school and community work on making people more ‘green aware’.

RCI – links have been developed with a global company based in Kettering and students have been involved in creating Artwork for display in their canteen. The artwork was based on environmental themes and used recycled materials.

The school is part of the Global Learning Programme which is a project involving local primary and secondary schools meeting to raise awareness of development issues. The project used The Olympics as the basis of the work and students from each of the schools worked together to create a final presentation.

Students of the eco group joined members of Kettering Borough Council to participate in a litter campaign in the local community. The students collected litter from the local area and then created posters for the council to try to discourage people from dropping litter.

Participation by students in the ‘Clean for the Queen’ event.

There is awareness by members of the school community to try and ensure that litter is kept to a minimum and therefore a range of activities are followed including:

• Tutor group litter picking as part of Year group activities to encourage students to take pride in areas around the school which may be at greater risk of litter.
• Assemblies to raise awareness of the issues relating to litter, such as harm to animals and the environment.
• Range of posters and leaflets around the school.  These are also delivered to forms to encourage discussion and awareness of key issue.

Southfield School actively recycles the following products.  These can be brought into school where various departments have recycling boxes.

Library:

• Spectacles
• Jewellery
• Batteries
• Foreign\old coins
• Stamps
• Mobile Phones
• Plastic Bags
• Bras
• Clothing – We have an Air Ambulance Clothing Bin

All of the corridors also have bins for recycling plastic bottles and cans.  Each classroom and office has a paper\cardboard recycling bin.

ECO COMPETITION!
Competitions are held to create sculptures using only rubbish. A recent one was to try to create a piece of artwork in the shape of an animal. We’ve made an elephant out of a milk bottle as an example. A display was made out of the entries to promote recycling, and raise awareness of animal welfare. All  help our  applications for the PRESTIGEOUS Green Flag award.
 

Students from the Eco Group are available to assist in encouraging car share opportunities in their local area and the hope is that this can be increased through networking information.

Cycling is encouraged and awareness raised through the links with British Cycling.  There will also be a relaunch of the after school club to encourage students to cycle.  There are a number of cycle racks in front of the school where students are able to secure their bicycles.

Traffic congestion around the school has been a focus area with parents requested not to drop students off in the school grounds but to find an area close to the school where they can be dropped off and then walk the remaining distance.

Permits have been introduced for staff so parking on the school site can be monitored.

Planting trees which we have received from the Woodland Trust ensures we continue to aim to reduce the impact of carbon emissions.

As an Eco School, students from the Eco Club have worked very closely with the Northamptonshire Energy and Waste Team to promote the message of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, unfortunately this service closed earlier this year but students continue to follow their aims.

Students are always involved in National Waste Week and create displays of their work, including pledges by members of the school community to reduce waste.

We communicate with parents and guardians using electronic Parent Mail and mobile SMS messaging to reduce our paper waste. 

Other projects to reduce waste and encourage recycling have included designing and making Christmas decorations from recycled products and also creating cotton bags with environmental designs to reduce the need for carrier bags.

The following items can be brought to the library for recycling:

• Ink cartridges
• Stamps
• Spectacles – these are sent to a local opticians and forwarded to developing countries
• Old and foreign coins
• Jewellery – in connection with Cancer Research
• Batteries
• Mobile Phones
• Plastic Bags
• Ink Cartridges
• Bras – through a link with RCI
• Clothes – installation of an Air Ambulance bin which is used by the local community.

 

Records of the amounts collected are kept and displayed.. The newsletter and website keep the school and local community aware of the items that can be recycled.

All of the corridors also have bins for recycling plastic bottles and cans.  Each classroom and office has a paper\cardboard recycling bin.

Compost Bins

We have several compost bins, including in the staffroom and school garden. All material from the garden that can be composted is put into the variety of compost bins and notices are displayed so students are aware of the benefits of composting.

Cucina

Our in house caterers Cucina recycle their cans and tins and also reuse their oil for their vans which are fuelled with biofuels.

Toilet twinning opportunities were completed when students collected pennies to provide toilets for people missing out on education – over £400 was raised therefore creating a toilet block for Kenya, a toilet in India and also donations to Cancer charities.

We have installed water butts on the recycled greenhouse so that the rain water collected can be used to water our seeds and plants rather than using tap water.  We have added to the number using the vouchers from the Morrisons ‘Let it Grow’ scheme.

Lose the bottle activity has been followed by tutor groups to raise awareness of the use of bottled water.  Water bottles can be purchased in House colours and then filled from the water fountain to encourage students to reuse bottles rather than constantly bring in new bottles of water.

Anglian Water is a link we use and through their schemes all toilets across the school have been fitted with ‘flush saving’ devices.

Cold water taps in toilets have been identified as being suitable for drinking water and students have been informed.

Sports activities:  A variety of clubs are held during lunchtimes and after school and students are encouraged to participate in sporting activities.  Inter house sports competitions are held in which all members of tutor groups are encouraged to participate.

A cycling initiative scheme with British Cycling has taken place with students able to attend extra sessions in order to improve their cycling skills and encourage less reliance on cars.

Healthy Schools Awards: The school has a SNAG team who are involved in issues relating to healthy living and the food provided on site.  The School’s caterers ‘CucinA’ have achieved a “Soil Association Gold Catering Mark” relating to traceability on its products.

Girls Active Programme is a research project involving selected students in which activity levels are being monitored and analysed.

Member of the Active Healthy Minds Programme.

Young Leaders Programme is followed and aimed at inclusion and participation.

Duke of Edinburgh Scheme is a very important part of the school and we are a Directly Licensed Centre.

“What’s under your feet?” This is an opportunity for students to participate in a national campaign, and so during the year students investigated the biodiversity across the school grounds and subsequently contribute to real-life scientific research.

The eco group has also worked with the University of Northampton on a biodiversity project. This involved plotting the different types of habitat across the school grounds as part of work to investigate loss of biodiversity.

Members of the eco group participated in the Bumblebee Discovery Project in which they monitored the different types of bees on the lavender bushes.

Three bug mansions have been built to encourage a variety of bugs and insects to make their home on the school grounds. The bug mansions are constantly in development as new materials are added to try and encourage other creatures and the varieties are monitored by students. Other local schools have also been to visit in order to create their own.

We have created other wild animal habitats as follows:

• Bird boxes have been built and placed around the school grounds to encourage birds to nest.
• Hedgehog houses have been built in consultation with the site staff and positioned to try and provide appropriate homes for hedgehogs where they can feel safe.
• Bat boxes have been built and placed on school walls to try and increase the number of species found in the school grounds.
• Tree and hedge planting with bushes received from the Woodland Trust in order to attract different species.

Students in the Eco group became WWF Green Ambassadors as a result of their work on biodiversity and caring for the planet.

Working with the Sixth Form Council students raised money to purchase an outdoor classroom, which can be used by students during break and lunchtimes and also more benches to enhance outdoor seating areas. This is to further develop the eating areas for students and encourage time to be spent outdoors.

• The area by the back gate has been updated with money donated by the sixth form council. A number of red robin bushes were purchased by the council and an area cleared and then replanted by the eco group to improve the entrance to the school.

• The Kitchen garden is maintained by members of the gardening group who plan and grow a variety of produce.  This changes each year and the size of the garden continues to grow. Some of the products are used by the school canteen and discussions are held with members of the kitchen to plan out crops and herbs which they will use. Products are also sold to staff and this helps to fund the purchase of new seeds each year. Staff and students work together to keep this going.

• Tree Planting – the school works with the Woodland Trust in their tree planting scheme and have planted a variety of shrubs and trees around the school grounds

• Litter reduction is also a focus to keep the school grounds in a clean and litter free environment for everyone to enjoy. Each tutor group has a part to play as there is a rota system during tutor time.

Bottle Greenhouse Destruction.

On the 23^rd February 2017, Storm Doris had a big effect on the school, one of which was the destruction of the bottle greenhouse. During third lesson on this day, our lovely greenhouse was blown over and destroyed, with leeks, chives and equipment inside. The Recycled bottle greenhouse was a key part of the preparation work for the school garden as it was used to grow seeds which would be planted in the garden.  The greenhouse had been visited by several local organisations including Northamptonshire Energy and Waste Centre who used the design to create their own version. The bottles were cut by students from bottles collected and we hope to continue to collect more so they can be used by the students in the recreation of their greenhouse.

Following the storm, a group of 6 collected the 1000 bottles needed to rebuild the greenhouse and took apart the old wooden frame. We are just waiting for a new frame to be built for the greenhouse, and a few more plastic bottles to help rebuild.