Stillness Infant School

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July 2010 On Wednesday 14th July Zara Mitten and Isabel Frith took four members of the ECO Council to Lewisham Clean and Green Award Ceremony at Lewisham Town Hall. The event began with a delicious buffet meal. Next there was entertainment from Quantum Theatre of Science. The show was based on the theme:- Reduce, Recycle, Reuse. Finally all were seated for the Award Ceremony. The children were thrilled to hear we had won the GOLD AWARD in recognition of our efforts in improving and maintaining the environmental quality of the local environment in the area of Waste, Recycling and Fair Trade. Apart from a handsome shield and certificate our representatives, Ruby-Maye Smith, Arki Hellen, Connor Murray and Alice Wilkinson all received bags made from recycled materials with a variety of useful school equipment inside. Thank you Zara for being a terrific ECO ambassador. June 2009 For the past seven years Stillness Infant School has been operating as an Eco School; a national accreditation scheme run by ENCAMS. This involves increasing environmental awareness through practical actions by children, staff, parents and the wider community. The Eco Council, which includes pupil representatives from each Year 1 and 2 class, meets twice a term to agree priorities. After achieving bronze and silver awards for their efforts, Stillness Infants became the first school in Lewisham to win the Eco Schools Green Flag in 2006. The scheme now links with the Government's Sustainable Schools initiative. A summary of activities is as follows: The children recycle paper, card, plastic drinks bottles and metal cans from their classrooms. They collect printer cartridges, mobile phones, postage stamps and batteries for recycling and have a clothing bank for unwanted textiles, including unclaimed lost property! They compost fruit waste and garden refuse and a wormery takes tea bags and food scraps from the staff room. The compost is used to grow flowers to enhance the school grounds, and vegetables and salad which the children tend during the year and then eat! A major project last year was the creation of a wildlife area, with a pond, woodpile and mini-beast 'hotel', compost bins, bird feeders, nesting boxes and seating for outdoor studies. Three years ago the school had photo-voltaic (solar) panels fitted to the roof, enabling them to generate part of their electricity needs from the sun. A display in the main lobby shows the children how much electricity is generated and the carbon dioxide emissions saved. This spring the children and parents were encouraged to think globally, with a Fair Trade Coffee Morning, World Book Day and support for a Water Aid campaign to provide sanitation in developing countries. A further Coffee Morning was organised by FOSI in September to benefit Christian Aid projects and spare colouring pencils have been sent to schools in Africa. An ongoing objective is to reduce litter in the playground and surrounding streets. Children take turns to litter-pick at playtimes and have made anti-litter posters displayed in the shop windows in Brockley Rise. Another aim is to stop dangerous and inconsiderate parking near the school. This is contained in the School Travel Plan, which also encourages walking to school and seeks provision of cycle storage for staff. For the past two years the school has won Lewisham's Clean & Green Schools gold award and recently the News Shopper Green Primary School competition. They are committed to environmental practice and welcome any suggestions for further action; ideas can be left in the suggestions box in the school Hall or given to one of the Eco Council class reps. The Infant School has been awarded the prestigious ECO Schools Green Flag for another three years.