Eco-School

Eco Schools Award - Eco Schools England have looked at all the eco work we do in our school and our community and have awarded us with their highest grade - DISTINCTION!

Big Wheel and Walk - During Sustrans' national competition, CJS came fourth in the leaderboard!

Grow Your Own Grub - Last year's Class Turing entered their Witches menu and Mealbarrow in a local competition and won GOLD!

We currently have been awarded two Green Flags and will be looking to renew and gain our third Green Flag in July 2022. In order to be approved, we have been working very hard towards the Eco Schools Ten Topics. So far we have been . . .

Biodiversity

The year 4/5 students have been studying pollination with Graham from Learning Through Landscapes. They have learned why it is important to have plenty of pollinators, a diverse variety of plants and what we can all do to improve habitats within the school grounds and at home.

During Clean Air Day, we dug for worms, so that we can identify them and learn all about them and their habitations. We also have our very own wormery.

Energy

We use software to monitor and record how much electricity, water and gas within school.

Global Citizenship

Year 4 have been learning about food miles, where our food comes from and the impact it has on our planet.

Healthy Living

Our new to English students have taken part in a “mealbarrow” competition entitled; “Grow Your Own Grub.” They designed a three course meal and grew some of the vegetables to make the meal.

We encourage all students to bring a healthy packed lunch to school.

Litter

Before the pandemic, we wanted to change the habits of local residents who simply dump litter next to litter bins near our school. With the help of Cllr Solanki, Leicester City Council and Street Wardens, we removed litter and planted spring bulbs (thanks to Bulbs4kids) in old baked bean cans which were donated by our catering team. Along with handmade signs, we really cleaned up the areas and gave the message that even if you place something next to a litter bin, you have not properly disposed of it!

Some of our pupils took part in the last Litter Less Campaign during the January 2021 lockdown and collected a total of 11.05KG which had been thrown over the fences into our Peace Garden. It made them think about the litter issues around our school, especially as the streets where quieter and how they wish to tackle the issue once restrictions are lifted.

Marine

We’re working on this topic; updates will appear when we have complete our projects.

Grounds

Our Polli:Nation pupils have been deciding how to spend their £750.00 budget to help improve our school environment and increase a wide variety of pollinators and flowers.

Year 3 pupils created a spring garden by carefully planting bulbs which were kindly donated by Bulbs4Kids. They had lots of fun and were very competitive as to who’s flowers grew the best.

We planted fruit trees in memory of those who we have lost…

Transport

We have gone to infinity and beyond with our transport topics. Some Eco Warriors wrote letters to the Deputy Mayor, Anna at Sustrans and Clean Air Girl (Danni) asking that they consider closing Brandon Street for a short time both before and after school, so that they can travel to and from school safely.

On Clean Air Day, we closed the road and were visited by BBC Radio Leicester, ITV Central News and BBC East Midlands Today, who reported on not only our road closure, but also all our other activities which included lessons on how to repair a puncture, sowing sunflower seeds, making bird feeders, the use of a spin art, a smoothie bike and a demonstration of how an electric bike works.

We took part in The Big Pedal and came 4^th on the UK with a total of 98.4% of our pupils walking, cycling and scooting to school.

 Year 5 & 6 had a cycle safety lesson as well as having their bikes checked for free and the opportunity to purchase new cycling helmets for just £3.00 All thanks to our cycling friends at Sustrans

Some members of staff have taken the opportunity to loan an ebike for one month to help them cycle to school, rather than use their cars, thanks to Bike4Works.

Waste

We encourage all students, parents and staff to recycle as much as possible. In school we have recycling bins for batteries, ink cartridges and writing equipment. To date, we have helped to recycle 3161 batteries and 3093pieces of writing instuments.

Year 5 spent a whole term looking at the effects of palm oil. They made a model of an orangutan out of wrappers and waste that had palm oil in the ingredients list and held an exhibition in our Peace Garden.

Year 3 had their very own “Trashion Show”. They had lots of fun designing new outfits and showing off the latest trends with commentary.