Chickens

Our Reception children thoroughly enjoyed incubating some hen’s eggs in their classroom and used the opportunity to learn about the lifecycle of a chicken. As hatching day grew closer, their excitement grew and grew until one morning they arrived at school to find seven tiny beaks starting to break free from their shells. The awe and wonder amongst the children was fantastic and they used the occasion to learn about how to make a short film and take photographs with digi-blue cameras. The decision was taken to keep the chickens and thanks to the help of several very knowledgeable children and their parents, we have managed to build a large chicken run and coop. The idea is that we now have the opportunity for all our children to learn about the responsibility of looking after living things and take it in turns to ensure that the chickens are safe and have food and water. I have been thrilled to see this experience extending to families who have volunteered to help look after the chickens during weekends and holidays.

 

Solar Panels

We were very lucky to be one of the first 80 schools in the country to receive a grant from the Co-operative society and the Government’s low carbon building programme to install £20,000 of solar panels on the roof of our Lower School building. We aim to produce approximately 3,300kw of our own electricity each year, reducing our carbon footprint whilst at the same time helping to teach the children in a practical way about sustainability. Our children can learn by tracking how much renewable energy we generate and how much Carbon Dioxide we have saved via the information panel mounted on the wall of our Lower School hall.

Click on the image below to read the Maidenhead Advertiser's report on our solar panels.

 

Community Days

As a community school, we aim to utilise the skills and huge support of our parents, children and the wider community as we work in partnership towards an improved environment for all our children. Periodically, we have 'Community Days', during which parents are invited to come to offer just their time to help us by decorating or gardening in various areas around the school. Our record so far is 20 families and in two weekends last term we managed to prepare or decorate the external entrances to all of our Lower School classrooms. This is also a great opportunity for parents and families to meet new people and make new friends...all in the name of helping to improve our school. I would like to thank those parents who have contributed in this way so far and encourage everyone to get involved next time. Keep an eye on the Calendar or Wessex Weekly for details of our next event!

           

 
Wessex Primary School Awards