Due to the high number of applications to the Green Team for the academic year 2023-2024, we decided to form a branch of the Green Team called the Green Patrol. The Green Patrol consists of children from Years 2 – 6 who are equally as dedicated to looking after our Common Home. Each Thursday, the Green Team and a year group from the Green Patrol meet to discuss our priorities for the term ahead and what support and resources we will need.

In the last academic year, the children led assemblies on Laudato Si where they discussed how the Earth is our Common Home and we have a responsibility to look after it as Stewards of the Earth. They also led an assembly to promote the Asthma and Lung UK charity. Earlier this academic year, the children took part in a clean air monitoring project and shared the results with the school in the Spring term.  Two of our children were also winners of an art competition to promote clean air- how fantastic! We were delighted to welcome Amy and Petra from Asthma and Lung UK on March 8^th 2024 to lead a special assembly and to hear about all of the great work that the Green Team and Green Patrol are doing. Our children are determined that everyone has the right to breathe in clean air.

Our Green Team and Green Patrol led their first Christmas stall in December 2023. All items – including prizes – were eco-friendly and each git recipient also received an eco-pledge written on recycled paper. They raised an amazing £137.40 in total - £72 was spent on World Gifts from CAFOD and £65.40 was sent to Asthma and Lung UK charity.

The children thought about the principles of Catholic Social Teaching when deciding which gifts to buy:

“Everyone deserves to live in peace.”

“I think we should choose the Therapy through Play gift as all children should have the same opportunities we do.”

“The Happy Queen Bee gift will help to produce more bees which will be helping to look after the world God created for us.”

“The Soup kitchen gift will help to make sure people don’t go hungry.”

What’s next?

The children would now like to work towards becoming Clean Air Champions and have decided that their next project will be to improve the school grounds by developing the flower beds and creating an ‘edible playground’ where they will be able to grow and share their own produce.

Litter picking

On Friday 28^th April, the Green team went litter picking around our school area to mark ‘The Grand Clean up.’ We picked up litter along Cheviot Close, Baker Street, Gordon Road and Halifax Toad. We had two bags to put the litter in- recyclable material and non-recyclable. It was really fun! Our work linked to the Catholic Social Teaching themes of Creation and Community and Participation.  We are Stewards of Creation and it is our duty to look after the incredible world that God made for us.