At Gateford Park Primary School we offer a range of clubs for children to participate in. 
 

In addition to teacher-led clubs, we offer wrap-around care. Our Breakfast Club opens at 7.30am each morning and finishes at 8.40am, ready for the start of the school day. After School Club runs from 3.20pm - 6pm daily. To book wraparound care, please go to schoolinterviews.co.uk and enter the code h8e6c  Thank you :) 

Environment Club

Welcome to this new page.

We intend to put lots of news and pictures of what the club members do throughout the year, so that you can see how the children learn and enjoy all aspects of the environment. 

Last week we took cuttings of dogwood, hawthorn and berberis. It will take a few months, but hopefully some of the cuttings will take and have roots on them so they can be planted in the future. We also made butterfly idials  so that the children can improve their knowledge of common butterflies.

Friday's group also had a recognition quiz of common wild plants- what most people refer to as weeds - so that they can recognise these plants when they grow in the new year.

This week the children learnt about the various forms of fungi and had a look at the various lichens on the trees outside. They also had a quick quiz to see if they could use their new found knowledge. Some were remarkably knowledgeable after only one session!

Have a look at the pictures and see if you can recognise any of these in the pictures below?

This week the children made respect our school signs and learnt about the common small wild flowers that can be seen around school. They also started to think of  ideas for the design of a school environment flag.

Tidying the school grounds

This week the children were tidying up the school grounds and looking at the bulbs that are emerging. After that, the children did a butterfly recognition quiz and Casey (who has been studying them) showed exceptional knowledge, although all the children did well!

Week ending 3rd February

This week we have been learning how to recognise flowering bulbs and looking for signs of Spring. 

The Friday group also dug over the wild flower area to try to get rid of as much grass as possible - it was hard work, but worth it .Next week the Wednesday group will finish the job and put some wild flower seed down as long as it is not too frosty.  

Week ending 3rd March

Things are getting really busy now as Spring is just around the corner! The children have been moving bulbs so that they can be displayed around the school and learning their names.

The children have used snowdrops, miniature irises, tete a tete daffodils, crocus and grape hyacinth.

In addition, the children planted early seeds (cosmos and marigold) and learnt what the different seeds looked like.

Finally, can I thank all the children who do the recycling!

Week ending 24th March

The children have been tidying up the school grounds (litter picking and preparing  the vegetable area for new planting).  They have also created a new willow arch for the entrance to the quiet area, which they thought looked great- hopefully, with careful watering it will survive through the coming summer.

Spring is officially here and the children have been looking for signs.  Last week, they were delighted to see frogs in the pond - They saw up to 8- which is the most that has ever been seen! 

Week Commencing 5th May

As Summer rapidly approaches the children have been really busy! The children have re-furbished the Quiet Area and it will re-open in the next few days. They have also maintained and improved Judith's Garden. Finally they have been tidying up the vegetable plots. 

This week we have discovered that we have at least two newts in our pond.

They were first discovered by Gnome class who were investigating the pond area and they seen again by environment club members last week!

Week commencing 15th March

This week we have been planting more beans, peas and potatoes in the vegetable garden and will watching out for the radish, beans, onion and carrots staring to grow in the infant vegetable plot.

The children have also been busy improving the quiet area and weeding Judith's Garden. They also made a super discovery when they found the large beetle there- points for anyone who knows what it is.... and it is harmless!

The children showing the flowers that were awarded to  the school by winning a competition run by Morrisons. Not sure who entered us, but many thanks! (It was me! Mrs Ellis!)

Week commencing 19th June

Wow- it's been really busy in the last few weeks and the children have been hard at work planting and watering!! lots of plants and vegetables at school!

A special thanks to Gil, Olivia's grandma who came in for Environment Week and held two assemblies and did a workshop with every class- thanks for her amazing contribution to the week!

September 2023

The new school year has started and both environment clubs (Wednesday and Friday) are full with approximately 25 children attending, with many new starters from Year 2 and 3.

Our wonderful school environment has attracted some wonderful creatures to our school this term and we were lucky enough to photograph some of them!

The children have also been busy learning about recycling and creating special posters for the grounds that will be revealed in the next couple of weeks. Crystal and Robyn  brought in some owl pellets remains for the children to look at and they thought they were probably mouse remains. 

The children have also been enjoying collecting (and eating) the delicious raspberries from the garden.

Finally, a few pictures from the Summer term that I didn't manage to get on the website:

October 2023

The children have been busy completing their tree posters, collecting seeds and starting to remove annual flowers from around the school.

They have started to learn the names of the trees around school and how to identify them from their leaves.

November 2023

The children have been busy planting tete a tete daffodil bulbs in the new black pots around school and removing some of the remains of the dead annual plants (although we will leave some bits for the insects over winter).

They have also cleared the infant vegetable area and tried to match the tree seeds to the trees- Adi, in particular, did really well, scoring 7/9- a super score- but I know the other children will be looking  to improve their score when we repeat this activity!

December 2023

The children have been busy around school in the last few weeks. Their tree/oxygen poster were displayed around school and several children asked if it was true?!! - so the message worked well and now the signs will be left to biodegrade.

The children also planted 60 new saplings to form a hedge. The wild mix was supplied free by the Woodland Trust.

Finally, it is that time of year again and so many children, not just the Environment Club, joined in with re-cycling the Christmas crackers and (200+!) plastic cups- Well done to all!

Spring 2024

The children have been really busy with lots of fun activities and have learnt some new skills. 

As part of the big bird watch, the children went bird spotting around school. They spotted a variety of birds including: Sparrows, a robin, some starlings, blackbirds, pigeons and some magpies.

Later on the the children carefully made a bird model of their choice.

The children also took part in a virtual bird spotting competition around school, in which they had to find the birds and identify them! There were 20 and they found all of them and some children identified nearly every one!

1st March 2024

The flowers have started to come out and we have a good display of daffodils, snowdrops, crocus and iris around the school. 

The children have been tidying up the school and recently enjoyed (their favourite activity!) litter picking

Finally, just for fun can any parent or child tell me the name of the fungi below?

May 2024

Now  24 strong, with other children waiting to join, the club is starting to see results of their hard work.

The seeds are starting to come up and the children have been busy tidying up all the areas around school including the front "Welcome" area and Judith's Garden. They have improved the willow arches, set wildflower seeds and are about to improve the quiet area. Very busy indeed but still dodging the showers! 

June 2024

The children have been involved in lots of new activities. They have sown some wild flower seed near the trim trail and have put various seeds in Judith's Garden. 

They have sown seeds in trays and are now putting them outside, including carrots, radish, cabbage, beans and chard.

In addition to all this they have refurbished the quiet area and improved the willow arches. The children also worked really hard to change the display at the front of school, planting geranium, marigolds and nasturtium.

All we need now is a little bit of sunshine!