20Dec
Author Archive
17Dec
Recycling at Ashton
Thanks to the Cotton family, our school is now a Terracycle drop off point for clean, empty crisp packets to be recycled.
Karen Cotton has also a collection point at her house too if the school is closed (it’s a blue wheely bin at Little Grange, Beckford). It would be really useful if waste could be separated into the waste streams, particularly that which might smell or leak (such as baby food pouches and wet animal food).
Crisp Packets Can Now be Recycled for the First Time
- The Crisp Packet Recycling Scheme is a TerraCycle recycling programme sponsored by Walkers.
- Now for the 1st time crisp packets can be recycled in the UK.
- Up until now there has been no way to recycle them so they have ended up in landfill or incineration.
The Schools Involvement in the Crisp Packet Recycling Scheme
- The school is one of TerraCycle’s 1st public access collection points for crisp packets in the UK
- All brands of individual packs and the outer multipacks are accepted
- Simply drop them back to the school between 8:45 am and 3 pm in term time (or in the blue wheely bin at Little Grange in Beckford at other times)
- The school earns charity points by recycling crisp packets
- For shipments of over 2kg of crisp packets we receive TerraCycle points
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- 200 TerraCycle points per kg – each point worth £0.01
- So 2kg of crisp packets earns the school 400 points (£4)
- We donate the funds to FX’s Fund which provides support for children in intensive care and their families (currently saving for cuddle cots)
- We also act as a drop off location for TerraCycle’s writing instruments, biscuit and snacks, oral care, personal care, air care, baby food pouches and pet food programmes and to
date have raised over £1,350 via our recycling efforts saving over 63 000 items from landfill (since 2012).
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Why are crisp packets hard to recycle / what are they made of / what will the recycled material be used for
- Pretty much anything can be recycled
- Whether a material is recycled however is largely down to economics
- National infrastructure in the UK is in place for materials that have value
- Local council recycling systems like we have in Worcestershire accept paper, cardboard, aluminium cans, plastic bottles and some rigid plastics like food as they have value
- More complex multi material products particularly flexible plastics are harder / costlier to recycle
- This is why these materials aren’t recycled
- Crisp packets for example are made from a multi-layer, polypropylene-based film often with a metallised barrier layer
- TerraCycle partners with brands – like Walkers for crisp packets – to make the economics work so that they can now be recycled in the UK
- The collected crisp packets will be shredded, washed, dryed and then turned into flakes or pellets
- These recycled flakes or pellets are then used by manufacturers (lessening the need to create new virgin plastics) for injection or compression molding into a variety new products like park benches, fence posts etc
For the complete list that can be recycled and for more information please visit Terracycle UK
Here are other things that you can recycle at our school. Please just drop them off!
Click on the picture to enlarge.
10Dec
Envirominies Page
Our Eco Team is called Envirominnies. We have a meeting once a week and everyone can attend. We aim to look after the environment around us and hope to encourage other people to do so as well. Last year, we started a campaign to persuade other schools to use glass milk bottles instead of plastic bottles. We made posters, and a big turtle made out of plastic bags which is currently on our Eco board. We also wrote letters to Harriet Baldwin (MP) and she replied. Once a term, we have an Eco Morning about different environmental issues.
28Nov
Food Bank
There has been an increase in demand for people visiting food banks. They offer short term solution for homeless people, those that may have had their benefits stopped or reduced, or those generally falling on hard times. Each parcel is designed to last approx. 7 days.
During half term, I had the pleasure of visiting the Evesham Food Bank
Monday 3rd December – UHT Milk
Tuesday 4th December – Tinned Soup
Wednesday 5th December – Breakfast Cereal
Thursday 6th December – Jar of jam or marmalade
Friday 7th December – Tea bags or coffee
Monday 10th December – Tinned Pudding
Tuesday 11th December – Tinned Spaghetti
Wednesday 12th December – Rice
Thursday 13th December – Tinned tomatoes
Friday 14th December – Pasta Sauce
Monday 17th December – Sugar
Tuesday 18th December – Tinned Fruit
Wednesday 19th December – Tinned custard
Thursday 20th December – Instant Mash
Friday 21st December – Tinned meat/fish
Items will be collected in school and delivered to the Foodbank.
Thank you,
Mrs Shiels
24Sep
Topic Letter-Autumn ’18
13Oct
Open Morning
Wonderful to be in school for the Open Morning. As well as supporting the school by talking with prospective parents, governors took the opportunity to visit all the classes too. It was great to dip into some fascinating lessons that demonstrate the creative curriculum and learning resources in use at Ashton. We saw computers in use, Maths in action, bear trapping designs and artefacts analysis going on. The latest corridor displays are splendid and informative. Special thanks to the Year 5s who acted as guides and to Staff for all the preparations made and for inviting us in to see the School in action.
02Oct
Governors’ meeting
Governors convened for their first meeting of the new academic year Tuesday night.
Debra Lincoln was re-elected Chair of Governors and Louise Howard elected Vice-Chair. A vote of thanks was given to Dan Hughes for his contribution as Vice Chair last year. Our website will be updated in due course to show all of our committees, roles and meeting dates going forward. In October we look forward to sending you our Governor Autumn Term Update.
08Sep
Welcome to a new school year
Wonderful to be in school for the first Family Assembly of the new academic year. Pupils, parents and staff filled the hall with pride, appreciation and joy.
A warm welcome to all our new starters and their families and hello everyone from the governors; welcome back. Everything is in place for another amazing year of shared fun, experiences, challenges, learning & achievement.
Have you spotted the new fencing at the end of the playground? Governors are delighted with this investment to improve our premises & site safeguarding. It was a necessary and worthwhile expense before ‘The Track’ is installed. Can’t wait!
