All things ECO Friendly

at BIPS 

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Spring has sprung....Time for some STEM work......

P3 have been out and about in our school grounds matching natural objects with our paint palette cards.  Everyone seems to have found a leaf or a flower, even a seed, to match the colour they have chosen!

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New Year....Time for more tidying!

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Christmas ECO Craft

Our Eco Warriors and Eco Craft Club members worked really hard on a variety of different Christmas crafts which we sold at our Christmas Grotto to raise money for ECO activities.  Lots of school families and friends came to our stall and supported us.  Thank you to everyone for helping us to raise £181! 

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And we have success!

The radish seeds which we planted have grown and are making a really tasty addition to our Autumn salads. 

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Purple 4 Polio

Latest Update! Many thanks to New Bridge IC, Bronte PS and Downshire Nursery for supporting our fundraising efforts!  To date we have raised nearly £1000! 

On Friday 28th October Bridge was a sea of purple as staff and pupils wore purple clothes to help raise money for Rotary International to help eradicate polio.

The purple crocus is a symbol of Rotary’s worldwide campaign to eradicate polio, with its colour representing the purple dye used to mark the finger of a child who has been immunised.

Mrs Davis and our volunteer ECO warriors worked hard to create beautiful pots and to help plant crocuses for the whole school community to buy to raise much needed money to support this very worthy cause.

Over £500 was raised on the day so a huge thank-you too everyone for your very kind contributions.

Click Purple to see more photos:  PURPLE

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So let's meet our new ECO Warriors!

Lewis is mean, green and ECO keen!

Grace is cool, classic and ECO enthusiastic!

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Our first planting project of the new school year!

P3 pupils planted radishes in one of our raised garden beds.   We even used our recycled milk container, watering can!

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The World's Biggest Lesson!

We are now a Global Learning School. 

On Thursday, 22nd. September, 2016, we took part in the world's biggest, global learning lesson.  Each year group completed some activities on a global theme.  P1 pupils looked at how litter damages our beaches and the sea life.  P2 showed us how to save energy.  P3 learned about the importance of saving our forests.   P4 understand that water is a precious resource.  P5 want us to think carefully before we waste food.  P6 reminded us that overfishing means we will lose some of our favourite fish to eat.  P7 value education and shared the importance of education for everyone.

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Welcome to 2015/16

Our ECO Committee is up and running.  

So meet our new ECO Warriors!

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June

Dig!  Dig!   Dig!

Elaine and Matthew from Newbridge Integrated College's ECO Gardening Team, along with their ECO Coordinator Mrs. McIvor, came along to BIPS to help Sienna and Rebecca plant a Cherry Blossom Tree.  Newbridge IC are celebrating their 20th. anniversary and want local schools to share in their celebrations.  Sienna and Rebecca will be moving on to Newbridge in September and will come back to check on the progress of the tree which they planted.  They were capably assisted by Heidi (P1) and Noah (P4) whose daddy helped out by digging the hole for us.  We were ready for our refreshments after our hard work! 

Congratulations to Newbridge IC on their 20th. Anniversary.

Thank you for asking us to join in your celebrations!

Jolly good fun in June!

The P4 pupils have been making bridges from recycled materials.  

They invited P3 pupils along to test them out with the beebots. 

ECO and STEM work so well together!

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May

Sunny days are here again...

Just the weather for daily litter picking with the help of some P6 pupils!

!!And here's what should be done with the litter!!

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April

We are now officially a GLOBAL LEARNING SCHOOL

Linked to our GLOBAL LEARNING, here's the P6 Fair Trade 2016 Display....The pupils made buns with fair trade products and had a bun sale too!  Learning is fun at BIPS!

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Marching on with saving our planet....

Some of our classes are particularly good at conserving energy by switching off lights, closing doors and using bins appropriately.  Here are this month's winners receiving their ECO bookmarks...Well done to P2W and P1M!

March

Spring has sprung once more and it's time to tidy up our outdoor spaces before we start our Spring activities.   Thanks to some of our school families, we got quite a bit done at the weekend, including litter picking inside and outside the school grounds, leaf and winter debris collection and weeding.  If you can offer some help on a Saturday....morning or afternoon....please let Mrs. Davis and the ECO Committee know! 

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February

Emilie and Ashton from P7 represented the ECO Committee at the ABC Youth Speak Regional heat.  They each had to talk about their adventures as a Waste Warrior for three minutes, no mean feat when you are being judged by Council Staff and observed by pupils from local schools.  But the girls did us proud with exciting speeches which received good feedback.

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January

If you go out into the ECO Gardens today...you're sure of a big surprise....!

The P3s have been exploring in the ECO Gardens as part of the World Around Us topic, OUR WORLD.

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ECO CRAFT at The Christmas Fair

Well Done to our eager ECO Warriors for their great efforts in making Christmas crafts for the Christmas Fair.  They made lots of tree decorations, cards, tea candle holders and place  settings all from recycled materials, such as, twigs, lolly pop sticks, straws, old vinyl, old Christmas cards and wrapping paper and the glass jars and lids from the BIPS' Staff Fair Trade Coffee breaks.  We sold them and made a fantastic £205.  We are sharing this with Newry Hospice.

Lots of families bought our ECO decorations!

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!November is Energy Month!

!Be Energy Aware!

• Switch off lights when not in use!
• Close doors!
• Walk  to school when possible!
• Share car journeys!

Our ECO Warriors made posters to remind everyone to do their bit to save energy!

Bryson Energy enjoyed helping to teach our pupils about energy efficiency.  They gave a talk on how to reduce energy waste and presented the school with a certificate for participating in their programme, which included fun and interactive learning on -

• What is energy?
• Different types of energy!
• Where do we get energy from?
• Why do we need to save energy?
• How can we save energy?

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"I spy with my little eye...something very exciting!"

SSE Airtricity and ECO Schools' Global Wind Awards 2014

1st!  Wow!  We win the ECO Energy Project of the Year!

2nd!  Really Rocking!  We are runner-up in the ECO Committee of the Year 2014!

We were one of thirty schools shortlisted across ECO Schools in Northern Ireland to attend the Global Wind Awards celebration at the Everglades Hotel.  The awards were presented by Frank Mitchell, UTV, and photographs were taken with David Manning (SSE Airtricity,) Ian Humphreys (Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful) and Michael Conlon (Olympic and Commonwealth Boxer.)  After collecting the two major awards in the Primary Schools' categories, we had a lovely lunch and a great trip to Slieve Kirk Wind Farm.  We received £150 of wind energy activity resources and a £50 cheque for ECO funds.

Take a visit to ECO Schools NI (www.eco-schoolsni.org) to see more on our achievements!

Hip Hip Hooray...

BIPS achieved its second

ECO-Schools' Green Flag today!

Congratulations to our eager ECO Warriors and ECO buddies for all their hard work and enthusiasm which thoroughly impressed the ECO-Schools' assessors today,

06 May 2014!

Spring's in the air...Spring's everywhere...

Spring has sprung...Time to shape up...And Spring Clean...

Pupils at Bridge and their families have been lending a hand to the Big Spring Clean 2014...Not just at school but out in the community!  Well done to all those who helped to clean-up their home and school environments...Working together made for a great clean-up!

Spring Scavenger Hunts

P2 and P3 pupils have been out scavenging around the Nature Trail now that the ground is dry. Each group of pupils was given a paint colour card and asked to find items of interest which matched the colours on the card.  The groups then placed their 'finds' in a hoop on the ground, ready for talking to the other groups about their treasures.

'The Pigeon Man' pays a visit....                      P1, 2, 3 and 4 topic linked visit...

Joe, a keen pigeon breeder and daddy of Ethan and Chloe (P3D and P2W/S), came into school to talk to the classes about  his pigeons.  His visit links to the ongoing topic work of Pets, Homes, Places.  Joe showed the pupils a male and female bird and explained that the pigeon is a member of the dove family.  He leaves out a clay bowl with straw in it and the female will usually lay two eggs.  Ethan and Chloe showed everyone the clay bowl and a photo of a 3 day old pigeon.  Joe also explained that his pigeons are homing birds...That means that they will always find their way home whenever they are released.  His pigeons have traveled up to 230 miles (to Scibereen in County Cork) and still returned home safely!  Each bird has a tag which tells everyone who the owner of the pigeons is. The pupils then asked Joe some super questions which related to their year group topics.  Logan (P3S/T) learned that it takes 17 days (yes...just 17 days) for the eggs to hatch.  Reece (P2W/S) discovered that the reason the pigeon Joe was handling, stayed so calm and still, was because it was used to people and liked the company.  Sofia (P1) wanted to know why birds fly and Joe talked about the pigeons' wings.  Flynn (P7 ECO Warrior) then found out that the pigeon's wing span is about 60 cm.  Charlie (P2W/S) enjoyed hearing about the pigeon's diet.  Joe explained that a pigeon is a herbivore (does not eat meat) and that he feeds his pigeons  peas, beans, corn, wheat and barley.  Joe also told Mollie from P2 about the three toes on the front of the pigeon's claw and one at the back, which help it to walk.  After a great question and answer session, the pupils went out into the grounds to help Joe to release some of his pigeons...And yes they made their own way home safely!

Thank you Joe for a very interesting and informative talk!  Watch this space for more photos... ... ....

With a little help from our friends!

Tristan and his mum decided to recycle some clothes and footwear which no longer fit.  It's great to have someone to help you put the clothes into the Cash For Clobber recycling bank, Tristan!

Welcome to ECO 2013-14

Flynn, Dylan, Olivia and Finn - Members of our eager ECO Committee 2013 - 2014 in our Sensory Garden

New school year, exciting new activities!

Letting everyone know about ECO:

...   ECO Studies   ...    ECO Craft    ...    Nature Trail   ...    Courtyard Gardens   ...    

...   Textile Tuesday/Cash for Clobber   ...   ECO Trips  ...

..  Visiting Speakers  (Banbridge District Council/RSPB/TESCO Community Champion) ..

...   ECO SCHOOLS' Second Green Flag  Application ...

       ECO Warrior Jessica makes

               her Warrior Badge

                                                                            Ellie and Toyah (ECO BUDDIES) made an ECO sign

                                                                                                                                                                             A few feathered friends decide to get

                                                                                                                                             in on the action!  Our Litter pickers

                                                                                                                                                             won't be pleased! 

What a wonderful world by Pheonix and Rebecca

We must protect our world!

It makes us smile and grin.

We must not drop litter.

Instead put it in the bin!

We must protect our world!

We don't want to spoil the view.

Reduce, reuse, recycle...

That's what we must do!

We must protect our world!

And the places that we live.

Only use what's really needed.

That's how we should live!

We must protect our world!

Our playgrounds, our nurseries.

Keep the gardens clean and tidy.

Then there'll be no worries!

We must protect our world!

Treasure what we've got.

We really mustn't spoil it.

Help it stay a lovely spot!

We must protect our world!

Not waste and needlessly throw away.

Reduce, reuse, recycle...

Let's do it everyday!

BDC Youth Speak Regional Heat

At the end of February lots of pupils from P6 and P7 auditioned to represent us at BDC Youth Speak regional heat at the Civic Building in March.  The standard of entries (a five minute talk on the theme If I were Principal, this is how I would reduce waste in my school!) were amazing.  We finally decided upon two entries, presented by Cara P6T and Lucy P6S.  They also produced impressive props.  On the day of the heat, Cara and Lucy were up against 16 pupils representing 8 other schools in the BDC area.  Both pupils felt that this was a great experience and look forward to auditioning again next year.  After a tasty lunch and meet and greet with the Chairperson, they returned to school excited to share their experiences with their classmates.

Look to the sky...What do you spot up high?

Helen from RSPB came to school to do a spot of bird-watching with the P3 pupils.  Everyone, including the teachers, were excited about using the binoculars!  We spotted lots of regular visitors to our grounds like magpies, crows, blackbirds and rooks.  Everyone can now readily identify the male crow by its orange beak...but did you know that a female blackbird is actually brown?  Corin P3D was able to tell Helen that this is because they need to blend into their surroundings when they are looking after the eggs in their nests.  Brooke P3S/T told us all that this is called camouflage.  

BIPS ECO Warriors adopt a Red Kite with money raised from ECO Craft

Adam McClure from the RSPB came into two school assemblies to help us get ready for adopting a Red Kite.  They are one of the endangered species of bird which the RSPB are trying to save.  We have just received the good news that we are adopting a female, baby Red Kite.  She is yellow and her mum and dad are called Paprika and Dobbin.  Each class is choosing three names.  The most popular name so far is Sky or Skye... ...

Watch this space to see which name will be chosen and for photos of our new arrival!

Adam from RSPB explains the width of the

               Red Kite's wing span

Ben shares his family's RSPB Big Bird Watch 

results during the RSPB Red Kite Adoption assemblies

                                                                                                                                                                                    Lucy, Olivia, Mitchel and Caitlyn hand over

                                                                                                                                                                                     the adoption cheque to Adam from RSPB

Banbridge District Council Chairperson calls in to congratulate us!

Mrs. Olive Mercer, Chairperson of BDC came into school to congratulate the ECO Warriors and ECO Buddies on all the hard work they have put in to making our school as ECO Friendly as possible.  She was accompanied by Tracy Fitzpatrick, the Environmental Education Officer, who has given us lots of support and encouraged us all on our journey.  Mrs. Mercer said, "Keep up the great ECO work!"  BDC are very pleased to announce that all schools in the council area are now participating in the ECO Schools' programme.  Paul from ECO Schools talked to the ECO Warriors and ECO Buddies and praised them for their enthusiasm.

BIODIVERSITY Launch at Navan Centre

BIPS ECO Warriors were chosen to represent all of the Banbridge District Council area schools.  We prepared a stand with lots of colourful items detailing our Biodiversity work to date.  The ECO Warriors supported by two ECO Buddies from P4 did a presentation for the assembled guests, including the Lord Mayor of Armagh and senior council representatives from Armagh, Craigavon and Banbridge District Councils.  They then had a tour of the Navan site (a great place to visit by the way) and carried out some fun practical activities with the help of Lough Neagh Centre Support Staff.

TEXTILE TUESDAY

Our latest Textile Tuesday clothing collection was a great success.  We filled the Textile bank at the front of the school, with some bags of clothing left over!  Cash for Clobber, our charity partner will be impressed!  Clothing collections raise money for the Cancer Fund for Children and ECO activities.  Last term we were sent a cheque for £67.  That has made sure that the birds in our courtyard gardens and Nature Trail haven't gone hungry this winter!  So well done to everyone for supporting us!  Look out below to see our little friends, Jessica and Grace from P3, loading their bags into the Textile Bank!  

PS Contact Mr. Duggan (Buildings Supervisor) if you need to use the Textile Bank! 

ECO Studies

Every Friday afternoon P4 to P7 classes meet with Mrs. Davis to learn about being ECO friendly in a fun and interactive way.  P4 learn about the 4 'R's...P5 about Water...P6 about Biodiversity...and P7 about Conservation.  

Here P4 pupils are playing a Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Restore game.  

Jake, Kaden and Oliver selecting which items 

cannot be reduced, reused, recycled or restored.

Hannah-Rose, Ellie and Clanagh understand that

we can reuse clothing by sending it to the Charity Shop.

                                                                                                                                                                             Molly, Andrew, Ben, Baillie and Caitlyn recycle 

                                                                                                                                                                     fruit and veg waste from the brown bins every day,

                                                                                                                                                               so they have no problem sorting items for composting.

P4 Litter Survey

Zara understands how the litter which we collected should be disposed!

She is disappointed that some people drop litter and then it blows into our School Grounds!

   James kept a tally of litter

  collected during our survey.

ENERGY POWER DOWN DAY  November 2013

What a difference a few simple things like switching off lights in classrooms when not in use and not leaving computer hardware on standby, can make!   Caitlyn and Lucy read the school's energy usage using our AIRTRICITY monitor at 10 am and 3pm every day.  There was a noticeable difference in the amount of energy the school used when a few simple tips were followed.  To help pupils, Mrs. Walsh led a Key Stage 1 and Foundation Assembly about saving energy.  

Think of the difference we could make to energy output across our world if we paid greater attention to simply switching off lights when they are not needed!

ECO CRAFT

The ECO Warriors worked really hard on some super craft items which they made from recycled materials. Mr. Duggan is always on the look out for reusable things like old tree trunks and the Mackin Family kindly donated an old tree which they had to cut down. You can see Flynn below standing next to the bark candle holders. The ECO Warriors sold their craft at BIPS' Craft Fair in November. They took it in turns to 'man' the stall, serve the eager customers and sort the money.  A fabulous effort resulted in £110.  Ellie said, "I've had a great time and now we have more than enough money to adopt a Red Kite with the RSPB!"

                     Thanks Mum!

Ooh!  £20!!

Another sale! Mr. Duggan will be pleased!

                                                                                                                                                                                       Get your present here!

...  Jessica's Pond  ...

Thanks to a generous donation from the Quinn family when their second child and former ECO Warrior Jessica finished BIPS,  we were able to purchase a new pump for the pond in our Sensory Garden.   Jessica C., one of our current ECO Warriors, gave Jessica a Thank You card made by the ECO Committee.    We hope to have some interesting examples of Biodiversity in the pond very soon!   

MARIE CURIE DAFFODIL PLANTING

Plant a bulb and help a charity!   This year P1, P2 and P3 pupils have been planting daffodil bulbs.  They have learned how to dissolve the compost discs and to correctly plant the bulbs with their roots going down into the soil.  Charlize in P3 said, "The plant uses its roots like a straw to suck in water and good things from the soil!"  

The ECO Warriors will be counting the money raised and sending it off to Marie Curie very soon!

A little trip down memory lane follows... ... ...

ECO School

????????   Did you know? ...... Our Hard Work Paid Off !!!!!!!!

Bridge IPS have been awarded their first ECO Schools' Green Flag in recognition of the fantastic effort the ECO Warriors and Leaders put into ECO awareness and good practice around the school.  The assessor, Liz (Assistant Advisor at the WELB) and Paul (ECO Schools NI) were very impressed with our work and stated that it is obvious that ECO habits are 'embedded within the ethos of the school.'  So well done to everyone - pupils to teaching and support staff, our Buildings' Supervisor, Mr Duggan, and our school families!

The Eco-Committee meets regularly to discuss ways we can make our school and its grounds more eco-friendly.  We decide how we are going to do this and put our plans into action.  The P7 Eco-Committee members or ECO Warriors as they like to be called, are responsible for such actions as

• Litter picking
• Supporting classes with recycling, reducing and reusing waste materials with saving energy. 
• With global awareness (Fair Trade Assemblies and Fund-Raising) 
• Supporting the eco-buddies, in P1 through to P6, with their ECO responsibilities (fruit and veg waste for composting)
• Communicating with other schools/the local council's environmental officer about eco issues.

At the start of the last school year 2011/12, the new Nature Trail was opened.  Mr. Duggan worked really hard over the summer holidays to have it ready for us in September, 2011.  A big thank you goes to the BIPS' Parents' Group for their generous donation from fund-raising to this project.  Staff and pupils have been making great use of this wonderful resource since 2011!  In the 2012/2013 year, we are observing all the changes in nature over the seasons.

            Going Green 2012 - 2013

Keep Going Green!  (Term 1 2012)

In September, we asked the new P7 pupils to write about why they wanted to be an ECO Warrior.  We had several very good replies and all were selected to join the ECO Committee.  Declan (P7R,) for example, told us about how he likes to help the environment, at home.  He knows which bins to use for different items of rubbish and keeps his family on their toes when it comes to looking after the planet.  The ECO Committee meets on Fridays and as well as working on new craft and gardening activities, roles and responsibilities are discussed. The ECO Warriors continue to monitor lights, doors and bin usage in the classrooms at breaktimes. Each class has two ECO Buddies who help the class to use less energy and to use bins correctly (black bin - recyclable, dry materials; cream bin - non-recyclable materials; brown bin - fruit and vegetables.)  ECO Buddies collect the brown bins for emptying in our compost bins and compost cottage at lunch-time.  Everyone works really hard!

The new ECO Studies programme for P4 to P7 pupils, has begun.  We come together on a Friday afternoon to learn through a variety of activities based around the following themes;

P4 - The 4 Rs, reduce, reuse, recycle and restore!

P5 - Water

P6 - Biodiversity

P7 - Climate Change

Izzy, Whizzy! Let's get busy! (Term 2)

Is your greenhouse as 'green' as ours?  (Term2/3)

We are collecting empty two litre plastic bottles which we will be putting together to build our recycled bottle greenhouse.  So, don't forget to send your 'empties' to Bridge!

Sharing Good Practice! (Term 3)

ECO-COMMITTEE 

Bridge IPS are awarded their first ECO Schools' Green Flag in May 2012. 

 Mr. Duggan helping children to cross the

    road safely during 'Walk to School Week.'