Inspired by ‘The Water Princess’ story by Susan Verde that I read to the children at the start of the academic year, we are working together to help raise money to improve access to fresh water, as well as supporting access to education for girls wherever they are growing up through CAFOD.
Alongside fundraising to provide clean water and sanitation, the whole School is also committed to reducing the damage caused by unnecessary and discarded plastics. Many of our children have watched David Attenborough’s documentary Blue Planet which highlighted that between 5m and 13m tonnes of plastic leaks into the world’s oceans each year and which can then take hundreds of years to decompose.
Led by the girls, we collectively made the decision to reduce the amount of plastic we used and the amount of rubbish we produce. As well as eliminating single-use plastics such as disposable cups and straws within the School, we are delighted to have been able to provide every pupil and member of staff with their own St Mary’s refillable water bottles.
We have also introduced fresh fruit at break time for all pupils. This means they are no longer bringing in snacks which are often manufactured using packaging which is extremely difficult to recycle. The core, skin and peel of their fruit is then placed in our composting bin to ensure that less waste is going to landfill.
The pupils are passionate about making a difference and supporting these initiatives. As one wrote recently, “It’s not always easy to see how we can make a difference. I’m proud that we are working together to make real changes at home and at school to help our planet.”
