Friday 22 November 2013 was a fantastic day at St. Joseph’s in Helensburgh as parents, pupils and staff joined forces to clean up and plant new life in the school grounds. Everyone from Pre-5 children to adults was involved in various activities throughout the morning. The Pre-5 and infant children were involved in sweeping leaves, picking up litter, weeding and planting flowers and trees whilst the eldest of these children (P3) cleaned up the outdoor classroom and got involved in raking and creating hanging baskets.

The P4 and P5 children were also involved in leaf and litter picking but they also decorated the many planters throughout the school with winter pansies. Meanwhile P6 tidied up the Bug Hotel and P7 tackled the weeds and overgrowth in the car park. To assist the community, some of the mum’s helped staff and pupils weed the green area surrounding the access road to school.

The community spirit was palpable and as everyone worked, a group of P7s was responsible for making and bringing everyone some well-earned hot chocolate. The children were delighted to be involved in the day and were ready for their lunch when the time came. Thankfully for the staff and adult helpers, one of our mum’s had made and brought in a scrumptious big pot of soup! The school is looking wonderful, the children have a greater connection to their ownership of the school grounds and we all feel more bonded as a result!