Wow!
Our pumpkins, that we planted as seedlings in May, have grown!
We are looking forward to harvesting them in October for Halloween! 
Cross Arthurlie’s Woodland Walk
As part of our work with the Woodlands Trust, the Eco Committee went on a woodland walk to familiarise themselves with the trees and shrubs that are in our school grounds. We learned how to use guides to identify the trees in our school. We also noticed that lots of leaves and petals were falling from the trees so we made colourful collage boards to illustrate all the different shapes and colours of leaves and flowers in our school grounds. Our boards will look very pretty on our Eco noticeboard! 
The committee identifying trees and shrubs using their guides.
The committee found a bright, red ladybird!
The view from the top of the hill on a sunny day was fantastic. We could see right over Glasgow.
Our collage boards looked so colourful!
Global Goals Week
The Eco Committee hosted an assembly to introduce the whole school to The Global Goals.
We participated in the World’s Largest Lesson by watching the Global Goals video.
Our Eco Committee discussed the goals even further and tried think of examples of things we do in our everyday life to be more eco-friendly that connect to the Global Goals.
‘To save water, we should take more showers instead of baths.’ (P7) 
‘My mum and I always switch lights off when we leave a room.’ (P3)
‘We have class Eco Helpers who encourage recycling and litter picking.’ (P6)
Summer Clean Up
The Eco Committee worked together to clear our school garden of weeds after the holidays.
Callum used secateurs to cut back the ivy that had started to spread.
Barrhead Water Works Pumpkins
Last June, our Eco Committee worked with Mark Brand from East Renfrewshire Council to plant their pumpkin seedlings in the new Barrhead WaterWorks.
The children had sown their seeds and cared for them for weeks prior to the event.
The pumpkins are growing really well in their new home! They have huge plants and the pumpkins themselves are beginning to grow.
At present, they are about the size of a melon!
We cannot wait until we harvest them around the end of October…just in time for Halloween!
Star Room Sunflowers
Lovely sunflowers planted by the Star Room poking their heads out in our sunny infant playground! 
Woodlands Trust Green Tree Award
Cross Arthurlie Primary are participating in the Green Tree Award Scheme by the Woodlands Trust. The scheme is based on earning points by participating in different activities, such as planting trees or visiting a local woodland. We aim to achieve a Bronze, Silver then a Gold award by earning more points.
We look forward to bringing more trees and wildlife to our school grounds.
Green Flag Award!
Prior to the summer break, our Eco Committee (15/16) decided that we were ready to apply for our Green Flag status from Eco-Schools Scotland.
You can view our application here: Cross Arthurlie Primary Green Flag Application
On the first week back after school, we were delighted to find out that our application had been successful and all our hard work had paid off. We will receive our green flag soon. We cannot wait to display our flag and share our good news with others.
The feedback from the assessors at Eco-Schools Scotland has been very positive:
It was a pleasure to read and assess Cross Arthurlie Primary School’s Green Flag application. It is clear that the whole school were enthusiastic and determined to achieve Green Flag status and should be commended for the efforts they made with each of the topics and projects. The pictures of the school grounds look fantastic and we were impressed with the process and consultations they undertook to involve the whole school and wider community with achieving their desired outcome. The attitude about caring for the space so that others would too is particularly worthy of mention. We were genuinely very impressed with all that you have achieved and it is a delight to be able to award Cross Arthurlie Primary School Green Flag Status and we look forward to hearing about your future projects and activities as you continue your Eco-Schools journey.
Thank you to everyone who has supported us on our journey to Eco status.
Clean for the Queen
Clean for The Queen is a campaign to clear up Britain in time for Her Majesty the Queen’s 90th birthday, which will be officially celebrated in June 2016.
Representatives from various classes and the Eco Committee have participated in litter picking sessions throughout March to contribute to the campaign.
We hope to introduce more new bins inside and outside our school in Term 3 to help combat the growing problem of litter on our school grounds.
EDF’s Waste Week
Cross Arthurlie participated in Waste Week which ran from 7—11th March. We focussed on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). Pupils from the Eco Committee informed the school of the importance of recycling electrical items through an interactive assembly.
We also installed our second WEEE box and have been encouraging families and staff to recycle any unwanted electrical items, such as cables, mobile phones, DVD players, etc. Thank you to everyone who has made use of this service.
