To promote our No Outsiders ethos across Fairlands, the School Council decided to run a competition, where children were invited to create a piece of writing about what No Outsiders means to them. We had so many fantastic entries and it was amazing to see what wonderfully inclusive and accepting ideas were presented. A huge well done to all who entered and especially to the winners in each class who will have received a special certificate in assembly and shared their work.

Fairlands school council were invited to take part in the Stevenage schools Parliament at Danstrete House. Our year 6 representatives got to sit in the council chambers and put forward our ideas to improve life in Stevenage. 

Each school was given time to share their ideas and thoughts on how they could be achieved. Our initiatives focused on the environment, we suggested that the community comes together to litter pick and plant trees to make Stevenage cleaner and greener. We also shared our concern for the homeless community and suggested ways in which money could be raised to provide a space available 24/7 for those without a home to go. 

Many of the other schools also shared concerns about the local environment and the feeling of belonging in Stevenage so we worked together to create one action plan. The chair of the Stevenage Education Trust is going to propose our ideas to the chair so next time we can work on a way to create a big 'get together' where children feel safe and can join in with a community project. We're really excited for it already! 

"This was a once in a lifetime opportunity! I was nervous and overwhelmed but it was exciting to share my ideas and know everyone was considering them." - A

"I hope our vision comes to life and can be shared amongst the Stevenage community." - R

"Everyone's ideas were great and we were all happy with our final decisions and next steps." - M

Our School Council met again last week to discuss what the children at Fairlands would like to see in terms of extra curricular clubs in school. There were a wide range of suggestions, and staff are going to look into how we can offer the children at our school more of the clubs that they have suggested. We also talked about our No Outsiders approach at Fairlands, where we are working to create an ethos where everyone is welcome and feels like they belong at our school. The School Council members were able to think of some great ideas about how we can embed this message across the school and have gone back to their classes to collect more ideas to feed back to staff.

A key focus for the School Council continues to be Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. 

As part of this focus, the school have recently sorted through a number of items of lost property school uniform that was not claimed at the end of the last academic year. The uniform that was still in good condition has been taken to & Again Clothing, 19 Market Pl, Stevenage SG1 1DH. The uniform is free to take from a basket outside of the store Wednesday - Saturday 9.30am-5.00pm, please pop down if you would like some 'nearly new' free uniform for your child.

This year, we have decided to expand our school council to gain a greater understanding of the views of children across our school. We now have one representative per class from Reception to Year 6. Congratulations to the following children for being elected by their class mates!

Ash – Jimmy

Birch – Yvie

Beech – Holly

Cherry - Martin

Chestnut - Cece

Cedar - Ivy

Fir - Maxx

Elder - Aaron

Elm - India

Holly - Nannie

Hazel - Jagoda

Hornbeam - George

Lime - Riley

Larch - Gabi

Laburnum - Chloe

Pine - Millie

Spruce - Trixi

Poplar - Hridaan

Willow - Ruby

Walnut - Millie

Whitebeam - Antonia

The children have already been given some topics to gather opinions and ideas on and our first official meeting together will take place this week.

Following on from the success of our new school pens, the overall consensus in the school from years 3 to 6 is that they are really helping the children to improve their handwriting and presentation. As you can see from the photo, the children are all smiles when completing their writing tasks. They are really good! Reported one pupil in Whitebeam class.

Well done to the school council who have managed to persuade Mr Staples to order new handwriting pens. The childlren have been using them in class for the last week and they have been a great success. One year 6 pupil said, "the nib of the pen makes it really nice to write with, and it's really comfortable to use."