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- Email: office@st-john.lancs.sch.uk
St John the Baptist Roman Catholic Primary School Love One Another
Calendar Dates
- Easter Holidays 20th April 2025
- Easter Holidays 21st April 2025
- School reopens 22nd April 2025
Gardening Club
Spring has finally sprung. Hooray! We have been really busy in the garden. Sadly, one of our trees was damaged in the last storm that we had and had to be chopped down, but instead of throwing the branches away, the kind man who came to sort the tree out had a machine that turned the branches into bark chippings for us. With the chippings, we have started to make a quiet area in the garden with a bench and log seating around it. We have also used some of the bark to make pathways in our Secret Garden. A good tidy up and litter picking has also been done, with weeding beds, tidying the poly tunnel, sorting out our pots and planting sunflowers. We want to say a BIG thank you to Stuart and Mrs Coan for helping us to move the bark.
Our session tonight took us outside to have a really good look at our growing area to see if there are any improvements that we could make, and to think of ideas of what else we would like our area to look like. We then went inside and drew our designs and ideas.
What a productive afternoon we had on 22nd January 2025. We got busy putting the membrane down on the area which we are creating for all in school to use. It will be a place where we can sit and relax and enjoy listening to birds, read books and chat to our friends. More garlic and onions were planted and the poly tunnel had a good tidy up. Well done Flower Pot Gang!
We are back!!! Happy New Year to everyone. The 15th January 2025 took us into our gardening area. It was a lovely, but cold afternoon. We filled up the bird feeders in preparation for the Big Big Watch that we are getting involved in, this half-term. Lots of the raised beds were weeded, ready for the potatoes to go in. Some of us started to sow the lettuce, and some of us did a bit of litter picking. It was great to be back.
We spent a lovely afternoon on Wednesday 18th December 2024, with our friends at the Fennyfold Allotment Society. They had a special treat in store, whereby we made Christmas wreaths. When we arrived, we all pulled crackers and had a good catch-up with our friends, and then it was off to the poly tunnel to get busy. Everyone did a super job of making their wreath. Afterwards, we were treated with refreshments. Thank you to Jean, Margaret and Mark for making our afternoon so special. On behalf of the Flower Pot Gang, may we take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone who has supported us in 2024, and we wish you all a very Merry Christmas.
The only dirty hands we had tonight was from pizza making! We had a great night making our tea. Mrs Taylor and Mrs Cumming surprised us with a pizza party. We were very excited. Our wonderful friend, Mrs Bracken, made us some cupcakes. They were yummy!
The Flower Pot Gang made sure that all our tools had had a good wash down, ready for next year. We learned the importance of why we need to keep our tools clean. After that, we filled up lots of bird feeders with seed, as the weather is getting extremely colder, and our feathered friends need a helping hand over winter.
Brrrrr! It was a really cold but lovely afternoon. We wrapped up warm and got busy in unwrapping the new log benches for the 'Prayer Garden'. The logs were very heavy, so Mr Tobin, our Site Supervisor, kindly came to help us. We all had a sit down on the benches and enjoyed the quiet time, listening to the birds. After that, we planted spring bulbs into planters and then hung a hanging basket near our friend, Tia's memorial bench.
On Sunday 17th November 2024, the Flower Pot Gang had a stall at the Parish's Gift Sale Day. The gang have worked exceptionally hard in preparation for this. We had lots of customers and we raised £93.00! Thank you to everyone who supported us. The money will be used to help the gardening club go from strength to strength.
Wednesday 6th November saw the Flower Pot gang getting busy in crafting, ready for the Parish Gift Day Sale on Sunday. They did willow weaving and made light-up bottles, along with wildlife friendly reindeer dust, ready for Christmas Eve. The Gift Sale is on Sunday 17th November at 12.15 pm, in the school hall. We hope to see you there.
The Flower Pot Gang have been really busy by making hanging baskets in our lovely, brand new poly tunnel. They learned how to position the plants, in order to have a full and flowing basket.
The Flower Pot Gang said a sad farewell to Mrs Barker, our school cook, as she sadly leaves us for a new venture. Mrs Barker has been wonderful in helping us with our composting and saving her egg shells, to stop the pesky slugs from eating our plants!! Mrs Barker has always been there to offer her help and assistance with our gardening club, and we will miss her tremendously. As a 'thank you,' we surprised her with a bunch of flowers, which made her cry. Good Luck, Mrs Barker. We wish you all the best.
After 2 years of hard work and dedication from 'The Flower Pot Gang,' they have earned the prestigious RHS Level 5 award. It is the highest reward that a school gardening club can get. The children were absolutely thrilled, and rightly so! Mrs Taylor & Mrs Cumming are so proud of these wonderful children.
On Wednesday 9th October, we carried on learning about cuttings. We took some ivy cuttings from Father Jospeh's garden. We planted them into pots, so that it can be used when we make some hanging baskets. Our composting area is coming along nicely, thanks to the help from Chris at the allotments, and we were excited to see that we have some broad beans growing.
The 2nd October 2024 was where we learned how to take cuttings, in order for us to grow more plants. We looked at rosemary and mint. Some of us were not particularly keen on the smell of them. We also found out how to take a cutting from the hydrangea plant. The last of our donated plants were put into our log bed area. It really is looking fab.
25th September 2024 saw the gang getting busy by planting cabbages, broad beans and carrots. There was still more weeding to be done, and the bug hotel had a tidy up. We also added some new plants to our lovely corner bed, which is looking really good. Well done everyone!
WE ARE BACK! It was so lovely to see everyone. We welcomed some new members to the gang, who worked very hard indeed. It was time to put our raised beds to sleep over winter, and there were lots of weeding to be done. We also put in some new plants. During the session, we got a wonderful surprise when some of our past members visited us, to give us a helping hand. It was so lovely to see them.
The Gardening Club and some of our local community came together on Sunday 21st July 2024, to welcome the Mayor of Padiham. He had heard all about our club and was eager to meet us all. Everyone helped us with our final harvest, and they took plenty of produce home with them. We received a lovely letter from Mrs Bracken. She told us that she had made a cheese and onion pie with the onions, garlic butter, garlic mushrooms and 2 pasta dishes with the garlic and she can't wait to make a chilli lasagne with the chilli plant that she bought from our plant sale. This is so lovely to hear that all the hard work that goes into the club is being appreciated by others.
17th July 2024 saw the last of our Gardening Club for this school year. In celebration of all the hard work, we had a picnic and some jelly that was made from our strawberries that we grew. After that, it was time for a balloon water fight. We had so much fun and got so very wet! It is, with sadness, that we will be saying good bye to 4 members, as they will be moving onto high school. We will miss their cheery smiles, sense of humour and all the input they have put into the club. We will miss them very much. Well done Flower Pot Gang for a successful year. Mrs Taylor & Mrs Cumming are looking forward to September, already. Enjoy your summer holidays. You have definitely earned it!
On Monday 8th July 2024, Louise from the Food For Life Soil Association came into our assembly to present the Flower Pot Gang with certificates in recognition for their growing skills. Afterwards, we took Louise on a tour of our growing area and showed her the new Prayer Garden project area. Louise was extremely impressed of all the hard work and effort that the gang have done, so far.
It was a drizzly Wednesday 3th July 2024, and we got wet! We managed to plant all the succulent plants that we got from Freshfields and enjoyed picking the strawberries and raspberries. In one of the new beds, we planted some courgette plants. We are all getting excited, as our new poly-tunnel is going to be put up on Monday. This will help us to grow plants and flowers from seeds. We can't wait!!
In order for us to gain our final award (Level 5) from the RHS, we have to learn about succulents and be able to grow them. Mrs Taylor visited Kathryn from Freshfields in Burnley who is extremely knowledgeable about these plants. We especially liked the succulent that they have nicknamed 'Shrek's Ear.' This did make us giggle.
A few more pictures of everyone getting stuck in for the new Prayer Garden.
There was lots of excitement today, 26th June 2024. The Flower Pot Gang are starting a new project alongside our Parish and wider community. We had a meeting with Mrs McKeating, Parish members and Jean, Chris and Margaret from the Fennyfold Allotment Society. The aim of the project is to create a beautiful, peaceful prayer garden in Father Joseph's back yard. After the meeting, everyone got stuck in to remove rubbish from the site. It was a scorching afternoon, and the Flower Pot Gang really enjoyed their ice-pop after the session. Well done EVERYONE for all the hard work that was done.
It was a perfect afternoon for gardening on 19th June 2024. The weeding certainly kept everyone busy! The potato bed was topped up with soil, and we planted tomato, sweetcorn and courgette plants. The strawberries and raspberries are coming on nicely. There was temptation to pick a few to eat, but they wouldn't taste very nice, so we'll just have to wait a little bit longer.
The Flower Pot Gang were so excited to visit the Fennyfold Community Allotments on the 12th June 2024. We visited in order for us to help out Jean, Margaret and Chris, who are part of our community. The tools were handed out, and we got busy preparing two beds, ready for putting in plants. When Jean gave the children chicken poo pellets to put on the beds, there were some unusual faces pulled by the gang! Oliver was quick to tell us that it was important for this, as it gives the plants nutrients to help them grow. The sweetcorn plants went in, and Jean explained that once they've grown and get their fronds on them, you have to shake them to help fertilize the plants. Jean then showed us how to make a wig-wam out of canes, and then we planted some bean plants. We were then shown a Kohlrabi plant which we had never heard of before. It was purple and quite unusual looking, and is part of the Brassica family. Jean cut one off and gave it to Rafael to take home. She said it is very nice grated on a salad. We had a great time and our visit passed by so quickly. Gardening Club are ever so grateful to Jean and her team. We have learnt so much from them.
On the last day of the half-term, Becky from Padiham Green came to collect her plants from our Plant Swap which we held earlier in that week. We gave her peppers and lemon plants. She was extremely grateful for them. We did this for our 'Food for Life' programme and for us to gain our Level 4 RHS award, which is working with the community.
A massive thank you to everyone who came to support our Plant Swap & Sale on 23rd May 2024. The 'Flower Pot Gang' did an amazing job! Mrs Taylor & Mrs Cumming could not be any prouder of the children, for their team work, energy and resilience. Well done, Gang!
15th May 2024 was a lovely session. We carried on preparing for our Plant Swap & Sale by making bird feeders out of plant pots and string. We melted lard and added bird seed to it, stirred it up then made the feeders. Some of us did not like putting our hands into the lardy mixture. Miley thought it was "yuck!" Just some last minute things to do next week, and then we can really look forward to our Swap & Sale. We really would love it if you could join us on the 23rd May 2024 at 3.30 pm
8th May 2024 saw us all busily preparing for our Plant Swap & Sale to be held on 23rd May 2024 at 3.30 pm. We really hope you can join us. We looked at, and discussed the plants that we had, decided how much we would like to sell them for, then made price signs to go with them. We also watered our raised beds, as we haven't had as much rain, like we have in previous weeks, plus they were in need of a good drink!
Wow! We never stopped tonight. Wednesday 23rd April 2024 saw the Flower Pot Gang get busy with planting the potatoes and strawberries, filling up the beds with soil and litter picking around the garden area. Mrs Miskell asked us if we would re-pot her spider plant, as it was needing some TLC. Oscar did a great job of doing this. The garden is appearing to come to life. We can't wait to see what offerings it brings us this year. ***There is no Gardening Club next week (1st May 2024) Mrs Taylor & Mrs Cumming are planning for the next half-term***
Over the Half-Term holiday, Mrs Taylor & Mrs Cumming came in to have a general tidy around the garden. It is looking beautiful, at the moment. The spring flowers are blooming and the crops are starting to grow. For the Flower Pot Gang to gain their Level 4 RHS certificate, we need to hold a plant/flower/vegetable sale. So on 17th April 2024, we got busy potting up, ready to sell. A date for the sale will be will follow shortly.
All hands were on deck on 13th March 2024. We finished planting the daffodil bulbs, ready to sell before we break up for the Easter Holidays. We planted coriander, parsley, carrots, peas, beets and sprout seeds and gave them a good watering. Our pepper seeds haven't sprouted yet, but our spinach is doing really well.
6th March 2024 saw us go back onto the Fenny to meet with members of our community, to help Jean from the Allotment Society plant more trees. We were on a roll! The amount of trees we got into the ground was amazing, thanks to the production line we got going. We even found a bombardier beetle, which Riley identified by looking in Oliver's garden book. The trees that we are planting will create habitats and restore biodiversity. We are all working together to tackle the climate crisis, and it's only with everyone doing a little bit to support that, we CAN make a difference. The new trees will create new habitats for wildlife including the red squirrel, song thrush and red kite. It will also help to reconnect people with nature, when they take a stroll on the playing fields, through this shared vision. Earth is not just an abstract concept; it's the heartbeat of our planet. Our young gardeners are pioneers in this green adventure, and what a legacy they are going to leave for future generations. Well done, team! On our walk back to school, we saw the wonderful Pendle Hill, in the distance, looking fantastic.
Unfortunately, we were unable to go and plant the trees on 28th February 2024, as it was cancelled, but there is always a plan B! We went into the garden and planted more daffodil bulbs. Some of the raised beds were filled with topsoil, and we got busy planting pepper and basil seeds. The garden area is coming on nicely, and we are so looking forward to see what Spring has to offer.
What a fantastic session we had on Wednesday 21st February 2024. Jean had asked if the Flower Pot Gang would like to help her plant over 300 trees on the Fennyfold. We always like to help our friends at the allotment, so we jumped at the chance to help. We set off, not realising just how muddy it was and Oliver got stuck in the mud and fell backwards!! Oh my goodness. He was covered in it!! We met up with Jean and Mark and they showed us how to plant the trees, and that's when we really got stuck in. Everyone worked extremely hard. Sometimes our buckets ended up rolling across the Fennyfold, due to the really strong wind, so some of us had to go and chase them. At least it didn't rain, which makes a change. At the end of the session, Jean asked if we would like to go next week to help her finish the planting. We were so excited to say YES! Jean sent a message to say that she was so glad that everyone enjoyed themselves, and what a lovely bunch we are. Mrs Taylor and Mrs Cumming said that they couldn't agree more. We were very proud of you all. Well done, team!!
Over the Half Term holidays, Mrs Taylor and Mrs Cumming came in to arrange the logs that they had foraged before Christmas into a seating area for all to use. Daffodil plants were put into the new raised bed, along with Spring bulbs. The bug hotel needed some TLC following the storms that we have had, and with some spare logs, they made a log pile for the insects to enjoy. It was a productive day and they certainly didn't need to go to the gym that night!!! 
February started off a bit disappointingly for the Flower Pot Gang. Even after 'gentle' reminders, some children were still running through our new, raised bed. However, we didn't dwell on in too much, as we were excited to fill it with plants that have been kindly donated to us from Towneley Garden Centre. We talked about how we should plant them, with the larger plants to the back, and the smaller ones to the front. Some of us did some composting and had a bit of a tidy around. The weather was perfect. It was cold, but there was no wind, no storms and even the sun made an appearance. What a lovely session to end our Half Term.
The last day in January was WET!!!! We got absolutely soaked wet through, but the weather didn't stop us. Mrs Taylor & Mrs Cumming were ever so proud of the team work shown in tonight's session. We still had our raised bed to fill with topsoil and we managed to finish it, ready for the plants to go in, next week. Oliver and Daisy got involved with the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch 2024, as did Mrs Taylor. Oliver said it was one of the best things he has ever done and enjoyed recording his findings.
Just before Christmas, Mrs Taylor and Mrs Cumming had been out foraging when they spotted some logs in the cemetery. Mrs Taylor rang Greenspace at Burnley Borough Council to ask permission for us to use them for gardening club. Roger was very helpful and said that it would be his pleasure to let us have them. With the help of Mr Cumming and Mr Kelly, we managed to collect them. It was extremely hard work!! The logs have been used to make a raised bed, with the others being used for a seating area. Some of the gang shovelled 1 tonne of topsoil to fill the raised bed, whilst the others re-potted the grasses and did some weeding. We worked extremely hard and we definitely earned our tea, tonight!!
The New Year brought some new members to the 'Flower Pot' Gang. We welcomed Benedict and Miley, and Oliver re-joined us after having a break. We got busy staining the euro pallets in preparation for planting in the Spring. There were quite a few daffodil bulbs left, so we planted them in pots. The ones we planted previously have started to pop through the soil. Roll on Spring!
22nd December 2023 saw the last day of school before breaking up for the Christmas holidays. We had a wonderful surprise from Year 2. Miss Hartley had bought a Christmas tree for the class, and they wanted to donate it to the gardening club. We said that we will re-pot it, nurture it and hopefully we will see it growing throughout 2024. Thank you Year 2. What a wonderful gesture.
14th December 2023 was our last gardening session. Mrs Taylor and Mrs Cumming had been out foraging for greenery, so that we could make some Christmas door hanging bouquets. Some of us found it rather tricky, but we didn't give up! We were very proud of our efforts.
Is it really December already? 7th December was a bit grey and cold, but there were still lots of jobs to be done. The strawberry runners were re-potted, ready to sell next year, the scarecrow was brought indoors. He really does need some TLC! More weeding was done and some of our beds were put to sleep for over the winter. Oscar found a snail and carefully added it to one of our bug hotels. The compost bins were fed with the weeds and some potatoes that were missed being harvested. There was quite a lot of rubbish in the garden area, from straw wrappers, so we collected it and put it in the bin. Everyone worked really hard tonight, but our 'Gardener of the Week' went to Oscar. He mucked in with EVERY job tonight. What a star!
Brrrr...it was an extremely cold night on 29th November 2023, but it didn't stop us getting out into the garden. We checked upon the bulbs we had planted. The garlic is coming on nicely, however, one of the onion beds became water-logged from all the rain we have had over the past few weeks, and we think they might have drowned. The brussel sprouts aren't doing as good as we thought. It looks like we've been having visitors that have taken a liking to them! We may get one or two, if we are lucky. We collected lots of leaves and sticks to construct our bug hotel, and we recycled our used milk cartons by putting them in the hotel, too. Heidi was our 'Gardener of the Week'. She did a great job in identifying the birds in the garden and could tell us all about the job of pollinators. After the session, we noticed the beautiful sunset. We all stopped and took a few moments to appreciate such beauty. Miss Daffodil & Miss Honey explained that gardening is not all about growing. It's about taking in the nature around us. What a lovely end to a lovely session.
On 22nd November 2023, we planted some daffodil bulbs, ready for Spring. As a treat, Miss Honey brought some biscuits for us. We really enjoyed them.
On 19th November 2023, Mrs Taylor and her big girl, Olivia, Mrs Cumming and Rafael attended the Parish's Gift Sale Day. We were delighted to have raised £55.50!! The money raised will be put towards much needed compost and seeds for the club. We are going to get our thinking caps on and hopefully have a Spring sale to raise some more funds to help the club. Thank you to everyone who supported The Flower Pot Gang. We really did appreciate it.
It was a busy, busy session on 15th November 2023. We made light-up jars, nature friendly reindeer dust and labels for our daffodil pots, ready to sell at the Parish Gift Sale on Sunday. Everyone got stuck in and had an enjoyable time.
8th November 2023 was a wet day, so we couldn't get into the garden. Instead, we did some willow weaving. We made wreaths and Christmas trees. At first, we thought it was quite tricky, but after a few attempts, we got the hang of it. A bit more practise, and we are sure they will look marvellous.
The sun was shining on Wednesday 1st November. We had a super time! The wild flower bed was weeded and put into the compost bin. We then watered the bins as they were a bit dry. Our raspberry plants gave us a nice, little crop. We couldn't help but eat a few that we picked. We decided to do an experiment with some of the potatoes that we harvested last half term. We want to find out if they will grow some new potatoes. Mrs Taylor told us that in gardening there are no mistakes, only experiments. Some 'lost' woodlouse that some of the gang found were put into our bug hotel. We hope they like their new home. The garlic that we planted has started to pop through the soil, as well as a couple of potato plants. After a general tidy up of the garden, we were all proud of our achievements, today. Our Gardener of the Week was George. He was keen as mustard and mucked in with everything. Last weeks Gardener of the Week was Scarlett. She was a super team player. Well done!
Wednesday 18th October 2023. It didn't rain today, but it was rather windy as storm 'Babette' was on its way. We collected the seeds from the sunflowers and wildflowers and put them in a pot, so then next year we can plant them. Our spring onions were harvested, which we sold during 'Enterprise Week', a few beds were weeded, and we fed 'Colin' the compost bin. Our bird boxes are up! Chris came to put them up and then we had go and find them. The first one was easy to find, but the second one was rather tricky. Eventually, we found it. We really hope that the birds will use our boxes. We'll keep you posted on this.
Wednesday 11th October 2024 was a damp, dreary day, but we didn't let it spoil our session. Chris, our friend from The Fennyfold Allotment Society visited us again. We learned about the different types of nest boxes and where the ideal location for them would be. Chris told us that they need to face in a north and east position. This is to avoid strong sunlight and harsh, wet winds. Chris also told us that the high up boxes for the blue tits need to be 4 metres high with an open flight path, so we chose spots without lots of small branches in the way. The robin nests need to be nice and secluded and about 2 metres high. Autumn and Winter are the best times to put up nest boxes as this is when birds are seeking homes to lay eggs. Miss Daffodil & Miss Honey explained to the children that natural nesting holes are rapidly declining for birds. Our woodland areas have fewer trees, and we have high volume of newly built house that lack little nooks and crannies for birds to nest in. With fewer homes to use for shelter and to raise their young in, there is now a decline in population for many of our feathered friends. Why don't you decide to put a nesting box up? By simply placing a nest box in an outdoor space, you will play an important, vital role in their survival. You will also be able to watch the fascinating lifecycle of birds! We also welcomed 2 new members who got stuck into helping plant onion and garlic bulbs. We managed to do some weeding and we dead-headed the sunflowers. The heads will be dried, and then we will use the seeds to feed the birds. Our 'Gardener of the Week' award went to Riley. The Flower Pot Gang said that he was a really good team player and he showed determination by not giving up. Well done Riley! Another busy session in the garden was had by all.
On 4th October, the garden club resumed. There were lots of jobs to be done in such a short space of time. Chris, our friend from The Fennyfold Community Allotments came to help us construct 2 protection canopies, to keep the birds from eating our crops. Some of the children did a sterling job at weeding some of the beds, but the highlight of the afternoon was when we harvested our potatoes!! The children were so thrilled and excited. They said "it's like digging for treasure!" This brought a lump to Mrs Taylor's throat. The children took some potatoes home and the rest were sold to staff, so that we can buy new potato seedlings, ready to harvest in Spring 2024. We had a very productive afternoon, with lots more jobs still to do.
