Tag Archives: Whole School Effort

Powell Day – ‘Work of Each for Weal of All’ in practice

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Hedge planting on Steep Common, building bat boxes to support bat conservation, designing illustrations for biodiversity boards to be installed on the Bedales estate and forging metal reinforcements for trenches in Ukraine are just some of the projects students and staff at Bedales Senior worked on together for Bedales’ Spring term community day, Powell Day, on Monday.
 
Powell Day, named after Bedales co-founder Oswald Powell, is one of three community days held throughout the year which celebrate key figures in the founding of the school and the current Bedales community with a ‘whole school effort’. The concept of a whole school effort was introduced in 1986 when Bedalians worked together to excavate and landscape the pond alongside the Sotherington Barn and it remains a key feature of community days, when students and staff practise the school motto – ‘Work of Each for Weal of All’ – by collaborating on a range of projects for the greater good.
 
On Monday, projects included cutting back and improving the area around the lake and Theatre, maintaining footpaths (including the footpath constructed on Badley Day 2018 which connects Dunhurst to the A3 footbridge), hedge planting both on-site and at Steep Common, and completing botanical studies for biodiversity boards to be installed around the estate. In the Sotherington Barn, students worked with visiting blacksmith Lucille Scott to forge 55 ‘log dogs’ which will be transported to Ukraine at the end of the month to reinforce trenches.

Old Bedalian Emma Cusworth, Director of Communications at the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market, returned to Bedales to talk to students about carbon offsetting, and students also heard from Nik Knight and Carolyn Hargreaves from the Hampshire Bat Group about the conservation of bats. In the Design workshop, students constructed over 50 bat boxes to support conservation. Ten were donated to the Hampshire Bat Group for sale on their charity stands and others will be installed around the Bedales estate to further increase the healthy bat population. Twenty bat boxes will also be available to buy at Bedales Reception for £25 each on a first come, first served basis.

A media team of students captured and edited footage throughout the day and shared a video with students and staff at an assembly which celebrated the achievements of the day.  

See more photos from Powell Day below:

Garrett Day celebrations

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On Wednesday, staff and students came together for the inaugural Garrett Day. As Badley Day and Powell Day do, Garrett Day gave us a valuable opportunity to work together in a ‘whole school effort’, practising the school motto – ‘Work of Each for Weal of All’ – while working on a range of projects to improve the outdoor environment at Bedales and beyond.
 
This year’s projects saw Outdoor Work BAC students dismantle an old chicken hut in preparation for replacing it with a new timber framed building as part of their BAC and timber framing enrichment next year, while others dug foundations for a field shelter on the field by the Roman Road. As well as litter-picking, baking, wool sorting and weeding ten wheelbarrows worth of thistles in the meadow between ODW and Art & Design, students volunteered at Steep Primary, where they moved an existing chicken coop, re-fixed four existing fence posts and installed six new ones, installed approximately 20 metres of chicken wire, and built and provided a gate.

Block 5 student Raph, who volunteered at Steep Primary, said: “We spent our time digging and placing posts, followed by lining the perimeterwith chicken wire and creating some doors as a way in and out. It was an enjoyable and rewading day, and worth the effort we put in.”

Global Awareness sessions sparked enlightening discussions on diversity (read more about the sessions below), while the Parents’ Day Exhibition began to take shape in the Art & Design Building, rehearsals for the Summer Production and Parents’ Day Concert were in full swing in the Theatre and Lupton Hall, enthusiastic games of Flag Football were played out on the Steephurst pitches, and students practised their calligraphy skills in the Memorial Library and visited Dunannie to read to our youngest pupils.

Block 5 student Ava said: “On Monday I took part in Garrett Day, starting in a ‘whole school effort’, litter-picking around the campus. The weather wasn’t great so I was kitted out with wellies and waterproofs. Later, I dug the foundations for the field shelter with Clive and Al. It was a good hands-on project, and I enjoyed getting messy in the mud. After lunch, we watched the Head Student Team’s Assembly, where we voted for next year’s Head Student Team. I then went to play Flag Football on Steephurst pitches – this was great fun and enabled me to play sport with other year groups and get to know them better. Finally, I went to paint the Pavilion and did some pond clearing on Boys’ Flat. Garrett Day was a fantastic opportunity to enjoy the campus and work together outside timetabled lessons.”