Global Neighbours
At Alpington we know that we are global citizens, neighbours to people across the world. As we live out our Alpington values, we want to do our part in creating a more peaceful, more just world. We are thinking about the impact of our actions on others in our school, our local community and in places across the world. In the words of Gretta Thunberg “No one is too small to make a difference.”
We are working towards a “Global Neighbours” accreditation from Christian Aid. You can read more about the project here. christianaid.org.uk/get-involved/schools/global-neighbours-accreditation-scheme
We have a school council committee who are responsible for leading discussions and taking their ideas and learning back to their classes. They began by meeting with Mrs Eland to create a Global Neighbours Prayer.
Our vision and values mean Alpington and Bergh Apton strives to be an anti – racist school.
Anti-racism is the work of actively opposing racism by advocating for changes that promote racial equity in society.
“An antiracist idea is any idea that suggests the racial groups are equals in all their apparent differences.”
This means we:
- Actively promote anti racist ideas and policies through our vision and values, policies, relationships and teaching.
- Call out and challenge racist language, ideas, attitudes and behaviour wherever we find them.
- Talk about equality, diversity and inclusivity with all our children from reception to year 6.
- Work to ensure our curriculum, reading materials, display and resources reflect our community locally, nationally and as part of our global family.
This is a commitment by our whole school community, Governors, staff, church and children.
We are surrounded by racial inequity, as visible as the law, as hidden as our private thoughts. The question for each of us is: What side of history will we stand on?
We can knowingly strive to be an antiracist……. being an antiracist requires persistent self-awareness, constant self-criticism, and regular self-examination.
How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi.
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5 vs 14 – 16
On the vision and ethos page Vision and ethos – Alpington
“By living out our values in faith, love and action our own lights shine brightly, and we enable others to shine too.”
Our Collective worship theme this term is “Alpington Connected!” Thank you for all the pictures for our display. We have loved exploring the ways our families, friends and teachers are connected to people and places all across the world. It has led to some great discussions about how places are the same and different, and what life is like for people in different parts of the world.
Our Global Neighbours Team have been challenging us with big questions each week. We then meet to see which questions we can answer and what action we can take.
Big School Sleepover 2024 – Friday 7th June
The Global Neighbours wanted to do something about homelessness, so we have just hosted our Big School Sleepover 2024.
When we got back to school around 6pm on Friday, we put our bedding and bags in the hall and went to play on the field. Mrs Eland lit a mini campfire in a colander and we roasted marshmallows to make S’mores then some of us played a game of rounders.
After rounders, Mrs Welch made us all hot chocolate before we got undressed and brushed our teeth. As we settled into our sleeping bags, we started to watch the film, Migration.
When it was time to sleep, we put the film off so we could watch the end in the morning and gradually, everyone fell asleep.
In the morning, we read our books for a while until the sun was actually above the horizon and then we watched the end of the film. At 6 o’clock we started to get dressed and pack our things before having bacon butties, croissants, toast or cereal for breakfast. After breakfast, we played on the field until being collected.
Thanks to your kind donations and Gift Aid, we have raised around £500, so far, for YMCA Norfolk. The Global Neighbours are planning to invite the YMCA to come and talk to the whole school about their work and what else we might be able to do to tackle the issues facing young homeless people.
We would not have been able to hold our sleepover without our adult volunteers, so a great big thank you to Mrs Welch – for empowering the Global Neighbours to organise the sleepover and for staying the night, to Mrs Powter Robinson and Mrs Fisher – for helping us get set up and staying until we started to fall asleep, and to Mrs Blazer and Mrs Petch who got up very early to come to school and cook us breakfast.
Aimee, Evie, Finley, Frankie, and Rudy
(Global Neighbours Team)
Well done and thank you to everyone who attended, donated or supported our sleepover. The children were impeccably behaved which meant we had a great time, got some sleep and raised money for an important cause.
Mrs Eland
April 2024
Community litter picking
Our Global Neighbours committee met this week and are organising a half termly litter pick around our village. We know how important it is for local wildlife to keep our community clean and free of plastic waste. If you are able to come and help, please email the school council on schoolcouncil@alpington.norfolk.sch.uk .
By keeping our school and village free from litter we are making a little contribution to the much bigger problem of waste across the world.
Banksy Posters
After learning about how Banksy uses art to make a statement and get people thinking, we have made posters about things we care about.
Week Beginning 4.3.24
This week we have made a video thinking about the things that we want to stand up for. You can watch it here!
Our Alpington reporters have been reporting on our research into Palm Oil and it’s impact on the environment and people in Indonesia. You can read their report here.
Week beginning 12.2.24
“Is there enough food in the world for everyone?”
This week we have been thinking about how our food connects us to the outside world. We started by reading “There’s a Rang -Tan in my bedroom”. You may remember learning this poem when you were in KS1 during lockdown – the video is here for you to watch again!
Some children have made posters and information Power Points to raise awareness of how we can use our choices to support the production of sustainable palm oil and fairly traded chocolate. More to come on this over the coming weeks!
Week beginning 29.1.24
“Is money the answer to everything”
We talked about how money connects us to others around the world when we buy things that are grown or made in other parts of the world. We talked about how we can make a difference to the world in what we spend our money on. Examples the children came up with were how not buying Russian oil or choosing fair trade tea and coffee.
We had a whole school debate about if money was the answer to everything. We had lots of really interesting ideas.
“Money straight away means that there is rich and poor”.
“You have to have money to pay for the things that you really need, like a house and food”.
“You can’t buy a family or your friends”.
“Some things are worth more than money, like memories”.
“How do we decide who is rich or poor anyway?”
“If you had all the money in the world nothing would be a treat anymore and there would be nothing to look forward to. It wouldn’t make you happy”.
If you haven’t got enough money it makes people sad and causes arguments”.
Week beginning 22.1.24
“How can we check that what we read online is true?”
Some of the questions really made us think! Our Global Neighbours Team created some posters to help us think about how we can check what we are reading is true.
