Whole School Events
Academic Year 2023/2024
St Mark’s Cleans Shelton – Tuesday 20th February 2024
On Tuesday 20th February, pupils, parents and staff took to the streets of Shelton to help clean up our wonderful community. The school council informed leaders that they were upset at the volume of litter being dropped or discarded around the school and in the near vicinity.
Armed with litter pickers, bin bags and gloves around 40 children and parents along with Mr Nicholls, Mrs Bradbury and Mrs Goodwin all spent the afternoon litter picking. A whopping 19 bin bags full of rubbish were collected and we were all amazed at items that were found, ranging from discarded cigarettes to coats and even a rug!
The children of St Mark’s desperately want to help clean up Shelton and so with the support of parents plan to do this regularly. The School Council would also like to take this to the Orchard Community Trust student council to see if this is something the other schools would be interested in doing for their school and maybe a joint initiative – The Orchard Community Trust cleans up Stoke-on-Trent.
Our vision is to make a difference to the world we live in and what better way than to start by looking after our wonderful Shelton community.
Reverend Gill Visits St. Mark’s Primary School – Thursday 30th November 2023
On Thursday 30th November, Reverend Gill led our whole school worship in the school hall. The theme for worship was on equality, which is our school value for this half term. It was wonderful to have worship led by a member of St Mark’s Church ministry team.
Year 5 and 6 Children Read the First 4 Chapters of St. Mark’s Gospel at St. Mark’s Church – Thursday 30th November 2023
At the request of Reverend Gill, Year 5 and 6 children from St. Mark’s Primary were invited to read the first 4 chapters of St. Mark’s Gospel at St. Mark’s Church. The children were very brave, standing up in front of their classmates and delivering their lines with confidence and clarity. Well done to everyone who took part!
Coffee Morning – Tuesday 24th October 2023
Termly coffee mornings are held for parents and both Reverend Gill and Reverend Catherine attend these too. These mornings are an opportunity for the parents to talk freely to the Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher and other staff members as well as the pupils sharing projects they are working on within school. It is also important for members of the Church to connect with the community too.
Big Breakfast – Wednesday 4th October 2023
This year’s Big Breakfast was in aid of supporting those who have been affected by the catastrophic flooding in Libya. So many families and friends came to enjoy breakfast together and as a result we raised almost £300. This autumn, all the profits from this breakfast will be given to the British Red Cross charity who are raising funds to support those affected by the flooding in Libya.
Harvest Appeal – Autumn Term 2023
At St Mark’s, we strive to support our local community and those less fortunate than ourselves. For this year’s harvest, pupils and their families kindly donated food to the local Foodbank. All donations have been collected and gratefully received.
‘On behalf of Stoke-on-Trent foodbank, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your generous donations in 2023. In 2022, we fed 20709 people which this is the most we have ever fed in a year. We couldn’t do it without your support and donation. THANK YOU. We will use your donation to help feed the people who are hungry in Stoke-on-Trent.’
Urban Wilderness – Tuesday 12th September 2023
Through Under One Roof, Year 5 were invited to work with a local photographer from Urban Wilderness, to capture the beauty of our Church. The pupils were taught how to use a digital camera and be creative in capturing the history that the church holds.
Under One Roof is a community heritage project based in and around St Mark’s Church in Shelton Stoke on Trent. The aim of the project is the restoration and conservation of this important Victorian building.
Come and take a look!
Under One Roof - St Mark's by Urban Wilderness
Academic Year 2022/2023
St. Mark’s Social Action Project
The St. Mark’s social action project is taking practical steps to make a positive change around our local area. Our Eco and school councillors have taken up the challenge, by choosing an area of our school to try and attract wildlife to. With this challenge in mind, the children were split into three groups to think about how they would achieve this goal and then each group gave a presentation of their ideas. As a joint council, it was decided to support birds, bugs and bees by using recycled materials to make a bug hotel and a bird feeder. North Staffordshire bee association visited our school and eco councillors, to explain the benefits of the pollination process and the importance of bees for our environment. They also discussed the significance of growing plants to sustain the bee population. From this children are now going to plant more plants, make bug hotels for the bees and small pond areas around the playground.
The Greening Project
Year 1 and Year 5 have been participating in the Greening Project, supporting Festival Stoke in making a Community Garden for the churchyard. We have grown our own vegetables from seed which have then been planted in the new planters. We have also created a bug hotel, a composter covered in our portraits and decorated the area with bunting which we designed and painted using resist techniques. Finally, we got to taste some of our produce and looked at how vegetables can be used in more unusual items like chocolate cake. Delicious!
Alice in Wonderland
We are thrilled to announce the resounding success of our school’s Drama Club production of “Alice in Wonderland”! The stage came alive with the children’s enchanting performances, transporting our audience into the fantastical world of Lewis Carroll’s beloved tale.
We extend our deepest thanks to the talented and dedicated children who poured their hearts and souls into their roles, bringing the characters to life with brilliance and passion.
We would also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the parents for your unwavering support and commitment to the Drama Club. Your encouragement and involvement have been instrumental in making this production a tremendous achievement. Together, we celebrate the magic of theatre and look forward to nurturing more creativity and talent in our school’s future endeavours. Bravo to all involved!
St. Mark’s Greening Project
During the spring and summer term, years 1 and 5 took part in the Greening Project, with St Mark’s Church, which aims at making our local area more inviting to the local community.
Initially, we planted lettuce, spinach, beetroot, spring onions and herbs. These have now outgrown their plant pots and were transferred to the community garden in the Church. This week, we also planted onions and potatoes. Well done to both year groups for showing such enthusiasm for our community. We look forward to harvesting them in the autumn term.
Our King Charles III Coronation Breakfast
As part of King Charles’ III forthcoming coronation at Westminster Abbey, we celebrated in true
St. Mark’s style with a breakfast fit for a king.
Click the play button to watch our video:
Location
Main Primary Site
St. Mark's CE Primary School
Wood Terrace, Shelton
Stoke on Trent, ST1 4LR
Nursery Class
Within Thomas Boughey
Children's Centre
College Road, Shelton
Stoke on Trent ST4 2DQ
Links
