On May 7th, Shaftesbury held  its first Community Day, where students were able to give back to our local community and engage  in social action. 

With the fantastic support of Timegivers Charity ( https://www.timegivers.com)

and their amazing volunteers, students took part in 3 exciting projects: art (designing a mural which will be put up in our playground later in June), regeneration of one of our garden spaces (where students planted over £1000 of donated plants) and litter picking in the streets near the school, supported by Harrow Litterpickers (http://harrowlitterpickers.co.uk)

The day offered our students hands-on opportunities which they might not necessarily normally get the chance to experience, it helped build resilience, trust, teamwork and an understanding of what belonging to a community means, whilst at the same time providing meaningful learning both inside and outside the classroom.

All who took part thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Quotes from those who took part reflected this:

"It was an uplifting day and such a positive experience for everyone. Just shows what young people with disabilities can do if given the chance.  Member of staff"

"It was just so fantastic and I am still reeling from the excitement of it all and wanted to say thank you so much for allowing us the privilege of being able to work in Shaftesbury High School with such a lovely community of people, all dedicated to giving the children a real chance in life.You allowed us to provide meaningful volunteering opportunities to children who really appreciated it, and their energy and enthusiasm was apparent throughout the school. We couldn't be more grateful and we feel very privileged to be working with you. Kate Deighton the Founder of Timegivers"

Yr 8 Meena "I made a sparkly lake"

Yr 9 Max " I got to draw my football club badge on the mural

Year 8 Navid " I designed the H for Harrow"

Abdul 6th Form " This morning is excellent"

Toriko 6th Form " I think it is best to do something like this when you know the local area"

Year 9 student " We should be litter picking every week!"

Mohameed 6th Form "Roots away...."

Year 9 Salma " I enjoyed the microplastics and helping the environment"

Year 9 Edward " I enjoyed the litter picking and the fresh air"