A SCHOOL has received a cash injection to improve and extend its Millennium Garden thanks to a former council chairman.
Jason Hails of Hollinsclough was the chairman of Staffordshire Moorlands District Council between May 2011 and May 2012.
During his term of office he raised funds for several charities.
Last week Mr Hails visited St John’s School in Wetley Rocks to present it with a cheque for more than £530 to spend on improvements to the school’s Millennium Garden.
Deputy headteacher Justin Clarke, said: “We are extremely grateful to Mr Hails for donating some of his fund to our Millennium Garden Awakes project.
“It will help us to make our garden a true learning and reflective area for the benefit of each and every child in our school.
“Mr Hails was kind enough to visit our school and was able to see first hand where the money will be spent.
“The children and staff very much enjoyed him attending our assembly and all really appreciate his generous contribution.
“The children felt that they wanted the Millennium Garden to be a more focused area of reflection.
“As such they have said that, as a sign of our Christian ethos, they would like a large cross placing in the garden.
“We were discussing this at Eco Club, but as yet have not decided upon the best medium for the cross.”
Mr Clarke said pupils had also asked that The Lord’s Prayer and some pertinent bible verses,perhaps from the gospel of St John, be placed into the garden in weatherproof signage form, too.
Pupils would also like the garden to become better suited to being an outdoor learning environment and classroom.
Mr Clarke added: “The school’s biggest long-term project is to build what we are referring to as a ‘Hobbitat’ – simple but effective building set next to our playground and looking out over the valley.
“We hope that this would have a turfed roof so that it blends in well and has a ‘fantasy’ feel to it.
“We hope that it will be big enough to house groups of children so that it too can be used as a useful learning environment. Any monies we don’t spend on the Millennium Garden will be put into the Hobbitat fund.”
