Here are the highlights of year 6 Bovey Tracey Primary School student Joe Burgess on his 2019/2020 Torbay and Devon Civic Award.
Active Citizenship in the Community
Peer Mediating
In the school I am a peer mediator, I peer mediate every Monday with Joe F and Seb. At our school most children are well behaved so this can mean the job can be VERY boring. Peer mediating is when someone has an isssue or a problem that you have to solve with discussion. When we find a person with a problem we take them down to a quiet room and chat to them about it.
Buddies
I have a budddy his name is Dylan he is a small boy with long blonde hair and a smiley face. He is very sociable
School Council
I am a school council member, we discuss issues and ideas from different chldren and how we could improve the school. We are currently raising money for the school field to create a pond in the nature area. I enjoy being a school council member because it is fun and I feel like we achieve positive changes in the school.
Climate Group
I am an active member of the school climate group. I have created recycling points in classrooms, raised money to help animals that were affected by the Austrailian fires. The school nominated me for the Environment Agencys Environmental Champion and I got through to the final which was being held in Birmingham. I prepared a presentation but unfortunatley it was cancelled due to Covid-19.
Gardening Club
Gardening club happens at 12.30 to 1.30 when we potter around the garden and try to make our school always lovely. Recently we entered the Bovey in Bloom competion, which is a competion to judge the schools flowers and the condition they are in. I like gardening club because it is nice to have some fresh air and I enjoy being outside with nature.
We grew wildflower seeds in plugs to plant out in verges in Bovey Tracey for the town council get Bovey Buzzing campaign.
Active Citizenship in the Local Community
This winter I spent three days clearing back scrub at the Devon Wildlife Trust Bradley Ponds nature reserve. We cut back the vegetation that was growing over areas that are good for wildflowers and to create basking areas for reptiles and allow more light to reach the ponds.
Bovey Tracey Town Council Environment Champion
I was really proud to be nominated by the school for the Bovey Tracey town council Environment Champion which I won! I had my photo in the paper and I will attend an award ceremony later in the year.
Active Hobbies
Archery
In my garden I take part in the sport archery. It is fun and competitive when I challenge my friends and parents. I am quite good at it since I have been doing it for 4 years
Climbing
I love to climb and I am very good at climbing as I have been doing this since I was very small. I do indoor and outdoor climbing, we do indoor climbing at the Quay Climbing centre in Exter and I do outdoor climbing on nearby rock faces at Chudleigh and Dartmoor.
Shooting
In my garden I shoot with my air rifle it is a Webley. I shoot lead pellets from the gun it has a scope and a protector. It is really fun and competitive but is quite dangerous, so I always crack the barrel when I see a person in range and only shoot with my dad.
Swimming
Every Sunday I go to Newton Abbot swimming club and swim for one hour as I am completing my Stage 7 before I move up to squad. I have won a number of swimming races as I like to swim competitively. I won the 2019 swimming gala 10 year old boy trophy in 2019. I love swimming because it is an easy way to keep fit and is a key life skill.
Paddle Boarding
Pumping up a paddleboard is hard work but it is worth it. I enjoy exploring the sea and snorkelling from the end of the board.
Skimboarding
I have been skimboarding for two years its good fun and you don’t get too wet and cold.
Running
regularly run four miles in Parke Estate the longest run I have been on is seven miles, the hardest run was to Haytor and back.
I came third out of year five boys in the cross country run at school in 2019.
Skateboarding
I am learning to skate board I can manual, turn the board, half a kick flip and go up and down a big slope/ramp.
Non Active Hobby
Airfix Modelling
I enjoy making airfix models mainly planes. I love putting them together and painting them.
Cooking
I really enjoy cooking and regularly cook cakes. I have also cooked meals for the family the latest meal was a starter of prawn cocktails, sticky Chinese Shitake mushrooms and rice as a main, and beetroot brownies for pudding.
Art
I love to draw and have tried water painting but I particularly like to draw cartoons.
Adventure Training
I am a member of Bovey Tracey Scout Group and have been on Scout camps with my group.
I also attended the Heatree residential in Year 5.
Our family holidays and weekends are very active they usually involve climbing, mountaineering, via ferrata, surfing, snorkelling, cliff jumping, paddle boarding and canoeing.
Charity
My chosen charity is Southwest Childrens Hospice
This May me and my friends, Joe Frayling, Josh Lockwood and Seb Hawkins were meant to take part in the Exmoor Challenge which is a 16 mile walk across Exmoor without supervision. To prepare for this we went on a number of long walks and learnt to map read and navigate. Unfortunately because of Covid 19 the challenge was cancelled.
However, we still plan to carry out our walk by walking 18 miles along the Templer Way when it is save to do so. We are raising money on Just Giving and have raised £125 so far. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/boveytraceyprimaryboysteam
