Students at St. Charles College were recently entertained by the Mindil Beach Markets. The band which hails from Victoria, B.C. is travelling the country educating youth about environmental concerns so they can preserve the planet for generations to come. They use both song and a presentation to engage the students. The band has been in Sudbury all week performing at high schools.
Category: Environmental Education
St. David School Celebrates Earth Day!
On April 22, 2013 the students in Mrs. Cimino’s grade 1 class participated in hands on educational Earth Day activities. During the activity centres, the students made Earth Day necklaces as a reminder to keep our earth clean and healthy. They read the book “The Lorax” and discussed what can happen if we do not take responsibility for the care of our planet.
St. David Catholic Elementary School students participate in a school wide recycling program, composting program and vermi composting program.
Next Friday, the grade one students and their fellow St. David classmates will be participating in the community clean up along Jean Street, Frood Road and Dupont Street. “The students had a wonderful day learning about the importance of maintaining a healthy environment while having fun and participating in activities that engaged their minds and kept them physically active. As a class, we have really focused on healthy living and environmentally friendly actions. The students continue to be committed to caring for their environment and making choices that improve and support the positive development of their community”, states Maria Cimino, grade 1 teacher at St. David School.
St. David School is now Idle Free
On Earth Day 2013, the students and staff of St. David Catholic School launched an “Idle-Free Campaign” in partnership with the Earth Care Sudbury. An idle free school is one where all non-moving vehicles on school property do not have their engines running. Parents waiting for their children will keep their engines off. Studies by Health Canada and community health departments show a direct, significant link between air pollution and respiratory health. When a vehicle is idling it releases more carbon dioxide than when it is moving.
St. David School, with support from Jennifer Babin-Fenske, Earth Care Sudbury, thought it appropriate to launch the Idle -Free Campaign on April 22 – Earth Day. The school’s student led Green Team discussed the importance of having an idle free area by their school as well as other earth day campaigns active in the school community. According to grade 3 student, Alyssa Gasper, “the pollution from cars affect the plants and animals and our health in negative ways”.
Megan Murphy, school vice principal assisted the students in posting Idle-Free signs and banners throughout the school. “Our students are genuinely concerned and active in caring for our environment not only on Earth Day, but throughout the year. Our students are passionate about educating their peers and family members about the importance of being environmentally conscious.”
St. Charles Elementary Celebrate Earth Day
Students at St. Charles Elementary engaged in literacy-based activities for Earth Day 2013, to increase awareness and share what they have learned about Stewardship with others. Mrs. Maxwell’s student council members chose the activities for the day based on submissions by students.
Primary students were treated to a read aloud by fellow student Connor Mackey, who read The Tree. To go with the story, students created the ‘Tree’s Song’ and discussed what they can do to help the Earth!
Older students read Imagine a Place, and created their own page of an e-book that will be shared with the school once complete.
Thank you to Mrs. Maxwell and her council for organizing such a rich day for our students!
Earth Day is Everyday at Pius XII Catholic Elementary School
Everyday is Earth Day at Pius XII Catholic Elementary School! Throughout the school year students, staff, parents and community partners have been involved in many ongoing environmental projects. Pius XII students continue to have garbage free lunch days, collecting old and used batteris, cellphones, ink cartridges, and juice pouches. This month, Pius XII students have begun planting Cosmos and Morning Glory flowers that will be donated to Minnow Lake Restoration group, who will then plant them in the surrounding Minnow Lake Area. The Grade 5 class is the school’s Dearness Conservation Lead Team and came up with the idea of reusing yogurt containers from Tasty Tuesdays as a mini-pot to plant the seeds and giving back the flowers to brighten up the community. A special thank you goes out to John Lindsey, Chair of Minnow Lake Community Action Network and President of the Minnow Lake Restoration Group and Dominique Viau for their generous donation of seeds.
St. David School Green Team Prepare for Upcoming Earth Day
In preparation for Earth Day 2013, the grade 3 Dearness Conservation “Green Team” at St. David Catholic School spent the morning creating environmentally themed buttons with the help of Lesley Comyn Lippold of Lellyrella. Lesley Comyn Lippold is a local entrepreneur and environmental mentor to the St. David “Green Team”.
For over a decade, Sudbury Catholic Schools has been aggressively working on numerous Energy Conservation projects and initiatives to maximize efficiencies, including the Dearness Conservation program. The aim of the DC program is to involve students and staff in efforts to reduce the ecological footprint of their schools. The St. David School “Green Team” is a large group of students that work as a leadership team throughout the year to promote DC green initiatives and help build a healtheir and greener St. David School community.
The students, under the leadership of Ms. Comyn Lippold and their classroom teacher, Terri Lynn Lepage, created buttons with messages about saving electricity by shutting the lights off, the importance of daily composting & recycling, and eating foods that come in their own natural packaging such as fruits and vegetables.
Some student favourite themed messages included “Lettuce be Green”, “May the Forest be with You” and “Don’t drop the Ball”.
These buttons will be distributed to students at St. David School in grades JK to 8 who are “Caught Being Green” during the month of April in celebration of Earth Day and in promotion of the school’s Dearness Conservation initiatives.
Collected 2, 286 and still counting….
The Grade 5 ‘Dearness Conservation’ students at Pius XII Catholic Elementary School are collecting used batteries that the students have brought in as part of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board Environmental Policy, “Catholic education is to encourage students and staff to develop respect for the environment and become committed to the wise use of resources” as well as promote and foster “the concept of the stewardship of the earth.” Classroom teacher, Amanda Schiafone, states the importance of the program at the school. Schiafone says that ‘our school participates in many activities/events throughout the school year, such the ‘3 R’s’, energy conservation, litterless lunches and many more, however, I am very impressed with all the support from students and parents from our battery recycling collection’. To this date, the students at Pius have brought in 2,286 batteries! The students will continue collecting batteries until June 1st.
Students at St. Charles Catholic Elementary School Collect Pine Cones for Wild at Heart Animal Refuge Centre in Lively
The students at St. Charles Catholic Elementary School have collected thousands of pine cones this year to support the Wild at Heart Animal Refuge Centre in Lively. The centre needs the pine cones to feed some of the smaller animals in the winter. These caring students collected these cones in the fall as a part of their Dearness Conservation “Direction” challenge (East Eagles, South Turtles, West Buffalos and North Bears). Students were asked to try to each bring in 1 closed pine cone, which would be 330 pine cones for the Centre. The response was overwhelming as some students brought in hundreds of cones each! “What a great response by our students,” stated Laura Stirrett, vice principal of the school. “The virtue of the month for January is responsibility – and we are so proud of our students for recognizing that is all of our responsibility to take care of the earth and all of its inhabitants!”
PIus XII Students Celebrate National Tree Day
Pius XII Catholic School, Grade 5 class celebrate National Tree Day on September 26th. The students in the Gr.5 class lead the school in ‘Dearness Conservation’ initiatives that support, promote and foster stewardship fo the earth and the wise use of resources; such as recycling, reusing and reducing. Classroom teacher, Amanda Schiafone says that “National Tree Day is a day when everybody can appreciate the great benefits that trees provide us – clean air, wildlife habitat, reducing energy demand and connecting with all of nature around us.”