Here's some information on this year's Outdoor Classroom Symposium. Last year's symposium was really fun, very educational, and was full of inspiration on how we can get our kids out in their natural world to learn hands on the lessons required at each grade level. I'm unable to attend this year but if you're a teacher or a parent that is interested in learning more, check it out! The PTA may even be able to pay your way!

http://www.eealliance.org/outdoor-learning-symposium

We had a super fun meeting last Thursday after school to make posters for

No Idle Awareness Week

Waste Free Lunch Days and

National Walk to School Day

We'll try to do more artsy projects, as you all seemed to really enjoy this. (And we'll plan more time next time!)

Our next meeting is before school on Thursday, 10/13 at 7:10am in the media center.

An email went out with the schedule of volunteers for No Idle Awareness Week.

I'm working on a schedule for helpers on Recycle Fridays, but in the meantime make sure your class is recycling as much paper and cardboard as possible! We recycled much less last week. I'll be posting our graph on the blog soon. We can do better!

We have more fun stuff on the horizon so check your emails and the blog. And for all you new Planet Patrollers, tshirts have been ordered! I hope to have them at the next meeting.

Thanks everyone! Hope you've been enjoying the great outdoors this weekend--it has been beautiful!!

2011-2012 Planet Patrol Gets Started!!

This morning was the first meeting of the 2011-2012 school year. We've got a great group--about 30 kids! Thank you to Laura Bango, Glynis Holihan, and Idit Ben-Simon for volunteering your early morning time to help with our first meeting!

After introducing ourselves we talked about CHOICES. We all make choices throughout our day that can help or harm the Earth. Here are some examples:

- whether to purchase something new or used

purchasing used or recycled keeps items out of the landfill

choosing not to purchase but to swap or use hand-me-downs saves natural resources

- checking packaging--is it recycled? is it recyclable?

- where to put our trash

putting it in the landfill is a last resort

recycling it keeps it in the flow and helps protect our air, water, and animals

In Planet Patrol this year we have some great opportunities to make a positive difference!

- In school: Recycle Fridays, No Idle Awareness Week, Waste Free Lunch Days, Walk to School Days, etc.

- In our community: cleaning up our parks, understanding how to protect wild animals and their habitats, planting trees and flowers to help with erosion or just to give back to the Earth

- In our homes: being a good example by leading our families in making Earth-friendly choices, like recycling, conserving water and energy, and more!

Wonderful team work (and patience!) was shown when we worked together to assemble 6 new recycling containers for bottles and cans.

They can be found now in the cafeteria, teacher lunch room, gym, and some teacher work rooms. Great Job!!

I will be sending out an email in the next week with some opportunities to help make posters for No Idle Awareness Week, a cool recycled-material card for Custodian Appreciation Day (they help us a lot with recycling at the school), and to remind you all of National Walk to School Day on Oct. 5. In the meantime, our next morning meeting will be Thursday, 10/13 so put that on your calendar!

If you have any questions or want to add something to the blog, just email me!

Thanks everyone! ~Mrs. Zegers