Mary Immaculate Star of the Sea - Key West Florida School » Green Team

Organic Garden Update

admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 02:25:16 +0000

Saturday was a true success! Katherine de Poo, a member of the community, with vast experience in organic gardening, Danielle Gould, 2^nd grade teacher and Green Team Club Leader, and Dawn Vincent, a parent at Mary Immaculate School, worked together to organize what will be an organic garden for the school. With the weather cooperating, several volunteers came out to help build 12 garden beds. There were children, parents, teachers, members of the community, as well as Father John and the Sisters working until the job was completed!

Some carried cement blocks in their hands, others pulled them on a dolly, and the Sisters balanced them on their heads. One way or another, all 216 blocks were carried to their destination. Twelve garden beds were constructed and leveled. Each bed received numerous layers of paper or cardboard as a base including the 432 holes in the cement blocks. Nutrient rich “jungle mix” soil was brought wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow until every bed was full.

Each class, from PreK-3 to 8^th grade plus one extra for the Sisters, will have their own garden. We owe a great deal of thanks to the Cub Scouts and Latitude 24 Recycling for their generous donations which helped make this idea a reality. Also, a big thank you to all the volunteers who spent their Saturday morning working for this cause. And finally, it has been a pleasure to help Katherine de Poo turn her dream into an actuality!

Green Team Updates

admin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:37:10 +0000

In early November, The Green Team took a field trip to deliver cell phone drop boxes and to post notices telling community members where to take unwanted cell phones. Cell phone drop boxes are now located at Mattheessens 4^th of July and Stay Fit Studio, as well as the MISS front office. Cell phones can be used, and working. In a few months, the boxes will be collected and sent to Absolute Recycling, a company that sends off the working cell phones to people in need, or, they will be recycled properly. In addition, The Green Team receives a small stipend per cell phone. Please spread the word about where your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and you can responsibly dispose of unwanted cell phones.

Please stop by the R4 Fair (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle & Rot) Saturday, November 14, 12:00 – 3:00, at the Key West High School. The Green Team will hold a bake sale exhibiting as little waste as possible, while selling baked goods. There’s a lot to do and see, including a “kids swap”. Kids can bring toys, books, and clothing to barter and trade with other kids. Check out the following website for more information:

http://www.keysglee.com/default/assets/File/KW_Recycling_Fair_2009_Poster.pdf

http://www.keysglee.com/default/index.cfm/news/r4-fairs-seeking-sponsors-educators-businesses-to-exhibit/

FYI: After Thanksgiving, The Green Team will hold meetings on Mondays, from 3:00 – 4:00.

Sign up for the Green Team

admin — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 03:50:38 +0000

THE GREEN TEAM

The Green Team is an after school club geared toward helping the environment. Students in this club are interested in “going green”. We concentrate on getting educated, spreading the word and then taking action. This club is active and interactive. The students participate in science experiments, online research, discussions, gardening, involvement in the school’s move toward recycling, as well as community outreach.

The Green Team will have meetings on Thursday from approximately 3:00 – 4:00 at Mary Immaculate School with Danielle Gould. (This first meeting on Sept 9th will be on Wednesday but will resume to Thursdays the following week) Your child must have a signed Internet Agreement form in order to participate. I recommend that you send a snack and drink for your child to have immediately after school. Please meet your child at the back of the school for pick-up. Permission Slips are available in the front office.

Students who join The Green Team will be asked to LEAD by example:

Learn – Educate - And – Do

Click here for Green Team Signup Form

Green Team End of Year Info

admin — Tue, 26 May 2009 22:09:57 +0000

Please consider the following when cleaning out your child’s used school supplies at the end of this year. First, you could donate them back to the school for the summer camp; second, you could donate them back to the school for next year’s art enrichment program; or third, you can check out crazycrayons.com and recycle your crayons with them. They also sell their recycled crayons that are packaged in earth-friendly wrappings.

Last chance to turn in your unwanted cell phones. The phones will be shipped at the end of the school year to absoluterecycling.com and will go to a worthy cause.”

The Green Team’s first community project for school year 2009 – 2010, is on September 19, 2009.

Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup

On September 20, 2008:

Thank you,

Danielle

Environmental Teacher to be Named

admin — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:56:48 +0000

The Monroe County Environmental Education Advisory Council is accepting nominations for its seventh annual Environmental Education Teacher Award. Nominees must hold a teaching certificate and teach in a private or public school in the county.
The award identifies outstanding teachers who use the environment as an integrating context for teaching. One teacher each of grade K-5 and 6-12 is selected annually for this honor. Nominees don’t have to submit paperwork. The winners get a plaque recognizing their work and $300 in cash.

We would like to nominate our second grade teacher, Danielle Gould for this honor.

Please help us nominate our Green Team Teacher here at Mary Immaculate.
Nominations can be emailed to Helen Crockett at:
tpbal@bellsouth.net
or mailed to:
Monroe County Environmental Education Advisory Council,
Attn: EE Teacher of the Year Award
P.O.Box 431656
Big Pine, FL 33043
Must be postmarked by May 4. Award winners will be announced in June.

Green Team Sponsors Earthman Concert

admin — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 14:15:32 +0000

We welcomed Monday with Lanny Smith, the Earthman, performing two fantastic concerts. Through his music and art he is helping to promote awareness for the environment. The first performance was geared toward the Pre-k through 3rd grade and the second for 4th through 8th grade. The children were invited to sing along and dance to various songs written by Lanny Smith. Among the songs were: H2O, Earthman’s Got the Blues, The Pledge Earth Anthem, Oh Oh Recycle, and Climate Crisis Jam. Children of all ages were invited onto the stage with him during part of each performance. Older grades were challenged a bit more with data to get them thinking more about the effects of not treasuring our natural resources…global warming. The Green Team also performed a skit, which stressed the value of “reduce, reuse, recycle”, and also focused on the importance of “rethinking”. Each of us needs to “rethink” how we use, purchase, throwaway, and recycle things.

We thank the Earthman for helping us prepare for Earth Day, which is April 22nd. Visit Earthman’s website for more information on his nonprofit project as well as music and video: www.earthman.tv

Click on our images to see larger picture.

Click HERE for SLIDESHOW.

Danielle Gould is the second grade teacher.

Earthman Concert 2009

admin — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:01:23 +0000

Earthman’s Visit to Mary Immaculate

admin — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 02:03:15 +0000

March 30, 2009
9:00 am	to	11:30 am

Earthman Lanny Smith is an award-winning environmental educator who reaches kids through contemporary music — including R&B and reggae — that speaks to adults too.

His multi-media performance planned for the Green Living Expo on March 28th is free to all, thanks to a sponsorship from Key West’s Saltwater Angler and Patagonia’s environmental fund.

The Earthman will be performing two different shows at our school for all to enjoy. Pre-K thru 5th grade at 9:00am and 6-8th at 10:30am. Parents please come out and enjoy this event with the kids.