Our Rowayton School Green Team has already been busy at work in 2019! Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, February 26th at 10am in the cafeteria. We hope you can join us! For those that haven't been able to attend our meetings, there are a few projects that can be done remotely, so please let me know if you are interested (searching online school databases for relevant videos, etc). For more information, please email Andrea Gottlieb at ahgottlieb@gmail.com.
Changes to Norwalk's Recycling Rules for 2019:
Please click this link for Norwalk's updated What's in/What's out recycling list, as it has changed again. Signs will be posted around schools and in classrooms to educate all of our staff and students on what can be recycled.
Plastic Bag Ban - if you didn't already hear, the City of Norwalk has officially passed the ban on plastic bags - it will take effect on July 8th of this summer: https://patch.com/connecticut/norwalk/decision-reached-plastic-bag-ban-norwalk
Skip the plastic has started a collection for reusable bags in several sites that will be used in local food pantries, etc - if you have some that you no longer want or need please consider donating. Collections sites in town are at the library and at the Methodist church - for more sites please see this link: https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/916a7e_a2e2543324c74597a2ccc135ca316545.pdf I am talking with Betty Ball about a school wide bag design contest that they may run - stay tuned for more information on that.
Earth Day Art Project:
To celebrate Earth Day (Monday, April 22, 2019), the Green Team is working on another school-wide Upcycle Art Project with our very talented visual arts teacher, Mrs. Amanda Antunes. We are collecting CLEAN caps/lids from bottles and jars to help create a large-cap mosaic that will be unveiled after Earth Day. Collection buckets have been placed outside of each classroom, and we will collect cap/lids until Monday, April 1st.
We ask that you please do not include tops from any peanut-related items. Any unused caps will be recycled at the end of the project.
Composting:
We will be initiating a Composting Project in March/April - stay tuned for details. In the interim, there is a new sign up genius for the cafeteria in April, if you are interested in assisting with this effort: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0c4dada62ba0f58-cafeteria1.
Recycling Education in the Classroom:
Our Staff Liaison, Abby Maxwell, is working with out staff to help replace disposable water bottles with reusable water bottles. Abby is also going to ask the staff member to start showing clips of recycling, composting and other sustainability videos. She could use some help from someone to search the database for appropriate content - K-2 and 3-5. If anyone has some time and would like to help the staff with this, please email Andrea Gottlieb at ahgottlieb@gmail.com.
We are also looking to engage our librarian and ask her to pull some books for us in March that focus on age appropriate content for each grade. If someone wants to take the lead with Ms D'Elia, please let me know.
Other Green Team Efforts:
Straws: We have replaced plastic straws with paper, and they are only available to K and 1 during lunch (they have been removed for the other grade slots).
Plastic: The Green team is working on a better way we can serve our breakfast without using the plastic bags (no longer recyclable) with gold ties (that get stuck to the underside of our magnetic garbage lids). We would also like to pursue an alternative to wrapping the fruit we serve and to get rid of the small containers for veggies. Stay tuned!
Party Boxes: We need your feedback! The Green team will be reaching out to teachers and parents via Survey Monkey who have checked out the party box to get feedback about what they like/dislike about our party boxes. We have added paper straws to the boxes as well. Any other ideas are always welcome - thanks, in advance, for your participation in our survey!
After the Bell - The Green team is looking to create an After the Bell program focused on green initiatives and education. We have collected enough ideas and contacts for a 6 week program, but we are looking for a volunteer to assist with managing this program. If you are interested, please reach out to Andrea Gottlieb at ahgottlieb@gmail.com.
Thanks all,
Andrea & The Green Team