Yorkregion.com - Whitchurch-Stouffville - Environmental message gets ‘better’ of Whitchurch Highlands
Environmental message gets ‘better’ of Whitchurch Highlands
Grade 4/5 teacher Marlene Foran, the organizer of the environmental evening at Whitchurch Highlands Public School, with, principal Arnis Pukitis, and Grade 5 student Robyn Amelard at the event at the Warden Avenue school.
Whitchurch-Stouffville
May 08, 2008 11:39 PM
By: Alyshia Higgins
The students at Whitchurch Highlands are making a difference, one project at a time.
The school hosted its first Better Us, Better Earth event April 23.
The event focused on raising awareness of environmental issues including the importance of composters, recycling and picking up litter.
The event was the brainchild of Marlene Foran, a Grade 4 and 5 teacher at the school.
“We really wanted to do something on our school to help the environment,” she said.
“We turned the school into a village, and the kids and teachers were divided into pods that were meaningful to them.”
Each pod focused on a different topic. Students from Grades 4 to 8 had a hand in creating display animals, commercials, composters, sporting equipment and a mural, all created from recycled materials brought in.
The 200 students met once a week in their pods and created the environmentally friendly posters.
Parents, siblings and grandparents strolled
the halls and classrooms of the school to see the projects, which took 14 weeks to complete.
“We allowed everyone to use their strengths (with this project)” Mrs. Foran said. “I think it’s amazing. The parents, teachers and kids have done an amazing job.”
Robyn Amelard, a Grade 5 student, was part of the paparazzi group which photographed and videotaped the other pods’ progress. She said she enjoyed working on the projects.
“We learned a lot of different things about how what we can do to help the environment,” Robyn said.
The principal, Arnis Putkitis, said he was proud of the way the students came together.
“We had all different ages (of students) working together,” he said. “It’s really been amazing.”
The students in his pod created a six foot by four foot mural, all of out recycled materials, that Mr. Pukitis said will be mounted permanently in the school.
T-shirts were also created, bearing the logo Better Us, Better Earth, along with the student created slogan “one can make a world of difference”.
The T-shirts were sold and proceeds went to benefit the school’s foster child in Africa.
Mrs. Foran said without the support of the parents, the event wouldn’t have been possible.
“We’ve always had tremendous involvement with the parents,” she said. “We’ve really become a partnership.”
While the staff weren’t sure whether this exact event would become an annual occasion, one thing was for sure; students got the message.
“If your small school can make a difference, than anyone else can make an even bigger difference,” Robyn said.