Our school adopted a "boy/girl" scout troop mentality. Teachers hang green banners outside their classrooms. They earn badges for participating in STEAM activities in the school. The more badges they collect, the more entries they have in the end of the year raffle.
STEAM Information Board
An updated STEAM board with tons of contests and opportunities for students and staff is in the main hallway. Students are able to gain information for a variety of different programs that happen during the school year. They are also able to find after school and summer opportunities.
Elective Green Classes
Students are signed up to participate in one of 10 different "Green" based classes that are administered during the school day. These classes focus on Outdoor Education, Yoga, Nutrition and Mindful Meditation. The students get permission and sign a contract to participate in the program.
Outdoor Classroom- Loyola University Partnership
In conjunction with Loyola University, Arlington piloted a program to establish a simple nature playground on the front lawn of Arlington. This area will be used by all, but specifically the PreK through 2nd Grade classes to facilitate outdoor learning in all forms.
Free Little Library Partnership
Access to multi-cultural books with emphasis on environmental and STEAM selections. We installed a Little Free Library on-campus for our school and community use.
School Year 2020-2021 & Prior
Online Newsletter
Grade-Level: 4th Grade Activity Title: Paul's Place and Maryland Food Bank Subject: Notes of Encouragement Teacher(s): Thompson When: February- May 2020 Number of Students: 8 Description: Staff communication is fully automated with Google Classroom as our main port for information. We have monthly newsletters for both the school and our STEAM initiatives.
Printer Cartridge Recycling
Grade-Level: All Activity Title: Printer Cartridge Recycling Subject: Green Teacher(s): All When: November till May Number of Students: All Description: Teachers and students are encouraged to use the recycling centers for printer cartridges from larger copy machines as well as smaller machines. Students are also allowed to bring cartridges in from home to be recycled as well.
Natural/Reduced Light Mondays
Grade-Level: PK-5 Activity Title: Natural Light Mondays Subject: Using only outdoor based natural light for instruction on Mondays Teacher(s): 14 teachers, 3 Administrators, 10 support staff When: All Day Mondays Number of Students: Whole School Description: Every teacher in the school uses natural light through our big windows to light their classrooms on Mondays. Luckily, we have yet to have a Monday where natural light did not provide enough light for instruction. With the playing of outdoor background music and no man-made light, we have seen the students behaviors change rapidly on those days. They enjoy the feeling of an outdoor mood. Behavior management has become less of an issue and student participation has increased. Update: Due to some windowless rooms in the building we have began to advocate for man-made low intensity high efficiency lighting. The lights built into the building already do this, however they go off occasionally while individuals are trying to work. This is a method of saving energy is wonderful, but can hinder working. Therefore we developed a plan to get lighting options for staff in those conditions to alleviate this issue.
School Year 2018-2019 & Prior
Double Sided Printing Initiative
Grade-Level: All Staff Activity Title: Double Sided Paper Subject: Recycling Teacher(s): All Staff, facilitated by Thompson (23 General Educators) When: 2018-2019 Number of Teachers: 23 Description:Double sided printing is when all the staff in the school use the back-side of already used paper when printing. The main reason why staff uses both sides of the paper is the save more trees and to help stop the waste in our school. Double sided printing saves paper which saves more money. We saved thousands of dollars by using double sided paper. When you use double sided paper it saves more space and it is less messy.
One- Switch- Wednesday
Grade-Level: All Staff Activity Title: One Switch Wednesday Subject: Electricity and Energy Saving Teacher(s): All Staff, facilitated by Thompson (23 General Educators) When: Every Wednesday since 2015 Number of Teachers: varies Description: One-Switch-Wednesday is when the whole school turns off one and or two lights every Wednesday. The main reason for One-Switch-Wednesday is to save energy in our school. Green Team Members go around every Wednesday to classes and remind teachers to turn off their lights and check for participation in the event. The Main Office makes an announcement reminding teachers. The top teachers will receive raffle tickets and win prizes during the end-of-the-year raffle that includes gift baskets with a variety of green products and goodies. The main staff role in this activity is to do the following: 1. Practice energy saving techniques to reduce use in the classroom. 2. Install habits for students in order to teach them how to reduce energy on a daily basis. 3. Incorporate energy topics into their lessons by discussing energy reduction practices. 4. Reduce stress and headaches in the classroom caused by harsh overhead light.
Task Lamps, Day Lighting and Energy Mode
Grade-Level: All Staff Activity Title: Task Lamps, Day Lighting, and Energy Mode Subject: Energy, Electricity Teacher(s): All Staff, facilitated by Thompson (23 General Educators) When: 2018-19 Number of Teachers: 8 Description: Task Lamps, Day Lighting, and Energy mode is when staff turns off their lights and use a different light source. Teachers use light sources such as lamps, sunlight, and LED string lights. Using different light sources saves energy. During transitions, hallway lights are turned off and we use the daylight from the windows. Staff uses sources like Christmas lights and lamps. The use of these lights is calming for the students. It also uses less electricity which was a huge goal of our staff. We are constantly monitoring energy use in the school. Our one nemesis: Vampire energy.
Staff Carpooling
Grade-Level: All Staff Activity Title: Staff Carpooling Subject: Environmental Teacher(s): All Staff, facilitated by Thompson When: School Year 2018-19 Number of Teachers: 10 Description: Teachers rode with one another to and from school. We are currently at a temporary location and this allowed all of our teachers to get to school in a green fashion. This prevents exhaust from cars affecting the air. Fuel is bad for the environment so this way we help the environment. Also, teachers without cars have a way to and from school without issues. There is a point system where staff who participate in our events get points and at the end of the year there is a raffle. This event creates relationships between staff and lots of positive days. There are also more parking spots for visitors. The way the program works varies for different teachers. Some teachers met at the old location and rode together to the new location. Other teachers took turns picking each other up and driving to school. The main goal was to reduce the number of cars traveling to the school on a daily basis and to provide teachers a chance to connect to one another outside of school. Ten teachers were able to participate in this program. Some barriers to this program were childcare and child transportation. Some teachers had to take their own children to locations and space was limited in cars due to carseats.
Green Cleaners in the Classroom
Grade-Level: All Staff Activity Title: Green Cleaners in the Classroom Subject: Environmental Teacher(s): All Staff, facilitated by Thompson When: 2018-19 Number of Teachers: 23 Description: Using environmentally friendly products has always been a goal of our school. Money and resources have been an issue in the past, as well as lack of information on available products. During the 2017-2018 school year, with the help of the Cleaning For Health effort from the board of education, our custodial staff was trained in the use of green products. From disinfectants to cleaning procedures, our custodial staff took cleaning to the green level. During the 2018-2019 school year our staff converted to all green products within the school. Each classroom used recycled spray bottles and refilled them with green products provided by the custodial staff. These products were effective in cleaning even the messiest of classrooms. From PreK to pre-teen our school community switched to cleaning up in a new way. These trends have not only made students more aware of harmful products, but it has also opened the eyes of staff to the hazardous materials that are used in over-the-counter cleaners. The staff role for this program was the following: 1. Incorporate green cleaning products in the classroom by using them on a daily basis. 2. Encouraging students to use green cleaning products and discussing the side effects of non-green cleaning products. 3. Maintaining healthy desktops during cold seasons and decreases sick-based absences. 4. Developing relationships with custodial staff. 5. Participating in the Green Raffle for home products based on their participation during the school year.