Author: Barca, Tiffany

WHS Green Scene

Special Edition
April 2019

STAY GREEN...
READ ME
ONLINE!

EARTH DAY IS APRIL 22ND!

Whitehouse School Staff and Students work collaboratively to promote GREEN actions!

50 Whitehouse Avenue, Whitehouse Station, New Jersey 08889

From Your Principal...
Dr. Ann T. DeRosa
aderosa@readington.k12.nj.us

Dear WHS Friends and Families:
Whitehouse School has been honored for five consecutive years at the state (Silver certification through the Sustainable Jersey Schools program) and national levels (U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School Award). These fine distinctions are largely due to the tireless efforts of Mrs. Wendy Reardon and Mrs. Juliane Lotierzo! Our school’s focus on wellness and work with preserving our environment have been well-supported in our district, in addition to the greater school community.
We have also received the National Wildlife Federation Eco-Schools USA Silver Award. As we continue our green mission, we want to keep you informed as we share our programs and facility augmentations.
We were thrilled to receive two small grants in the amount of $2,000 each, sponsored through PSE&G and supported by Sustainable Jersey Schools and the New Jersey Education Association. The money was utilized to purchase water bottle refilling stations. Staff members and students will have cold, filtered water available AND be able to reduce waste by using less plastic disposable water bottles.
We were also very grateful that our local B.J.’s in Flemington provided us with funding through their Adopt-A-School Program. The money enabled us to purchase two weather stations for our school. All students will now be able to become more familiar with weather concepts.
We continue to work with our Rutgers Master Gardeners to enhance our composting program. In the past, we were able to buy two tumbling composters. Now, we are reaping new benefits as the Master Gardeners hand-built a three -compartment Compost Corner outside by repurposing wooden shipping pallets. The upgrades have enabled us to make the process more efficient and effective as all grade levels work to grow vegetables, fruits, and plants in our school garden. In addition, we have a rain barrel and we utilize its water in our gardens.
Each morning, when our Head Custodian, Mr. Runyon, raises the American flag, he also displays the appropriate outdoor air quality flag based on official updates posted on our website. Students then change the Outdoor Air Quality flags on the charts both near the Main Office, and in the Cafeteria posted near the door that they use to go out to recess.
Our very active student green team members assume the role of stewards as they facilitate green projects and promote the tenets associated with our GREEN TEAM acronym (Grow, Recycle, Earth, Energy, Nutrition, Technology, Efficiency, Activism, & Movement). Check out Mrs. Yukniewicz’s video: https://vimeo.com/146427453
You may also remember that our school had a Science Leadership Team that was trained through our partnership with Merck (MISE) when the corporate headquarters offices were situated in our town. Guided by those experiences and our work with the Next Generation Science Standards & the effective practices of science instruction, we have continued to make science a priority. Each grade level has a science or STEM Lab and we feature monthly STEM speakers from the community who address our students.
Hats off to Mrs. Janet Sulick and our Grade 3 Roots & Shoots Club (pictured on the front cover)!
Recently, we were awarded a $5000 Investors Bank grant for enhancements to our courtyard in support of outdoor learning!
We are proud of our efforts at Whitehouse School. As we continue to seek ways to reduce our environmental impact, we do so with the determination to change behaviors that better serve and sustain our environment.
Thank you in advance for your support. If you have any ideas or would like to further contribute in any area, please let us know.
Warmly,
Ann T. DeRosa, Ed.D.

.Whitehouse School
continues to be a
NJ school with
Silver Level Certification!
In addition, our district won the Sustainability Leadership Award for all of our GREEN progress. WHS will continue to focus on wellness and efforts to preserve our environment.

Help us Earn Supplies and Money for our School!

Through Terracycle Recycling Program,
we collect the following items:

Personal Care and Beauty Waste
Hair Care Packaging: shampoo/conditioner bottles and hair gel tubes
Skin Care Packaging: lip balm tubes, face soap dispensers and tubes of face lotion bottles
Cosmetics Packaging: lipstick cases, lip gloss tubes, mascara tubes, eye shadow cases, bronzer cases, foundation packaging and bottles, powder cases, and eyeliner pencils

We also collect and recycle the following items...

Recycled Ink Cartridges

Campbell’s Soup Labels

Rain Barrel

Our rain barrel is located next to our garden area.

The rain barrel at Whitehouse School collects and stores rainwater from the school roof that would otherwise be lost to runoff and diverted to storm drains and streams. Rain barrels are beneficial because they not only help protect the environment, they also save money and energy!

Composting

Did you know that our students are composting at school? Composting is a way to promote a responsible and environmentally-friendly way to deal with waste.
Along with saving landfill space, school composting programs have many benefits:
Compost, as a finished product, enhances the soil and plant quality in our school vegetable gardens.
The process provides educational opportunities that promote sustainable environmental practices.
It also provides a medium for many environmental and science-related topics of discovery.
It creates opportunities for student responsibility and activism.
Compost happens when materials are gathered in a bin or pile, moistened, and aerated. Fungi, bacteria, and invertebrates are able to take over and composting happens. In the end, the finished product is humus, a dark brown organic matter which builds up soil, saves space in the landfill, and teaches school children how nature recycles.

Earth Day

Earth Day is an annual event celebrated on April 22. WHS will be celebrating Earth day in the computer Lab this year. Students will create a drawing to promote awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment. These drawings will be made into a video and posted onto the school’s website.

Outdoor Air Quality
Mrs. Dauernheim Miss Marczyk, Miss Potter and Mrs. Shashkewych

How much pollution is in the air today? You can find out by simply looking at the flag pole. Our school has adopted the Air Quality Flag Program which means we will fly brightly colored flags to show how clean the air is each day. The flags correspond to the colors of the Air Quality Index (www.airnow.gov). The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for you.
The good news is the Air Quality Flag Program helps protect students’ health. On green and yellow days we will encourage students to be outside and moving. When air quality is orange or red, it is still OK to play outside, but we will encourage kids to take some breaks and to do activities that might involve walking and jogging instead of running and sprinting. If the flag is purple, we will play inside that day. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is promoting the Air Quality Flag Program to schools in many U.S. cities and we are proud to be involved. For more information on the Flag Program, go to www.airnow.gov/flag.

“No Idle Zone”

Help Us Help the Environment!
Our district has adopted an anti-idling policy (#7471). It states that buses and motor vehicles are not permitted to have their engines on when they are stopped or parked.
The policy is meant to help reduce harmful emissions that pollute the air. (There are a few exceptions during extreme weather conditions.)
Thank you in advance for your cooperation as you assist us in our efforts.

Water Bottle Filling Station

WHS has water bottle filling stations for students and staff!
Did you know that every hour Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles? Using a reusable water bottle is an easy way to reduce waste in a landfill and help protect the environment. By continually producing more bottles, we utilize a tremendous amount of energy and resources. The benefits of a reusable water bottle are two-fold. First we preserve the environment by creating less pollution. Second, we help humankind by reducing the toxins that are released during plastic production. This results in a cleaner, healthier world.

Rutgers Master Gardeners

Winter Seed Progress
seed

Spring Seed Progress
seed

Teacher liaisons work under the direction of Mrs. Laurie Fischer and the Master Gardeners. Students now have a greater understanding of gardening and the chemistry associated with composting. After having our garden bed soils professionally tested, they share the results with students.
This year, we have added germination racks to our science lab to give seeds a little head start!