Environment Club

Friday Newsletter: Environment Club | Card Project | Christmas Market | Safeteen

/ Ross Road PAC

Dear parents,

  • Environment Club:  Have you seen the incredible mural on the west-facing wall near the edible garden?  With thanks to talented artist and Ross Road parent, Shula Klinger, this Environment Club initiative was paid for by proceeds from a TD Friends of the Environment grant.   Click here for more information about the Environment Club and keep your eye out for more amazing projects happening at the school.
  • Card Project:  Have you ordered yours yet?  You must order by midnight Friday to guarantee delivery in the first week of December.  (cards ordered after this time will be delivered on December 16)  Click here for more details.
  • Christmas Market:  The Market will be held on Friday, December 6 from 5pm to 8pm, and here are some important things to note;
  1. If you want to order dinner, you must do so via the MunchaLunch website by 5pm on Monday, November 18.
  2. The organizers are  in desperate need of men’s ties and glass baby food jars.  If you have any, please leave them under the ‘down’ stairs by the PAC box in the lobby.
  3. As per the notices from the class reps, the Market also needs your time!  Please consider volunteering 45 mins on the evening to help make the event a success.  See the sign-up sheets on your classroom doors or get in touch with your class rep to find out how you can help.
  4. If you have any ‘treasures’ that you can donate to the “Holiday Shop and Wrap Market” please drop them in the box under the “down” stairs in the lobby (not in the AV room as previously mentioned.) These are new items such as that gift you bought for someone and then forgot you had it, or the picture frame you loved and bought, but never found the right wall to hang it on.  There is no need to buy anything, it’s just a chance for you to pass on treasures that you have never had the chance to use.
  • 9781896095998_p0_v1_s260x420Safeteen:  This week, the Safe Teen experts came to Ross Road to hold 3-hour workshops with all the grade 6 and 7 students. The Safe Teen program introduced the students to bullying and harassment prevention strategies and non-violent conflict resolution in a powerful and engaging, gender-separate workshop format.  Many thanks to Family Services of the North Shore, who generously funded the student workshops!  Also many thanks to those parents who came out for the very exciting parent night on Tuesday!  For those of you who are interested in continuing the conversation with their 6th or 7th graders or who want to learn more, Anita Roberts has published a book about the Safe Teen philosophy (available at the Lynn Valley library).

Have a great weekend!

Your PAC Executive

Friday Newsletter: Meetings, Class Reps, Enviro Club & Valet

/ Ross Road PAC

Dear parents,

There’s a PAC General Meeting in the library next Wednesday, October 9.  All parents are encouraged to attend.  The meeting will start at 7pm and babysitting will be provided upon request.  (email Sarah Dennis at denniss@sutton.com if you need babysitting)

The following classes still need class reps….

  • Ms. Vicki Thomas – English 5/6
  • Mrs Denise Esterer – English 3
  • Mme Danae McKay/Mme Apameh Aryanpour – French 3

If your child is in one of these classes, please consider volunteering to become the class rep.

The valet service needs a few more volunteers….particularly on Thursdays.   As the weather gets worse, this job becomes more important.  The time commitment is tiny….just 20 minutes (from 8:25am to 8:45am) one day a week.  If you’d like to know more, please contact Nancy Barton at nancybinbc@hotmail.com

The Environment Club was recently awarded a $4,500 TD Friends of the Environment Grant to help achieve some amazing projects for the school.  Over the coming months, look out for a naturalized outdoor classroom, interpretive plant signs, an outdoor bulletin board and a weather station.  This year, the Environment Club (Grades 3-7) will be working on several lunchtime projects, including composting, water conservation and making crafts from recycled materials.  Many thanks to parent sponsors Gillian Gorton, Laurie Ainsworth, Layne Christensen and Jill Mackay, as well as principal Carla Orr and teachers Danae Mckay and Anne Zayonc for leading the club.

If you’d like to help out, the Club is looking for a volunteer carpenter or handyman for a one-off project, as well as a mosaic specialist, (or enthusiast) to create a mosaic with the children.  The club is always looking for lumber and gardeners, so if you’d like to help, please contact Gillian Gorton at thegortons@shaw.ca

Grade 5 – Garden and Grounds Clean-Up Day

/ Ross Road PAC

It was a dark and rainy day in Spooky Island but you could still see the tiny smirks  and smiles under the children’s rain hoods. The enthusiasm was as thick and heavy as the bark mulch and in the end, shovel by  shovel, the job got done.

A special thank you to Delany’s Coffee House for their endless supply of hot liquids and a huge world of  thanks to Jill Mackay, our In-House Professional Gardener, for her efforts, knowledge and especially her time.

Thank you to all the Grade 5 students and their families and all the extra bodies that showed up to help beautify the Ross Road School Grounds.

A Big Improvement with Big Rewards!

–Ross Road Environment Club

Reminder – Ross Road Garden/Grounds Clean-up Day today, after school!

/ Ross Road PAC

Ross Road Garden and Surrounding Grounds
CLEAN-UP DAY
Friday, April 12th
from 3:00 – 5:00 pm
rain or shine!

DSCN1012

The History

Ecole Ross Road Elementary School is very fortunate to be located in a natural setting of greenery, which encourages free play and imagination. However, each year the school district strongly suggests the removal of all trees and bushes on the property for a low maintenance playground. The general consensus from the parents is that they are opposed to this and are willing to maintain the school grounds as a community.

Looking Ahead

Every month or two the Environment Club will be organizing a cleanup of the school property. These work parties will take place on a Friday after school from 3 – 5 p.m. and will involve the removal of weeds, branches and invasive bramble within the playground and surrounding Woodland Walk areas.

The Plan

In order to allow each family to take ownership and pride of their school, each grade will be assigned a specific Community Cleanup Day. All Parents and Students wishing to participate will come out on the designated Cleanup Day to help maintain the upkeep of the school grounds. Families will bring their own gardening gloves, clippers and shovels etc. Members of the Environment Club will be on-site to guide and instruct the daily tasks.

As a result, each family will only be responsible for one day every two years. This will also provide a sizeable group each time, which will make a daunting task very quick and manageable – not to mention a wonderful opportunity for the parents to act as role models and share the benefits of volunteering with their children.

Action

The first official Garden and Grounds Cleanup day will be hosted by:

All English & French Grade 5 classes
Friday, April 12th
From 3:00 – 5:00 pm

Please come out Rain or Shine with your own gardening gloves, clippers and shovels. Coffee will be provided by Delany’s Coffee House in appreciation of your efforts. To reduce waste, please bring your own mug.

— Thanks, The Environment Club Team.

ie166_bushbeans

Seed Donations

It may be grey outside but the Ross Road edible garden is ready for greens. The compost is cooking, several classrooms have staked their garden plots, and kids in the Environment Club are eager to get outside and dig some dirt. We’re simply missing one key ingredient: seeds. If you have vegetable seed packets (preferably 2010 or newer) to donate, please drop them in the box marked Seed Donations near the PAC Mailbox under the Down stairs in school foyer. We will start planting in early April and continue through May. Here is what’s on our wish-list:

  • Peas
  • Beets
  • Broad beans
  • Carrots
  • Lettuce
  • Kale
  • Onions
  • Radish
  • Broccoli
  • Potatoes
  • Sweet Peas

with thanks from the Environment Club

enviro_club_5

Environment Club Update

/ Ross Road PAC

Ross Road Garden and Surrounding Grounds
CLEANUP DAY
Friday, April 12th
from 3:00 – 5:00 pm

DSCN1012

The History

Ecole Ross Road Elementary School is very fortunate to be located in a natural setting of greenery, which encourages free play and imagination.  However, each year the school district strongly suggests the removal of all trees and bushes on the property for a low maintenance playground.  The general consensus from the parents is that they are opposed to this and are willing to maintain the school grounds as a community.

Looking Ahead

Every month or two the Environment Club will be organizing a cleanup of the school property. These work parties will take place on a Friday after school from 3 – 5 p.m. and will involve the removal of weeds, branches and invasive bramble within the playground and surrounding Woodland Walk areas.

The Plan

In order to allow each family to take ownership and pride of their school, each grade will be assigned a specific Community Cleanup Day. All Parents and Students wishing to participate will come out on the designated Cleanup Day to help maintain the upkeep of the school grounds.  Families will bring their own gardening gloves, clippers and shovels etc.  Members of the Environment Club will be on-site to guide and instruct the daily tasks.

As a result, each family will only be responsible for one day every two years. This will also provide a sizeable group each time, which will make a daunting task very quick and manageable – not to mention a wonderful opportunity for the parents to act as role models and share the benefits of volunteering with their children.

Action

The first official Garden and Grounds Cleanup day will be hosted by:

All English & French Grade 5 classes
Friday, April 12th
From 3:00 – 5:00 pm

Please come out Rain or Shine with your own gardening gloves, clippers and shovels.  Coffee will be provided by Delany’s Coffee House in appreciation of your efforts.  To reduce waste, please bring your own mug.

— Thanks, The Environment Club Team.

ie166_bushbeans

Seed Donations

It may be grey outside but the Ross Road edible garden is ready for greens. The compost is cooking, several classrooms have staked their garden plots, and kids in the Environment Club are eager to get outside and dig some dirt. We’re simply missing one key ingredient: seeds. If you have vegetable seed packets (preferably 2010 or newer) to donate, please drop them in the box marked Seed Donations near the PAC Mailbox under the Down stairs in school foyer. We will start planting in early April and continue through May. Here is what’s on our wish-list:

  •  Peas
  •  Beets
  •  Broad beans
  •  Carrots
  •  Lettuce
  •  Kale
  •  Onions
  •  Radish
  •  Broccoli
  •  Potatoes
  • Sweet Peas

with thanks from the Environment Club

enviro_club_5

Earth Day Essay Contest

/ Ross Road PAC

Are you passionate about the environment and like to write?

Ross Road students who demonstrate a commitment to the environment could win their school a brand new set of computers.

Staples Canada is donating computer labs, valued at $25,000 each, to 10 elementary and secondary schools across the country. The program is part of the company’s 2013 Recycle for Education Computer Lab Contest, this year presented in collaboration with Earth Day Canada.

  • To enter, submit a 500-word essay on how your school has become environmentally responsible. For every entry, Staples will donate $25 to Earth Day Canada. Only one student from each school can apply, so we’ll be collecting essays and submitting just the very best one.
  • Submit entries here or drop at the school office by Wednesday, February 20, 2013
  • Winners will be announced in early April.
  • More details at staples.ca/recycleforeducation.

Thank you,

Environment Club parent volunteers

102_0220

The Environment Club is looking for materials for its Edible Garden

/ Ross Road PAC

imageDear Ross Road parents,

The Ross Road Environment Club is in need of several pieces of 1/2-inch PVC pipe (approx. 6 feet in length) for use as supports for plastic row covers for the winter crop in our edible garden. We also need large sheets of poly to drape over the PVC frames. This will keep the winter chill from our growing produce and ensure a successful spring harvest for our students.

If you have any of these items to donate, please drop off at the edible garden on the morning of Monday, Dec. 10.

Thank you!

Ross Road Environment Club

Environment Club: Back-to-school update

/ Ross Road PAC

Environment Club parent volunteers were busy over the summer, watering and tending the edible garden. Local company Progressive Fence installed the new split-rail fence, which was paid for by a Toyota Evergreen Learning Grounds grant.

Thanks to Tovah Paglaro and her family for painting the signs and installing the arbour at the entrance to the edible garden.

Click here to read to all the latest Environment Club news and to see some amazing photos of Club members in action!

— Layne Christensen

Quebec Exchange Community Service Project

/ Ross Road PAC

Click image to view more photos!

On Wednesday, April 18th the Grade 7 Quebec Exchange Students, sponsored by YMCA / Heritage Canada, volunteered their time doing a Community Service Project for the Woodland Walk and Edible Garden. 

It was a very busy day with 65 students working 4 hours which works out to 260 man hours of digging, painting and laughter. 

What a Feat!  Amongst all of the workers we had a visit from Glen Kakoske from Jim Pattison Toyota North Shore and the Toyota Evergreen Foundation who generously presented a grant to the Environment Club in the amount of $2,880.  The Grant monies will go towards all materials needed to complete the Woodland Walk and Garden development.  Mike McGraw, a School Liaison Trustee was also in attendance for the hanging of the Edible Garden sign and to observe our progress. Click here to view photos of the event.

The enhancement of the Woodland Walk area will inevitably attract the attention of the students and encourage them to explore and observe the nature around them.

Thank you to all the Grade 7’s who worked so very hard to make their school a better place.

– Gillian Gorton

How’d They Do That?

/ Ross Road PAC

You may have noticed a large structure missing from the primary playground after Spring Break. Well – it’s true – the wooden playground is gone.  A large metal chainsaw was used to cut the steel poles and a tiny little bobcat demolished the rest. [Scroll down for photos]

After careful examination of the wood, we discovered that there was too much rot and depreciation to salvage any pieces for future projects in the Environment Club.   However, new wood was ordered and with the great skill and expertise of Jim Gorton, the new planter boxes have been installed for the ever growing Edible Garden.

Many thanks to the Environment Club, Laurie Ainsworth, Michele Fogal, and Lene Burgmann for their digging efforts, and of course, special mention to Jim Gorton for executing the project so quickly.  On April 18th the Grade 7 Quebec Exchange Students will continue the removal of the  bark mulch and lay the soil for planting.

As this is a work in progress over the next few weeks, we would ask that you please stay clear of the planter until all work is completed.  Do however, feel free to sneak a peak and feel the excitement growing!

Many thanks, Gillian Gorton

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