VOL. 12, ED. 3
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NOVEMBER 2015
www.surreyschools.ca The Educate & Communicate Newspaper
Inside Page 3 Live 5-2-1-0: Four Simple Guidelines for Raising Healthy Children Page 4 Surrey School Thanks Page 5 Mesage from your DPAC Page 6 Students Receive Free Learning Manipulatives Page 7 District Grads Garnering Major Scholarships Page 8 More Classroom Spaces Opening This Year Take Our Kids to Work Day Page 9 Queen Elizabeth Secondary 75th Anniversary Page 10 Surrey Schools’ Safe Schools Manager Named “Community Crusader” District Retirees Honoured and Entertained
Surrey Schools “Rethink Waste” District students are embracing a Surrey Schools program designed to support the City of Surrey and Metro Vancouver in reaching the goal of 70 per cent waste diversion. The program called “Rethink Waste” is focused on separating recyclables from waste. In addition to the paper and cardboard that has been recycled in Surrey Schools for many years, the Rethink Waste program diverts containers and packaging (glass, metals & plastic) as well as organics from the landfill. The program was sparked a few years ago when a handful of enthusiastic Surrey schools began a pilot program to separate and dispose of organics in schools. A working group was formed and, based on lessons learned from pilot schools and other school districts, the advice of a waste hauler, and input from working group participants, the Rethink Waste plan was developed. While recycling in schools may seem simple, rolling out a new program in a consistent way across 120 schools is complex. Throughout the 2014/15 school year every school received a visit to introduce the program and determine what supplies the school would need.
Environmental Impact Diverting waste saves money spent on collecting and disposing of garbage, and allows the economic value of organic waste and usable or recyclable materials to be recovered. By composting and recycling containers, Surrey Schools is diverting waste
(which extends the life of landfills by reducing the volume of garbage) and reducing the greenhouse gases that are released from the landfill.
Schools Get Creative Having the containers to put the organics and recycling in is a pretty simple step. The real task is having people understand how to sort their waste, then motivating them to do so. This is where many school staff and students put their creative talents to work. For example, Learning Support Teacher Charlotte Brenner and teacher Scott Harris engaged students in the “inquiry process” by using the recycling program as a means of helping students to develop skills to support their peers. Students planned, implemented and monitored their own learning. They made it fun by developing creative presentations and 3D posters to teach their peers how to sort waste. They also conducted a competition amongst classes for the fewest number of missorted waste items. Recognizing that grown-ups need to be on board too, Enver Creek Secondary’s Green Team students presented the Rethink Waste program to staff. Environment club students at Fleetwood Park Secondary created a video to help inform staff and students on the new waste sorting. At Elgin Park Secondary, the rollout of the Rethink Waste program was all about fun, from a waste-sorting relay and game show, to film noir videos and amusing announcements; composting
Grade 2 Panorama Park Elementary student Matthew Blagdon takes his turn at compost duty for the week and recycling were introduced to the schools with levity and encouragement.
Continuous Improvement In spite of some challenges along the way, Rethink Waste has been very successful. Many schools have needed to increase organics bin sizes and order additional pick-ups for recycling and organics. Several schools are also reporting their garbage has gone down by about 50 per cent since implementing the Rethink Waste program, and teaching kitchens are reportedly reducing waste by as much as 80 per cent.