A Green Thanksgiving
Green Solutions to Big Problems
With the help of Green Team, Teacher Jessica, Toshio, and many others at SMAS, this year we had a very green Thanksgiving. Green - like leaves? Like grass? Yes and no. Green like good for our school and our community, our people and planet. Green like cooling down Global Warming and reducing Climate Change problems. It is important for all of us to take action because Global Warming and Climate Change are creating many difficult problems - fires, flooding, rising seas, drought, hurricanes - all over the world, including here where we live in the Bay Area.
SMAS Turkey Traditions
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| Teacher Shaina and her class at their Thanksgiving table |
Every year, our school celebrates Thanksgiving the day before the actual holiday. This year, the Student Council purchased and carved the turkeys. Classrooms paired up and made it a “pot luck” event - sharing food and beverages they brought from home or purchased at a store. There are flavors and food traditions from all over the world at our tables. We have fun together, learn from each other, and come together as a community on this day.
Green Team
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| Yardwaste bag for food scraps |
Green Preparations
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| Teacher Laetitia and her Green Step Class with their silverware kit |
Before the event, Green Team and Student Council encouraged everyone to have a green Thanksgiving celebration. Green Team and Student Council encouraged everyone to practice the 3 Rs - Reduce, Recycle, and Rot. Teacher Gia’s and Laetitia’s classes made posters to remind people to #BYOF - Bring Your Own Fork - and to reduce single use plastic.
Rot = compost. Composting is one of the six most important things we can do to slow down Climate Change. Composting = less methane. Methane makes Climate Change worse. To help with composting, Green Team provided big yard waste bags and handed them out to classrooms to collect food scraps, paper plates, paper cups, and wooden chopsticks.
The Three Rs at SMAS Thanksgiving
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| Toshio washing foil containers at the sink |
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| Teacher Jessica sorting the recycling, trash, and compost |
On the big day, our school practiced the Three Rs - Reduce, Recycle, and Rot (Compost). First, students enjoyed delicious turkey and side dishes. They ate and talked together around the table. Afterwards, they put the food scraps, paper plates, and paper cups in the big bags. In the morning, Teacher Jessica collected all the bags and took them home to her compost bin. In the evening, Green Team Member Edy Vasquez did the same. Jessica and Edy also collected the recycling. And Toshio washed all the foil containers so they can be reused again.
Many classes said no to single use plastic silverware. Students brought their own silverware or used silverware the teacher provided. The students in Katherine’s and Cristina’s class had a zero-waste celebration - using cloth tablecloths, real silverware, and plates that they washed after their meal. Teacher Gia and Teacher Laetitia’s classes used the new silverware kits they received from Green Team for becoming Green Steps Classrooms.
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| Teacher Jessica says Thumbs Down to styrofoam on paper cups |
Green Goals
In morning, Teachers Jessica and Cynthia sorted through the bags for trash, compost, and recycling. They found a few problems. For example, paper cups with a thin cover of styrofoam plastic. These cups must go in the trash. They cannot be recycled. Also, some classes used thin plastic tablecloths. This thin plastic cannot be recycled. Usually it is used one time and then put in the trash.
Green Team, Student Council, Teacher Jessica, Toshio and many others will keep working to green up our school. We know it is important. We know that Green Actions are life saving actions in a hot Climate Changing world!
A big green thank you to everyone working toward these life saving green goals!
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