Reduce, reuse and recycle have been widely known. Have you heard about the fourth R? REFUSE. Your child may ask you to refuse a shopping bag the next time you have an item or two at the check out counter. Encourage them to talk to you about what they are learning in schools, they might have a great idea!

Students welcomed Mrs. Karen Cohen, the Trash Bag Monster, to our assembly this morning. Her outfit consists of 500 plastic bags, the number of bags used by 1 shopper in 1 year. This is an example of the impact every person can have to reduce the amount of waste we produce.

The two main goals of green teams will be plastic waste reduction and healthy eating and exercising. With the help of our municipal Green Team, teachers and students, we will reduce our waste together.

November 6th, 2nd Grade assemblies, Oh How Healthy’s Jamie Zweir will focus on getting students engaged in the year’s activities, including:

• Defining “healthy eating”

• Trying new foods as an idea

• Being responsible for their food choices

Let’s get you and your kids moving, find out a new way to get the youngsters making healthy eating choices in the community, pick up your signed copy of Simple Balanced Eats, then rotate through a number of fun stations: Cookbook Creation in the Art Room, Imagination Playground in the Gym, Cooking Classes in the Cafeteria, Yoga and Mindful Thinking, and a Parent Class for Healthy Eating and Food Conversations.

Food sampling event by Nutriserve nutritionist throughout the year

They will be alerted to the food allergy issues of students and follow all standards for safety in their samplings.

All 2nd Grade classes will receive a class plant “pet” in the beginning of the air. Air purifying plant species such as peace lily, boston fern and spider plants purify air naturally. Students in the classes will be the ”Plant Protector” for the day/week and log the notes in their class journal. On Earth Day, 2nd Grade students will come together and talk about what they learned and their experiences with their pet plant and play some games made from recycled materials.

The Goals of the STEM Fair?

• To give parents, students and community members an opportunity to interact with real world and fun hands on STEM activities

• To showcase STEM Activities that have taken place throughout the school district and community in 2019-2020

• To strengthen partnerships within our community to build our K-12 programs

• To highlight STEM in the field of professionals throughout our community

With the help of 6-12 students, families will be invited to walk and cleanup our community. Through a Clean Communities Grant, sponsored by the Township and the Delran Green Team we anticipate cleaning 5 areas in need of attention in Delran. Families will be encouraged to attend, purchasing prepackaged lunches provided by Nutriserve, our district vendor for food in the schools. An added connection with your student’s learning about healthy lunch choices, we will work with Nutriserve and Jamie Zweir to create the meal for the day. We will also have five stations of activities for you and your children to play together, hitting another goal for the year, exercise! Mark your calendar! Rain date is May 21st. We are hoping to bag at least 100 garbage bags of trash this year (last year it was 80).

Order forms for the sale of our reusable water bottles will go home shortly. We hope to raise money for Water Bottle Refilling Stations in the school, bringing clean, cold water to every child. This is also a step at reducing plastics being brought to school.

T-shirts will be sold to students and families later this spring, right before the May 20th cleanup.

Order forms for the sale of Jamie Zwier's cookbook, Simple Balanced Eats, will go home today. Books purchased before the November 15th event will be signed by Jamie.

By March, your children will learn the art of creating their own healthy recipes, and create their own Millbridge Elementary School cookbook!