learners almanac summer 2011
Post on 09-Mar-2016
221 Views
Preview:
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
S T U D EN T S P O T L I G H T : A F R U I T F U L S P R I N G
As a REAL School Gardens supporter, you planted seeds of learning that have burst into bloom over the
past school year. Our work would not be possible without your support—thank you for joining with us to
engage students in learning that is real, relevant and right outside their classroom walls.
T H E B O U N T Y O F T H E S E A S O N
♦ 6 new school gardens installed with the
participation of 1,368 people, including
many parents and community members.
♦ 21,542 students and 923 teachers
spent more than 5,600 hours using
their outdoor classrooms.
♦ Our educators trained 177 teachers and
reached 3,725 students through 62
individualized sessions that model
outdoor instruction.
♦ 1,110 additional volunteers supported
our schools by donating over 2,000
hours of their time.
N EW G A R D E N S P O T L I G H T : H O L I D A Y H E I G H T S
Along with 5 other
schools, Holiday
Heights Elementary
went from a blank,
grassy canvas to a
state-of-the-art
outdoor classroom
this year. This Birdville
ISD school was the
first garden project of the Suzy Peacock Friendship Circle, a
giving circle established in memory of RSG’s founder. Nearly 350
people attended the community design charrette and another
200 lent a hand for the installation. The garden includes a
bamboo trellis, row-cropping area, perennial beds and an earth
science station as well as a stage and a tree house. RSG is proud
to partner with Holiday Heights—a school that is truly taking
outdoor learning to new heights!
The energy emanating from eager young minds ready to
learn outside was ever-present in our work this year, and our
students have been using their outdoor classrooms to learn
everything under
the sun. More than
1,000 students
participated in design and installation events for our six new gardens, and our
staff educators directly connected with 3,725 students during teaching visits
in their outdoor classrooms. Even as our reach expands, we are reminded of
the individual experiences that fuel our passion for outdoor learning as
captured by one student’s words of gratitude (see above).
“I’d been coming to this school since kindergarten,
and I’d never seen that area as anything more than
a field of grass, now I can hardly remember what it
looked like before we had our garden. This garden
has definitely changed my outlook on learning...”
—5th Grader at Holiday Heights Elementary
LEARNER’S ALMANAC
SUMMER 2011
A handy reference for how your gift has grown this season
CO M M U N I T Y P A R T N ER S P O T L I G H T :
N F L P L A Y ER S L I V E ! I N T H E CO M M U N I T Y
REAL School Gardens partnered with the NFL Players and
NIKE for an action-packed Health & Wellness Clinic at
Ronald E. McNair Elementary in Dallas on May 4th.
McNair’s 850 students teamed up with some of their
favorite NFL heroes to participate in a day of activities to
motivate students to go beyond the classroom and
experience how outdoor learning can help them grow into
healthier people. Read more about this exciting event on
the First Lady’s Let’s Move! blog at www.letsmove.gov.
HARVEST SPOTL IGHT: POTATO SCHOL AR S
This year we unveiled full-day, faculty-wide trainings for our new
school partners after the installation of their outdoor classrooms, and
we continued with our version of “on-the-job” training through
ongoing model teaching sessions. All of our training makes direct
connections to state educational standards and engages teachers in
the same kind of experiential learning that we encourage
them to practice with students. Our trainings are
designed to increase both competence and confidence in
using the outdoor classroom across all subject areas, and
we cover everything from math in a fertilizer bag to
garden-inspired poetry and essays.
ED U C A T O R S A R E NOT L A Y I N G D O W N O N T H E J O B
As part of the Potato
Scholars project,
students at eight of
our partner schools
harvested 400
pounds of potatoes
to donate to eight
food pantries in
Tarrant County! In the process, they learned about life
cycles, measurement, graphing, parts of plants, change
over time, and community service while experiencing
the joy of helping others. Learn more in our Potato
Scholars blog post at:
www.REALschoolgardens.org/REALstories.
There’s still time to get your own garden growing this
summer—grow the following veggies along with us!
♦ Sweet corn
♦ Beans
♦ Squash
♦ Peppers
♦ Eggplant
♦ Gourds
♦ Pumpkins
♦ Okra
Post-Training Reflections from Educators
at Holiday Heights Elementary
♦ 97% believe there are academic benefits for
students engaged in outdoor learning.
♦ 86% agree that the training is connected “directly
and explicitly” with the state curriculum standards
to which they are accountable.
Educators at Holiday Heights learn to create a “people graph,”
a full-body experience that helps children understand relative
frequency, categorization and graphical representation.
“This training took learning from the inside
[with] books to the outside in nature.”
“Outdoor learning can create engaging
lessons across all subjects and help achieve
the mission of the school.”
-Educators at Holiday Heights E.S.
REAL School Gardens ● 503 Bryan Ave. Fort Worth, TX 76104 ● 817-348-8102 ● www.realschoolgardens.org ● www.facebook.com/REALSchoolGardens
Isaiah Stanback of the Seattle Seahawks cheers on a
McNair student in the compost orb relay race!
top related