Exciting hands-on activities, engaged learning, and meaningful service was completed by our students, faculty, staff and extended community during our Earth Day celebration last Friday.

Activities began in grades 1-3 as students and faculty welcomed the day with a special dance accompanied by 6th grade musicians. This was followed by educators from The WaterFront Center in Oyster Bay, who provided students with the opportunity to interact with a variety of local Long Island marine life including; crabs, clams, mussels and other creatures that inhabit the long Island Sound.  The children were very excited to have the chance to meet our aquatic neighbors up close as they became more aware of the need to protect our oceans to ensure the safety of these animals.

Our guests from the Waterfront Center then worked with our 4th-7th graders on two special projects. The 4th grade built wind powered sail cars and optimized them for the best speed and distance. The exercise helped students expand their thinking to include alternative solutions for energy production that are also environmentally sustainable. This concept was later reinforced in the 5th grade as the students discovered how to generate wind power by building their own wind turbine prototypes that produced electricity. Meanwhile, our 6th grade and 7th graders enthusiastically worked in teams to build remote-operated underwater vehicles, which they used in a competition to see whose vehicle could collect the most submerged rings. The students came away with better knowledge of how organizations like the Waterfront Center are hard at work using science and technology to clean our environment and ensure that future generations will be able to live more healthy lives.

The 10th grade used Earth Day as a chance to give back, not only to our School, but to the Long Island community as a whole. As a class, they visited the Brookside Preserve in Freeport, where they worked together to clean up the litter that had accumulated over the winter.  Their efforts ensured that the preserve would be a great place for people across the island to visit throughout the summer months.

In the afternoon, the School broke up into working groups in order to take care of and beautify our School grounds. Students planted trees & flowers, cleared winter debris, fertilized the soil, and even made delicious salads with vegetables grown in our own gardens. It was a truly meaningful community activity as everyone came together to make our grounds a healthier and more beautiful place for all of us to enjoy.

Thank you to all who gave their time to make Earth Day 2018 a success. See photos below.