Junior School Honours Earth Day - Our Power, Our Planet
By Andrew Bartle and Annie Dearden
Earth Day is celebrated in over 140 countries around the world. The theme this year was “Our Power, Our Planet.” The Junior School has adopted this approach over the last few weeks in Outdoor Education, with each grade choosing an aspect of their learning to own real change.
- The Junior Kindergarten students have been learning about pollution in our waterways, and how we need to keep the water sparkling clean!
- In Senior Kindergarten, the students know that all living things need water, food, shelter and heat. They are helping the birds of the Back 40 find shelter by painting and putting up bird houses.
- Grade Ones are thinking about where our food comes from! They’ve thought about how far some of our food travels and are even growing their own beans.
- Grade Twos are land protectors, communicating the importance of putting waste in the right place. They shared their message with the Middle School and Junior School students.
- The Grade Three students have learned about the important role pollinators play in our ecosystems. They designed and put together seed packs for every family in the Junior School to help them start their own pollinator gardens!
- In Grade Four each class has learned about noise pollution and the impact it can have on the environment. They have come up with questions to ask our provincial government about noise pollution considerations with the building of Highway 413.
- Grade Five students have come up with daily actions they can do to take care of the environment, from lowering their energy consumption to sorting waste properly.
- The Grade Sixes applied their learning about biodiversity to our own Back 40, coming up with posters and skits explaining the importance of trail etiquette in preserving the diverse ecosystem of the Back 40.
In addition to these meaningful learning opportunities, the Junior School came together this week to monitor their light and technology use, competed in a House lunch waste challenge (congrats to Eberts House!) and on Wednesday spent the afternoon outside enjoying and exploring nature. Today they checked in on how waste-watching and energy saving is going and tomorrow they will ensure our newly planted trees get watered.
It’s not just these special events during Earth Week, but every moment we spend outdoors throughout the year and beyond that helps shape our environmental stewards of the future.
Land Acknowledgment
The Country Day School wishes to recognize and acknowledge the land on which the school operates. Our nearest Indigenous Nations are now the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the Chippewas of Georgina Island. The Dish with One Spoon Wampum covenant is often cited as an example of the shared responsibility for caring for these lands among the Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples who would call these their traditional territories. CDS respects the relationship with these lands and recognizes that our connection to this land can be strengthened by our continued relationship with all First Nations, by acknowledging our shared responsibility to respect and care for the land and waters for future generations.
School Information
Junior, Middle and Senior Schools
13415 Dufferin Street, King, Ontario L7B 1K5
(905) 833-1220
communications@cds.on.ca
admissions@cds.on.ca
Founded in 1972, The Country Day School is a co-educational private school offering programs in JK-12 and located on 100 acres north of Toronto in King.
13415 Dufferin Street, King, Ontario L7B 1K5
(905) 833-1220
communications@cds.on.ca
admissions@cds.on.ca
Founded in 1972, The Country Day School is a co-educational private school offering programs in JK-12 and located on 100 acres north of Toronto in King.
