Yesterday, the NC Green Schools team from the non-profit organization Reading, Riding, Retrofit came to Rainbow to give us a plaque with our award. We are now an NC Green School of Excellence.
At left, Robin Cape (Executive Director of Reading, Riding, Retrofit), center is Katie Ferrell (Program Director) and Max Mraz – Rainbow Builder and Groundskeeper Extraordinaire.
The Reading, Riding, Retrofit: The NC Green Schools Programs organization strives to recognize and encourage schools thatย practice sustainability. They work to support school initiatives to become more “green” in their practices. For schools who want to participate, they list on their website various goals that schools can try to attain to help green their campuses. They have a five-part rubric: 1) Culture and Community, 2) School Sustainability, 3) Healthy Schools, 4) Curriculum Integration and 5) Innovation.
Rainbow tackledย all fiveย parts. Many schools only try to hit two or three parts of the rubric but we already know that Rainbow strives to go above and beyond with is vision of sustainability.
Joining in the fun was WLOS and Tammy Watford. They came to see the celebration and created a “Never Stop Learning” video documenting our all-school celebration.
They also interviewed two of our Omega students and their perceptions of being “green” and leading sustainable lives.
The first graders performed their “Water Cycle” song and 6th graders shared poems inspired by nature. Take a look at the photos to see all the wonderful students and staff enjoying a beautiful award on a beautiful day.
The Water Cycle Song
First grade Rainbow students sing the “Water Cycle” song as they are filmed by WLOS.
Kindergarten students join the celebration.
Two executive directors converse while students are assembling.
Kindergarten and first grade students get ready for the celebration
Students and teachers look on as sixthย graders read their nature poems.
Students get ready to celebrate
Max, Robin and Torin (an RRR judge) check out the wooden “balance beam” trails on the preschool playground. The NC Green Schools team toured the school after the celebration.
Left to right: Cynthia (who wrote the NC Green Schools application), Renee (Exectutive Director of Rainbow), Robin Cape and Katie Ferrell
NC Green Schools judges and Rainbow staff check out the worm composting bins.
Robin Cape, Executive Director of Reading, Riding Retrofit: NC Green Schools Programs – touring the campus
In Omega, students are responsible for aย Personal Interest Project or PIP.
A PIP involves research on a topic of the student’s choosing but also includes three main components: a written paper 5-7 pages in length, a PowerPoint presentation, and a Creative Portion along with a written paragraph about what the student created to accompany his or her project. ย Written papers also needed to include bibliographies, citations and good writing. Students used a rubric to guide them as they worked.
Students created multiple edited drafts of their projects before completing their final drafts. To be sure, these projects were a great way to teach students about the process of writing, editing, presenting to peers, and using their creative abilities to finish this milestone project.
The following video is one presentation of a student’s PIP project:
Zoe completed her project on the concept of time. She researched the history of time itself, when humans began to use calendars, all the way until humans began to use exact time as an integral part of civilization. She included the different kinds of clocks various societiesย have used, including sun and water clocks.
Did you know that if you take a Cesium atom (the kind they use in atomic clocks) in the here and now, it has theย exact same resonanceย as a Cesium atom one billion light years away, one billion years from now?
That is one spectacular fact that Zoe found when she did the research for this project. She also related what could be complex physics in a very straightforward way!
We are proud of each and every one of our Omega students – they have tackled a challenging task and performed remarkably!
Interested in tie-dyed hats? How about some goat milk soap?
Those are just two of the many entrepreneurial ideas happening in the 6th grade Alpha classroom. In fact, they’reย starting their own businesses!
Starting the Entrepreneurial Project
The sixth grade began reading articles about other students in Asheville who started their own businesses. From there they categorized various businesses intoย those that provide a product and those that provide a service.
Once they did that, the ideas started flying. Of course, with so many ideas comes the process of narrowing down the possibilities to something concrete and specific. In fact, teachers helped students assess their talents and passions to create a business that was in line theirย interests and values. This part of the project certainly involved a lot of personal reflection and sharing to help students determine the best course of action for their businesses – such as to “go it alone” or to create partnerships.
Creating a Business Plan
The next stage of the project was to generate business plans. The first step was in writing a mission statement. Students looked at Rainbow Community School’s mission statement as a starting point. Theyย learned that a mission statement needs to be short, but also clearly communicate the goals of the business.
The Alphas went on to do market research and learn how to identify their customer base as well asย looked at other businesses in Asheville that provide a similar service.
Finally, the students wrote up their business plans that included how to advertise, promote and and secure business loans. In fact, students had to present their business plans to a Loan Committee (that included parents, 6th grade teacher Jennifer and assistant Justin) toย see if they would qualify for a $20 loan.
Learning from Established Businesses
In order to help students understand what it is to start a business, members of the Asheville community visitedย the 6th grade to share their stories. The owners of Chai Pani shared the story of its creation. Other business owners came, too. The message they wanted to drive home?
It’s important to identify your passion and to work for your dream wholeheartedly.ย There’s a feeling of flow and serendipity to identifying one’s dream and then taking the steps to make it happen.ย
They also shared that by recognizing and using your talents, you take your place in creating a better community and world.
Highlights of Alpha Businesses
The sixth grade Alphas are thrilled about their projects. They talk about them in the mornings when they come to school, and leave filled with new ideas of how they’re going to try new products in their businesses or offer a new service. Still, others talk about their first sale. One student made business cards to advertise his company. It’s entirely possible that even after this project ends, many students willย continue working on their businesses. The following are a sampling of what students are doing:
The Spiritual Center: Maia and Sunshine’s Cleaning and Organizing Company
The Spiritual Center: Maia and Sunshine’s Cleaning and Organizing Company. Their mission: “Using the philosophy of Feng Shui, we organize and clean your home in order for you to have an enjoyable, energy-filled and healthy environment.”
Belle is selling eggs from her chickens, and compiling a cookbook of favorite family recipes. She is polishing her business plan to present to her father to secure a loan to purchase five goats. She plans to sell goat’s milk and cheese, goat milk soap and lotion at local farmer’s markets.
Clay and Ryan sell tie-dyed items such as fez hats, ball caps and bow ties.
Annika has created a business selling animal tails that attach to a belt. On the side, she’s creating posters and fliers to help promote her classmates’ businesses.
Pet Snaps is Ben’s pet photography business. He’s designing his own website to attract customers.
Hugh and Juliana have a naturally scented candle business. They make and sell the candles themselves. They have alreadyย been door-to-door in Juliana’s neighborhood selling their creations.
(click to view full-screen – you’ll be able to read all the text clearly)
Rainbow Community School recently was recognized for its efforts at environmental sustainability and the innovative ways in which students and staff aim to learn about and take care of our planet.
The NC Green Schools Committee of the Reading, Riding, Retrofit non-profit organization recently recognized Rainbow as a Green School of Excellence. We are the first to receive such an award.
Rainbow was judged according to five categories: Culture/Community, Curriculum Integration, Healthy Schools, Sustainability and Innovation. We scored very high, which allowed us to become the firstย NC school to achieve the NC Green School of Excellence Award. The other two categories are NC Green School of Quality and NC Green School of Promise.
On May 19th, judges from NC Green Schools will be coming to campus to have a celebration with us at 10 am. Parents are invited to attend.
On behalf of Rainbow, there is a press release on the Mountain Express website, found here:
Rainbowโs mission statement ends by saying we are developing students who will be โleaders in building a more compassionate and environmentally sustainable world.โ
Anyone enrolling their child at Rainbow must resonate with the urgency of this goal.ย One would have to have blinders on to ignore the stream of evidence and quotes from leading scientists, sociologists and experts in almost every field who declare that sustainability is the most important vision for human survival.
From Tony Wagner, โThe solution to our economic and social challenges is the same: creating a viable and sustainable economy that creates good jobs without polluting the planet.ย And there is general agreement as to what that new economy must be based on.ย One word: innovation.โ
This is a three-part Heart of the Matter on preparing children to be innovators.ย In the first part, we will explore how rapidly our world is changing and try to adjust our own thinking to the new paradigm of innovation.ย In Part Two we will examine why innovation is important and how innovators are developed.ย Finally, in Part Three we will unveil the barriers to innovation in our current traditional school system and society.ย We will understand the methods Rainbow uses to encourage innovation, and how parents can support that effort at home.
