Date: Fri 07-May-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

Earth-Day

Full Text:

Elementary Schools Mark Earth Day With A Variety Of Activities

(with photos)

BY ANN MARIE COHEN

Newtown elementary schools marked Earth Day by scheduling special events

throughout the week of April 26 through April 30.

At Middle Gate School students made ecology bracelets from rawhide and colored

beads. The bracelets helped the children learn about the water cycle. Each

colored bead symbolized elements from nature. For example, a yellow bead was

for the sun or energy and a brown bead for groundwater or percolation. A knot

was tied to complete the cycle after students took a vow to help protect

planet Earth.

The projects continued as students planted radish seeds in a micro tube.

Children were eager to spot the first signs of growth. Pam Fagan, math/science

coordinator at Middle Gate, assured the students that in three to five days

they would see sprouts. Some of the students were just beginning to see the

roots of the radish seedlings.

The children at Middle Gate have also kept a close watch on the developing

Painted butterflies, now in their caterpillar or larvae stage. The Painted

butterflies will be released into the school's Butterfly Garden when they have

emerged from the pupa and completed the metamorphosis.

The Butterfly Garden is a very special, serene spot at Middle Gate. The

conditions are favorable for the butterfly in this garden because the area is

protected and it contains flowers, water and sun.

Observing the theme "Care for Earth," students colored bags donated from the

Super Stop and Shop in Sand Hill Plaza. Children used their creativity to

write slogans, draw pictures and cartoon characters that helped to spread this

message. The bags were then returned to the supermarket where groceries were

bagged for customers to take home.

The creativity did not stop there. Schools held a Song and Poem Day, and as

the name implies, children used their imagination to create songs and write

poetry about the earth.

The culminating activity of the week was planting tree seedlings, an event

that has been scheduled annually for all Newtown elementary schools to

recognize Arbor Day. According to Gail Maletz, math/science specialist at Head

O'Meadow School, this year marks the ten-year anniversary of the generosity of

the "Tree Lady."

The "Tree Lady" is an anonymous donor who cares deeply for the community of

Newtown. It is her wish that youth show a respect for the beauty of nature and

protect the environment. She wants children to be aware that we are in need of

trees and that a tree can take hundreds of years to grow, but can be cut down

in seconds. She spreads this message by arranging for the distribution of tree

seedlings to all students in grades K-5 in the Newtown School District. In

this way, the young students learn how to plant a tree and how to properly

care for it.