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MSS Participates in Meeting on the Mount

Mr. Love and students Sean Vietri and Sarah Szukalski represented Mother Seton School at the conference "Connecting Our Children With Nature" hosted by Mount St. Mary's University and sponsored by The Catoctin Forest Alliance.

MSS exhibited a variety of artifacts from our Green School project and our representatives explained the program to participants eager to replicate it at their own schools. Sarah and Sean had the privilege of speaking with the featured speaker, Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, which he autographed for them.

Mother Seton School Partners with Catoctin Forest Alliance

As a Maryland Green School, Mother Seton School (MSS) strives to work with other community agencies to bring about opportunities to enhance the school-wide Green School mission. Elizabeth Prongas, Catoctin Forest Alliance (CFA) Board Member, member of their Education and Conservation Committee, and MSS Green School Committee member, recognized a great opportunity for the two organizations to partner.

Working with MSS Art Teacher Karolyn Myers and the MSS Art Angels, students in grades one, five, and six recently created three-dimensional centerpieces shaped like trees using recycled sign boards. First grade students added tissue paper for the tree canopy and learned the parts of a tree. Fifth and sixth grade students also discussed the importance of maintaining the national, state, and community parks. An action figure was created to go with each centerpiece to represent the importance of students interacting with the outdoors. The centerpieces will be on display for several of the CFA events.  “The Catoctin Forest Alliance is privileged to be involved with Mother Seton School and support their Green School program,” said Prongas.

Mother Seton School promotes learning, preservation, and deep appreciation for the earth’s environment and wildlife. On September 21, 2011, MSS will once again recognize World Peace Day as a school and community event. The 2011 theme will be “Protect and Preserve Our Environment.”

The mission of the Catoctin Forest Alliance is to preserve and promote the health of the Catoctin Mountain forest to benefit present and future generations. To learn more about CFA, visit www.catoctinforestalliance.com or call 301-271-4459.

First Grade Students at Mother Seton School help to create centerpieces for the Catoctin Forest Alliance.  The centerpieces will be used in several upcoming events.  (l to r) Sam Scovitch, Caitlin Marron, Madeline Shea, Jacob Hartness, Aoife Nelson, Katherine Bowlby, Raphaela Smalldone, Elizabeth Kiley, Emma Wivell, Sarah Mulqueen, Taylor Reisinger, Timothy Wahl, Thomas Wiles, Matthew Knox, Matthew Wetzel, and Benjamin Jacobson.

TRASH REDUCED!

Thanks to switching to reusable trays and lunch containers, we reduced daily lunch trash from 6 to 2.5 bags! Thank you!

saving green

Mr. Jake Ford, Facilities Manager, has implemented several changes that not only have made MSS greener, but have saved the school a lot of money.

New floor stripping products are now being used on the MSS campus. The old products, beside being very hazardous, were also expensive. The new product and pads not only do a superior job, but also save MSS over $1,500 annually.

All of the paper dispensers have been replaced, allowing MSS to use 100% recycled paper products.

Cleaning products are now 100% eco-friendly and light bulbs are being replaced with energy efficient bulbs.

Grade Projects

As part of the Green School curriculum, students are learning first hand how to be good stewards of our natural resources.

Pre-K and Kindergarten - Maintaining a raised strawberry patch, with the help of parents Chip and Mary Ann Mace, owners of Fox Leigh Farm in Littlestown.

1st Grade - Maintaining a tulip garden, with help from Rose Laudani and Georgette Blocher.

2nd Grade - Creating a registered Monarch Butterfly Way Station. Monarch Way Stations provide resources to help monarchs produce successive generations and sustain their migration.

3rd Grade - Creating a vegetable garden to provide fresh produce in the summer and planting a pumpkin patch with the help of the Mace family.

4th Grade - Maintaining and keeping track of the blue bird houses already placed on the grounds.

5th Grade - Planting and maintaining an herb garden.

Project Updates

Pastor Jon Greenstone from Elias Lutheran Church is shown demonstrating planting to MSS Brownie Troop 1379 who came to assist at Mother Seton School's Ground Day. Over 300 donated trees and shrubs create a riparian buffer—reducing erosion—along the sides of the streams that border the school’s property. Species were chosen for appeal to area wildlife and being adaptive to the ecosystem.

Kindergarten:  Our Kindergarten students made beautiful window decorations by reusing plastic lids and painting them! Cool!