In 2009-10 the students chose water as our focus. Our goals were to rededicate our school as an International Peace Site, to create a culture of kindness in our school by implementing a kindness campaign, and to promote an environmental focus on "Clean Water for All"
We accomplished the following:
• We started a kindness campaign in our school. The students a kindness box that sits in the main office. Every classroom has forms available. When a student catches someone going out of their way to be kind, they report them by filling out a 'You were caught being kind" form. Once it is filled out they put it in the Kindness Box in the main office. Each week the peace committee collects the forms and creates a card for the student thanking them for the specific act they did to promote kindness, and the principal acknowledges highlights a few of the actions and the students who made them, over the intercom.
• We created our own green cleaning supplies, an all purpose spray and a creamy soft scrub that we sell to support our program.
• We made a peace dove out of 6 twin sheets, that has a wing span of 21 feet. This peace dove led our Parade of the Species on Earth Day and is used as a focal point in our assemblies as well as at community events.
• We took twelve of our peace committee members to a gathering at UW Tacoma to meet and listen to a Delegation of Japanese survivors of the Atomic Bomb. Our students made peace doves that the presented the delegation. Afterwards, UW installed their Peace Pole and our students were part of the celebration with their giant peace dove.
• We raised over $6000.00 to provide clean water and a school vegetable garden to the children of Las Maratos, Bolivia with Etta Projects by selling our green cleaning supplies, garden bulbs and plant starts, by starting an after school store on the playground each Friday and selling bug necklaces and organic suckers and by having a school wide coin drive.
• We applied for and were awarded a $2500.00 splash grant by the City of Tacoma. We utilized these funds to accomplish the following:
Over 275 elementary age students visited Puget Creek watershed to deepen their understanding of the connection between what we put down our storm drains and watershed health. One of our 5th grade students asked his teacher, "Are we still in Tacoma?"
We purchased 4 rain barrels for our school gardens. Our children's house, Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary and Middle School were each given a rain barrel to design and paint. These beautiful works of art were presented to the school on World Water Day and the afterwards installed on our school in time Approximately 450 children were involved in this project.
Envirochallenger presented Down the Storm Drain: Where does the flow go? to over 125 students.
The students and adults of the Bryant Peace Committee planned, organized and implemented a World Water Day Assembly for the 450 students and 50 staff members of our school.
We implemented an Earth Day Garden and Water Festival and Parade of the Species.
Our Earth Day garden party was open to the greater community. We had over 700 people attend and Over 40 vendor, activity and information booths educated and supported healthy garden practices.
Middle School students ran information booths and activities that showed examples of water cohesion and adhesion.
Students and their families made 10 worm compost bins. Families then took home the worm bins to foster them for the school. The compost will be used for our school garden.
We sent home weekly articles on water health to the 425 student families and we put a flyer that included the Salmon friendly gardening tips in the mailboxes of 400 homes.
We purchased books, school aquatic field guides, classroom aquifer models, music cds and videos for our classrooms and school library to increase student awareness of water health.
We purchased materials and built a 3 tier garden compost and tools for our school composting project.
Working with a local artist we created a watershed mosaic.
• We organized a Parade of the Species for Earth Day in which our giant peace dove led parents, students, staff, and neighbors around our hilltop neighborhood dressed as their favorite animals and carrying signs promoting protection of our watersheds.
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