The old adage goes, “it takes a village to raise a child,” and Bay Mills knows that every school has a story of how a community came together to provide the best framework for their kids to learn what it means to be a part of this world. Recently, Lake Superior Academy (LSA) was able to do exactly that: ensuring that their school works in tandem with their environment and as a result, teaches their students how to interact with the natural world in a healthy way.
Last month, LSA was awarded Michigan Green School Status. This prestigious award comes after an extensive submission process. To be considered, a school must have at least two projects in each of the four categories completed. The categories are clean energy, recycling, environmental protection, and miscellaneous.
The amount of work that goes into qualifying is substantial. "It's not just one person at the school, all the teachers make it important, parents get involved, it's a community effort to get so much done," Principal Susie Schlehuber said in a recent piece featured in The Sault News.
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Provided by Little Traverse Conservancy |
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In the 2021- 2022 school year, K-5 students completed twelve projects to date. Students made gardens to redirect rainwater from flooding their building, constructed windmills to learn about renewable energy, and even made an environmentally friendly nature trail where they learned survival skills and safe snow hiking.
"When kids leave, we want them to have established habits," said Schlehuber to The Sault News. "Not just read about them or not just know that they're good but to have done them enough that when they leave and even get into adulthood, they're used to doing those things and it's more of just a common practice for them."
These awards are given by the Michigan Green Schools Foundation, a nonprofit that helps Michigan schools become more environmentally friendly. It began in 2006 and by 2016, more than 650 Michigan schools have participated in it.
For more information about the programs involved, visit the Michigan Green Schools website.
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Mayor of Plymouth, Nick Moroz, recently visited Plymouth Scholars Charter Academy (PSCA), and visited Ms. Jacqueline Kubik’s second grade class to read a book and talk about the role of government.
“My students were so excited to have the mayor read to us! It was a great connection for our scholars to be able to talk to someone who works in our government, and it made the concept of government more real, allowing students to get a small glimpse into the hard work that goes into keeping us safe and helping us solve our problems,” Ms. Kubik said.
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Provided by Plymouth Scholars Charter Academy |
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The occasion coincided perfectly with the class’s current unit on government. Ms. Kubik recounted that Mayor Moroz answered all the students’ questions “about what the job of mayor entails, the challenges that he faces as a mayor, and how he works to keep our community safe and our community members happy.” The mayor even brought and signed bookmarks for them in honor of March’s Reading Month.
There are a few essential steps that go into hosting a notable guest at a school. Principal Sabrina Terenzi explains the process, “National Heritage Schools (NHS) reaches out to the local area government offices and invites them to our schools for March is Reading Month. If they are interested, they set up a time. We follow up with a thank you email for them attending.” Though this is the system for schools under the NHA umbrella, other schools can follow the same steps: reaching out for a timely event and planning a visit.
Students also learn the etiquette of having an important person visit, “Before our guest reader comes, we discuss how we can make our guest feel welcome in our classroom and how we can show him/her respect during their time with us,” says Ms. Kubik. “I also have my scholars come up with pre-planned questions so that when it comes time for Q&A with our speaker, they are ready with some thoughtful questions.”
Moments like this showcase how learning opportunities are amplified when community members come around to support the work done in area schools.
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About Bay Mills Community College Charter Schools |
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Bay Mills Community College began authorizing charter schools in the year 2000 and now authorizes 46 schools serving approximately 23,660 students.
Our Mission: To ensure a quality education for urban, minority, and/or poor children by improving and expanding educational opportunities through innovative oversight methods. To provide academy boards with the necessary support and training so that they may make educated decisions that are in the best interest of the students that attend their academies.
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