School Partner - Green Valley Marketplace:
Green Valley Marketplace has been one of our community partners since TVMS opened its doors in the fall of 2014. The store expanded into Howard County in 2011 with a new format, Green Valley Marketplace at 7280 Montgomery Road, Elkridge, Maryland. The store has been very helpful with fund raising projects that assist our efforts at TVMS. Working with our PTSA they provide resources that complement our green initiatives.
Community Resource:
Howard County Conservancy
The educational opportunities offered by the Howard County Conservancy provide our students with a tangible connection to the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Thomas Viaduct Middle School appreciates the opportunity to work with the Conservancy and to coordinate educational field trips for our students on their property. Ann Strozyk, environmental educator at the Howard County Conservancy was the winner. Strozyk has infused the resources of the Howard County Conservancy and other community organizations into the HCPSS curriculum and classroom. Strozyk engages students in learning and supports families and the community as partners in education.
Pataspco Heritage Greenway
The Patapsco Heritage Greenway helps the 8th graders plan and clean up the Patapsco State Park as a portion of their Student Service Learning Project. Hannah Zinnert works with the school prior to the trip to help us plan out areas for cleanup and the logistics of the day. The Patapsco Heritage Greenway gathers volunteers to hand out materials on the day of the trip and to dispose of the invasive plants the students accumulate. We have currently submitted a grant to the Patapsco Heritage Greenway to fund supplies for the students with their overarching project to inform the community of preserving the Thomas Viaduct.
Project Donors and Volunteers:
Mr. Connor
Mr. Connor, was our HCPSS facilities contact and worked with students to find good locations for our outdoor classroom and garden. He patiently helped our students to understand landscape design and calculations for mulch. He was a great asset to our projects.
Ms. Sweeney
Ms. Sweeney is the energy efficiency manager for Howard County schools. She met with staff and informed them of the previous year's energy usage. She broke down the energy consumption and gave suggestions on how to maximize energy conservation. Her PowerPoint can be found in here. Click Here
Mr. Wilkinson (butterfly garden)
To design our Butterfly Garden for the spring of 2017 we were approached by a member of the community who is quite active with identifying various species of butterflies present on our campus. His name is Jim Wilkinson and we have established a working relationship with him to help us with our butterfly garden which will be installed beside our outdoor learning area. Our master naturalist met with a group of science teachers to strategize ways that we can include native species of plants in our garden(s) that will attract and preserve these vital insects. Students in the Garden Design Club were given the information so that they could plan an appropriate space during our next Green Field Day, June 2017.
Green Field Day:
When we planned our celebration, Green Field Day, in the Spring of 2016 we found it to be our best plan of action for involving the community with our student based activity. Donations and loan items were accepted through Sign Up Genius.
Additional Celebrations: