Why Should Thomas Viaduct Middle School Become A Green School?
In the 2014-2015 school year , we were pleased to open our doors to the community as a LEED Silver certified school! Our student body learned about this through the morning announcements on a television show we call TV2. Teachers and students watched a Video. Click HERE to see it! Students also completed a den lesson. Click HERE to see it! Our Principal, Shiney John, also envisioned a committee comprised of staff members who would meet monthly to discuss and implement a pathway for our school to become green certified! Service learning projects also contained environmental initiatives. Our 6th graders learned about stormwater management and its positive impact on the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The 6th graders also participated in a culminating field trip to The Howard County Conservancy at Belmont. The trip reinforced many of the positive environmental impact strategies students were learning in the classroom. In the middle of the school year, December of 2014, all students were guided to complete a survey through the TVMS Canvas page so that our committee could collect data about the students body at TVMS. Click HERE to view the survey! With the results from the survey, a group of students formed and started participating in a Green Club, as part of our Beyond the Wolf Den program. In the 2015-2016 school year, we began a student and staff educational initiative to curb “vampire” energy use. The campaign would be geared toward staff and students with a launch weekend occurring near Halloween. The school was contacted by a community member who studies migratory butterflies that live on our campus. He met with the science teachers to enlist our help in trying to promote preservation efforts for when the meadow beside our school becomes a new elementary school. Students were also enlisted in a school wide competition to design and improve the area behind TVMS with a Garden Design. Science teachers in every grade level enlisted all students to participate through their classes. Students from the competition created a club that met weekly beginning in late March of 2016. The club members were instrumental in laying out access paths to our outdoor classroom. Our first annual Green Field Day also occurred during the spring of 2016. The event involved all students and staff members working together in a competitive Olympic Spirit to beautify and preserve the exterior of TVMS for our community. Our new 6th grade class continued learning about stormwater management through their science classes and service learning project. The 6th graders participated in a culminating field trip to The Howard County Conservancy at Mt. Pleasant. The trip had the students active and involved with learning about invasive species and preserving areas to prevent erosion. Our 2016-2017 school year has been so rewarding as we achieve and cross off our goals for our Green School Program this year:
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