Applesauce Taste Test

Hey everyone!  You should try our homemade applesauce!  It tastes great. And the kids from room 209 will soon be holding an applesauce taste test.  We want to know if you prefer store-bought applesauce or homemade applesauce! 

So far, most people have voted for homemade applesauce.   Only a small number of people said they like store bought applesauce best.  And some people, like me, can't tell the difference!   See the graph below.  

And check this out!  Homemade applesauce has less garbage, less ingredients, less sugar and it costs less money!   Homemade applesauce is an easy snack, a tasty snack, an eco-friendly snack.

Come by and take the test for yourself!!!    

Written by Kai

Graph by James and Kalen

                                                             

Gearing Up for Another Waste Audit

Jackman's eco goal is simple... MAKE LESS GARBAGE!   It take a little thought, a little planning, a little extra effort.   But it's worth it.   It's one way we can minimize our impact on the environment.  We hope everyone will join us as we strive to make less garbage. 

And soon, we will put our garbage to the test.  We will conduct another waste audit.  We do it every year.  We save a whole day's worth of Jackman's garbage.  The eco team will conduct a thorough investigation to see exactly what is in there.   It's a messy job, but someone's got to do it.  We will sort it, discuss it, count it, measure it, weigh it and document it.  Then we use this data to make plans for further waste reduction efforts.  Look at our data from the last three years...

2013 - total waste 36 kg 

2014 - total waste 31 kg 

2015 - total waste 21 kg

As you can see, we are making less garbage.  
Here are things we discovered in last year's audit... 

• way too many paper towels, even one paper towel that measured 7m long 
• tons and tons of snack wrappers and other kinds of packaging
• 3 cans, 12 coffee cups and 15 juice boxes (ugh!)

What will 2016 bring?  Are we making less garbage at Jackman?  We hope so.   And soon we'll know exactly how much.  

Jackman's Harvest Festival

It's that time of year again!  It's time for Jackman's Harvest Festival!   It's one of our favourite events.   It's a great way to celebrate our schoolyard greening and eco school initiatives

It's on Friday, October 21, 5:30 - 8:30

Of course there will be lots of food... Popcorn, fresh lemonade,  apples. and of course, everyone's fall favourite... CHILI!    

And this year, we've got something extra special for you.   We're making a salad with our very own Jackman garden greens (lettuce, kale, swiss chard).   It doesn't get any fresher than that!  Drop by for a taste.  

Oh, and don't forget about the Bake Sale.  The Book Sale.  The Pumpkin Sale.  The Scarecrows.  And of course there will be lots of music and dancing. 

This year, we're working to make the festival a garbage-free event.  The lemonade cups are biodegradable   So are the bowls.   The forks are recyclable.   The food waste will be compostable.   There will be plenty of reusable cups to use for water.  No garbage cans needed at our event.  Nothing gets sent to the landfill.  As you know, Jackman takes waste reduction seriously.  Thanks for supporting our garbage free initiative.  

Jackman's Harvest Festival is definitely an event your won't want to miss!   See you all on Friday!

Garden Compost / City Compost

At Jackman, we've been composting for years.  We've been collecting apple cores, banana peels and other fruit and veggie scraps in silver buckets and carting them out to the school yard where we have 3 large compost containers.   That's where our 'garbage' transforms into beautiful rich soil.  It's nature's way of composting.  We call this Jackman's Garden Compost!  It's a win-win situation.   We win because we make less garbage.   And we win because we're creating healthy gardens at Jackman.

Now, the City of Toronto has invited schools to participate in the green bin organic waste program.   We call this our City Compost!   At Jackman, we are now asking everyone to stop throwing their paper towels and tissues in the garbage and put them in the city compost bins instead.   Simple.

Please Note:  We don't want kids to put their fruit in there.   They should save fruit and veggie scraps for our garden compost.   And we don't want kids to put their uneaten lunch food in there.   That's just wasteful.   "Just eat it" is our motto.   We're targeting paper towels and tissues in our city compost program.   In the near future, we'll also add city compost containers to the washrooms at Jackman.  

So, everyone now knows the difference between these two waste reduction programs. It's easy.  Here's a quick review...

Garden Compost... City Compost.  

Making less garbage is Jackman's eco goal.  Our Garden Compost and City Compost programs helps us accomplish that.   It's a small thing we can do to make a big difference.   Let's do everything we can to make less garbage.  

Make Less Garbage

This week at Jackman, we were encouraged to consider a very important eco goal.  We need to...Make Less Garbage!  This is achieved when we reduce, reuse and recycle as much as possible.   Reduce means... making less garbage and using less 'stuff'.   We need to be more aware of the packaging that all our 'stuff' comes in.  Reuse means... using things again.  It's easy to pack a waste-free lunch with reusable containers, bring a reusable water bottle to school.  Reusable coffee cups too.  Recycle means... making things new again.   We can recycle papers and many other things at school.  We need to educate ourselves about what can and cannot be recycled.   Unfortunately, coffee cups and snack wrappers cannot be recycled.   

We also realize that composting is nature's way of recycling.   At Jackman we turn our apple cores, banana peelings and other fruit scraps into rich compost.   Then we use this compost in our gardens.  It's a win-win situation.   We win because we make less garbage.  We also win because our gardens are healthier.   

If we do our part in reducing, reusing and recycling as much as we can, then we'll be sending less waste to landfill.   Did you know that Toronto's landfill is 200km away, near London, Ontario?   We had a laugh when we discovered that Toronto's Landfill is called 'Green' Lane.  There's nothing 'green' about this landfill.  

We are committed to reducing our waste at Jackman.  Will you join us?  

Walk To School Week

Have you heard?  Walking to school is cool - very cool.  It’s great exercise, it’s eco-friendly and it’s a whole lot of fun!

Jackman is hosting our very first Walk To School Week! October 11 - 14, 2016.   It’s a week to celebrate walking to school and to encourage more kids and families to get involved. 

So, walk to school a little bit early each morning so you can participate in these special activities…

Tuesday morning… Stickers!  Walkers will receive a special sticker to celebrate the beginning of ‘Walk To School’ Week!  

Wednesday morning… It’s Wacky Wednesday!   Walk to school wearing a hat today - the wackier the better.   We can’t wait to see what you’re wearing.  We’ll be standing by with cameras to snap pics of all the wacky walkers.

Thursday morning… Sidewalk Art!  Jackman’s Eco Team will be scattered around the block.  They will have sidewalk chalk to share with you.  Draw a picture or write a ‘Walk to School’ message on the sidewalk on your way to school this morning.

Friday morning… Fruit Snacks!  Walk to school this morning and we’ll have a fresh fruit snack waiting for you.  There’s nothing better than fresh fruit.  It’s a healthy snack and garbage free too.

Come on everybody…  let’s get walking!  Walking to school has never been better!!!

Want To Join Jackman's Eco Team?

Hey Kids,

At Jackman, being ECO is something we’re always thinking and talking about.  You’ve heard it… our motto - ‘Every Day is Earth Day at Jackman!‘  'La journée de la terre, chaque jour!' 

Of course, being ECO doesn’t happen by accident… it happens because we make it happen.  To tell you the truth, it’s a lot of hard work.  And that’s where you come in... we need some students to be Jackman’s ECO leaders. 

Jackman’s Eco Team will meet every Wednesday at lunchtime to work on various ECO projects.   Are you interested in joining the JETs?   Are you committed?  If so, complete the ‘job application’ and return it by Friday, September 30.   Looking forward to working with you.

Mr. Cressman, Ms. Csamer, Mme. Pace

P. S.  Parents... you can join Jackman's Eco team too.   Contact one of us to see how you can get involved.