PTO Today

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Just came across a really neat program called the Green Thumb Challenge, offered by the Green Education Foundation (GEF).  Sounds like a wonderful opportunity for parent groups, schools, and most importantly kids!

The purpose of the challenge is to introduce kids across the country to the joys and healthy benefits of gardening.

The program runs between February 1 and August 31, 2010 and has set the goal of 10,000 classroom and outdoor gardens. How cool is it to think of 10,000 schools and parent groups working together to teach their children more about nature, sustainability, and nutrition? Besides the obvious benefits of participation, GEF has teamed up with Lowe’s and is offering all participants $10 off a $50 purchase at Lowe’s, and the opportunity to be awarded a $5,000 grant in recognition of their garden project.

Think I’ll bring it up at the next PTO meeting, how about you?

Well happy Friday PTO Today community! Can you believe that January is coming to an end? Felt like a fast month to me, how about you? When you live in New England, winter months flying by is a good thing.

Here’s the news recap for this week:

Found more great stories about schools and parent groups coming through for Haiti with creative ideas:

http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/darien/newsnow/x1920347013/Glenbard-schools-host-fundraisers-for-Haiti

http://www.courier-gazette.com/articles/2010/01/29/news_update/252.txt

http://freehold.injersey.com/2010/01/28/freehold-twp-pupils-hopping-for-haiti-2/

Always happy to see articles about fun family events:

Mini golf:  http://www.cannonfalls.com/main.asp

Science Fair: http://www.morningsun.net/featured/x562888504/Lakeside-hosts-annual-Science-Fair

Fundraising, the good, the bad, and the ugly:

Good: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm

http://www.redbankgreen.com/2010/01/get-ready-to-keel-over-in-the-kitchen.html

Bad: http://www.ktvb.com/news/regional/Papa-Johns-franchise-short-changed-elementary-schools-83042432.html

Ugly: http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp

Remember, if your parent group  has been in the news and you’d like to share your story with other leaders email me at lgundlach@ptotoday.com and I’ll include your story in our round-up. If you are wondering how to get your school event in the news, be sure to read our article on how to write a press release.

How cool is it that this PTA mom, Tricia Elisara, came up with an idea of a “Green Party Kit” to make classroom parties a little more environmentally friendly and ended up winning a “Green Effect” contest?  Elisara was one of five winners across the United States in the “Green Effect,” an event cosponsored by SunChips food brands and National Geographic, which asked people to submit ideas to help their neighborhood go green. For winning she received $20,000 and was profiled in National Geographic magazine. Not too shabby!

This Margaret Mead quote comes to mind:  ”Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed citizens to change the world. Indeed, it has never been done otherwise.”

If you are looking for a way to get your school on the green team, check out our Go Green Night Kit. It’s a fun way to build community in your school and teach families about ways they can help the environment.

Is your PTO or PTA involved in any green projects? We’d love to hear what you are up to!

If you spend anytime on our website, you know that we are all about  parent groups building community. That’s why we love this idea that a New Jersey PTA came up with; use their school’s PTA website to help neighbors in a down economy.  To accomplish this, they have set up an “items for exchange” section on their website — see the “can anyone use a…” tab. Very cool.

”With the current economy the way it is, it would be kind of nice for neighbors to help neighbors,” said Rodger Lippman, the PTA’s president and webmaster. “Items that may be obsolete for one person can go a long way toward helping someone else.”

Now, that’s the kind of parent group that will attract attention and make people want to join. Thought maybe your parent group would like to take this idea and run with it.

What does your PTO or PTA do to build community or reach out to neighbors? Jump in here and tell us about it.

Building school pride and connecting kids with nature are just two of the remarkable ways that Lowe’s Tool Box for Education Grants help schools. To date, they have provided more than $17 million to almost 4,000 schools across the country. What the numbers don’t tell you, is how these grants promote parent involvement in schools and bring communities together. Pretty awesome.

Their fall grant cycle is now open. So, if your PTO or PTA  has a beautification project that you are not sure how you are going to fund, be sure to check out their website.  Also, if you want to see what some other schools are doing with their grant money, visit the Lowe’s Toolobox for Education Facebook page.

Came across this article about a Rapid City Elementary School “joining the green scene.” Kudos go to their PTA group for taking a lead on this initiative in their school.

Working in conjunction with the non-profit organization, Michigan Green Schools, Rapid City Elementary is pledging to be more environmentally friendly and to educate students on the importance of good ecological and environmental practices.

This article is a must read for any school who is looking for ideas of ways to make their school more eco-friendly. Also, lots of great ideas about how to teach kids about conservation and the environment.

Always nice to hear about parent groups involved in Green Initiatives at their schools.

This recent article talks about how the Chipman Middle School planted an edible garden and plans to plant a floral garden in the fall. The school’s blog has some great pics of the project! Love this quote:

We feel proud and satisfied that our committee has achieved a major goal: Chipman Middle School will have a garden which adds beauty to the school campus, softening the cement and concrete; the garden will teach lessons in nutrition, science, discipline and patience; we have learned that we can come from many different places to work together.

Some great ideas. If your PTO or PTA is looking for a way to get families together and make a difference in your school and the environment, check out our Go Green Night kit!

When this Kansas school district cut bus service to students who live within 2.5 miles of their schools, the parents could have balked. Instead they came up with a really cool idea! It’s called the “walking school bus.” Kids will be encouraged to walk to school with the aid of parent volunteers in bright yellow vests. Many neat things are accomplished with this solution:
~ It reduces the carbon foot print.
~ It gets kids to exercise.
~ And it builds community.

Impressive.