On April 9, our school organized a celebration of sustainable practices. One of the objectives of our Nations Goes Green Day is to debunk the myth that sustainability is related to ecology only. From 9 a.m. to noon, students, parents, staff, alumni and members of our community engaged in fun with a touch of “green spirit.” Fourteen activities took place simultaneously. Most activities were student-led, but facilitators and partners helped as well.
Participants could freely join or move on to another activity. Eleventh grader, Britney Mbeng, was in charge of the Drawing Station. They worked on free-hand designs focusing on manga - a Japanese art style. Eleventh graders, Juliana Braz and Amanda Kuppens, led the Face Painting area.
The animal shelter Pet Hostel® collaborated with the school to organize a Pet Adoption Fair for cats and dogs. In three hours, the community adopted eight dogs and four cats! P.E. teacher, Camila Silva, and student volunteers engaged in fun Cooperative Games. The parachute was a great success! The Model United Nations (MUN) Club members organized a Bake Sale to help raise funds for their next MUN Conference.
Diego Considera and Rafael Cardoso, musicians and teachers, made the event even more pleasant with Nations Live Music, in which students sang and played cool songs. Sara Assis, elementary music teacher, organized a workshop of the project Rhythms of the Heart, in which participants create musical instruments with recycled materials. Seventeen children from the community of São Sebastião took part in the activities as well. After creating their instruments, they played a song with the band.
Twenty-three tables were rented for the Flea Market. There were all kinds of products on for sale - from brownies to paintings to clothes and toys. We also set up four stands to advertise projects already implemented at school. The School Factory sold cleaning products made by students. Students representing the Mandala Garden sold organic lettuce just taken that morning. Learning for Fun participants shared information about their project, and the I See Lolei, a project from Cambodia supported by Nations, advertised their project and raised donations. All money raised from the Flea Market table rentals and project sales go to projects organized by students at Nations.
We also had a spectacular exhibition of all the decorative pieces used in our school events, all made of recycled materials such as plastic, glass, cardboard and coffee capsules. Lastly, students who did some deep research on the topic “How can School of the Nations become more sustainable?” presented their ideas of projects on Nations Chats - a TED Talk-like presentation. Five groups presented well-thought out projects to our community.
One participant shared: “The event was so heartfelt and beautiful in all respects. The activities all worked in conjunction with one another. There was a warm and interconnected feeling among all who were there.”
We were very happy with our first Nations Goes Green Day and hope to make it even greater next year.