Clairlea Green

During Earth DAY

2011-03-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Thomas and Adam for recycling.

Peace. (P.S. It's someone else posting. Anyways, it's Nic.)

Eco Updates

2011-03-24T19:41:00.001-07:00

Forgive me Clairlea. It's been seven months since my last post. It's been a very busy year, but we've been busy making Clairlea a more ecologically friendly place to be. Stay tuned for more photos of our green side.

In the meanwhile, let's enjoy a moment as we celebrate our Gold level eco status from last year. Will we be Gold again next year?

E. Hawkins

Hoisting the magical gold sticker.

Oh yeah

Proud students who help out with the Green Team take a moment to celebrate eco gold.

Green Team Back in Action

2010-09-22T20:13:00.000-07:00

Familiar and new faces were seen taking care of recycling business in the hallways of Clairlea today. Thank you so much! This year, the Green Team will be involved in creative projects as well. We have to keep the Gold dream alive.

An extra thanks to Kayleigh for her boundless enthusiasm. She told me that she was picking up trash in her neighbourhood and plans to pick up trash in the Clairlea yard tomorrow. I hope to provide back up support. Awesome initiative, Kayliegh!

Thanks also to our "lights out" checkers this week: Justin P. and Thomas T. They really enjoy the power of busting teachers. Who knew?

- E. Hawkins

I wanted to upload BTO's "Takin' Care of Business" for the hard rock eco kids, but there wasn't a decent YouTube version, so Bobs and Lolo it is. This is how I wake up each day. LOL

Stop the Press!

2010-06-22T15:08:00.001-07:00

We just found out that based on our recent audit, EcoSchools has granted Clairlea Gold-level eco status!!!!! We are terribly excited about this news. Thanks to everyone who has worked hard to make this happen, especially the boys and girls on the Green Team and in the Gardening Club. We couldn't have done it without you. Now go do your happy dance!

E. Hawkins

Clairlea Green 2009-10

2010-06-22T07:51:00.000-07:00

A huge thanks goes out to Nicolas Louie in Room 204 for this slide show retrospective. Nic is one talented guy. One day, he'll be making feature films, mark my word.

E. Hawkins

EcoSchool Audit

2010-06-10T16:20:00.000-07:00

Kids from Room 204 putting the finishing touches on their "green home" earlier this year. There are many amazing examples of ecological literacy in action around Clairlea.

Hello,

Today, a representative from TDSB's EcoSchool department came by to evaluate how much Clairlea has done this year in terms of energy conservation, waste reduction, and ecological literacy. In attendance was Ms. Persaud, our chief custodian Harold Porter, Mr. Knierim, and myself. We answered a series of questions and later Mr. Knierim and I gave a tour of Clairlea both inside and outside of the school.

We had a very positive report, especially about the high number of children involved in the Green Team, as well as the grant we have received for new trees to be planted on the west side of the school next fall.

We will find out about our EcoSchool status within the next two weeks and we'll keep you posted. Thank everyone - especially the children of Clairlea - who have worked so hard to help us in our effort to make the school a greener place. Way to go!

E. Hawkins

Gardening Club Plants in the Habitat

2010-06-10T04:11:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all the Gardening Club kids who came out in the wet muck yesterday. We actually managed to plant our lupin, lamb's ears, and perennial grass seedlings that the kids started indoors a couple of weeks ago, along with some hand-me-down plants from my garden. The Habitat is slowly taking shape.

Great work boys and girls!

- Ms. Hawkins

Three cheers for worms! I love that the kids are such big fans of worms and not squeamish.

Planting seedlings.

Trying to level the land.

Pulling out dead roots.

More worm love.

Baby lupins.

Sedums and other tough perennials now in the Habitat.

*Don't forget, we're still happy to take donations of sun-loving perennials (native if possible), and dark mulch. Just drop it off under the stairs in front of the office. Thanks. The Garden Club meets for the last time this school year, next Wednesday after school.

Backyard Treasures

2010-06-08T17:28:00.000-07:00

I'd like to send out a huge thanks to the boys, girls, and families who have really come through to make the Habitat at the front of the school take root. A special thanks to Rob Poulin who donated equipment and a large amount of personal time to help us break the back of the weeds.

This is a space with history, which I'm learning more about. Save for a few trees, we're starting over again with a goal to nurture the Habitat from year to year and encouraging students and families from the Clairlea neighbourhood to call it their own and keep it growing.

We're actually at the stage where we can start thinking about getting some plants and shrubs in the ground. If you're able to make a donation, we'd be most grateful. We're still in need of triple mix and dark mulch. Please drop off donations under the stairs in front of the office with a contact name and number so that we can thank you. You could also drop off donations during the Garden Club hours of 3:30-4:30 on Wednesdays.

If you have any hardy, sun-loving perennials growing in your backyard e.g. sedums...
daylilies, herbs such as chives and thyme... We be happy to take a small clump.
I dug out a few plants this evening that can be planted in the Habitat tomorrow, such as foam flower (above). This is a tough, clumping perennial that is hard to kill (take if from me).
I also found coreopsis (tickseed), stonecrop sedums, yarrow, and candytuft.
I just noticed an East York worm on the top of this pot. "Clairlea, here I come!"

We have white cedar shrubs at the front of our house which self-cultivate. If left unpruned, it can grow into a tree.

Thanks again,

Erin Hawkins

Clairlea Gardening Club Needs Shovels

2010-05-20T14:19:00.000-07:00

Hello,

Thanks to the hard work of the wonderful kids in our Gardening Club, we are starting to make some progress with the weeds and old grass at the front of the school. It is however, a huge job. Many parents and teachers have kindly donated shovels and it is great to meet families all happy to pitch in. We are in desperate need of more garden shovels. I reckon we need 10 more shovels to keep the Garden Club digging along. Many children are showing up eager to help, but unable to actively get involved due to the lack of shovels. I am now thinking about how we can get some shovels for the kids. If you have any suggestions, please post a comment below, or meet me at the front of Clairlea after school next Wednesday.

Ideas:

Gardening Club bake sale
solicit Clairlea families or people in the community to "adopt a shovel" - this would mean buying a shovel that we could have students paint their name on to honour their contribution
approach big box hardware stores to look into the possibility of a donation (I've worked in retail in a previous life and know how stores get approached all the time to donate and they can be stand-offish in this department)
send out requests to borrow shovels from Clairlea families - this would mean more paper going home

Please let me know if you think any of these ideas work. I am in touch with a parent who works at a tool leasing company to see if they can help.

Thanks for your help and a big thanks to all of the hard-working kids in the Gardening Club and the family members who have supported us in different ways. I'm a do-it person and I'm determined to move this project forward. Our classroom faces the front of the school and we were roasting from the heat this afternoon. One day, a nice big tree will cool things down. We'll make it happen.

E. Hawkins

Reducing Waste With New Pizza Lunch Forms

2010-05-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

How great is this? Über parent/volunteer Ginnie excitedly brought this new Pizza Lunch form to me last week. Now kids can use the order form on the outside of the envelope to choose their food and drink and parents can put their money inside it. This reduces additional paper envelopes/plastic baggies and also means that teachers no longer have to fumble around stapling paper together when kids bring in loose money.

This may seem like a little thing, but when you consider just how many kids participate in Pizza Lunch, you realize what a huge step this is in Clairlea's mission to become a more ecologically friendly school.

Bravo!

Boomerang Lunch Blasts Off

2010-05-15T11:34:00.000-07:00

I'll be taking photos to show the lunchroom recycling bin soon. Our staff compost and recycle, but we're encouraging staff to boomerang their lunch too.

Last week, Clairlea Public School began its boomerang lunch initiative. What this means is that all garbage or left-overs from lunch must either be recycled or go back home with students. We no longer have a garbage can in the gym and primary lunch room - only a recycling bin. Ms. Vincent grabbed a big marker and wrote "Compost" on one of her classroom bins and now we have a compost bin in the Gym. Grace, a fantastic Grade 5 student from Room 204 is emptying the little bin into the big compost bin at the front of the school. We've had a few kids dumping half-eaten hotdogs and meat sandwiches into it, so we'll have to make a few announcements to educate kids about what can be composted.

Thanks to Mr. Porter, our head custodian for embracing the recycling program and thanks to the lunchroom supervisors, students, and parents for getting behind this initiative. I've heard more positive comments than negative remarks. We have to work together to make green things happen at the school.

Next year, I'll be asking all teachers to report back to me to share how they are fostering ecological literacy in the classroom.

Thanks for reading,

E. Hawkins

Pictures From the Gardening Club

2010-05-09T06:02:00.001-07:00

Gardening Club Rocks Tomorrow

2010-05-04T16:50:00.000-07:00

A fabulous Clairlea kid as seen last year at the weedy front of the school. Can this space be transformed? Yes indeed!

Come one, come all!

Tomorrow after school (3:40-4:30) Clairlea's Gardening Club begins. We will meet in front of the school. An announcement will be made telling children who are not being picked up by a parent/guardian to come to Ms. Hawkins' room (204) at 3:30.

Mrs. Brathwaite and I will be out there working with children and parents digging up the weeds and grass.

Thanks to those who have sent in kind words of encouragement. These are the things that keep us going.

Hope to see you there!

Erin Hawkins

P.S. Don't forget to bring a shovel or send one in with your child.

You're My Black-Eyed Susan

2010-04-26T19:40:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the seed planting session last week. We hope the seeds will germinate soon and that we can plant them at the front of the school once the tough old turf is cultivated. If you're reading this and you can donate drought-tolerant perennials or if you can lend the budding Gardening Club a shovel and some time, we are looking to start working the land soon. Please drop a note in my mailbox, send a note through your child's teacher, or leave a comment here.

Thank you!

E. Hawkins

A little dirt never hurt.

Ta-dah!

Great to see French Immersion and English students coming together at our school. Oui!

Green Team member inspects his little pot.

The haunted watering can.

On semi-related note, I garbage-picked this watering can from a dearly departed neighbour last year. He had amassed a crazy collection of watering cans and now this one is being used in the Green Team instead of sitting in a landfill. Kingsley lived a good long life. He loved to garden and enjoyed a good laugh. He'd be happy knowing his can was in a classroom and that we're able to joke about the haunted watering can. Seriously.
Pass the haunted watering can!

Here's what you'll find in the Clairlea staff room. The staff put the compost bin at the front of the school to good use.

Take Your Family To Riverdale Farm

2010-04-23T19:35:00.000-07:00

Riverdale Farm is a great place to spend the afternoon. Located in Cabbagetown on a 7.5 acre spread, you'll find farm animals and numerous species of wild animals and birds in the bird conservation area on the lower level. It's open to the public and free. Let your kids roam around Riverdale Farm and get their hands a little dirty. You can access the Riverdale Farm by TTC or car. For more information, visit http://www.toronto.ca/parks/riverdalefarm.htm

There's plenty to discover down at the pond. My son had fun playing by the creek and we discovered numerous toads and turtles - even a dead turtle. It was fun and educational.

Tulips and daffodils are in bloom right now. Get yourselves down there and forget about the rat race.

E. Hawkins

Plant Materials Needed

2010-04-08T19:14:00.001-07:00

Hello,

Mrs. Brathwaite and I will soon be starting a Gardening Club. Our short term goal is to beautify the front of the school. We are asking people from the Clairlea community to kindly donate perennials. The front of the school is south-facing and soaks up a lot of sun. For this reason, we are looking for drought-tolerant plants that could withstand the weather and limited watering in the summer. Native plants, including grasses would be ideal, although we'd be grateful for any contribution, including soil and mulch.

If you are able to donate, please either send a note with your child to the attention of Mrs. Brathwaite or Ms. Hawkins. You could also leave your name and a way to contact you in the comment section below.

On a related note, I am looking for avocado seeds for a Green Team project. The kids have been busy with the recycling bins, but now that the weather is better, I'd love for them to be growing plants from seed and taking on other projects in the school.

Please send in your avocado seeds with your child to the attention of Ms. Hawkins. Thanks a bunch.

School Yard Clean Up

2010-04-03T10:08:00.001-07:00

Last Thursday, Clairlea students took to the yard to clean, clean, clean. The field looks 100% better now. Let's keep it that way.

Great work, kids!

Photos From Earth Hour Day

2010-03-26T14:25:00.000-07:00

Clairlea celebrated Earth Hour the whole day. Here are some photos documenting this beautiful day that kept power on the back burner, so to speak.

Mr. Knierim was all smiles before turning off the staff room photocopiers for the day. Teachers and staff managed to make it through an instructional day without worksheets while children rejoiced and trees raised their branches in praise.
These babies are usually treated like beloved friends. Today, they sat idle, like spurned lovers.
Not the set of a horror film, but the hallway on the second floor of Clairlea. We kept the hallway lights off all day. Only emergency lights were kept on. The hallways were a lot brighter near the windows as you'll see in the photos below.
Room 204 did a few green activities today. One such activity involved rummaging through blue boxes to find random texts that would be used to create "found" poems.
From trash to treasure, students got busy and created some highly entertaining and occasionally mysterious poems.
Plundered Forest Valley trip form becomes a curious poem. While the poem below has something to do with the word "March."

Thanks to students, staff, and families for making this day a green success.

Earth Hour & Last Child in the Woods

2010-03-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

This Friday, Clairlea will be participating in Earth Hour. During the afternoon, staff and students will be asked to "power off." This means lights, computers and all other electrically powered contraptions will be turned off as a symbolic gesture. We can survive without electricity for a little while. I'm also hoping that this Friday we can turn off the photocopiers in the staff room and the upstairs resource room all day. We can do it!

When I was a child, I'd spend hours outside playing at the local parks, climbing trees and riding my bike around our neighbourhood. We were lucky enough to have a cottage where I learned how to fish and garden with my dad. I also learned not to fear nature. As a teenager, we lived on a street opposite the Scarborough Bluffs. I used to wander over to the grounds of the Guild Inn and write poetry and take pictures of flowers and trees. Nature was my greatest influence and it certainly brought out a creative side - much to my own surprise.

Several teachers at Clairlea have been inspired by Richard Louv's book Last Child in the Woods. Louv makes a very strong case that today's children are not spending nearly enough time outdoors as they should be. Here is a blurb from the back of the book: "This new edition updates the growing body of evidence linking the lack of nature in children's lives and the rise in obesity, attention disorders, and depression." Louve talks about how children today are being raised as "container kids," shuttled back and forth in cars from one indoor space to another, spending too much time parked in front of the TV or computer and not enough free range time exploring the world outside.

I am reading this book right now and as a parent and teacher, it's already forcing me to make changes in the way I spend time with our young son as well as my class at Clairlea. We will definitely be spending more time learning in outdoor classroom over the next few months. To read more about this book visit http://richardlouv.com/last-child-woods I may be including some of Louv's discussion points on upcoming posts.

Stay fresh and green,

Erin Hawkins

Our Love Affair With the Photocopier

2010-02-20T08:41:00.000-08:00

As part of our mission to reduce paper waste, Mrs. Kumagawa has assigned each teacher a code number for the standard photocopiers. We do not require a sign on for the more energy-efficient Riso in the staffroom. Mrs. Kumagawa recently posted the January totals for the non-Riso copiers. I'm sharing the totals for the top ten teachers who used the least amount of paper. Many teachers were in the 1000-2000 sheet range, which is not bad. Some went up higher still. We all need to use photocopied materials in our classroom, but we can all try to cut down by planning ahead. Let's see how February will be.

Soon, the Green Team will be announcing a super throw-down: a trial run at a Photocopy-Free Friday. This would mean photocopiers would be shut down for the day to reduce energy consumption and reduce paper use. Teachers would not be allowed to use pre-photocopied materials either, unless it's an overhead transparency. Can we do it? I already hear fingernails scratching blackboards.

January Photocopier Totals

Chow 65
Knierim 255
Triggiani 365
Fahim 385
Demeter 421
Park 536
Vincent 801
Kryzanowski 829
Hawkins 866
Cano 932

Here's a reminder from the late, great Marvin Gaye.

As Heard Monday Morning

2010-01-13T05:44:00.000-08:00

The Stuff Diet

2010-01-12T17:17:00.000-08:00

Vintage glass from the thrift store - good.

Crazy over-packaged stuff you don't really need - bad.

In today's Toronto Star, Catherine Porter wrote about "The Stuff Diet" which basically involves not buying anything other than essential items (such as food and health-related items) for three months. I'm going to try it out and see if I can do it. Apparently, you can still go to thrift stores since you are helping to keep objects from the landfill. This means I can thrift for vintage household treasures without breaking this three month promise. Can I do it?

Stay tuned.

E. Hawkins

Here's a link to Catherine's column: http://www.thestar.com/living/shopping/article/749469--porter-why-i-ve-sworn-off-shopping-for-three-months

Busted on the Job

2010-01-08T18:36:00.001-08:00

Megan R. from the Green Team wrote the comments on this post. Great job.

This Green Team member is telling the teachers that they didn't turn off their lights!

Another Green Team member writing a "not good" letter for teachers!

YOU REMBERED!

OOPS!

These door hangers go on teachers' door handles to tell whether teachers did turn off their lights or if they did not. The Green Team is hoping that if we continue to put these on the doors, the teachers will start turning off the lights when they are not needed. Example if your blinds are open you can turn you lights off to save enegry! Or if the teachers are in the staff room they should turn off the lights to save lots of energry for the school!

I hope that the teachers do try to save energy for the school!

By Megan

Saving Paper at Staff Meetings

2010-01-05T18:58:00.000-08:00

Just think of all the paper we'll be saving!

Clairlea is becoming more eco-minded by the minute. During today's staff meeting, Ms. Persaud initiated "reduced paper" meetings. In the past, staff members were given a hard copy of the agenda. From this month on, the agenda will be posted on one piece of chart paper, the back of which will be used for next month's agenda. This will save approximately 180 sheets of paper from now until June, plus we save on additional energy and toner used for the photocopier. Every little bit helps.

Good going!

The Outdoor Classroom

2010-01-04T18:33:00.001-08:00

The Grade 5s in Room 204 are learning about Energy Conservation right now. We decided it would be interesting to observe visible pollution on the school grounds by taking samples of snow. Students formed hypotheses as to the areas of the school that would be most polluted. Then the field research began...

Back of the school where school buses pull in. Do these buses idle? We'll find out.

An intrepid scientist making notes.

Students quickly found patches of grey slush on the new snow.

Polluted Slurpee

In class we talked about the factories and high traffic volume in the surrounding area. Here, we see a big rig zipping along Victoria Park.
Aaah: Fresh, clean snow on the basketball court. At least it looks clean.
Back in the classroom, students looked at their samples and discussed their findings. The snow samples were moved into coffee filters where the residue will be examined with magnifying glasses. Results to follow.

Classroom sink/lab. We'll have it cleaned!

50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth

2009-12-22T14:23:00.000-08:00

This is a great gift idea for the environmentally-minded child in your life. I recently borrowed The New 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth from the library and am now inspired to go out and buy a copy. This book is packed with ideas and activities to encourage stewardship. As a teacher, there are several projects that would easily translate into lesson plans. Visit their web site at http://www.50simplekids.com To check out some cool eco craft books I also borrowed from the library, check out my thrifty/eco teacher blog The Foolscap Flyer. I'll add it to the links to the right, or you can click here http://erin-thefoolscapflyer.blogspot.com

Thanks for stopping by,

E. Hawkins

Save Those Christmas Cards

2009-12-19T19:35:00.000-08:00

Here's a crafty way to repurpose those pretty Christmas cards. Cut up details from your old cards. Punch a hole in the corner and voila - instant gift cards. Of course, this requires time and the ability to remember where you put them the following year. That reminds me, I have to go hunting for our Christmas stockings in the basement today. Phone the police if you don't hear back from me.

This idea was taken from http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/paper_crafts

Speaking of paper art, here's possibly one of the most artistic short films I've ever seen. This clip was put out by the New Zealand Book Council as a way to show how books come to life. Have a look. You'll want to watch it over and over. Enter NZ Book Council in the search engine of YouTube if you want to enlarge the picture. There are so many things you can do with old books that nobody wants anymore. I'll try to post some attainable project ideas down the road.

Thrifted Bears in an Oil Spill

2009-12-12T15:01:00.001-08:00

Frugal and eco-minded teachers can hit gold at local thrift shops. In Science, my class is learning about Energy Conservation. We've been exploring fossil fuels and the environmental damages caused by oil spills. Last week, I bought two bags of brand new stuffed bears (10 bears in total) for $4.00 at Value Village. Yesterday, the class recreated an oil spill using cooking oil, black powdered paint (scooped for free at Artsjunktion), and water. Look at the poor bears.

The kids were a little excited. Perhaps a little too excited...

Teddy awaits a last minute pardon.

Greasy horror.

Soap and water did not get them clean.

The students wrote about this activity and their questions and comments will soon be posted on the Room 204 Student Blog. Needless to say, this hands-on activity made the class really think about the damage caused to wildlife following an oil spill. Next week, they will perform autopsies on the bears to see what they look like inside.

E. Hawkins

Paper Diet

2009-12-07T19:12:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, Ms. Kumagawa assigned a photocopy password to every staff member at Clairlea. The aim is to save money, reduce paper consumption and reduce our dependency on the regular photocopiers by forcing us all to be accountable. The more efficient Risograph copier does not require a password to use. Staff are already making a point of using the Risograph. We all need to make photocopies throughout the week, but the aim is to make use of new technologies (Smartboards, computers, blogs, etc.) along with notebooks, texts, chalkboards, whiteboards, and various teaching strategies that do not require copious amounts of worksheets.

It took Ms. Kumagawa some time to get the passwords entered, but her efforts will be worthwhile as we all look to reduce paper consumption at our school.

Reusing All Those Old Crayons

2009-12-05T07:24:00.000-08:00

Here's a fun activity if you have a whole lot of old broken crayons you don't have the heart to throw away. Remove all of the paper, mix up the colours and put them into cupcake tins. Bake at 275 degrees F for 7-8 minutes and voila! Below, you'll see the marble crayon pucks that come out of the oven. Kids can use these pucks for colouring, or as blocks. For complete instructions, visit http://thriftedtreasure.blogspot.com or http://www.makeandtakes.com/recycled-chunky-crayons My four-year-old is excited about this activity and is sifting through his big tin of crayons as I type. * Kids, don't forget to ask an adult for help before using the oven! Have fun.

Energy Blues

2009-12-02T18:29:00.000-08:00

I think School House Rock used this song to illustrate the Energy Crisis. The lyrics are as timely as they were 30+ years ago. Enjoy.

Hinterland Who's Who

2009-11-29T19:06:00.000-08:00

If you were a child of the seventies or eighties, you no doubt remember the Hinterland Who's Who public service announcements. As soon as you hear the flute and the lulling voice of the narrator, it will all come back. Hinterland Who's Who have revamped their look and they have a terrific new site that is filled with information about land conservation and protecting endangered species. The site is linked to the right. Have a look and let your child learn more about environmental stewardship.

Artsjunktion-junktion What's Your Function?

2009-11-28T17:48:00.000-08:00

Goodies from my most recent run to Artsjunktion. Find out what this is all about below...

Ecologically-minded teachers in the TDSB should take advantage of Artsjunktion if looking for odds and ends for Art, Science, and many other areas of study. Below, please find the blurb about Artsjunktion posted on the TDSB website. Following that, find some pictures of items I received for free at Artsjunktion last school year. I'll be back for more great stuff.

ARTSJUNKTION

ARTSJUNKTION is a depot for receiving and distributing donated materials and supplies to be used in educational and creative programs within the TDSB: in classroom, artistic in-school creations, curriculum projects, Board parenting centers, concurrent and afterschool programs.

ARTSJUNKTION solicits and collects materials from hundreds of companies and individuals in the Toronto and surrounding areas through our efforts and through our association with several waste recycling network organizations.

These materials are available for pick up at ARTSJUNKTION at no cost to TDSB staff. These free materials must be used to enrich and support curriculum for TDSB students. Visitors will be asked to sign in with their employee information.

Available Items

All kinds of scrap materials absolutely FREE....wallpapers, plastics, mural paper, cloth, yarn, binders...you name it!
ARTSJUNKTION stock changes constantly but usually includes:
- binders
- paper circles, strips and offcuts
- letter and legal hanging folders
- single wallpaper rolls and wallpaper books
- envelopes
- assorted fun fur pieces
- nylon flag material
- interior design samples
- cardboard tubes (various dimensions)
- film tubes and reels
- buckets
- cardboard and plastic thread cones
- upholstery samples, scrap fabric
- matboard
- foamcore and gatorboard offcuts
- empty boxes
- metal and plastic lids
- wood pieces
- foam circles and gaskets
- Styrofoam packing blocks

This is NOT a depot for furniture. It is a depot for creative materials for use in elementary and secondary classrooms, such as Visual Arts programs, in the TDSB.

Location and Hours of Operation

ARTSJUNKTION is located within
Ossington / Old Orchard Junior School
380 Ossington Avenue
(Just south of College. The entrance is at the rear of the North parking lot. Walk down the truck ramp to double doors)
Tuesdays and Thursdays - 10:30 to 1:30 and 2:30 to 5:30

Contact Eileen Orr: 416-393-0894
eileen.orr@tel.tdsb.on.ca

TDSB staff are welcome to pick up materials during operating hours.
Companies or individuals interested in donating materials should contact Eileen Orr to make arrangements for drop off or pick up of items. Materials must be suitable for use with children (i.e. non-toxic).

Does this film reel bring back memories? In Media Literacy, we've been talking about film and the word "sprockets" came up. As luck would have it, I just so happened to have the overhead projector on and I pulled out this movie reel I got at Artsjuncktion. The children had never seen anything like it before. I used some of this to make a hallway sign, but I still have hundreds of meters left. Without a doubt it will get used in Science or Art down the road.

Fabric, string, shelf paper and a whole lot more. All free.

On the day I was there, I found a stack of these old advertisement transparencies. Cool.
Pink pearls by the truckload. I also found a barrel of corks, so I loaded up. It would take months to collect that many corks.

Reusing Paper

2009-11-25T19:04:00.000-08:00

On any given week, you'll find a monster pile of paper by the printer in the library. The sad thing is that these sheets have print on one side and nothing on the back. Students and staff make mistakes when printing a job and sometimes we just don't check to see if there is a more efficient way of printing what we need without having the printer spit out sheets of unwanted paper. What to do?

Mr. Knierim has been on a mission to educate staff and students about using the printer more responsibly. The Green Team is jumping on that wagon and we will be starting a series of public service announcements soon.

Ginnie from the School Council had the fantastic idea of turning the unwanted paper into notepads for staff and students. Today, the Primary Green Team got cracking.

Mme. Trott and some wonderful Grade 1 students began attacking the paper pile during morning recess. Those little hands were busy cutting sheets of paper into quarters. Great to have a Green Team meeting in French. Merci!

Coming soon - hand-crafted notepads!

Thanks again to our intrepid Juniors for making quick work of the recycling disposal. Hurrah!

Don't Throw That Out!

2009-11-23T18:47:00.000-08:00

I'm starting to think that you can teach everything with a 2-L pop bottle. In September, we made made pop bottle wind spinners. Last week students constructed models of the respiratory system using these bottles (along with balloons, straws, clay, and repurposed plastic bags). Cold, refreshing, and bursting with scientific discoveries.

Is your class using junk creatively? Have you made any cool crafts at home using trash? Let me know and I'll share your story.

E. Hawkins

Green Team is Rocking

2009-11-18T18:05:00.000-08:00

This year, Clairlea will be running Primary and Junior/Intermediate Green Teams. I hope that we can get the kindergarten children involved in the near future as well.

The school has learned that we now need to be disposing the contents of our classroom recycling bins directly into the large recycling dumpster at the back of the school. Today, the Junior Green Team got busy during morning recess and with teacher/janitorial support went around to every room in the school that has a recycling bin and emptied them. This will be a weekly routine. I'm thinking that perhaps Primary Green Team students can partner with the Juniors to check the garbage cans in each room to ensure that recyclables are not ending up in the trash. We'll keep you posted.

Nice work team. Your hard work and enthusiasm is appreciated.

Next item on the agenda - taming the big, paper monster!

E. Hawkins

Breaking New Ground

2009-11-17T21:18:00.000-08:00

Last week, a group of vigorous volunteers helped Mrs. Kumagawa create what will become a bed of purple and white crocuses at the front of the school. The best part is that the bulbs have been arranged in the shape of the letter 'C.' How cool is that? We can't wait to see the results come April. Thanks to everyone for pitching in at lunch time.

From Junk to Jewels

2009-11-17T21:11:00.000-08:00

I recently discovered the work of Kathy Thompson. She is a mixed-media artist who creates these incredible shadow boxes she calls Hboxes (History Boxes). They remind me of the surrealist boxes of Joseph Cornell. If you have old junk piled up in your home, why not let your child repurpose it and create their own Hbox? You could even use clementine crates, or salad containers to box the art. Here's Thompson's website if you are interested in finding out more http://hboxes.com/

Best,

E. Hawkins

School Greening Committee Meeting

2009-11-08T20:45:00.000-08:00

This past Friday (Nov. 6th), the Clairlea Greening Committee had its first meeting to discuss greening initiatives for the school grounds. Mrs. Brathwaite led the discussion using slides featuring the front of our school as well as pictures from Jackman P.S., which has had several successful greening projects on the go for over a decade.

On the screen you'll see a photo of the front of Clairlea. Although this space faces the staff parking lot, there is plenty of greening potential. Several trees remain, but the space is in need of some tough native plants that do well in tough places.

More to come...

E. Hawkins

Green Scene

2009-11-05T19:59:00.000-08:00

Here is the current glass display case welcoming people to our school. The display is being used to let people know that we're now an EcoSchool and to also remind families about the need to pack a litterless lunch. Soon, our Green Team will be coming around to classrooms to check garbage cans, recycling bins, and to see if lights are left on when not needed. Please help us by sending your child's lunch in a reusable container and sending in a reusable water bottle. The little disposable water bottles add up in our blue bins.

Thanks a lot!

Here's a catchy little ditty about the Three Rs. It takes a few seconds to start up, but it's worth the wait. Enjoy!

Welcome to Clairlea Green

2009-10-29T17:43:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Clairlea Green! This blog will be the place to come to find out what Clairlea is doing to reduce waste, green the school grounds, and inspire students and staff to think beyond the brick walls of Clairlea. We recently received our plaque to acknowledge our Eco-School status.

We've just become a Silver-level Eco School, but now we're going for Gold! This year, we have a group of dedicated staff who will work alongside students to achieve this goal. Of course, we encourage parent support as well. If you are interested in supporting Clairlea Green, please send a note with your child and have them bring it to Room 204 and I will get in touch. Soon, we will be starting up Green Teams in the school. It is important to foster ecological thinking from kindergarten.

That's it for now.

Regards,

E. Hawkins