Powerful Schools works with Rainier Valley schools to support arts, mentoring, after school classes, tutoring, and writing experiences.
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Green River Field Trip
Orca’s fourth and fifth graders got on two school buses on Friday morning 5/2/08 and headed out to the Green
River in Kent to work with EarthCorps staff on restoration and exploration of the riverbeds there.
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WIN PRIZES!
SEE PLANS FOR THE NEW GREENHOUSE AND SCIENCE BUILDING!
RACE IN A RECYCLING RELAY!
The evening will provide an overview of the current and future Environmental Studies program at Orca along with hand-on activities and information about worm bins, farm to table, native plants, residential wind and solar energy, water conservation, local birds, and P patch gardening.
Contact TA McCann for further info or to help out.
229-9991 or tam@helpshare.com [ Read More... ]
MULCH at the P Patch
- Sunday, Jan 13 2008
What an amazing day at ORCA for Melanie’s class and the Hillman City P-Patch!
I was inspired by the experience of Melanie’s 3rd grade children on Friday January 10th as we mulched our P patch beds. Rita Howard prepared a marvelous educational story about the scarcity of good land to garden and farm, and our need to protect the soil from washing away (erosion) and to build up it’s richness.
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Vermicomposting
- Saturday, Dec 8 2007
Vermicomposting & Coir!
What's vermicomposting? Using red wiggler worms (very social and hungry little guys) in bedding of coconut husks (COIR) and paper to digest our table scraps from snacks and cafeteria to make rich, dark compost for our garden beds and reduce our waste.
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Back in 2006, our Garden Coordinator Kenya Fredie registered ORCA into the Adopt a School Garden Program within the National Gardening Association (NGA). This program offered ORCA $2500 in funds for our garden as well as a special opportunity of a visit from local farmer. NGA believes that gardening helps children grow — mentally, emotionally, and physically. School gardens help students connect with nature and better understand where their food comes from, and they provide a context for teaching nutrition and encouraging healthy lifestyles. Gardens also provide opportunities for hands-on learning in subjects across the curriculum
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Building a Thoughtful Environmental Program
- Tuesday, Nov 27 2007
Rita Howard, our Garden and Environmental Education Coordinator, has been hard at work laying the foundation of an integrated environmental learning program for all Orca students. She says, "Our contribution towards long-term environmental solutions will be to have educated and raised a generation that can do better than we have done."
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On October 22nd 2007, Matt and Laura's 4-5th grade students went with Rita Howard, our Environmental Education Coordinator, to the Green River to help complete a riverbank restoration project constructed this summer by King County.
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Harvest Festival 2007
- Sunday, Nov 4 2007
Harvest Festival October 24th 2007!
Despite the rain (with clear days on either side!), and under the big shelter of the basketball court, ORCA children and adults sampled an amazing Harvest Day.
As one teacher noted, The Harvest Festival " was amazing and the food was terrific. Of course, any good event starts off with good food!!" Maidi (1st and 2nd grade)
Activities included cornhusk doll making, pumpkin carving, salsa making (with ingredients donated by Alvarez Farms), apple cider pressing, PCC Mobile Van healthy snack tasting, and and more. The children came out in groups, including the Team A program and tried various activities and tasted lots of new foods with the help of many parent volunteers. Even though we're in between gardens right now, Rita Howard our Garden Educator was able to take some children to our nearby P-patch for harvesting cilantro the day before, and the kids got to see the connection between end of the summer/harvest before winter and the foods and activities they were trying out. HUGE thanks to Emily Nagel (1st grade parent and teacher's aide to Marletta) for pulling it all together. She couldn't have done it without the big help from the Nutrition Committee including Michelle Perkins, Tiana Colovos, Kate Malkin for running the hand apple press and arranging the PCC Mobile Van. Michelle Huse and Cheryl Carter did pumpkin carving, Tamara Guyton and Jodie Nathan did corn husk dolls, Beth Scott & Elizabeth Rifer organized the food table and wrangled classrooms, and Mike Leitner did scarecrow building. Other crucial helpers were Wendy Rasmussen, Chrys Kim, Rod Gleysteen, Aimee MacLeod, Phyllis Daniels, Tom Whisenand, Simone Davis, Neil Fox, Laura McAlister, Teresa McCann, David George, Heather Heins, Abbey Maschmedt, and of course our dedicated & talented volunteer coordinator, Deb Koon. One child exclaimed after tasting the apple cider he'd just pressed..."This is the bestest drink I've ever had in my whole life!" That alone was worth all of the time and energy it took to pull off the festival. Many thanks to all of you who sent in food, or helped in some other way.
