The Greatest Earth Day Bash Ever!

Greetings Lady Evelyn Families and Staff! The sun is shining, the snow is melting and Spring Break is before us.  Soon it will be EARTH DAY!

And Lady Evelyn’s Alternative School Council will be holding THE GREATEST EARTH DAY BASH EVER in our school’s history! Everyone is invited!

Saturday, April 24th, 2010 from noon to 4 pm. Mark this day on your calendar so you don’t miss THE GREATEST EARTH DAY BASH EVER! Admission will be FREE and donations for non perishable items will be taken at the entrance for the Ottawa Food Bank. There will be FOOD, ALTERNATIVE GAMES, ENTERTAINMENT, ART and of course, A GREEN EXHIBIT. 

And the day before THE GREATEST EARTH DAY BASH EVER, there will be THE GREATEST NEIGHBOURHOOD CLEAN UP EVER, which will take place on Friday, April 23rd, 2010, when everyone pitches in and cleans up the neighbourhood!!!

For such a BIG EVENT, we need HELP!!!

WE NEED YOU - Lady Evelyn parents and students to make THE GREATEST EARTH DAY BASH EVER happen! Please take a moment to complete the form below and tell us what you can do. And if you’re a student, please also have your parent complete the permission form so you can attend and help out at THE GREATEST EARTH DAY BASH EVER.  

Please have all forms returned to your child’s teacher no later than Tuesday, March 23^rd, 2010. If you need more forms, please send us an email.

 

Thanks.

Take care,

Lady Evelyn Health and Environment and Social Committees

Email: health[at]ladyevelyn.ca

Growing Up Organic

Growing Up Organic– Introduction

Inspired by Lynda Hall and "Growing Up Organic", a project of the Canadian Organic Growers, a national non-profit organization representing organic growers and consumers and Lynda Hall, we are implementing two projects at Lady Evelyn, “Planting and Growing Organic” and “The Salad Bar”.

Lynda Hall has generously agreed to permit the Health and Environment Committee and Lady Evelyn Alternative School to consult her and obtain free advice on these projects. In exchange, Growing Up Organic shall be free to report on our projects on its web site.

Thanks Lynda!

Planting and Growing Organic – Inside and Out

Organic vegetable seeds shall be planted in shallow trays. Trays shall be located on shelves, illuminated by ultra violet light and shall be labeled. Planting to start in second term, before Spring Break.

Teachers free to access the planted seeds for educational purposes. Trays shall be accessible to the entire school.

If any classes are interested in watering, photographing and taking measurements of plant growth, please do not hesitate to contact Val or Shahla, otherwise, this shall be done by council volunteers on a weekly basis.

Once seedlings have grown, are ready for re-planting outside and weather permits, seedlings shall be planted outside in raised beds.

We shall be constructing beds out of recycled materials.

Students shall not be permitted to play inside the beds but shall be allowed and encouraged to check out the growth in the beds when they are outside.

We hope to have some organic vegetables grown by the end of the school year, if it is possible. If not, a volunteer can maintain the garden at home and return the beds in September.

If anyone has any ultra violet lights, shelves and/or trays and/or material to construct beds, such as recycling boxes, kindly contact Shahla or Val.

The Salad Bar

Salad Bar Program 

Lady Evelyn School’s weekly Salad Bar Program was started by the Health and Environment Committee in 2007 as part of the Canadian Organic Growers’ (COG) www.cog.ca Growing Up Organic Project www.cog.ca/GUO-Ottawa. COG is a national charitable organization that has been promoting organic growing for over 30 years. A primary focus of Growing Up Organic is to ensure that the most vulnerable members of our society, young children, have access to organic food. 

It is our hope that students who enrol in the Salad Bar program will become and form part of a culture, now and in the future, that regards healthy eating as part of their daily routine and will allow fruits and vegetables to take the place of processed foods in their diets.

Thanks to the School Council for allowing us to conduct this important program for our school. Thanks to teachers, staff and parent volunteers for helping to run the program. For more information, please contact the Health and Environment committee at health@ladyevelyn.ca.

Parent volunteers are an essential part of the Salad Bar program and our Lady Evelyn community. Without volunteers, this program cannot take place. Two hours of your time will make a real difference. Your help is greatly appreciated! If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the Salad Bar coordinator, Michele McIntosh, at micmac27@gmail.com.

This year, parents can sign their child up for the full school year, starting in September. Salad Bar will take place every Wednesday from September 23rd to June 23 (a total of 36 weeks), at a cost of $45 ($1.25 per week).

Each Wednesday, during the first nutritional break, volunteers will bring the Salad Bar cart to the atrium on the third and second floors. Participating students will be offered a choice of 4 or 5 fruits/vegetables. They should still bring a lunch from home, as well as a reusable self-serve container and a dip of choice. Read the reverse of this page for information on quality control and Salad Bar manners; check out the Salad Bar page on the Lady Evelyn web site: www.ladyevelyn.ca/node/77 for a weekly menu and other information.

Salad Bar Quality Control

All foods are prepared at the school in the gym kitchen. Countertops and sinks are wiped and washed beforehand. Produce is washed, then peeled and chopped, and stored in glass trays or stainless steel bowls – we try to keep the use of plastic wrap to a minimum. 

 

Students are required to wash their hands before serving themselves – hand sanitizer is provided. Food trays remain wrapped except for a small portion to allow access. 

 

All utensils, trays and supplies are stored in a designated bin on the Salad Bar cart, in the gym kitchen. They are washed and dried separately before storage to avoid contact with allergens.

Salad Bar Manners

1. Wash your hands before lining up for the salad bar - very important.
2. Pick up food with the tongs provided and return the tongs to the same dish when you are done picking up that food.
3. Take only what you think you can eat because you are not allowed to return it and if you don’t eat it you can take it home.
4. Eat only after you have finished serving yourself and you have returned to your table and you are sitting down.
5. If you need to sneeze or cough, turn away from the Salad Bar cart.
6. Remember that everyone has to share so try and take a little of everything instead of a lot of just one food.

Volunteers - Food Preparation Instructions

Volunteers meet in the gym kitchen Tuesday afternoon/evening.  Produce is stored in the gym kitchen refrigerator, and the food prep equipment is stored in a pink bin in the cupboard to the right of the fridge, and on the Salad Bar cart under the gym kitchen counter.

 

Wash all vegetables and fruit, including melons.  Vegetables are chopped or sliced. Apples or pears are usually halved or quartered.  Load prepared fruit and vegetables into glass trays or stainless steel bowls. Cover with plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator middle and lower shelves. Wipe down work surfaces, dry utensils, and store in the equipment bin.

 

Volunteers - Salad Bar Cart Serving Instructions

Volunteers go to the gym kitchen at 9:45 am. Pull the Salad Bar cart out from under the counter; insert the wheels (stored on the bottom shelf of the cart). Load trays/bowls of fruits and vegetables from the fridge onto the Salad Bar cart; insert tongs into food trays and bowls (lift a corner flap of the plastic wrap and keep the rest covered).

Prepare and drop off two plates of fruits and vegetables to Donna Ship-Bondy's class on the first floor, on the way to the third floor atrium. Wheel the Salad Bar cart up to the third floor atrium shortly before 10:00 am. Request that students wash their hands before lining up. At 10:20, wheel the cart down to the second floor atrium. Request that students wash their hands before lining up. At 10:45 am, wheel the cart back to the gym kitchen; rinse and dry containers and utensils; store in the pink bin in the cupboard to the right of the fridge/on the cart; remove the cart wheels and store on the bottom shelf; and return the cart to under the counter. 

Non Violent Communication Workshops

We would like to make workshops and speakers on Dr. Marshall Rosenberg’s language of Non Violent Communication, available to interested Lady Evelyn parents and educators. We have consulted Chris Osler of the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre in charge of community project initiatives for Ottawa East and Sandy Hill and hope to obtain an expert from the community on this topic in the near future. Stay posted! For more information on Dr. Marshall Rosenberg Phd and excerpts from his articles, see www.cnvc.org/nvc.htm

Enviro Centre Bike Course

The Ottawa Enviro Centre has generously agreed to provide Lady Evelyn’s grades 3/4 and 5/6 students with bike safety instruction, consisting of a presentation and group workshops, to take place after Spring Break, 2008.

Nut Allergy Awareness Campaign

Lady Evelyn Alternative School is a nut free zone. No nuts, nor nut products, nor foods that have come into contact with nuts or the residue of nuts, are permitted on the premises.

There are Lady Evelyn students and staff who suffer from anaphylaxis if exposed to nuts and could die. (Click for more on Lady Evelyn's Nut Free Policy)

Thank you to Kathie and Dan Theriault for creating and generously providing the “Nut Free Zone” signs we have posted on the doors of Lady Evelyn and in the atrium!

Environmental School Survey

Are there any products that are being utilized by students or staff that are unsafe?

Are there are any products that can be replaced by safer ones?

We are taking stock of what products are being used. We hope to have a report with suggestions and possible solutions by the end of the year.

If you know of any product that may have caused an allergic reaction in a student or staff member at Lady Evelyn, please do not hesitate to let us know.

Recycling

We are committed to recycling and composting at each social event held by school council.

We support and commend Lady Evelyn staff who have encouraged recycling in the classroom and on school grounds by using blue boxes, compost containers and re-using materials for educational and other purposes.

Documents Posted in Previous Years

1. Guide to Less Toxic Products
2. Allergy and Environment Health Association
3. Dr. Michael Cheng
4. Hand washing for Parents and Kids
5. Information Sheet on Head Lice
6. The Difference between a Cold and a Flu - ROC Publication
7. Let's Beat the Flu -- City of Ottawa Health Department
8. Antibiotic Safety Zone (PDF)
9. Anaphylaxis Canada