Caring for the Environment at Newman
Earth hour was celebrated at Cardinal Newman Catholic Secondary School on Friday, March 23rd and was a success. Students and staff participated by turning out lights and electronics in classrooms, work rooms and common areas.
Earth Week was celebrated at Newman from April 16th to April 20th. The theme this year centered around finding ways to decrease our ecological footprint. Activities took place all week and included: Daily Trivia, Toiletry Tuesday, Litterless Lunch Wednesday, Plant an Herb Buddy Thursday, and Pitch-In Friday. A school-wide Art Competition was scheduled for the remainder of the month whereby students were challenged to complete an art poster that depicts what it means to be a Steward of God’s Earth.
In addition, The Eco Team is currently working on a memorial garden where staff, students, and community members will be able to purchase daffodil flowers to plant in the garden in remembrance of a loved one that has passed away. Flowers for the Memorial Garden were sold during parent-teacher interviews and continue to be sold on lunch periods 3 and 4 in the forum. The Gardening Club will also be selling herbs and flowers during the month of May, and proceeds will go directly to The Hamilton Food Share.
In other exciting news, Cardinal Newman’s very own Eco Team has officially launched the Gardening Club. Students and staff are working together to revitalize and utilize the Greenhouse currently connected to the Biology room. At the moment, members of the Gardening Club have planted herbs and flowers. Honourable mention goes out to Alessia Palumbo, committee member and grade 10 student, who was able to acquire a Micro-Grant from The Taking It Global Youth Association. A grant of $750 was awarded to Cardinal Newman’s Eco Team for their effort to plant flowers, herbs and vegetables in the hopes of generating funds for The Hamilton Food Share. The Eco-Team is currently awaiting news of the $1500 dollar grant they have also applied for.
If you have a green-thumb and are interested in learning how to grow your own vegetables, herbs and fruits, then the Gardening Club is for you!