Fall 2013 Explorer's Club Final Slideshow

Check out the video below to see what the Explorer's Club has been up to this Fall. We are taking a break this Winter but will be back on the trails in Spring!

Nature Explorer's Club Finally Makes it to the Labyrinth!

This year I am teaching an afterschool nature exploration class called "Explorer's Club." I am fortunate to work at a school that is steps away from one of the most beautiful outdoor spaces in all of San Francisco. Walking around in the area that surrounds Burke's you would never know that it is a school in one of the most populated cities in the United States. The girls who signed up for the Explorer's Club are those girls who seek adventure in the outdoors. Our goal this semester was to make it to the labyrinth at Land's End. We eventually did it, but it was quite a feat. We almost made it the week before last but didn't have enough time to make it all the way there. We timed ourselves on the hike back and knew that if we left school a little early we could make it to the labyrinth and back by 4:30pm. Everyone was so excited, and then we noticed that our usual trail was closed for restoration! This threw us for a loop, but we figured out a different route. After weeks of hiking around Land's End, writing in field journals, making leaf rubbings, drawing scenery and finding the ultimate walking sticks, we finally made it to...the labyrinth at Land's End! Check out the pictures!

 

 

 

Our Trip to Recology in San Francisco

Each year students participate in service learning at our school. The third grade service learning project and much of the science curriculum is focused on environmental awareness and education. Students learn about recycling, composting and landfill. By the end of third grade they are our resident experts. They are in charge of the recycling for the entire school community. The girls provide information about reducing, reusing and recycling to teachers, staff and students. This year we were lucky enough to go on a field trip to the San Francisco dump and visit the recycling facility. The girls learned so much about recology from the folks at Recology. We visited "the pit," had a great time sorting waste, talking to the artist-in-residence and exploring the garden. Recology runs an incredible operation, which is being studied and imitated all over the world. Check out some of the pictures from our day of learning and adventure!

Recology (n): The science and practice of resource recovery.

Resource recovery is the reclaiming of "garbage" materials for a new use. It includes collecting, sorting, and processing materials that are traditionally viewed as waste and transforming them into the raw inputs used to create new products. Recycling and composting are among the best known resource recovery practices.

Happy Diwali!

On Friday, November 1st two of my students, Simran and Reyna, gave a presentation to the class about the Hindi celebration called Diwali, which means “Festival of Lights.” The girls worked together to teach us about Diwali and had some activities planned! One of the activities is called rangoli. Rangoli is a folk art from India. Typically consisting of bright colors, rangoli is a decorative design made in living rooms and courtyard floors during Hindu festivals . They are meant to be sacred welcoming areas for the Hindu deities.^[1] The ancient symbols have been passed down through the ages, from each generation to the next, keeping both the art form and the tradition alive. The patterns are typically created with materials including colored rice, dry flour, colored sand or even flower petals. The rangoli turned out beautifully and the experience of learning about Diwali was extremely meaningful and exciting. Check out some of the pictures below!