LAWRENCE: St. Ann School goes green

    Together with parochial schools across the nation, Saint Ann School recently commemorated the 36th annual Catholic Schools Week. The Lawrenceville school exemplifies this year’s theme, “Catholic Schools Celebrate Service,” due in large part to its ongoing dedication to going green.
    Following the lead of the United Nations and countries around the world, Saint Ann School is focusing on the goals of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD).
    DESD was adopted by the UN to integrate the principles, values and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning.
    In an attempt to address these issues within the school and community, Saint Ann School has taken a number of measures, including membership in OASIS (Organizing Action on Sustainability In Schools). This group of faculty, staff and administrators from 15 Princeton area schools meets regularly to educate themselves on sustainability, share ideas, learn from each other’s experiences and work together to make their schools greener.
    In addition, Saint Ann School teachers from every grade are incorporating sustainability ideals into their curricula. Kindergarten, first and second graders are learning to be “Stewards of the Earth,” watching environmental videos and participating in projects that promote positive efforts like waste reduction.
    The third, fourth and fifth graders are learning about garbage cycles and their effects on natural habitats and marine life. They have been working to make their own cycles and create research charts that will be used in future sustainability projects.
    Students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades are learning ways to make a difference in their own communities. They have also been writing journal entries that reflect their thoughts on the alarming statistics and realities presented to them through an educational and inspirational movie on the production of items.
    In order to promote an environment that is strongly focused on DESD ideals, Saint Ann School has also published tips on “living green” and “driving green,” as well as related news articles on the issues.
    “A simple way to conserve energy and electricity is to make sure that office equipment, lights and other machines, such as monitors, computers and printers, are turned off at the end of each day,” said student Matthew Blazejewski. He suggested that an easy fix would be assigning one or two students to turn off these machines before leaving for the day. “This would not only be environmentally conscientious of the students and faculty, but it would also decrease the use of electricity, therefore decreasing the amount of money a school must pay for their electric bill.”
    Throughout the school, every student and administrator is actively involved in one way or another. Saint Ann School has taken additional strides toward going green by evaluating the school’s carbon footprint, focusing on trash reduction and recycling, participating in monthly civic and service projects, and planning and researching future projects.
    Saint Ann School, in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, provides a quality, faith-based education for students in Lawrenceville, Ewing, Princeton, West Windsor and Trenton, as well as Pennsylvania and surrounding areas.
    For information about Saint Ann School or a private tour, visit www.st-ann-school.org or call 609-882-8077.