In an article from the latest IB-MYP Update (middle division) newsletter produced by MYP coordinator Brenda Kambakhsh, students find out all about water resources and the importance of conservation.
All students and teachers in the middle division read the book “Flush,” by Carl Hiaasen, as a community read this semester. “Flush” is the story of a young man whose father ends up in jail for sinking a gambling boat that was dumping sewage in a marina in the Florida Keys. The story teaches lessons about protecting the environment and standing up for what you believe in. The culmination of this special read was on May 1, 2015, when students toured the United Water Environmental Services, Inc., water treatment facility in Pontiac and participated in several water-related activities at school.
In one activity students learned about women who walk miles each day to collect water for their families. Each student then carried two gallons of water and walked four times around the school grounds, approximately one mile, in order to understand how people in other parts of the world manage with minimal access to water.
Middle school art teacher Matthew McGuire helps students color and create a cactus sculpture on Community Read Day using discarded plastic water bottles.
Seventh-grader Daniel Heimbuch said he learned that if a sink leaks for a month it will waste 400 gallons of water. “I also learned that a lot of people die every day because of not enough or contaminated water. I learned how important water is.”
Students also learned a great deal about the Alliance for the Great Lakes, completed an activity to gain an understanding of their own family’s water usage, cut and colored water bottles in preparation for building a sculpture, and viewed short videos leading to discussions about a variety of issues dealing with water usage and accessibility.
Michele Arquette-Palermo, Program Director from the Clinton River Watershed Council, spoke to the students about how they work to protect the Clinton River watershed.
The students also each donated enough money to total $470, most of which was sent to the Alliance for the Great Lakes and the Clinton River Watershed Council. A portion of the money was spent on a gift card to thank United Water for spending the day with the students.
Read more in the newsletter here.
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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.