Mason-Rice Green Team Kids!

Although we planned to head outside for some exercise and to finish our doorhanger distribution, the rain on Friday afternoon was relentless.  The rainy weather ended up making it a perfect day for our 3D Recycling Poster project. Instead of throwing out the trash and recyclables we had collected and used for our March assembly, we had saved them to be reused for making 3D posters to put up around the school to educate the community.  The Green Team Kids did an incredible job! Please look out for these posters around Mason-Rice!

On Friday, May 10, we lucked out with the weather (the forecasted rain did not come, thankfully!) and were treated to an incredibly fun and educational session at the Newton Community Farm on Nahanton Street. Reva Haselkorn, Director of Education at the Newton Community Farm, led the tour and our own Green Team high school student members Audrey and Kate helped to lead activities.  After a snack and introduction in the barn, Reva took us on a tour around the farm... We learned about the farm animals, the various types of plantings... and lots of fun facts. For example, did you know the big leaves on a rhubarb plant (in the photo below) are poisonous?)   One of the most exciting parts (in my opinion) was seeing composting in action.  Our Green Team Kids were treated to a fun compost sorting activity (using Reva's frozen food waste) and a chance to try out the tumbler compost bin (many of the kids found out that turning it is harder than it looks).

Congratulations Mason-Rice Green Team Kids on receiving the 2019 Secretary's Award for Excellence in Energy and Environmental Education from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs! On Monday, May 6, a group of us took the T to the Statehouse to receive our award. It was truly an honor to be invited to the Great Hall of Flags to receive the award alongside other schools and/or students across the state who share similar values and commitment to protecting our environment. In addition to shaking hands with the Massachusetts' new Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, we were also fortunate to spend some time with our very own state representative, Rep. Ruth Balser.  Rep. Balser kindly attended the ceremony and welcomed all of us to her office for a short visit.  Overall, it was a terrific experience for the students and the parents as well!

Welcome back! We hope everybody had a wonderful spring break. We heard that a couple of our Green Team Kids - Maebh, Siobhan and Cassandra - did a beach cleanup while vacationing in New Hampshire over break. They even brought back the trash they collected to share with the group, which we look forward to hearing about in a couple of weeks.  Great work! Thankfully, the rain stopped briefly on Friday afternoon and allowed us to venture out into the Mason-Rice neighborhood with Newton PowerChoice doorhangers in hand.  After a quick briefing with the students on the 100% Opt Up Campaign, we broke up into teams and headed off into the residential streets around the school.  The students loved the opportunity to walk (and sometimes, run) door-to-door and did a terrific job!  We got through at least a hundred homes (including Matteo's house, a fun stop for the kids) before it started pouring and was time to head back. Nice job, team!  For all Newton residents who haven'