Nichols School: Upper School Curriculum Guide

 

Our Vision

The Big Green Initiative

Nichols School is implementing a wide-ranging approach to campus sustainability called the Big Green Initiative. The BGI focuses on campus energy, materials, land and water use by applying methods promoting environmental literacy, sustainability and education. The program involves all aspects of our school community, including capital, community and curriculum points of view.

 

Earth Day, April 23, 2008

From L - R, William Maloney, Mr. Ring, Jack Knox, Dr. Vanini

As part of Earth Day, Delaware North executives Jeremy Jacobs, Jeremy Jacobs Jr. ’81 and Louis Jacobs ’82, presented Nichols School with a check for $1 million to fund the sustainability elements of the school’s new eco-friendly academic building for which ground will be broken this spring. Also on hand was retired U.S. Navy Capt. and former NASA astronaut Eugene Cernan, an Apollo 17 crew member and one of the last men to walk on the moon, who discussed his unique accomplishments, the importance of the space program and the need to protect our planet.

Nichols is taking great steps toward decreasing its global footprint with the Big Green Initiative, a widespread approach to sustainability focusing on campus energy, material, land and water use. Headmaster Richard Bryan Jr. also announced that the building will be constructed in accordance with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – commonly known as LEED – Green Building Rating System™.

Also honored were students Meredith Unger '08 and Lourdes Vera '08, recipients of the Jacobs Award for Environmental Sustainability. Established on April 22, 2008, in honor of the gift from Delaware North Companies and the Jacobs family, the Jacobs Award for Environmental Sustainability will honor a student who embodies environmental stewardship and the ideals set forth by our Big Green Initiative. This award will be presented annually on Earth Day to a senior at Nichols School.

Photos from Earth Day

 

Announcement

Celebrate Earth Day on April 22, 2008

Carpool, Walk and Bike

Know someone who’s on your route to Nichols? Live close enough to walk? We are encouraging students, parents, faculty and staff to carpool, walk and bike to Nichols this Earth Day. We are participating in the Good Going WNY Earth Day 2008 Initiative (www.goodgoingwny.com) to demonstrate our commitment to environmental stewardship. Ridesharing WNYers will enjoy lower travel costs and reduced traffic-related stress, while contributing to reduced vehicle emissions, lower traffic congestion and an improved quality of life. Alternative transportation may become a welcome permanent option for some of us.

Visit http://www.goodgoingwny.com/EarthDay/pledge.aspx to pledge to walk, bike, carpool or take public transportation this Earth Day, April 22!

Media Event

At 9:00 a.m., you are welcome to join us for an event in our quadrangle to celebrate the $1 million gift from Delaware North Companies, Inc. to support the sustainability features of our new academic building.

Special Assembly

Following this gathering, there will be a special assembly with Eugene Cernan, last astronaut to walk on the moon. Cernan is not only one of the most accomplished astronauts—he journeyed into space three times, on Gemini 9, Apollo 10 and Apollo 17—but he is among the most eloquent in describing his otherworldly experiences.

   
   

Action Taken in the 2007 – 2008 School Year

·        Installation of new energy efficient boiler system and double-paned windows for Albright Hall; making similar sustainability updates to Mitchell Hall this summer

·        Hosted world-renowned environmentalist, activist and author Bill McKibben as a Prince Lecturer in September

·        Elimination of paper and plastic cups from the faculty room and ONLY using coffee mugs

·        Utilization of 100% non-toxic cleaners

·        Recycling of plastic bottles, paper, cardboard, electronic hardware and food scraps (used to produce organic matter for flower beds on campus via worm farms)

·        Reuse of ink cartridges

·        Reducing paper quantities: mid-year in 2005-2006 and 2006-2007, we used 150 cases of paper; this year, we have used only 120 cases of paper

·        In December 2007, Ashley Dayer ’97, bird educator at Klamath Bird Observatory in Oregon, visited campus to work with fifth-graders and give a lecture on her experiences at Nichols and her current work

·        Approval by the Board of Trustees to build a new science/math building including the following green aspects: sustainable storm water management; low level; lighting to minimize light pollution; southern circulation corridor to maximize daylighting in building core; green roof; sustainable mechanical systems and more

 

Faculty & Staff Feedback on the BGI

Sandy Cunningham, Chair of Middle School Science:

“We are currently evaluating insoluble pollutants and the environment (oil spill response and clean up) and removing soluble pollutants from water (desalination process and global, political and monetary repercussions). In the future, my class will evaluate water quality analysis at Scajaquada Creek studying the following nutrients: nitrogen and phosphorous monitoring; turbidity monitoring; dissolved oxygen monitoring; iron and chlorine monitoring; hardness: Mg2+ and Ca2+ monitoring; the Great Lakes: history of the lakes and discussion of the fishery, including glacial formation, hydrology, non-indigenous species and Niagara Falls and the Gorge.”

 

Josh Ring, Upper School Science teacher:

“For Environmental and Geology, I had the kids submit papers electronically. I grade in red and send back to them. You can actually write with the SMART Board™ in Word and send back corrections. In Geology, I currently teach a climate change section, that I did not teach in years previous. Environmental is doing a project to develop green ideas for the new building. Phil Coburn has an Energy Focus with the freshmen this year and I am following suit in my Physics class by teaching them about alternative energy. The freshmen class will hopefully take a field trip to the hydropower plant.”

 

Kate Olena, Middle School Theatre teacher:

“For the first time this year, the Asian Theatre Acting Styles class substituted PowerPoint presentations on SMART Boards™ for paper handouts. We used to make over 180 photocopies for this exhibition. The recycled boxes used in the first seventh-grade play are being re-purposed for the props in this term’s eighth-grade play.”

 

Mary Sykes, Middle School Central Studies teacher:

“Fifth-graders have taken responsibility for carrying coffee grounds from the Middle School faculty room over to Josh Ring every week so they can be composted.”

 

Carol-Sue Stapleton, Middle School Library Media Specialist:

“For the book fair this year, we will be putting all book lists online and limiting the number of Middle School booklets produced. The parents will be notified of this change.”

 

Nina Cimino, Director of Marketing and Communications:

“We are constantly evaluating ways to make our projects eco-friendly, including use of recycled paper and using less paper. From printing the magazine to creating letterhead, I am making an extra effort to work with environmentally conscious vendors who want to help us accomplish our sustainability goals. The companies we work with are now aware of the BGI and what it means to our school to be green.”

 

Simple Ways to Help Save Our Earth

 

For more information on the Big Green Initiative, please stay tuned to www.nicholsschool.org. For more information, please contact J. Tim Vanini, Ph.D. ’87 at tvanini@nicholsschool.org.

 

Updated April 25, 2008