Green-ness & Greatness... And Nothing Less!

25 months ago, in December of 2008, my Eagle Cove School "partner in green" and I were semi-lost (http://www.eaglecoveschool.org/).  Not hugely--we knew we were in the right neighborhood, but we must have turned left instead of right.  We ended up circling a whole block before finding ourselves almost right back where we started, surprised (and shaking our heads) that we somehow managed to miss the entrance of our destination--which was perhaps right there all along, right under our nose!  

Sometimes that's how life is--true gems are right there, under your nose, the whole time!

Our destination--Alain L. Locke School (PS208) in Harlem, New York (http://alainllocke.org/).  We were meeting up with 12 year old Riley Hoffer and Danelle Hoffer of CGKidz and CynerGreen, who were doing an eco-assembly with this 3rd through 5th grade school to help them set up their first Environmental Club.  It was at Alain L. Locke that we first met a powerhouse of a principal, Ms. Susan Greene, and saw an energy in these students was was hard to compare to anything other than electric!  Add in Riley and her "3R's" message--from a kid, to a group of kids--and it was such an amazing experience!  

This Smilebox slideshow below of our trip as well as this press release about Alain L. Locke School at http://teachers.net/wong/SEP10/ tell the story of what an amazing gem this school is.

Fast-forward 25 months to this past week at Eagle Cove School.  

Based on our continued friendship with Alain L Locke and our Maryland Green School initiatives, a crew of 7 dynamic and amazing Alain L. Locke teachers, administrators, curriculum specialists came to Eagle Cove School this week to visit, share, laugh, and observe. Was it just reunion week?  No...our Alain L. Locke friends came with a mission--to work toward becoming one of New York City's first environmental magnet elementary schools, and they wanted to bend our ears. And not just ours...our students too!  Handfuls of our youngsters were giving them a run down on what it means to be a green school, and what it looks like to "live" green!

It is in the sharing of a dynamic group of people that you learn so much!!  We had approximately a dozen or more of us in a classroom together on a Friday afternoon after a full day of observations and conversations.  Anyone who teaches school knows what that means for a Friday afternoon!!  That time slot is a sacred moment of release and escape for many!  Yet for us, this past Friday, it was so much more!  It is my true opinion that everyone in that room walked away so much richer than before!  What a truly amazing bunch of people, and what an fabulous opportunity to share green resources and curricular ideas back and forth. We at Eagle Cove School are anxiously looking forward to our next opportunity, perhaps in the spring, to head north to visit our extended family of friends at  PS208!

I have no doubt that the teachers of Alain L. Locke will achieve their goal, to the "N-th" degree!  Anyone who belts out the following school mantra daily will most certainly do with nothing less! 

I was born from Greatness
Therefore that makes me Great.
Today I will spread Love
Not hate
Not lies
Not violence
Just Love.

Today I will do more,
I will learn more,
I will be more
Than anyone ever thought I could.
Today I will strive for GREATNESS and nothing else.
Created by Susan M. Green © 2007

To see the Smilebox video above, click the Smilebox above, or go to

http://alainllocke.org/2008/12/marylands-gibson-island-day-school-environmental-club-partnership-with-harlems-alain-l-locke-ps208-their-video-visit-to-ny-city/

 

Photographs of Alain L. Locke School taken by Vicki Dabrowka in December 2008; Eagle Cove School Calendar photo taken by Carl Treff to make our 2011 ECS-Shutterfly Calendar.  If you are interested in purchasing an ECS calendar, please contact Mary Bell in the Eagle Cove School office: SchoolSecretary@eaglecoveschool.org