Monday we completed the raised bed garden. There are now 20 beds, one for each class at the school. Later this Spring, each class will decide what they want to plant and grow over the summer.

Then is was off to the blacktop to spell out GREEN with the entire student body. Thanks to a lot of planning and hard work, this turned out great. The students had a blast and we got some great photographs out of it.

Tuesday was just as fun with students hanging their recycled bottle art on the fence. The kids have been working for weeks now on making flowers out of plastic bottles so it was great to finally get to see what they made.

At lunch, the 4th grade took over and help organize a recycle drive at lunch time. Students learned to separate out the recyclable goods from their lunch and see just how much they can keep out of landfills every day.

Thanks again to everyone who made all of these activities possible.

Raised Bed Gardens/Recycled Bottle Art/Spelling out GREEN with all the students

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR DESIGN AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

SITE AND LANDSCAPE DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

Proposals will be accepted until 3:00 p.m. CST, Friday, April 9th, 2010 at:

Oak Park School District 97

C/o Irving Schoolyard Project

970 West Madison Street

INTRODUCTION:

Oak Park Elementary School District 97, in conjunction with the Irving Parent Teacher

Organization (PTO) is soliciting proposals from design firms for design development

services for the Schoolyard (exterior spaces) of the Washington Irving Elementary

School located at 1125 S. Cuyler Ave., Oak Park, Illinois.

Download the full RFP here.

Monday April 19 – A Dirt Dump

A truckload of fresh soil is being brought to the south end of the school to construct classroom gardens for students to plant this spring. We need your help with removing bushes, building beds, rototilling and shoveling the soil. You can really roll up your sleeves for this one! Contact Reshma Desai at dsrshm@yahoo.com

Tuesday April 20 – Lunch Count

How much trash do we create each day when we eat our lunch and drink our milk or juice? And how much of it can be recycled? Let’s find out. Ms Payton’s student teacher, Ms Burns, will organize the project. We need 6-10 parent volunteers to help kids sort their trash during the lunch hour. Contact Mr. Hodge at jhodge@op97.org to volunteer.

Irving in Bloom

Students will work with our art teacher, Ms Linne, to do an art installation on the schoolyard fence using recyclables. Rinse and drop off your plastic milk and juice jugs, 2-litre bottles, and even water bottles to the art room. We also need volunteers to help prepare the materials. You can do the work at home! Contact Ms Linne at elinne@op97.org if you can help.

Thursday April 22 – Schoolyard Kickoff 12–1pm

For all students, it will be an unusually long recess and an interesting project. Celebrated Wednesday Journal photographer Frank Pinc will be on hand to photograph the students down on the schoolyard from up on the third floor. WE NEED ALL STUDENTS AND STAFF TO WEAR GREEN. We’ll work together to spell out a message that we need green! Contact your student’s teacher if you’d like to help with the photoshoot and don’t forget to wear green.

We need your stuff!

There are three drop-off dates for you to bring your items to Irving School (1125 S. Cuyler Ave):

April 17th
April 27th from 3-7pm
May 8th  from 8-11:00

The sale will be on May 15th with  $1.00 admission from 8-12 pm. 12-1 Power hour, No admission and 1/2 off everything. You can download and share a sale flyer here.

SAVE THE DATE —– JANUARY 27TH!    Invite your neighbors and friends!

ACHIEVING A GREENER NEIGHBORHOOD
Presented by SEOPCO, the South East Oak Park Community Organization

Please join us for an informative forum that will give you practical
tips and advice for making your home, block, neighborhood and school
more environmentally friendly.  Local expert panelists will provide valuable
insights and answer your questions.

Project Flyer

Download the presentation from the January, 2010 update to the District 97 Board of Education.

2010 Project Presentation