The teacher read the students the book Rain Fish written by Lois Ehlert. After reading, the teacher facilitated a discussion with the students on the importance of reusing materials. The class discussed everyday materials that could be reused in order to eliminate waste. After the discussion, the teacher provided the students with scraps of paper, used brown paper bags, pieces of used foil, and used gift bags. The students were then instructed to use the materials to create a piece of art.

Classroom teachers introduced the Green School initiative with their students by first showing "The Lorax" and following up with a discussion about ways they could help the Earth. The students then made posters to share how they can care for the Earth.

The second-grade teachers also conducted a lesson on energy conservation. The classes discussed the importance of conserving energy and the ways in which they could do so. Each second grader made a light switch plate. The plates have reminders written on them. They were placed around light switches throughout the building to encourage others to power down lights when they are not in use.

The Maryland Extension presented a lesson to all first-grade classes. The representatives from the Extension taught the students about monarch habitats and explained which plants would need to be planted in our monarch waystation. The visitors shared photos and seed samples with the classes. The students learned information about butterflies, and how they eat and pollinate. The students participated in a dress-up demonstration and in a hands-on butterfly tagging activity. They discussed migration and the importance it plays in pollination. The students learned that fruits, vegetables, and nuts require pollination.

Fair Hill Nature Center visited all three kindergarten classes at Bay View Elementary. During the lesson, the students learned about hibernation, migration, and adaptations to the environment during the change of the seasons. Kindergarten also discussed animals in their habitats and sorted pictures placing animals in their correct habitats. The children were introduced to Bernate, Fairhill's turtle, and learned what he needs to survive.

The students in third grade learned about the importance of keeping the environment clean. Trash can make its way into streams and animals can be harmed by trash as well. Third-grade students saw a need to clean up the outdoor play area around the school. They worked as a class to pick up trash and debris to reduce litter and ensure a safe place to play.

The Cecil County Department of Public Works Stormwater Management Division visited the fourth-grade classes at Bay View Elementary. The visitors explained that Bay View is part of a watershed. The students learned about how the water in the area drains to the Chesapeake Bay and how important it is to ensure that pollutants do not drain into the bay. The Department of Public Works is currently installing a sand filter behind Bay View Elementary. The students learned about erosion and how the stream behind the school has been affected by erosion. The Public Works division taught the students about plants that are native to our area and planned with the students the appropriate flowers to plant in the school's rain garden to encourage pollination and prevent erosion.

Fifth grade learned about the Chesapeake Bay watershed and had a meaningful watershed educational experience. Students first took a walking tour around the outside environment of the school and wrote about observable phenomena. From that observable phenomenon, students created a driving question to target their action plan. The students' driving question was, "how do we fix the bare spots throughout the schoolyard?" Bare spots are places where vegetation no longer exists in the soil, with the outcome being that stormwater can no longer soak into the land. This causes the runoff water to go into storm drains or into streams. The fifth graders researched the best ways to solve this problem and will be constructing a plan to fix the bare spots the week of March 13th.

At the opening of the school year on August 25, 2022, the entire staff was made aware that we would be seeking Green School Re-Certification. We discussed what that meant and encouraged staff members to join the committee. Our Green School Committee met and reported monthly to the staff sharing the application progress as well as what activities were happening around the school.

Mr. Barczewski led a full-staff professional development covering two topics focused on recycling. The first part of his presentation covered the importance of recycling and what items within our school can be recycled. He introduced the launching of an initiative to ensure that students and staff are using the blue recycling bins for recycling papers. This practice has not been consistent throughout the school in recent years. He also introduced the launch of a food waste recycling program. Food scraps from the cafeteria will be placed in special bins. The food scraps will be picked up and used at a local dairy farm. The scraps will be placed into a biodigester which will convert the scraps to energy.

Mr. Barczewski led a full-staff professional development covering two topics focused on recycling. The first part of his presentation covered the importance of recycling and what items within our school can be recycled. He introduced the launching of an initiative to ensure that students and staff are using the blue recycling bins for recycling papers. This practice has not been consistent throughout the school in recent years. He also introduced the launch of a food waste recycling program. Food scraps from the cafeteria will be placed in special bins. The food scraps will be picked up and used at a local dairy farm. The scraps will be placed into a bio-digester which will convert the scraps to energy.

Mr. Barczewski led a full-staff professional development covering two topics focused on recycling. The first part of his presentation covered the importance of recycling and what items within our school can be recycled. He introduced the launching of an initiative to ensure that students and staff are using the blue recycling bins for recycling papers. This practice has not been consistent throughout the school in recent years. He also introduced the launch of a food waste recycling program. Food scraps from the cafeteria will be placed in special bins. The food scraps will be picked up and used at a local dairy farm. The scraps will be placed into a bio-digester which will convert the scraps to energy.

In December we set aside a day to make sure our school was aware of our Green School Re-Certification Process. Each grade level was given a lesson to use with their students to introduce them to the concept of a Green School and how each class would work to fulfill our mission. Older students took part in a Kahoot game to test their knowledge while younger students thought of ways that they could help the Earth. This will be annual event.

The students in grade two designed light switch plate covers. These covers have phrases written on them that serve as reminders to turn off the lights and any electronic devices when not in use in the classroom. The goal of these posters is to encourage both the staff and the students at Bay View Elementary to conserve energy. The plate covers have been added to classrooms and offices throughout the building.

Delmarva Power provided each student in our building with a reusable bag filled with educational materials, ten LED light bulbs, and one LED desk lamp. The students learned the advantages of using LED lights and the benefits of these lights for the environment. In turn, the students educated their parents on the importance of using LED lights in their homes. Students frequently talk about using their desk lamps at home.

Water bottle filling stations were installed in 2018 and 2019. The school custodial staff continues to maintain these stations. At the start of the school year, students are encouraged by their teachers to bring reusable water bottles to school. Students and staff fill up their water bottles as needed. The use of the water bottle filling stations has drastically cut the amount of plastic waste used throughout the building.

Students deposit food waste during lunch in designated receptacles. These scraps, which would have typically gone to the landfill, are taken to a biodigester. These scraps are recycled into energy to power a local dairy farm.

This fall, Bay View Elementary established a Green Team Club. The club's first project was to clean out the birdhouses located around the school property. The birdhouses on our school's property contained old nests. These nests potentially contained bacteria and mites that would be harmful to new inhabitants. The old nests also discouraged new birds from nesting in the houses. The birdhouses needed to be cleaned in order to provide a safe nesting space for future birds. The students met after school, learned about the importance of the birdhouses, and spent time cleaning and preparing the houses for the next nesting season.

The Green Team Club built new bird feeders. The students first learned the importance of bird feeders to the health and survival of local bird species. The students next used a map of the school to determine where the new feeders would be placed. Then, the students worked in teams to follow a set of written directions to build their feeders. The students decorated the new bird feeders. These bird feeders will provide an additional food source for birds on school grounds. The hope is that the feeders will attract different species of birds for the students to observe.

In spring of 2022, construction on an outdoor classroom began. This classroom was created through a partnership with aspiring leaders from Cecil Community College. In addition, York Building Products donated rocks. Each student at Bay View Elementary designed and painted a rock in art class that was placed around the outdoor classroom. These rocks add to the beauty of the space and are an individual contribution from each student at Bay View Elementary.

The Green Team Club spent an afternoon weeding and cleaning up trash in the rain and flower gardens on school grounds. They pulled weeds, raked leaves, and threw away any trash that was found.

Members of the Cecil Leadership Institute, along with students, evaluated the condition of an already existing nature trail behind our school. They then worked to restore the nature trail and make it user-friendly again. Families were informed of the restored trail and the fact that it is available to all students during the school day. Community members are welcomed and encouraged to enjoy the nature trail when school is not in session.

First graders were visited by a representative of the Cecil County Extension Office. The representative educated the students on how to prepare a monarch waystation. Students will plant seeds and plants in a designated area that will attract and provide food for butterflies. When the students become second graders next year, they will hatch butterflies in the fall and release them in a welcoming environment.

The Extension Office provides the second-grade classrooms with caterpillars that eventually, develop into Painted lady butterflies. The students observe and care for the caterpillars through their metamorphosis into a chrysalis and then into a butterfly. The students will release the butterflies into their environment.

The Cecil County Department of Public Works is leading a stream restoration project behind our school. Members of the department have educated our fourth graders on this process and connected the process to their learning unit on weathering, erosion, and deposition. Students will learn about the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and actively participate in the project by choosing native plants that will attract pollinators to the newly restored area and also plants that will help to prevent erosion.

York Building Products donated a stone base for our outdoor classroom, as well as, larger stones that students were able to paint to decorate the outdoor classroom.