Think Green, Be Green, Act Green, Go Green!!
RIS has always been in the forefront in creating the “Green Spirit” in our little ones. We believe in instilling the thought in our children, right from Kindergarten upto Primary Section that any small act that they do for the environment is going to make a big difference for Mother Earth. It has been a priority in RIS to create awareness among the children and to encourage them to work and contribute towards a green and clean environment.
Clean Up UAE – 12 December 2010
Emirates Environmental Group 10/10/10 Initiative (Paper Collection Drive)
RIS joined hands with EEG this September in the 10/10/10 Initiative. A massive paper collection drive was campaigned in school. The EEG had set a target of 500 Kg from institutions. The campaign saw active participation of students, right from Kindergarten upto Grade 4. Our Headmistress announced a special prize for the class that contributed the maximum amount of newspapers. Finally, on the 30th September, the whole school’s paper collection was compiled and took our collection to the EEG office in Jumeirah. Our school’s contribution was a whopping 580 Kg. Grade 1 G was awarded the Golden Trophy for the maximum contribution to the paper collection. A special recognition was given to Aman from Grade 1 G for the highest contribution to the campaign.
Since we crossed the 500 kg target set by EEG, we got the opportunity to participate in the tree planting ceremony on the 10th of October, 2010. We are proud indeed to have a planted a tree in Mushrif Park in the name of Rajagiri International School, Dubai.
Launch of our Environment Club
The month of May saw the launch of the RIS Environment Club. A competition was held for naming the Club. Keeping the aims and activities of the club in mind, all students of the Primary Section, actively participated in the competition. An overwhelming number of entries from the students gave us teachers a tough time in deciding the best name for the club. And finally, the perfect name was entered by Fardeen Faisal of Grade 2A (Palms House) and the RIS Environment Club was christened “Green Gang”.
Designing the Logo for the Green Gang Club
The students of Grade 4 actively participated in designing a logo for the Green Gang. Each logo that they submitted had a touch of their ‘Go Green’ Spirit. The Green Gang’s logo was brought to life by our winner, Joel Mathew Cyriac (Dates House) from Grade 4A.
Green Gang Logo Colouring Competition
The students of Grade 4 participated in yet another house wise competition. Each house had the opportunity to choose the best colour combination for the Green Gang Logo. Every house produced outstanding results but the winner of the day was the Dates house that walked away with the points for deciding the best colours for the logo.
Environment Week
June 2010 was an action packed month with the Environment Week celebrations. ‘Reduce, Reuse Recycle’ & “Save The Water” were the main themes this week. Constant reinforcement of the theme was made through assemblies, class room discussions and lessons. The children also got an opportunity to pot the plants. The colorful assemblies put up by the children created awareness to value the beauty of Mother Earth and ways to protect her. The songs like “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”, and “We recycle” that they learn in school will definitely be imprinted in their minds and will take them forward in their Green Revolution. The green parade by the students echoed with the song “Keep the Earth Green…”
The Can collection drive which was organized as part of this week saw enthusiastic participation from the students. The children have enthusiastically collected a great amount of recycling material like newspapers, plastic bottles, cans etc as a move to the keep the environment clean and reduce pollution. We encourage this recycling effort by the children to be an ongoing one by keeping the recycling bins in school where students can access them. An audio visual presentation on “Earth” was shown to help the children understand about the 3 Rs and how to make earth a better place to live.
Competitions for the Primary Section
The colouring competition for Grade 1 and the thematic drawing competitions for the Grades 2-4 saw enthusiastic participation by all the children. The themes for each grade were as follows: “Save the Environment” – Grade 4 / “Save the Forest” – Grade 3 / “Save the Water” – Grade 2. The children with the best works were given certificates.
President of the Green Gang
Ebbani Juneja of Grade 3 A has been selected as the President of the Green Gang. She officially took up her responsibility as the President of June 6th, 2010. Her speech on the World Environment Day was well appreciated by her fellow students and teachers. She takes an active role in promoting the Green Spirit in the students and staff in RIS.
A Collage of Thoughts
“Lessons learnt in childhood are habits forever”.
At RIS, we involve our heroes in a wide array of activities so as to inculcate the importance of this GO GREEN march.This collage making was an exquisite act of craftsmanship by the Rajagirians to weave out a message on Saving Planet Earth. Each child was given a piece of cloth to express his or her thoughts on “Go Green”. This was done in partnership with the parents so that a change could be brought about at home and in the community. These pieces of cloth which were in the colours of the UAE flag were then quilted and put on display thus symbolically representing that the country has always stood in the fore when it comes to matters of environment protection.
Poetry Writing Competition
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world”
All the students of the Primary section (Grades I to III) ardently took part in the Poetry Writing competition and wrote remarkable poems showing their love for Mother Earth and their concern for environmental issues. Their amazing work reflected their feelings and creativity.
Drawing Competition
A drawing competition on the theme ‘Go Green’ was a wonderful opportunity for the students to present their vision of what an environment friendly world looks like. This competition was held to promote environmental awareness among the children. The top three master pieces were selected from each grade and the small artists were felicitated.
Environment Quiz Competition
Teams from the four School Houses-Dates, Palms, Oases and Dunes battled it out on stage in the Environment quiz 2010 held on 9th March 2010. The main objective of this competition was to educate the children about their immediate environment and impart knowledge about the eco-systems, their inter-dependence and their need for survival.A tough competition ensued with the audience cheering the participants till the very end. It was a nail biting finish and the winners – The Oases Team – with their fantastic team work and knowledge of the UAE environment took home the trophy. Audience questions were enthusiastically answered by the children of grades 1, 2 and 3.
Show & Tell (Kindergarten) & Speak My Mind (Primary)
As a part of our Enviro- Spellathon Programme, we had organized a “Show and Tell” for the Kindergarten and “Speak my Mind” competitions for the Primary Section. The preliminaries for the same were conducted and a select few of our children from the Kindergarten as well as Primary presented their views on going green in front of the whole school. After listening to our young speakers, everyone present gathered at least a few points which can be taken up to contribute towards saving Mother Earth.
Go Green Exhibition
“Nothing in nature is exhausted in its first use. When a thing has served to its utmost, it is wholly new for an ulterior service. Every end is then converted into new means.”
From pencil holders to flower vases, from chimes to bags, our students showcased it all on the Open House day held on 20th of March. Our parent community witnessed the innumerable things that the children of Rajagiri International School had made out of waste materials. They showed the adults that the future is indeed green and it will remain so if we work towards protecting our planet. The “Go Green” exhibition was the culmination of the entire gamut of environmental activities held this academic year.