Students at William B. Wade Elementary School were in the weeds last month and they were happy about it. To celebrate Earth Day last month, staff and students organized a week full of beautification activities and projects around the school. Students and staff from prekindergarten to fifth grade rolled up their sleeves and got to work.
During Wade Beautification Days held April 17 to 28, students and staff set aside time to pull and dig up weeds, pick up trash, rake leaves, plant flowers and create garden beds. The school is known for its dedication to environmental initiatives and has been named a Maryland Green School by the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE).
The school held a pep rally with a song release and live performance of Pick it Up! — Go Green 2023 by Christian music artist Dante James. James is a graduate of Charles County Public Schools and son of Roshanda James, a first-grade teacher at Wade and member of the school’s Go Green Team. The song was put together with the help of James’ sister, Dondre’ana James, a reading interventionist IA at Theodore G. Davis Middle School, and friend Thomas Jasmine. The song’s video, featuring Wade students and staff, debuted on YouTube and is housed on the Wade Elementary Go Green Team’s channel. The Go Green Team is a club dedicated to recycling and other environmentally friendly initiatives.
Joy Fisher, a special education instructional assistant, said the school celebrates Earth Day each year, but when a member of the Go Green Team suggested a beatification project this year the day expanded into much more. It helps that the staff is on board too. “We have really good supportive teachers who will support a lot of things we do at school,” Fisher said.
Stephanie Shanholtzer, a second-grade teacher, asked a representative of Lowe’s if the store would offer a discount for plants. They told her no — she could just have them. The school already had gardening equipment and other supplies needed for the project and plenty of hands on deck ready to work.
Each grade was assigned a different outdoor area like Katrina Flores’ fifth graders who took over an interior courtyard one afternoon. Students teamed up in groups of two or three to pull weeds and clean up the space.
Students Nadia Thomas and Mackenzie Davis didn’t mind the dirt and rehoming the occasional worm to another part of the courtyard if it meant getting the project completed.
“It helps us live better and to have a better Earth,” said Thomas about the importance of caring for the environment. “I mean, there’s only one Earth,” Davis added. “We have to protect it.”
About CCPS
Charles County Public Schools provides 27,598 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 37 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.
The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Kathy Kiessling, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (students) or Nikial M. Majors, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (employees/ adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646; 301-932-6610/301-870-3814. For special accommodations call 301-934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.
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