Brief Summary
DuFief Elementary School is a small, neighborhood school located in Gaithersburg, Maryland. All 322 students at our school have participated in one or more of the activities listed on our application. Our school has worked hard to create an eco-friendly culture in our building. Administrators, teachers, students, and parents have all collaborated together to take part in projects to help strengthen the relationship our school has with the environment. Hands-on instruction has taken place throughout the year on many "green" topics. Some of the concepts we covered are watersheds, basic needs of plants and animals, and learning about different habitats. Teachers have worked hard to teach environmental lessons across subjects by bringing this information into science, reading, and writing!
One of our proudest accomplishments is the student-driven environmental practices. Groups of students in all grade levels have worked hard to conserve energy, reduce solid waste, restore habitats, and create/use structures for environmental learning. To focus on energy conservation, students created light switch labels for their classrooms as reminders to turn off the lights when leaving. To reduce the solid waste in our school, students labeled recycling centers as reminders of what can be recycled where. They put labels on our paper recycling, bottle recycling, and trash! Our school is lucky to have two courtyard habitats: one for rabbits and one for fish/turtles. Students are responsible for monitoring these spaces so they have everything our animals need. They also maintain our gardens by tending to native species and removing invasive ones. Our students regularly use our outdoor classrooms to experience nature and observe the environment. They have created artwork for these areas to keep our school looking beautiful.
The DuFief Elementary Green School application contains lessons, celebrations, student-driven environmental practices, and community partnerships. We have worked hard to make our school an eco-friendly place, and look forward to continuing with these practices for years to come!
One of our proudest accomplishments is the student-driven environmental practices. Groups of students in all grade levels have worked hard to conserve energy, reduce solid waste, restore habitats, and create/use structures for environmental learning. To focus on energy conservation, students created light switch labels for their classrooms as reminders to turn off the lights when leaving. To reduce the solid waste in our school, students labeled recycling centers as reminders of what can be recycled where. They put labels on our paper recycling, bottle recycling, and trash! Our school is lucky to have two courtyard habitats: one for rabbits and one for fish/turtles. Students are responsible for monitoring these spaces so they have everything our animals need. They also maintain our gardens by tending to native species and removing invasive ones. Our students regularly use our outdoor classrooms to experience nature and observe the environment. They have created artwork for these areas to keep our school looking beautiful.
The DuFief Elementary Green School application contains lessons, celebrations, student-driven environmental practices, and community partnerships. We have worked hard to make our school an eco-friendly place, and look forward to continuing with these practices for years to come!