Day of Service – Charles Sumner School

By Celis Brisbin, Programs Manager

In celebration of Green Apple Day this year, five hundred Charles Sumner School students in grades kindergarten through 5th learned all about recycling and energy during two school wide assemblies. Thanks to National Grid, who proviced sponsorship funds to the Sumner School for this Day of Service, The National Theater for Children came to the school and taught students using theatre, props, costumes and various character profiles, all about energy usage, renewable energy alternatives, as well as measures the students can take in their school to save resources. The students (and adults) were entertained the whole way through! 

As an extension of the Sumner’s educational assemblies, the Sumner Green Team members went into classrooms and presented a short essay to the students about why it’s important to save energy. Did you know that one of the easiest ways is to simply turn off the lights when leaving a room!? The students talked about the benefits of using natural light in the classroom vs. artificial lights and 

then students took further action by installing “turn off the lights” stickers to switch plate covers throughout the building to promote energy conservation and the importance of taking green actions all day long. These stickers will serve as a gentle reminder to staff and students throughout the day. 

To ensure the lights are being monitored, the Green Team also left a calendar next to the light switch so students can tally how many days in the months of November and December they remembered to turn off the lights. A mark can be made on the calendar when someone from the class turns off the when leaving or when the class decided to use natural light.  The Green Team will revisit the classrooms in January and assess the students’ participation to make sure there is continual feedback and encouragement across the school community to promote the Sumner to be the greenest school in Boston!