At the end of November, teachers and students of the French School in Warsaw rallied around a common goal: sustainable development. As part of our school’s participation in the “French Schools Abroad Week” organized by the agency A.E.F.E on the following theme: “Art, science and sustainable development: French education for tomorrow’s world”, we launched several eco-responsible projects and educational actions fully involving our pupils in order to raise their ecological consciousness.
The aim of the actions carried out in class, and particularly at the primary level for pupils from preschool to CM2 grade, was not only to discuss together about the need to protect our planet, but also to encourage children to come up with their own initiatives.
Many projects were launched from the end of November to the beginning of December on themes such as: responsible energy consumption, waste recycling, the climate crisis, the seasonality of fruits and vegetables, ecological agriculture, and the four natural elements.
ARTS AND SCIENCES
The beauty of nature can also be explored through the arts, and this is what our youngest pupils in preschool did through the creation of an autumn landscape inspired by the American painter Jasper Francis Cropsey, followed by a dance of small scarves inspired by the wind.
They also participated in science experiments with soil and water, and worked on the four elements in class.
RECYCLING AND WASTE SORTING
Waste sorting, which is an integral part of the learning process to become responsible citizens, was addressed by the CM2 C and CE1 C grades. Our CM2 C pupils came up with their own ideas for sorting waste in class. But that’s not all! We could also count on the creation of a “green brigade” for the sorting and the collection of waste in the school’s playground.
Children in CE1 participated in a workshop on selective sorting and recycling of waste, using hearing, sight, touch and the use of magnets to identify the different types of waste.
Also, children in CE2 A launched the production of their own recycled paper. They used newsprint and transformed it into a thick grey sheet of paper with colored parts.
UNDERSTANDING THE CLIMATE CRISIS
Our elementary pupils and high school students also had the chance to work on the “Climate Fresk”, an interactive educational tool that summarizes the mechanisms of climate change, with all its causes and consequences.
Our 2nde A students welcomed in class specialists of the Climate Fresk, who exchanged with the students and allowed our high schoolers to reinforce their knowledge on the topic. As for the CM2 C students, they created their own climate fresk in class!
SAVING ENERGY
In class, children in CM2 B looked at the issue of a more responsible energy consumption. Various scientific and technical notions were explored in class: electricity production, renewable energy sources, the difference between power and energy… The objective was to understand what sustainable energy is, but also to promote good practices in terms of energy saving. Following the discussions on class, the children created educational posters on the following questions: Why do we need energy? What are our energy sources? What is sustainable energy? How can we save energy in our daily lives?
At preschool, the children of Grande Section made posters on which they commit themselves to respect the Earth, whether at home or at school, by choosing a concrete action to implement in order to limit their impact on the environment.
TAKING CARE OF OUR PERMACULTURE VEGETABLE GARDEN
The LFV pays special attention to its permaculture vegetable garden, and children in CM2 C seized the opportunity to take care of the seedlings in the garden’s mini greenhouses. They also designed and built a vertical garden from recycled materials.
Our preschool pupils were also inspired by the garden for creating a “fall and winter fruits and vegetables” mobile. The mobile is installed in the corridor of Sadyba’s preschool and everyone can use it as an inspiration to prepare their menus for the week.
