“In today’s times, providing a curriculum and programs that allow students and faculty to challenge their assumptions, engage with others in the broader community and push their boundaries of understanding and empathy has never been more important. I am grateful for the JK-12 impact the Powell Institute for Responsible Citizenship has on our learners." Sara Boisvert Director, Powell Institute for Responsible Citizenship Responsible Citizenship Team
Sustainability integrates ecoliterate practices that enable the community to value and understand the interconnectedness of human and natural systems and to take action for both to thrive.
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Lower School
Lower School students engage in composting by separating compostable lunchroom trash and hauling it to the garden’s compost pile. Students learn about organic gardening concepts and practices, and then actively participate in fertilizing garden beds.
Middle School
6th Grade students participate in the Riparian Area Service Project, designed to reforest the habitat for migratory bird species. Based on the book Wonder, this service learning experience incorporates the themes of care and kindness to all living things.
Upper School
Students in Upper School AP Environmental Science engage in a land use planning project by designing a community, assessing and providing for all needs, while incorporating the most sustainable practices for food production, energy, waste disposal and housing.
Collegiate 4th Graders wrapped up their yearlong, grade-level Capstone experience, Envision Collegiate, during which they answered the driving question: How might we improve the sustainability of Collegiate's campus by 2028?
Collegiate 2nd Grade French students in Linda Combs’ class received a visit from Laurel Maughan’s Upper School AP French students. The Upper School students prepared books about the environment and what everyone can do to save the planet. “They had obviously worked very hard and my young students listened and learned,” Mrs. Combs said.
Collegiate School 4th Graders this morning continued working on their yearlong, grade-level Capstone experience, Envision Collegiate, which focuses on sustainability and the driving question, How might we improve the sustainability of Collegiate's campus by 2028?
Collegiate students in the River City senior Capstone course visited Bosher’s Dam, where Alan Weaver from the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries described sustainability efforts on the James River including the fish ladder, which provides fish access to more than 300 miles of traditional spawning grounds.
Collegiate's Athletic Department is leveraging a modern and convenient way to display rosters that will also cut down on paper waste, save trees and reduce carbon emissions. Look for these yellow posters at athletic events to access team rosters via QR code. The codes can be scanned with a smartphone camera. It is so easy, you do not need an app. Varsity home and opposing rosters will be linked to the code the day of the event.
Teams of Collegiate students in the International Emerging Leaders Conference senior Capstone presented ways the School could improve sustainability and raise awareness. To lessen plastic waste on campus, one group suggested letting students use reusable containers and setting up drop stations in the Estes Café in the Sharp Academic Commons.
Two Collegiate Upper School biology students came up with a novel idea as they and their classmates were working on writing science news articles about water and wildlife issues. They recently joined their teacher Sandra Marr in the School’s dance studio with some borrowed studio lights to explore how to represent water issues through dance and photography. “We're hoping to use art as a way to capture the imagination and attention of our community around water-related environmental problems,” Mrs. Marr said. A future shoot is being planned.
Collegiate School 4th Graders this morning launched their grade-level Capstone experience, Envision Collegiate, by meeting School leaders from various departments who will guide them as they explore the question, How might we improve the sustainability of Collegiate’s campus by 2028?
Collegiate School 2nd Graders welcomed family members this evening to Night of Light, an exhibition of their Studio Two artwork, in the Estes Multipurpose Room.
Collegiate Upper School students from the Expeditions science and history class (co-taught by Stew Williamson, Dan Bartels and Courtney Schweickart) and from Ecology class (taught by Sandra Marr) spent two days in Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and False Cape State Park in Virginia Beach in mid-November.
Our Junior Kindergartners enjoyed a Friday of exploration and discovery. Students visited the Pagebrook Campus, where they cleared trails, wondered about the fallen trees and listened to the roaring wind.
Our Upper School Epicurean Club, whose advisor is faculty member Pam Sutherland, and the Upper School Earth Society, whose advisor is faculty member Sandra Marr, joined forces to collect rainbow chard from our organic student garden. Later that day, they worked with Chef Jeff in our Upper and Middle School caferia to make pesto. Collaborative learning that yielded yummy results!
During a special presentation yesterday morning, seven Collegiate School seniors shared how student endowments made possible by the generosity of Collegiate families enabled them to travel and explore their individual areas of interest over the summer.
At Collegiate School’s 9th Annual International Emerging Leaders Conference (IELC) this week, 41 international high school students and 13 Collegiate seniors teamed up to create solutions to real-world environmental issues facing their countries.
Throughout this week’s 9th Annual International Emerging Leaders Conference (IELC) hosted by Collegiate School, 41 high school students from nine countries, along with 13 Collegiate seniors, have been working together to create viable solutions to environmental problems affecting their respective countries.
Collegiate School will welcome 41 high school students and their teachers from nine countries as they arrive in Washington, D.C., this weekend for the start of the 9th Annual International Emerging Leaders Conference (IELC).
Earth Society student volunteers work each month to clean trash from local parks whose waterways affect the James River. In September, Upper School Cougars worked at Forest Hill Park removing debris from the lake and Reedy Creek.
Collegiate School Upper School Biology teacher Sandra Marr worked with colleagues and students over the summer to improve the outdoor classroom spaces on Collegiate’s Mooreland Road and Robins campuses. Important partners in Ms. Marr’s work included Junior Kindergarten teacher Rives Barksdale, Middle School science teacher Ingrid Dunn, and Powell Institute for Responsible Citizenship Programs Manager Anne Rusbdult.