Clarksville Middle School Green School Application

Clarksville Middle School
Clarksville, Maryland
Green School Application 2015-2016

Summary of Green Culture at CMS
Over several school years Clarksville Middle School has worked to make strides to accomplish the numerous
requirements necessary to become a Maryland Green School. Students, faculty, staff and members of our community
have combined their efforts to increase environmental awareness, make fundamental changes, extend environmental
education into classes engaging our surrounding community in environmental improvements.
In the pursuit of becoming a Green School, we strive for all students to engage in environmentally friendly
practices. For example, our entire sixth grade class has been experiencing a three day-two night outdoor education
experience each year for the last 22 years. The entire seventh grade partners with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation
and Howard Community College in activities that promote stream restoration and Chesapeake Bay studies. Eighth
grade students research energy savings in their science classes.
Students have focused on waste reduction, energy conservation, and habitat restoration. Clarksville Middle
School is the first middle school in Howard County to compost our waste. In partnership with Howard County Recycle,
and with the support of County Executive Allan Kittleman, all students and staff sort waste in an effort to seriously
reduce the amount of trash sent to the landfill from our school. Additional student groups are focused on growing trout
to be released into local streams, renovating our outdoor classroom area, removing invasive species, conserving
energy and picking up litter from our campus.
Clarksville Middle School has established several community partnerships to increase our environmental
awareness. Benefitting not just our students, but also our community as a whole, we use the partnerships to engage
parents, administration, environmental professionals and organizations. We hope that this will create a culture of
environmental awareness that sustains itself for years to come.
If awarded the Green School honor, Clarksville Middle School will continue to make changes in our school and
our community. We plan to go forward with new initiatives that bring awareness of environmental issues and to
implement ideas that make us better citizens of our planet.

Top Five Accomplishments
1. Clarksville Middle School is the first middle school in Howard County to have a food composting
program. Students and all staff receive on-going training to effectively sort waste into recyclable
waste, compost waste, and trash that will go to the landfill. Before this program started, CMS sent
83% of our waste to the landfill and only recycled 17% of our waste. Now CMS sends only 30%
of our waste to the landfill. The remaining 70% is either recycled or composted.
2. The 7th grade has partnered with Howard Community College and received a $250,000
Governor's "Stream Restoration" grant. All 7th grade students, and some 6th and 8th grade
students, learn about invasive species, erosion, and stream restoration. By accepting the
Governor’s Stream Restoration Challenge, the 7th grade is restoring five acres around a central
stream at Howard Community College to improve the quality and reduce the quantity and velocity
of water leaving the property .
3. CMS Green Team students are partnering with READY (Restoring the Environment and Developing
Youth) to restore the outdoor classroom area.
4. Student initiated Clarksville Fisheries Sciences works to build awareness of watershed health and
is raising trout to be released in local streams.
5. CMS PTA and students have celebrated our Green School by promoting waste free celebrations
for students, staff and families.

Objective 1: Systemic Sustainability
1.1 Curriculum & Instruction: Environmental Issue Instruction
Title of Lesson/Activity: Outdoor Ed
Date: October 14-16, 2015
Teacher Name: Deborah Holihan
Grade: 6
Brief Description of Lesson/Activity: Each year for the past
22 years Clarksville Middle School sixth grade students
have enjoyed a three day, two night environmental
experience. In October of 2015, 188 sixth grade students were
challenged at NorthBay Adventure Camp to realize that their
attitudes and actions have a lasting impact on their future, the
environment and the people around them by using Common
Core and Next Generation Science standards, character
development, and the outdoors.
Student workbooks and
video of student activity at
NorthBay. Click speaker to
play video.

Title of Lesson/Activity: Howard Community College
Governor’s Stream Restoration Project
Date: Spring and Fall 2015
Teacher Names: Philip Herdman, Todd Wright, Pat
Madden, Kathy Kolesar
Grade: 7
Brief Description of Lesson/Activity: All 7th graders work to
restore the five acres around a central stream at HCC to improve
the quality and reduce the quantity and velocity of water leaving
the property. Modern conservation practices along with
remodeling the stream itself are being implemented to increase
infiltration before runoff reaches the stream, better handle
periodic storm events, and provide a natural habitat for wildlife
that encourages educational opportunities for observation and
measurement. Signage and other media will be installed during
and remain after the project to explain to students and the larger
community what the Stream Restoration Challenge is and the
benefits of the project. By providing education in the real world
as well as the classroom CMS can demonstrate what society
must do to ensure the long-term survival of our ecosystem
and our civilization. This project includes a trip to the Bay
with CBF to show students how they have impacted the
watershed and allows them to learn more about our local
ecosystem.
7th grade students at
HCC restoring landscape
and studying the
Chesapeake Bay.

1.1 Curriculum & Instruction:
Environmental Issue Instruction
Title of Lesson/Activity: Clarksville Fisheries Sciences
Seminar
Date: September 2015 - present
Teacher Name: Phil Herdman
Grades: 6,7,8 - 25 students
Brief Description of Lesson/Activity: Student initiated
seminar to learn more about watershed health and to raise
trout to be placed in local streams.
Clarksville Fisheries Sciences Flier
Morning Announcement about Fisheries
Sciences Seminar

Title of Lesson/Activity: Clarksville Fisheries Sciences
Seminar Field Trip to Piney Run Park
Date: November 10, 2015
Teacher Name: Phil Herdman
Grades: 6,7,8 – 40 students
Brief Description of Lesson/Activity: Student leader, Bill
Tong’s letter describes the activity.
Bill Tong and
Fisheries
Sciences trout
tank.

Title of Lesson/Activity: World Language – Spanish
Comparing Bicycles and Cars for transportation
Date: December 21, 2015
Teacher Name: Amber Gilligan
Grade: 7
Brief Description of Lesson/Activity: Seventh grade
Spanish students read an infographic celebrating el Dia
Mundial sin Automovil (the Day with No Cars) to
understand the environmental and health benefits of using
bikes for transportation instead of using motorized
vehicles.
Worksheet for Day with
No Cars activity.

Title of Lesson/Activity: Food to Table
Date: November 2015
Teacher Name: Kim Berndt, Family and Consumer Science
Grade: 6
Brief Description of Lesson/Activity: Sixth grade Family
and Consumer Science students studied Farm to Table,
sustainable practices and food safety. Kim Berndt has also
put into a request to the Green Team to try to build an
herb garden for FACS use.
Worksheet for Farm to
Table Competition in
FACS. Student letter
about food safety.

Title of Lesson/Activity: Air Quality – Project Based
Inquiry Science
Date: January –March 2016
Teacher Name: Jane Albert, Melinda Campbell
Grade: 8
Brief Description of Lesson/Activity: All 8th grade students
participate in the unit Air Quality in their Project Based
Inquiry Science classes. In this unit, the big question that
the students answer is “How can you improve air quality in
your community?” Students study the causes of air
pollution and then work to find solutions for problems in
their own community.
PBIS Science
Air Quality

Title of Lesson/Activity: The Future of
Water
Date: January –June 2016
Teacher Name: Joan Shepherd
Grade: 6
Brief Description of Lesson/Activity:
Ensuring safe access to water will
remain a high priority for the future.
During this module, students identify
and investigate an issue of interest
related to the numerous stressors on
the world’s limited water resources and
apply the content and practices from a
variety of fields including science, social
studies, and technology to propose and
develop a solution related to their
selected water topic.
Sample slides from
student Powerpoint
research into water
issues and solutions.
Teacher lesson.

Title of Lesson/Activity: Learning how to sort waste.
Date: February 12, 2015
Teacher Name: Principal Melissa Shindel
Grades: 6,7,8
Brief Description of Lesson/Activity: Alicia Moore from
Howard County Recycling presented a lesson to 100% of
the students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades about the food
sorting/composting program that would be coming to
Clarksville Middle School. Students played a game to
practice waste sorting.
6th grade students
learning how to sort
waste, recycle, and
compost.

Title of Lesson/Activity: Let’s sort our
waste better!
Date: May 12, 2015
Student Name: Jacob S.
Grade: 6
Brief Description of Lesson/Activity: Jacob
was measuring trash and determined that
students were not sorting their waste
carefully. He took it upon himself to write
a speech to inspire 218 of his classmates to
be better, more responsible, sorters at
lunch. His classmates gave him a standing
ovation.
Jacob giving his trash
sorting speech and his
written speech.

Title of Lesson/Activity: Invasive species,
habitat restoration
Date: Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2014,
Fall 2014
Teachers: Pat Madden, Kathy Kolesar
Grade: 7
Brief Description of Lesson/Activity: All
218 seventh grade students participate in a
lesson about invasive species and habitat
restoration in preparation for field trip to
Howard Community College to restore the
watershed.
Training video for all 7th
grade students before
HCC habitat restoration
fieldtrip.

1.2 Professional Development
School Wide Awareness of Green School Certification
Date: Friday, October 2, 2015
Time: 3:15pm – 4:00 pm
Principal Dr. Joelle Miller and Assistant
Principal Julie Rout met with 45 Clarksville
Middle School staff members (92% of 49
staff members) to make them aware of the
Green School Certification process and to
solicit ideas for the application.

Principal Melissa Shindel sharing with
100% of the staff our success reducing the
amount of solid waste produced by our
school.

Date: March 6, 2016
Principal Joelle Miller sharing with 100%
of the staff our success reducing the
amount of solid waste produced by our
school, water conservation activity, and
energy conservation efforts.

Environmental Education Professional Development
Teacher(s): Philip Herdman, William Moffitt, Josh Sydnor,
Katie Winafeld, Paige Holly, Joelle Miller, Ali Taylor, JoAnne
Cohee, Laura Puryear, Julie Rout, Carolyn Rogers, Debbi
Holihan, Joan Shepherd, Terry Wojdyla, Sandy Vinje, Beth
Barkley
Dates and Time: October 14, 2015. 7:00 am
Through October 16, 2015. 3:30 pm
Brief Description of the PD: Sixteen staff members (33% of
CMS staff) attended Outdoor Education at NorthBay
Adventure Camp with 188 sixth grade students. Each staff
member was assigned a group of students. An educator from
NorthBay created and taught environmental lessons for
students and staff during their stay. Lessons included:
vultures, fungi, trees, deer, seining, erosion, Chesapeake Bay
life, weather, food 101, spiders, and many more.
Email with list of staff attending
Outdoor Ed. Lesson about
turkey vultures for staff and
students at Outdoor Ed.

Teacher(s): 100% of Clarksville Middle School teachers and staff.
Brief Description of the PD: Alicia Moore from the Howard County Office of Sustainability trained the 6th grade
team, 7th grade team, 8th grade team, related arts team, administrators, custodial staff, and kitchen staff how
to implement the composting program at Clarksville Middle School in five separate training sessions.
Email from Principal Shindel to staff about training.

Teacher(s): Mark Vinje, Sandy
Vinje
Date: April 24, 2015
Brief Description of the PD:
Attended the MAEOE Green
School Training at Oregon Ridge
Nature Center to learn about the
requirements for Clarksville
Middle School to become a
certified Green School
Mark and Sandy at MAEOE Green School Training meeting.

Teacher(s): Jane Albert
Date: October 8, 2014
Attended professional
development for science team
leaders in Next Generation
Science Standards at Howard
County Conservancy at Belmont.
Jane Albert at professional development.

Teacher: Phil Herdman
Date: Saturday December 19,
2015 from 8:45 AM to 1:00 PM
Robinson Nature Center
6692 Cedar Lane
Columbia, MD 21044
Trout in the Classroom training.
The main program includes two
in-depth tutorials. One is on tank
setup; the other is on
maintaining a healthy tank
environment for the hatchlings.
As usual, there is no charge for
the workshop, which is
supported by the Mid-Atlantic
Council of Trout Unlimited.
Phil Herdman’s information for training.

Teacher: Sandy Vinje
Date: June 23 – 28, 2015
Key Issues Institute at Keystone Science School,
Keystone, Colorado
The Key issues Institute is an international teacher
professional development workshop that provides
multi-level educators with the process, skills, tools,
and confidence to investigate current
environmental issues with their students.
Email for registration and Principal email sharing information with staff.

Objective One: Systemic Sustainability
1.3 School-Wide Environmental Behavior Changes
Date: 2014 - present
Brief Description of behaviors:
Paperless paychecks.
Double-sided copies on copy machine in the front
office.
Light sensors in offices and hallways.
Use of CANVAS, Edmodo, Noodletools, online
databases, Googledocs with students to reduce
the use of paper.
Notices about Sustainability award and changes in payroll.

1.4 Celebration
School-Wide Event Title: Annual Fall Run for the Earth
Date: November 24, 2014, December 4, 2015
Brief Description of the celebration: Annual school run to
get everyone, students, staff and parents, outside to enjoy
our school grounds and exercise.
Students bring their own reusable water bottles and the
PTA provides coolers of ice water.
Trash sorting cans provided by custodial staff.

1.4 Celebration
School-Wide Event Title: Annual Envirothon Run,
Enrichment Fair and Picnic
Date: May 21, 2015, May 19, 2016
Brief Description of the celebration: Annual spring school
run to get everyone outside to enjoy our school grounds and
exercise followed by PTA sponsored celebratory picnic and
enrichment fair.
Students bring their own reusable water bottles and the
PTA provides coolers of ice water. Trash sorting cans
provided by custodial staff to reduce waste produced.
The enrichment fair offers the opportunity to celebrate our
year long accomplishments with the community.
Students presented Feed the Green Bin to encourage
parents to compost at home.
Green Team members presented their Reading Garden
Project and Environmental Film Festival films.
Students, staff,
and parents
participating in
the Envirothon
Run.
Students
celebrate the
Feed the Green
Bin program and
share with the
community.

1.4 Celebration
School-Wide Event Title: No Gray Friday on Earth Day
Brief Description of the celebration: Annual celebration
Earth Day competition to see which grade level produces
the least waste. The entire school celebrates with a waste
free earth day.
Promoted by: Green Team, Spirit Squad, Future Educators
Association, and staff.
A flyer created by Green Team students
to promote No Gray Friday.
The school spirit squad will be using this flyer to promote a
Waste Free Earth Day.
FEA president,
Joe Hobbs,
eating his waste
free lunch while
writing a
commercial to
promote waste
free lunch.

1.4 Celebration
School-Wide Event Title: 20 Minute Cleanup
Brief Description of the celebration: Celebration of Earth
Day competition to see which grade level can pick up the
most trash in the school yard.
Promoted by: Green Team, Spirit Squad, Future Educators
Association, and staff.
The school spirit squad will be tweeting and
instagraming this information out.

Objective 2: Student Driven Sustainability Practices
2.1 Water Conservation/Pollution Prevention
Title of Activity: Storm drain stencils
Date: March 2016
Teacher Name: Green Team
Grades: 6,7,8
Brief Description of Water Conservation/Pollution
Prevention Action: Stenciling of two storm drains in CMS
parking lots to make awareness of storm drain runoff into
the Chesapeake Bay. READY providing stencils and
paint.
Stenciling of storm drains
with help of READY
students.

2.1 Water Conservation/Pollution Prevention
Title of Activity: Water conservation signs by faucets
Date: Fall 2015
Grades: 6,7,8
Brief Description of Water Conservation/Pollution Prevention
Action: Students noticed that water faucets were not always being
turned off in science classrooms and there were dripping faucets in
student restrooms. A team of students created signs for all of the
water faucets in the school to encourage water conservation.
6th & 7th grade students making
water conservation signs for faucets

2.2 Energy Conservation
Title of Activity: Signage in school around light switches
Date: September 2014 - to present
Grade: 6,7,8 Green School kids
Brief Description of Energy Conservation Action: Students,
alarmed at the electricity use at Clarksville Middle School, created
signs and posted them at all light switches in the building to
encourage people to turn off lights when they leave a room.
Student created signs for
light switches.

Title of Activity: Energy Audit of school
Date: Fall 2015
Grade: 8
Brief Description of Energy Conservation Action: Eighth grade
students performed an energy audit of Clarksville Middle School
to try to discover why CMS has been using so much electricity.
Dr. Miller discovered from HCPSS facilities that both the heating
and air conditioning were functioning at the same time in the east
wing of the building, which has electric heat and air. Work orders
were put in to fix this problem.
The students are using a Watts Up Pro to measure the electric use
of these electrical appliances and will be making recommendations
to staff about ways these appliances could use less electricity.
Graph showing CMS electrical
use compared to other middle
schools. Prompted students to
discover why use is so high.
Students
performing
energy audit.

Date: Fall 2014 - present
Teacher Names: Phil Herdman, Katie Engelstatter
Grades: 6, 7, 8
Brief Description of Energy Conservation Action: Students on the
Green Team noticed that many teachers were leaving their
televisions on throughout the day after the morning
announcements were over. In an effort to reduce the use of
electricity in the school, the Green Team asked the students on the
team that creates the morning announcements to add one final
announcement at the end of the show. Now, every day, the last
announcement is, “Teachers, please remember to turn off your
televisions.”
A follow up by the Green Team has shown that this one
announcement has been effective. Televisions throughout the
school are now turned off when not in use.
Sample morning announcement
message. The TV announcers
remind teachers to turn off their
televisions everyday at the end
of announcements.

Date: Fall 2015
Teacher Name: The ENTIRE SCHOOL
Brief Description of Energy Conservation Action: Eighth grade
students performed an energy audit of Clarksville Middle School
to try to discover why CMS has been using so much electricity.
Student created “Envirominutes” each week and daily
announcements have resulted in a reduction of electrical use at
CMS.
After students returned to CMS and started
encouraging all students and staff to turn off lights
and appliances not in use, the monthly electrical
use has decreased compared to the past two years.
Envirominute on
morning
announcements.

2.3 Solid Waste Reduction
Title of Activity: Feed the Green Bin
Composting Program
Date: February 24, 2015 - present
Teacher Name: All CMS staff, Tyrone Williams
Grades: 6,7,8
Brief Description of Solid Waste Reduction
Action: Clarksville Middle School is the first
middle school in Howard County to compost
food scraps, food trays, and napkins. Before
the composting program, CMS sent 83% of its
waste to the landfill and recycled 17% of its
waste. Since sorting trash began in March
2015, students and staff send only an average of
40% of its waste to the landfill, while
composting and recycling an average of 60% of
the waste. Green Team students weigh the
waste weekly and post the measurements in the
cafeteria for students to see.
Students sign the wall poster near sorting bins
to pledge to carefully sort their waste.
Video of Green Team “fixing”
sorting, 8th grade student sorting,
students signing pledge.

Title of Activity: Locker Cleanout
Date: December 2015, June 2014, December 2014
Teacher Name: All Staff
Grades: 6,7,8
Brief Description of Solid Waste Reduction Action: All students
participate in locker cleanout two times each year. Encouraged by
Green Team students, teachers and students place recycle bins in
the hallways, in addition to trash cans, so that students can recycle
all recyclable items that they are removing from their lockers
instead of throwing it all away. Most of the material goes in
recycle instead of trash.
Students recycling during
locker cleanout.

Title of Activity: Composting buckets in Science and Family and
Consumer Science classrooms
Date: August, 2015 - present
Teacher Name: Jane Albert, Melinda Campbell, Pat Madden,
Kathy Kolesar, William Moffitt, Sandy Vinje and Kim Berndt.
Grades: 6,7,8
Brief Description of Solid Waste Reduction Action: Students in the
Green Team noticed that a lot of paper towels are used in science
classrooms that were being thrown into the trash. As part of our
composting program that began in February of 2015, paper towels
can be composted. Green Team students requested composting
buckets from the Howard County Recycling Division for all six of
the science classrooms. Paper towels from science classrooms are
now composted instead of being thrown in the trashcan. FACS
food scraps and paper towels are also composted instead of being
placed in trash.
Composting bucket for
paper towels in science
classroom.

Title of Activity: Future Educators
Association club at Clarksville
Middle School
Date: February-March 2016
Teacher Name: William Moffitt
Grades: 6,7,8
Brief Description of Solid Waste
Reduction Action: The Future
Educators created a commercial to
help with solid waste reduction at
CMS.
FEA students creating
waste free lunch
promotion commercial.

Title of Activity: Recycling Bin donations
Date: Fall 2014
Grades: 6,7,8
Brief Description of Solid Waste Reduction Action:
Not all classrooms had recycling bins. The Green
Team, a group of students who meet every Wednesday
during period 8, surveyed the school and found that
there were 10 classroom areas that did not have
recycling bins. The PTA worked with the Green Team
to have members of the community donate their extra
recycling bins to our school. Returned older recycling
bins are now placed in all Clarksville Middle school
classrooms. We are reusing the old bins to make sure
every classroom has a recycling bin to reduce trash. Students cleaning
donated recycling bins.

2.4 Habitat Restoration
Title of Lesson/Activity: Howard Community
College Governor’s Stream Restoration Project
Date: Spring and Fall 2013, 2014, 2015
Teacher Name: Philip Herdman, Todd Wright
Grade: 7
Brief Description of Lesson/Activity: All 7th graders
work to restore the five acres around a central stream at HCC to
improve the quality and reduce the quantity and velocity of water
leaving the property. Modern conservation practices along with
remodeling the stream itself are being implemented to increase
infiltration before runoff reaches the stream, better handle
periodic storm events, and provide a natural habitat for wildlife
that encourages educational opportunities for observation and
measurement. Signage and other media will be installed during
and remain after the project to explain to students and the larger
community what the Stream Restoration Challenge is and the
benefits of the project.
Tweets about stream restoration. Picture of
CMS students and story about CMS stream
restoration in Baltimore Sun.

Title of Activity: Restoration and Replanting of Outdoor
Classroom
Date: December 4, 2015 - present
Teacher Names: Mark Vinje, Sandy Vinje, Dr. Joelle Miller
Grades: 6,7,8 Green Team kids
Brief Description of Habitat Restoration Action: Met Program
Assistant Ted Wolfe to discuss how READY (Restoring the
Environment and Developing Youth program in Howard County) can
work with our students, staff, and parents to revitalize, restore, and
replant our Outdoor Classroom with the help of READY. READY
members meet with Green Team kids during Period 8 every
Wednesday from January – June 2016 to teach students and plan
revitalization of the Outdoor Classroom. Renovations and
improvements to the Outdoor Classroom are planned for May 2016.
READY is also working with students to create a rain garden on the
school campus to alleviate erosion occurring near a storm drain in a
hilly area behind the school’s east wing.
Green Team student leaders meeting with
Ted Wolfe to plan Outdoor Classroom
revitalization on December 9, 2015
Fence removal
request in preparation
for restoration of outdoor
classroom.

Title of Activity: Litter clean up of school yard
Date: Wednesdays throughout the year 2014-2015 and Howard
County 20 Minute Cleanup
Teacher Name: Sandy Vinje
Grade: 6
Brief Description of Habitat Restoration Action: Teams of students
pick up litter each Wednesday during Period 8. In addition, every year
sixth graders participate in the 20 minute cleanup in Howard County.
On April 10, 2014, one hundred thirteen sixth graders spent 20 minutes
each, over a period of two days, to clean up the Clarksville Middle
School campus. The students collected 22 bags of litter. Eight of those
bags were recycled and the rest placed in the trash.
Sample students
participating in litter
cleanup. Email with
results.

2.5 Structures for Environmental Learning
Title of Activity: Restoration of Outdoor Classroom
Date: December 2015 - present
Teacher Name: Dr. Joelle Miller, Sandy Vinje and Mark Vinje
Grades: 6, 7, 8 Green Team
Brief Description of Structures for Environmental Learning
Action: With help from Restoring the Environment and Developing
Youth (READY) program of Howard County, Green Team students
are working to restore and replant the Outdoor Classroom on the CMS
property so that it can be used by the students at CMS.
Students planning with
READY for restoration of
outdoor classroom.

2.5 Structures for Environmental Learning
Title of Activity: Outdoor Artwork from CMS Schoolyard
Date: Winter 2015
Teacher Name: Kathy Kolesar
Grade: 7
Brief Description of Structures for Environmental Learning
Action: Kathy Kolesar challenged her 7th grade classes to find the
beauty in a cold, wet day during the winter of 2015. Students used
their cameras to photograph the beauty they found in the
schoolyard behind her classroom.
Student photography.

2.6 Responsible Transportation
Title of Activity: Erosion Walk Field Trip
Date: October 6, 2015
Teacher Name: William Moffitt, Sandy Vinje
Grade: 6
Brief Description of Responsible Transportation
Action: Students went on a walking field trip around
the school grounds to investigate erosion. During their
fieldtrip they discovered many places where erosion is
occurring as well as many places where erosion is
being controlled. Walking field trip around
CMS.

2.6 Responsible Transportation
Title of Activity: Walking field trip to Pointers Run for Composting Celebration
Teacher Names: Principal Melissa Shindel, Tyrone Williams, Julie Rout, Laura
Puryear, Phil Herdman, Mark Vinje, Sandy Vinje
Grades: 6, 7, 8
Brief Description of Responsible Transportation Action: Students and staff on
the CMS Green Team walk to the celebration at Pointers Run Elementary
School.
ADD CAPTION
Green Team student reflection of field trip.

Objective 2 Student Driven Sustainability Practices
2.7 Healthy School Environment
School-Wide Event Title: Annual Envirothon Run, Enrichment Fair and Picnic
Date: May 21, 2015, May 19, 2016
Brief Description of the celebration: Annual spring school run to get everyone outside to enjoy our school grounds and
exercise followed by PTA sponsored picnic and the school enrichment fair.
100% of Students, Staff, Administrators, and many Parents participate in this fun-filled activity.
Students bring their own reusable water bottles and the PTA provides coolers of ice water. Trash sorting cans are
provided by custodial staff to reduce waste produced.
Staff and students participating
in the Fun Run.

Title of Activity: Litter clean up of school yard
Date: Wednesdays throughout the year 2014-
2015 and Howard County 20 Minute Cleanup
Teacher Name: Sandy Vinje
Grade: 6
Brief Description of Habitat Restoration Action:
Teams of students pick up litter each Wednesday
during Period 8. In addition, every year sixth
graders participate in the 20 minute cleanup in
Howard County. On April 24, 2015, one hundred
thirty sixth graders spent 20 minutes each, over a
period of two days, to clean up the Clarksville
Middle School campus. The students collected 32
bags of litter. The litter weighed 96.5 lbs.
Email to report results of
20 Minute Cleanup.
Thank you from HoCo.

Title of Activity: Green Team encouraging
proper food sorting
Date: December 7, 2015
Grade: 7
Two students on the Green Team wanted to
encourage the students in the school to sort their
waste carefully at lunch. They created a
PowerPoint and presented this to the school on
the morning announcements in an effort to let
others know the impact waste can have on the
environment.
Video of students presenting their PowerPoint to the
students and staff of CMS on the morning
announcements.

Title of Activity: Green Team encouraging
proper food sorting
Date: August 2015 – present
Staff: Tyrone Williams
Grades 6. 7, 8
Students measure and graph cafeteria trash,
compost and recycle each week. In an effort to
let others know the impact waste can have on the
environment, they have created and update a
graph each week to monitor and celebrate
student progress.
Students and their trash diversion
data in cafeteria.

Objective 3: Community Partnerships, Awards and Special Recognition
3.1 Community Partnerships
Organization/Company Title: Howard County Bureau of
Environmental Services Recycling Division
Brief Description of Partnership: Clarksville Middle School is the
first middle school in Howard County to participate in composting
our waste in addition to recycling.
Staff at Clarksville Middle School were trained in waste
sorting/composting program by Alicia Moore from Bureau of
Environmental Services Recycling Division.
Alicia Moore training 6th grade
staff on February 5, 2015.

Environmental Services Recycling Division and CMS PTA
Date: November 25, 2014
Brief Description of Partnership: Not all classrooms had recycling
bins. The Green Team, a group of students who meet every
Wednesday during period 8, surveyed the school and found that there
were 10 classroom areas that did not have recycling bins. The PTA
worked with the Green Team to have members of the community
donate their extra recycling bins to our school. Returned older
recycling bins were placed in all Clarksville Middle school classrooms.
We are reusing the donated bins to reduce our waste by recycling
more. Emails with PTA Green Chair
about used recycle bin
donations.

Environmental Services Recycling Division
Date: August 2015
Brief Description of Partnership: Clarksville Middle School is the
first middle school in Howard County to participate in composting
our waste in addition to recycling.
Students at Clarksville Middle School were trained in waste
sorting/composting program by staff from Bureau of
Environmental Services Recycling Division during the first two
weeks of school.
Howard County Recycling staff
helping train students during lunch
shifts the first two weeks of school.

Organization/Company Title: River Hill Garden
Center and CMS PTA
Date: May 2014
Brief Description of Partnership: CMS PTA and
River Hill Garden center beautify the gardens and
entrance to Clarksville Middle School.
Landscaping in front of CMS.

Organization/Company Title: River Hill High
School sophomore Sonia He
Date: March 2016 - ongoing
Brief Description of Partnership: Sonia He is
going to collaborate with CMS to conduct a study
to determine if handmade signs are more
effective than machine made signs to encourage
students to recycle.

Organization/Company Title: READY
Date: 2013- present
Brief Description of Partnership: READY is a partnership between:
a. Howard County, Office of Environmental Sustainability
b. Allliance for the Chesapeake Bay
c. People Acting Together in Howard (PATH)
d. University of Maryland, Sea Grant
e. Parks and People Foundation
f. Columbia Association
READY will support Howard Community College's involvement with the
students of Clarksville Middle School and other schools as they come on
board. The key activities of the READY young adults will be:
Lead "crews" of students during the field activities at HCC.
Provide on-site training at the HCC field events on topics such as safety,
proper tool usage.
Plant identification, and plant / tree installation methods.
Give in-class presentations on topics such as Bayscaping and stormwater
effects and management, as well as assisting the students in planning the field
events.
READY supports CMS at Howard
Community College stream restoration
and in our Outdoor Classroom
renovation at CMS.

Organization/Company Title: Howard County Bureau
of Environmental Services Recycling Division
Date: May 21, 2015
Brief Description of Partnership: Clarksville Middle
School Green Team students promoting Feed the
Green Bin composting program to the community
during our annual enrichment fair. Families in the
community gained awareness of the composting
program that they can participate in at their own
homes.
Green Team students encouraging community members to
participate in Feed the Green Bin composting program.

Organization/Company Title: READY (Restoring the
Environment and Developing Youth program in Howard County)
Date: December 4, 2015 - present
Teacher Names: Mark Vinje, Sandy Vinje, Dr. Joelle Miller
Grades: 6,7,8 Green Team kids
Brief Description of Partnership: READY Program Assistant Ted
Wolfe, McKynlee Valentine and Sean Baynes work with our
students, staff, and parents to revitalize, restore, and replant our
Outdoor Classroom with the help of READY. READY members
meet with Green Team kids during Period 8 on Wednesdays in
January – Spring 2016 to teach students and plan revitalization of the
Outdoor Classroom. Renovations and improvements to the Outdoor
Classroom are planned for Spring 2016.
READY is also working with students to create a rain garden on the
school campus to alleviate erosion occurring near a storm drain in a
hilly area behind the school’s east wing and revitalize our Reading
Garden.
READY staff planning lessons for students to be taught during during
period 8 classes in preparation of outdoor classroom renovation on
February 23, 2016.

Organization/Company: Mid-Atlantic Trout in the
Classroom Team
Mid-Atlantic Council of Trout Unlimited
Title: Trout Tank Donation
Teacher: Phil Herdman, Mark Vinje
Brief Description of Partnership: Bill Tong, an
8th grade student at Clarksville Middle School,
initiated a new seminar at CMS. Clarksville
Fisheries Sciences.
Trout tanks from Mid-Atlantic Trout in the Classroom Team
- Mid-Atlantic Council of Trout Unlimited were donated to
CMS to grow trout for release into local streams.
Donated tackle boxes.
Bill Tong and
donated fish tank
with baby trout.

Organization/Company: Robinson Nature Center –
Kelly Vogelpohl, Katie Peet
Title: Help with reviewing the CMS Green School
application
Teacher: Mark Vinje, Sandy Vinje
Date:. Thursday, December 17, 2015

Organization/Company Title: Howard
County Executive, Howard County
Bureau of Environmental Services,
Howard County Public School System,
Clarksville Middle School
Date: February 23, 2015 - present
Brief Description of Partnership:
Clarksville Middle School begins a
partnership with the Howard County
Bureau of Environmental Services to be
the first middle school in Howard
County to have a school-wide waste
composting program.
Students and CMS staff on Green
Team being recognized by County
Executive Allan Kittleman, School
Superintendant Dr. Renee Foose,
school board member Mary Kay
Sigaty for composting program.

3.2 Awards & Special Recognition
Recognition: County Executive Recognizes
CMS for composting program
Date: August 26, 2015
Grade: 6,7,8
Brief Description of Award and/or
Recognition: Howard County Executive Allan
Kittleman visited Clarksville Middle School to
recognize and celebrate the success of our
waste composting program.
ADD CAPTION
County Executive Allan Kittleman and teacher Sandy Vinje

Clarksville Middle School Green School Application

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