Sustainability at a Glance

Hello DGS family!

I can’t tell you what a wonderful start we’ve already had here at school. The thinking and curiosity is so rich. It's exciting.

As I mentioned at Back to School Night, our Sustainability classes build on each other year after year. From Kindergarten all the way through 8th grade, each stage is intentionally connected. The teachers and I have worked hard to weave this foundation into lessons and curriculum, even beyond the dedicated Sustainability class time.

If you missed Back to School Night, here’s a quick overview of how I think about sustainability at DGS. By the time our students graduate 8th grade, my hope is that they not only feel a deep connection with the natural world but also see its many connections through different lenses.

Kindergarten through 3rd grade is all about making connections with the world around us. Students spend a lot of time exploring, asking questions, and building observation skills. Some of this year’s topics include the sky above us with clouds and weather, landforms and water forms, plant identification, and life cycles. These early years are about building foundational knowledge so students are more aware of what is happening in the world around them.

In Upper Elementary, the focus shifts to seeing the interconnectedness of all that they have been studying for years. Students begin exploring how the environment interacts with itself and how we interact with it, while still nurturing their personal connection to the natural world.

By Middle School, we turn our attention to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With a solid understanding of the natural world, students can now see how these issues play out globally. We look at topics that may not immediately come to mind when you hear the word sustainability, such as Goal 1: No Poverty or Goal 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.

I love how they wrap up their time at DGS by creating real solutions to real problems. They have designed sustainable cities, written to policymakers, and carried out research. So now they know they are capable of making a difference. Seeing their creativity and willingness, or dare I say excitement, to tackle such complex problems gives me so much hope for the future of people and the planet.

Now, here’s a peek into what we’ve been doing in class so far:

Lower Elementary is studying the sky above us for September. We started by lying outside in the cool morning air, watching the clouds, and telling funny stories about the shapes we saw. This week, we learned three cloud types and talked about the kind of weather we might expect with each one. We also created and labeled the cloud types and made up actions to go with them. If you want a laugh, ask your child to show you!

The sky changed so quick during our time together!

Taking a minute to cloud watch!

Students working on creating and labeling the three cloud types we discussed this week.

A completed work on clouds!

Upper Elementary is beginning a year long project: making phenology wheels. These beautiful works of art show the passing of time in nature. Each student has chosen a spot to observe weekly, where they will take detailed notes and sketches throughout the seasons. Some are focusing on flowers, others on leaf color, and some on the movement of the sun. This week, we practiced making scientific observations instead of vague descriptions. For example, we compared “The flower is yellow and smells nice” with “The flower has five yellow petals and a green and white center. It’s about the size of my hand and smells like honey.” Everyone agreed the second description is much more helpful for sketching and much more interesting to read.

Students practicing observing and taking detailed notes.

Examples of phenology wheels.

Middle School kicked off with a hexagonal thinking activity. Students started with three center words: DGS, Davidson, and Global. Each group received 15 additional words and worked to connect them, explaining the relationships. The further they went, the deeper the connections became, which required more critical thinking. After that, each student researched one of the Sustainable Development Goals and explored who is working in that field. We then repeated the activity and saw firsthand how all of the goals are connected. I love this exercise because the connections students make are always different that what I imagined.

Students working on the hexagonal thinking activity.

Our final product of connecting all the goals!

Needless to say, it has been an incredible way to begin the year!

Until next time,

Ms. Emily