Environmental Commitment

Convent of the Sacred Heart Environmental Commitment

Environmentalism is inherent in Convent of the Sacred Heart’s Goals and Criteria. Therefore, our commitment to the environment is an extension of the Goals & Criteria.

“Goal Three: Schools of the Sacred Heart commit themselves to educate to a social awareness which impels to action. Criterion Five: The school teaches respect for creation and prepares students to be stewards of the earth’s resources.”

Energized by our students and our social responsibility to act, Convent of the Sacred Heart at 91st Street will model environmentally sound behavior for our students, faculty, parents, alumnae, network and extended community.

Statement of Environmental Commitment

Convent of the Sacred Heart is committed to being environmentally responsible. The school will inspire all in the 91^st Street community to advocate for and take action to address environmental issues. We will lead by example and our evolving curriculum will reflect current environmental realities.

We Will Fulfill Our Commitment by:

Establishing an Environmental Stewards Committee that reports to the Head of School and is inclusive; comprised of students (including the President of the Environmental Club or Student Government), faculty, senior administrative staff (including operations and technology), alumnae, parents and Board members.
Leading by example and consistently making decisions that demonstrate our respect for the planet.
Engaging all students, grades Pre-K through 12, in environmental education rooted within our curriculum.
Measuring and reporting our performance with transparency.

How Sacred Heart Lives Each Day as Earth Day

We established an Environmental Stewards Committee to coordinate, establish and monitor environmental efforts within the school community. The Committee meets regularly, ensuring that we maximize efforts and resources to live our mission, teach respect for creation, and prepare students to be stewards of the earth's resources.
In Fall 2009, 91st Street joined with more than 100 other schools in New York State to be a part of the Green Schools Alliance. Representatives from the Environmental Stewards Committee attended the 2009 Green Schools Summit on November 17, 2009. As part of our pledge to the GSA, we developed a short-term and long-term action plans for environmental sustainability and identified community-wide initiatives. For more information about the Green Schools Alliance, please visit the following link: http://www.greenschoolsalliance.org/.
Our printing company, Capital Offset, passed certification as a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) printer in early 2009. FSC certified printers comply with the highest social and environmental standards on the market and all of Sacred Heart’s publications are printed under FSC guidelines. For more information about the Forest Stewardship Council, please visit the following link: http://www.fsc.org/.
As a demonstration of our commitment to environmentally friendly vendors and services, Convent of the Sacred Heart proudly uses Flik International, a division of Compass Group, for our dining and select catering services. In January 2009, Sacred Heart stopped using the traditional paper cups, bowls and plates in the cafeteria for take-out service. We now offer the compostable “ecotainer” cup and bowl, which is made from fully renewable resources. All paper plates are made from recycled materials, and traditional plastic take-out containers are no longer purchased or available for use. For more information about the Compass Group initiatives, please visit their website at the following link: www.cgnad.com/compass360.
The Convent of the Sacred Heart technology department tracks the copy machines and printers to determine the number of copies each month, how many are double-sided, and the number of pages printed each month from duplex printers that are not two-sided. With this information, the Environmental Stewards Committee will establish paper usage guidelines for the entire school.
The Parents Association made a commitment to being as paperless as possible in all of their communication efforts. The P2P newsletter is now sent out electronically only, and all sign-up forms are offered online with minimal hard copies distributed.

2010 Curricular Integration of Environmental Responsibility

The Lower School welcomed some of the Upper School Environmental Club members to morning prayers for a video presentation about the importance of "POW" (Protecting Our World). In addition to sharing with the lower school students about the activities in which the club participates, the upper school students also reminded the girls that it is everyone's responsibility to protect our planet.
Led by Lower School art teacher, Holly Kassan, the kindergarten students scoured their homes and the school for materials that could be used to make their very own Sacred Heart doll. One of the favorite projects for the girls, each student creates an image of herself, fashioned out of paint, paper, and clothing. During the entire process, the girls are learning about the importance of recycling and reusing materials, while creatively imagining new uses for each. The dolls were on display in the school for the months of October and November.
The Middle School has elected student representatives to serve as Eco-Ambassadors for each class. Among the responsibilities for the student representatives is leading the scavenger hunt for recycle bins in the middle school and taking inventory of the recycling bins. The Middle School has also set goals for reducing faculty paper waste. The Middle School Environmental Club will be creating a special environmental news section on the all-school intranet, Moodle.
Led by the Middle School students, the bulletin board outside of the cafeteria is decorated with helpful tips for recycling and reducing food waste.
The Upper School, led by the Environmental Club, focuses on reducing food and plastic waste in the cafeteria, most notably by it's optional "Trayless Tuesday" initiative. The club members are working their way to each of the U.S. homerooms to remind all the teachers and students where the recycle bins are in each classroom.
Student leaders in environmental sustainability presented to the Upper School during X-Period their projects and community service work from the summer. Among the presentations were those regarding work at the United Nations and the SC3, an environmental congress created by the Green Schools Alliance and held annually at the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC).
Members of the Upper School Environmental Club, as well as some faculty, staff and parents of 91st Street, attended the GSA's Annual Fall Summit 2010 at the Nightingale-Bamford School. In addition to networking with other clubs members, the students returned energized with new ideas for events for 91st Street.
In Fall 2010, Dr. Ciancaglini presented the entire faculty and staff of 91st Street with aluminum water bottles with a special Sacred Heart logo, doing away with plastic water bottles in the school and encouraging each member of the staff to use filtered water from the tap.
The school is proud to host a faculty development workshop about Sustainable Living in January 2011. Presented in partnership with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the two and a half hour workshop will be an interactive way for teachers to continue to think creatively about increasing the presence of environmentalism in the classroom.