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APS: Natural & Renewable Resources

Weekly Newsletter: October 3rd, 2016

APS: Natural &Renewable ResourcesWeekly Newsletter: October 3rd, 2016

We're baaaaaaaaack!

Hi all,

Here's to a "Fall"bulous week!


The APS Green Stars program is back and ready to rock! Here we are in our 3rd year (that's right, been going green for that last few years) and this year is going to be better than ever!


Last Thursday we had our bi-annual Green Star Schools Kick Off meeting and Awards Ceremony (see below for school participants and cash incentives awarded). Many new schools this year, and of course, our program veterans ascended on the Maintenance and Operations Complex (1369 Airport Blvd) to learn about the GSSP and share best practices with fellow teachers.


New this year is a great partnership with Earth Force, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing hands-on PBL training to teachers and activating community action programs with our students.

Emily Bretl (ebretl@earthforce.org) is our Program Manager and she's eager to work with you and your students to foster PBL in your classrooms!


I'll do my best to keep you up to date with weekly newsletters, but it'd be great to hear from you!


Please follow us on twitter @apsgreenstars for up to date news!

Here's to another week of project based learning, environmental education, and going green at Aurora Public Schools!

Julie North

Natural & Renewable Resources Coordinator

Aurora Public Schools

jenorth@aps.k12.co.us

ext. 28668

Mobile: 720-400-3148

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Green Stars here we come!

Teachers, Kari Kusek (5th, Lyn Knoll) and Maren Getz (5th, Crawford) engage each other in an activity to define "Environmental Citizenship" with Earth Force.
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Club sponsors Sue Sikorski (East) and Donna Brooks (Fletcher) have a laugh over who's the better artist while learning how to empower students to be change-agents in their schools.
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More than 30 teachers and staff participated in the Sept 29th, Green Stars kick off meeting and training at the M&O Complex.
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"If you build it, they will come..."

Remember, Peoria's container garden?? The school was able to get some old food safe containers from Craigslist to turn into garden planters for their students!
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Planting the seed (literally)

Head Custodian Scott Knox, and parents in Peoria's PTA helped to foster the garden efforts over the summer with routine watering...
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Cultivating Community!

The "transportable" garden was so popular, that Mortensen Construction got wind of the garden program at Peoria and offered to build a growing dome and school garden at the school for students to enjoy year round!

Green Stars Playbook & Badging Guide for all grades

Here are this year’s links to the Green Star Playbook & Badging Guide broken down by grade levels:

· ENTRY: P-2nd

· ACCESS: 3rd- 5th

· EXPLORE: 6th-8th

· PREPARE: 9th-12th

· Comprehensive P-12th

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Energy Challenge Competition Winners

Top conservers for Elementary, Middle, and High School:


Peoria $2,556!

East Middle (2nd year in a row) $3,699!

Aurora Central $7,354!



Runner ups:

Crawford $293

Elkhart $288

Fulton $226

Lyn Knoll $389

Sixth Avenue $745

Virginia Court $236

Wheeling $248

AWCPA $588

Vista Peak P8 $383

Energy Conservation needs everyone to participate!! Request a handy dandy flowchart of "Procedures for Temperature Monitoring" for your school today!

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SUS.TAIN' A. BIL' I. TY

"Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." -United Nations 1987



  • How do you define sustainability? In your school? In your community?
  • What do your students think?
  • How have you built this idea of sustainability into your school culture?
  • Share your thoughts on Twitter @apsgreenstars
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wastED 1.0

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycling is only the beginning!

More than 80% of our district's trash is FOOD WASTE.

New for 2016-2017 is the Composting in the Cafeteria Program and an innovative partnership with We Don't Waste for schools to donate uneaten/unopened food to benefit shelters and food banks.


Interested in becoming a participant in one or both programs? AND badging your students for their efforts and project based learning opportunities?!

Email Julie at jenorth@aps.k12.co.us


See some place based learning programs at Aurora West and how the students took it upon themselves to find a solution:

"The best way to predict the future is to design it." - Buckminster Fuller