News
A Note from Randal Rhodus
Dear Lower School Parents, During the last two weeks, all Lower School students participated in the Food Waste Challenge as one of the first all-Lower School initiatives for Hockaday’s Institute for Social Impact. Since the beginning of the school year, many teachers (and students) have noticed how much food students throw away at lunch- untouched grapefruits and apples, unopened sandwiches, etc. Two weeks ago following Lower School lunch, several employees from Sage removed the waste from the trash cans after Lower School lunch and weighed it. The total amount of food waste was 144.3 pounds! In addition to weighing the waste from lunch, photos were also taken of what was thrown away on this lunch day. Last week, teachers shared the photos of waste during lunch and discussed their observations. Additionally, each homeroom class was asked to watch the following video The Extraordinary life and Times of Strawberry (link: http://viewpure.com/WREXBUZBrS8?start=0&end=0), and students were asked to share their feelings about it. Students were also shown photos of strawberries taken by students at lunch and of strawberries being thrown away at the end of lunch. Students were asked to identify the situation being highlighted and discuss possible solutions to this problem. The also girls brainstormed several ideas to reduce or eliminate food waste, including:
After these discussions, teachers told our students that the trash would be weighed again on another day to see if they could reduce the amount of waste at lunch. Last Thursday (one week after we launched the food waste initiative), Sage weighed our food waste, and the total amount was reduced by 50% to 76 pounds! This exciting news was shared with our students at our gathering last Friday. While third grade’s service theme is helping people who are hungry, it is important for all students in Lower School to develop a greater awareness of their own food consumption and waste, so they can understand the issues of hunger and malnutrition in their own communities and in other parts of the world. It is important for our Lower School students to realize that their individual and collective actions can make a difference and an impact. We hope that you will continue the conversations around food waste in your own home as well. Warmly, Randal Rhodus |
The Hockaday School
Within the private school community, The Hockaday School is an independent college-preparatory day school for girls from grades PK–12 located in Dallas, Texas. Students realize their limitless potential through challenging academic curricula, arts, athletics, and extracurricular programs so that they are inspired to lead lives of purpose and impact.
The Hockaday School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, creed, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its educational, admissions, financial aid, athletic, and other policies and programs.
The Hockaday School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, creed, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its educational, admissions, financial aid, athletic, and other policies and programs.