A new club at Cardinal Intermediate School is changing the way its students are seeing the world around them.
The Ecology Club is something new at CIS this year, an idea from third grade teacher Mike Topalian and fourth grade teacher Charlotte Torre. “We partnered up with a teacher from the other grade for enrichment periods this year, and when we talked about our activity, we decided we wanted to do something that included all of our students so they could become more comfortable not only with themselves, but also with each other,” says Topalian.
Mr. Topalian and Ms. Torre present a list of potential discussion topics to the club and then allow the 43 students to vote on which topic they’d like to learn more about during their Ecology enrichment period. So far, students have studied greenhouse gasses, global warming, pollution, whaling, tree identification and endangered species. One of the goals the club is considering is raising money to help save an endangered species like the Sumatran Tiger or Giant Panda.
Students are also learning about the importance of recycling and are assisting high school students with collections for the paper recycling program within the district. “We have some ‘mad recyclers’ in this group,” Torre says. “I was surprised at the genuine interest the students had in these particular topics that went beyond classroom learning. They’re really taking the information they’ve discovered and they’re starting to see how these ecological issues matter in their everyday lives.”
Ecology club members are sharing their knowledge with other students in school by creating awareness posters. The Cardinal Board of Education also voted to recognize the Ecology Club as an official school activity at their February meeting.
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