Trinity School has taken many steps to make ourselves more "green." This list is just to name a few:
- All news letters, flyers, announcements and the school's application process are electronic. We are now offering employees an option to go paperless for their paychecks. If you decide to go paperless, you will have access to pay checks and Year End W-2 Forms online. Going paperless coincides with Trinity's Green Initiative! One more thing to help us to continually strive to reduce waste!
- Many middle school classes and subject areas use online textbooks and a grading/report card system. 7th and 8th graders use iPads in class for work.
- All classrooms have sufficient day lighting and are equipped with energy saving light bulbs.
- All teachers and faculty use double sided printing and re-use paper for copying. We also return and recycle toner cartridges.
- All computers and electronics have energy saving modes, which is highly encouraged for use.
- Trinity's 48 acre campus and 6 school buildings are designed to provide many opportunities for students to explore, interact, observe, question and assess their local ecosystem. Our campus is conducive to environmentally friendly operations and maintenance. All faculty and staff, as well as the students and their families, and some local organizations and companies have worked together to conserve water, conduct audits and reduce our energy usage, recycle and waste less, restore pieces of our school habitat, design, build and maintain outdoor classroom, garden and trail areas, and create a healthy school environment.
Energy Conservation
Trinity School is serious about its need to reduce its energy use. We feel that energy conservation is something that students of all ages can understand and should participate in efforts to lessen our energy consumption.
- Energy Audits
To monitor our commitment to energy reduction, Trinity has instituted Energy Audits. Both first and sixth grade students volunteer to conduct energy audits twice a month. The student auditors work in teams and walk around the buildings on campus during lunchtime to see which rooms have left their lights on while the rooms are vacant. They record their findings in a chart on a clipboard. The results are given to the middle school teacher on the Environmental Committee who is in charge of this endeavor. This teacher makes sure that the classrooms that were not in compliance are notified. The students are now focusing on lights in the closets and have also given every classroom stickers to put over their light switches as reminders to turn off the lights or use day lighting when possible. All classrooms are also equipped with energy efficient lighting. There are about 40 bulbs in each classroom and about 35 classrooms and offices. All rooms have day lighting and are encouraged to use it when they can.
Waste Reduction
- Zero Waste Snack
The first week of every month at Trinity School is zero waste snack week. Students in every grade are encouraged to bring their snack in a re-usable container or have a snack that will leave no waste behind. Our goal for next year is to be a zero waste snack school all of the time/every day of the year. Teachers keep track of those who participate 100% of the time every week. Their names are published in our electronic Newsy Notes flyers and placed on the green hall of fame in the cafeteria. At the end of the year those students who have had 100% participation for all 10 weeks receive a certificate of recognition.
- Recycling
Trinity has a vigorous recycling program. Initially, we benefited from Howard County's recycling offerings. However, when the county stopped supporting small business collections, we branched out. Now we have a Retriever bin on campus for paper and continue to pay Howard County to collect all other recyclables. Each grade in the Middle School takes turns being responsible for transporting all recycling materials to the appropriate bins. Each grade takes a turn for two months. Once a week, on a scheduled rotation, students roll or carry the recycled items to the receptacles. All classrooms, offices and lunch rooms have two bins - one for paper and one for other materials. The students also make announcements and posters to remind everyone to continue to recycle.
- Sweatshirt Week
On the first week of every winter month, Trinity turns down the heat in all 6 school buildings. All teachers,
faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to wear sweatshirts during these days. Middle school math students, along with their math teacher, Mr. Bentzley, and the business office, try to calculate our school's energy savings for those weeks and compare them to others. The students make announcements about how to save energy at home, as well and what families can do to help.
Water Conservation
On Trinity's campus, students, staff and outside organizations have helped plant trees and shrubs around the primary school parking lot, and new mobile/trailer classroom for Science. As a school we have implemented retrofitted sinks and toilets in our middle school building bathrooms. All toilets are slow valve equipped and sinks have push button timers (10-15 seconds) to help conserve water. Trinity is looking into installing 2 rain gardens. One will be attached to the cafeteria building near the primary school and the other will be near the middle school circle. Trinity also conducted an erosion control project in the last year, where we cleaned a 4,000 square foot retaining pond.
Habitat Restoration & Environmental Structures
- Trinity continuously enhances our school with habitat restoration projects.
- 4th and 6th grade students have constructed and hung bird houses around campus.
- An Eco Goats Program visited our school to discuss environmentally friendly ways to get rid of invasive plant species on campus.
- A Dad's Network was formed to help in weeding and mulching all plant bed areas on campus once a year. Their children come with them on a weekend to help in this project.
- Several new trees and native plants/shrubs have been added to our campus around the new mobile classroom and the primary school parking lot.
- A new trail/pathway was made through the woods surrounding our campus. It is about 1,000 feet. It is used in curriculum, cross country running, an annual 5k race and recreational activities.
- An outdoor classroom/pumpkin patch area has been set aside for use when the weather permits. Benches purchased for this area were made from recycled materials.
Healthy School Community
- Healthy Howard
The Trinity Health Department has initiated a partnership with the Healthy Howard Program. They visit our school twice a year and look at the school environment, lunch waste reduction, nutrition, and physical activities of our students and teachers. We have earned the Healthy Howard Gold Award for our continuous efforts in this area.
- Apple Crunch
Trinity has also participated in National Apple Crunch day. We have learned about apples and partnered with a local farm to have students pick apples and have bushels donated for snack on this day. We partnered with Gavers and Sharp Farm for this project. All of our students in grades PreK-8 participated. The apple cores from the first grade students were given to feed the deer on campus and the seeds were used for many classroom activities and replanting.
- School Environment, Service, & Clubs
Many classrooms around campus have plants that are used for indoor air quality. There are currently 62 indoor plants on campus. The school also works with the company Ehrlich for healthy pest management on the school grounds. Also, all bathrooms and kitchens and some classrooms are equipped with vents and fans to provide adequate air circulation for those rooms. Students in the first grade also held a fundraiser during Catholic Schools Week to raise money at a yard sale to donate to the Clean Water Fund. We raised a couple hundred dollars to spend. Students have also formed a track team, a running club called Girls on the Run and have Boy Scout and Girl Scout meetings and activities on campus.