Outdoor Classroom

The students at Rockland Public School are fundraising and applying to grants in hope of being able to build an outdoor classroom. An outdoor classroom is a space that brings learning outside. It gives students, at any grade level, the opportunity to study and experience nature. At our school, it will also give students a way to escape classrooms that are not air conditioned.

Other benefits of an outdoor classroom are:
-integrating subjects like art and science.
-improved mood and happier students.
-better care of the environment.
-enriched learning for all students and shade for the kindergartens.
Our outdoor classroom will include a pavilion with seating, a whiteboard, natural features like trees and shrubs and various gardens. We also want to include a seating area made of rocks.

Update (June 19, 2019)

RKPS has been very busy setting up an outdoor learning space for all the students here. The ECO Club has joined with Mrs. Vrbetic's science classes in building an outdoor classroom that will also support the endangered bees and butterflies. Mr. Vrbetic came in and helped us build 5 additional flower beds and we are going to gift one flower bed to each grade here at RKPS, so we can instill a love for the environment and conservation in all our students. Once the new flower beds were built, students got busy filling them with soil, so they are ready for classes to plant the flowers we will gift them! We have also been busy weeding and getting the existing outdoor spaces ready for planting! Stay tuned for the final product!

Update (June 25, 2019)

Students have been working hard and learning lots here at RKPS the last couple weeks of school. In collaboration with Mrs. Vrbetic's bee and butterfly garden, ECO club students helped plant some perennial flowers that attract bees and butterflies. Students learned how to dig a hole and see if its deep enough, break apart the roots, cover with soil and press the flower down into the ground so it is secure. Integrating science, and plant life, and art in how to arrange the flowers in the beds. The main flower bed and buddy benches also received some T.L.C. so students and classes can come outside and enjoy the shade while learning and at play (and escape the hot classrooms). It is a perfect reading spot in the hot summer days! We are very thankful for this grant and would like to thank Imagineaction for providing us with the opportunity to expand our learning and giving us a space that will foster a love of nature and the environment and enrich learning experiences.