The Circle School Possums
10/24/2020 3:35 PM
The Star Room discussed core values and collectively our top 3 were: Family, Being Nice, and Ants....yep, Ants. Aunts, interestingly enough, was fourth.
The Circle School Possums
"Mr. Jason and the Star Room works together- parents, students, and teachers- to make Mother Earth a better place."
POINTS TOTAL
- 0 TODAY
- 0 THIS WEEK
- 1,065 TOTAL
participant impact
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UP TO1.0community eventhosted or attended
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UP TO1.0hourvolunteered
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UP TO1,110minutesspent exercising
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UP TO33minutesspent learning
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UP TO1,530minutesspent outdoors
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UP TO187plastic bottlesnot sent to the landfill
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UP TO88pounds of CO2have been saved
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UP TO3.3pounds of paperhave been saved
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UP TO1.0treeplanted
The Circle School's actions
Nature
Join An Outdoor Project
I will join an outdoor restoration project in my community while observing best practices in my region for not spreading COVID-19.
Nature
Plant Trees
Do at Home
I will plant 1 tree(s) in my community, public parks, or backyard.
Action Track: Healing and Renewal
Joyful Movement
Do at Home
I will spend 30 minutes doing an activity where I'm both moving my body and enjoying myself.
Community
Research Voter Suppression
Do at Home
I will spend at least 30 minutes finding out what local laws, policies, and practices keep people from voting in my community.
Community
Sign Up to Vote
Do at Home
I will make sure I’m registered to vote. While I’m at it, I’ll sign up to help others register too!
Nature
Explore My Area
I will explore at least one new hiking trail or nature walk in my area.
Action Track: Healing and Renewal
Forgiveness
Do at Home
I will begin, or continue, on the journey of forgiving myself and/or other(s). I may do this through journaling, meditation, prayer, and/or talking with a licensed healthcare professional.
Health
Happiness
Do at Home
I will write down three things every day that I am grateful for, or send one email every day thanking or praising someone.
Action Track: Healing and Renewal
Core Values
Do at Home
We may find more meaning and joy in life when our actions are aligned with our personal values. I will determine what my top 3-5 core values are so that I can better align my actions with them.
Simplicity
Family Game Hour
Do at Home
I will spend quality time with family and friends by playing low-tech game(s) and/or through the spirit of imagination.
Simplicity
Needs Vs. Wants
Do at Home
I will adopt a "Needs Vs. Wants" approach and only buy things I need.
Water
Insulate Water Pipes and Water Heater
Do at Home
I will avoid wasting water while waiting for the shower or sink to heat up.
Energy
Switch to Cold Water
Do at Home
I will switch to washing my clothes in cold water, saving up to 1,600 lbs of CO2 over the course of the next year.
Waste
Go Paperless
Do at Home
I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by 3.4lbs (1.5kg) a month or 41lbs (18.6kg) a year by opting into paperless billing, ending unwanted subscriptions and opting out of junk mail.
Nature
Do Nature Activities
Do at Home
I will engage in nature-based activities alone, or with my friends or family, for 60 minute(s) each day. (This can be anything from going on a walk or hike, to noticing the leaves changing color, to reading a book with nature themes.)
Waste
Use a Reusable Water Bottle
Do at Home
I will keep 9 disposable plastic bottle(s) from entering the waste stream by using a reusable water bottle.
Participant Feed
Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.
To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?
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REFLECTION QUESTIONAction Track: Healing and Renewal Core ValuesWhat are your top 3-5 core values? How did you narrow it down to those as being your core values?
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REFLECTION QUESTIONEnergy Switch to Cold WaterWhat do you plan to do with the money you save from making more energy efficient choices?
The Circle School Possums 10/16/2020 9:12 AMI plan to invest in more energy saving alternatives for my house. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONSimplicity Family Game HourHow does being playful with others enrich your life?
The Circle School Possums 10/15/2020 11:16 AMStar Room Answers:
DW: I learn new things.
CW: I get happier.
HP: it makes me think about food.
EB: When I see the Rainbow Queen, I think of rainbows.
AP: I feel happy.
RC: I feel happy.
MR: I just love it.
OO: Every time I see the Heart Queen, I think of love.
OK: I love playing games because even when you lose, it is so much fun.
Mr. Jason: The joy, the strategy, the friendly competitiveness- all of this makes playing games so much fun with the Star Room
BTW, we answered this question after playing a card game called Sleeping Queens. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONSimplicity Needs Vs. WantsHow is creativity a necessary ingredient for practicing simplicity?
The Circle School Possums 10/13/2020 7:19 PMA study I read about years ago involved giving two sets of of children the same game- one group was told how to play, the other group was given the game with no instructions. The first group played the game and nothing else. The second group never played the game as it was intended, but spent more time playing with the components and experimented with a variety of games.
Creativity opens more doors and provides more opportunities, turns an ordinary person trying to cut corners into a McGyver thriving under simplicity. Nurturing creativity, and providing opportunities for children to put that creativity into practice, pays off dividends in many ways, including Being Green. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONWaste Use a Reusable Water BottleWhile water bottles are needed for health and safety in certain places, we can do more to reduce the unnecessary use of them. What are the barriers to you using reusable bottles and tap water instead of bottled water? How could you make this a permanent habit?
The Circle School Possums 10/07/2020 3:35 PMLuckily, being in a school, we really do not have barriers. We have access to tap water, bottled water in large reusable bottles, and cold water in the refrigerator. Unfortunately, when students forget their water bottle at home, we do need to use, for safety reasons, a new unopened bottle of water, but amazingly, that has happened only once. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONNature Do Nature ActivitiesWhat did you observe while spending time outside -- through sight, sound, smell and/or touch?
The Circle School Possums 10/07/2020 3:33 PMWe observed all of the following: a helicopter, birds, the wind, trees moving, the 1st Grade class screaming (having fun), a car, a truck, a trash can being dragged across the street, more birds, a siren. The grass felt soft and cool, though the sun was hot even in the shade. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONHealth HappinessHow does/can practicing gratitude keep you centered and motivated to work for a better world?
The Circle School Possums 10/07/2020 8:50 AMThe Star Room sent our first gratitude email and already the brainstorming is happening: who gets the next email, who has helped us, how many emails can we send, a lot of people deserve our thanks, etc. The simple act of reaching out to and thanking one person in our community has inspired them all to think of how everyone in our community is helpful in some way. -
The Circle School Possums 10/06/2020 4:02 PMI joined the Challenge these past several years because it has been inspiring to share this adventure with a room full of five year olds who show so much enthusiasm in attacking these challenges and pride in doing a job well done. They want to make a difference in their community and the feeling I get in helping them make that difference is....priceless. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONAction Track: Healing and Renewal Joyful MovementWhat's your favorite activity(ies) in which you experience joy while being active and moving?
The Circle School Possums 10/06/2020 4:00 PMThe Star Room starts and ends each day with a dance party. Moving and having fun is not going to be a problem for us. We also explore the playground, the Fairy Forest, and the park. Active is our mantra!-
Erika Ortiz 10/08/2020 8:18 PMOphelia talks about the dance party everyday. It's the first thing she tells me about when I pick her up.
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The Circle School Possums 10/06/2020 8:56 AMThe Star Room is super excited to start a new set of challenges, working together to make a difference in our community and in the community at large.