Environmental
Citizenship

When they learned that the environment would be the focus of the assembly, a trio of environmentally focused upper school students reached out to two San Mateo City Council candidates—Sarah Fields (running in District 3) and Adam Loraine (running in District 5)—to invite them to Nueva to talk about about environmental initiatives in the city of San Mateo.

To honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day, middle school students spent their grade-level time on Friday, Jan. 14 watching the PBS documentary, Soundtrack for a Revolution. This programming is part of a new Friday pilot program in the middle school designed to give students an opportunity to dive into both social justice topics and areas of deep interest.

A new middle school elective this fall challenged students to explore how they can take their learning outside. 

A new middle school class is providing students with a hands-on, interdisciplinary learning experience rooted in nature.

Sixth-grade students, with the help of science teacher Cristina Veresan, investigated the wonders of the underwater world and the effect of the moon on the ocean in their elective, Between the Tides. 

Last week, Nueva was recognized by the United States Department of Education as a California Green Ribbon School. Director of Environmental Citizenship Sarah Koning noted that Nueva students have been working hard on environmental issues all month. 

I am thrilled to share that the Nueva School has been named a California Green Ribbon School in recognition our exemplary practices and achievements in three areas: resource efficiency, health and wellness, and environmental and sustainability education.

Over the past semester, students in English 10 have been immersed in a unit focused on eco-poetry. Throughout the year, teachers and students investigate a variety of issues brought on by colonialism, post-colonialism, and globalization.

“Poetry is political and subversive. It has the power to spark conversation, inspire change, and make a profound impact,” said Amber Carpenter, upper school English teacher. 

We are delighted to welcome Nueva’s new Director of Environmental Citizenship Sarah Koning, who can’t wait to share her innovative ideas with the community. In the following Q&A, Sarah shares her enthusiasm and vision for the months ahead. 

Kindergarten associate teacher Carrie Stouffer has been named Nueva’s first lower school environmental citizenship ambassador. The role of the environmental citizenship ambassador evolved from the school’s desire to build strong, responsive, and effective relationships with faculty and division heads in all three divisions.

The invitation for Wednesday’s roundtable event “Divestment: The Million Dollar Question” noted, “In response to student activism, the Nueva Endowment Committee is considering the divestment of its holdings in fossil fuel companies for the first time.”

This was very exciting news for students because for at least the past four-to-five years, the student-run Nueva Divestment Team has been working to convince the Nueva Endowment Committee of the need to divest. 

Eighth-grade biology students have dived straight into an exciting study of genetic variation. One of the major themes of eighth-grade science is to understand humanity’s relationship with the living world. So, the teachers asked their students to grow Wisconsin Fast Plants to discover for themselves why plants produce offspring with variation. This led to a discussion about how humanity has modified species for food and other purposes. 

For environmental educators, the pandemic creates a unique opportunity to engage with students in real time and on multiple fronts. Teachers can bring their disciplinary lens to examining the environmental effects of the pandemic with questions such as “What are the changes, where do they occur, and how do we measure them?”

In the midst of the COVID-19 “new normal,” the popular Fireside Chat series has sparked many engaging discussions. Hillary Freeman, Jennifer Paull, Tanja Srebotnjak, Alegria Barclay, and Aron Walker took the lead a few months ago to provide the Nueva community with a relaxed forum to discuss some timely topics

In the spring of their seventh-grade year, students dive into a semester-long humanities study of nature. They explore nature and adventure, nature and connection, nature and commodification, and nature and activism.

In honor of Earth Day 2020, Alegria Barclay, Aron Walker, Patrick Berger, and Tanja Srebotnjak organized a roundtable: “The World Post Covid-19: Opportunities for Social Justice and Environmental Resilience.”

The Visible Learning Project aims to document learning for the Nueva community. It provides students, teachers, parents, and campus visitors with a dynamic, informative space to celebrate and reflect upon learning at Nueva.

Curriculum and community service learning came together for eighth graders' food systems field trips.

As December rolls around, the Middle and Upper School divisions celebrate a tradition that is core to our culture: culminations. These evening events showcase the depth and breadth of student work. 

Meet Tanja Srebotnjak, Nueva’s first Director of Environmental Citizenship. How will her work support our future environmental stewards? Hear from Tanja herself! She describes what her new role and Nueva’s forthcoming environmental center will mean for our students.