Baltimore, MD - May 11, 2016 - Ohr Chadash Academy has received certification as a Green School through MAEOE (Maryland Association for Environmental & Outdoor Education) and is also the 2016 recipient of the Pearlstone Green School Partner of the Year.

Mrs. Randi Orshan, Director of Teaching and Learning at OCA, spearheaded the effort to obtain the Green School certification because, “Ohr Chadash Academy strives for excellence in education and teaches that everything has its place in Hashem’s world, which is why environmental education is so important.”  It also teaches students that every individual’s actions have a larger impact on the greater community and the world.

On behalf of OCA, Mrs. Orshan received an award at Pearlstone’s Annual Meeting on May 4 and she will attend the MAEOE Youth Summit on May 13, where OCA will be recognized as one of the Maryland schools who received green certification this year.

The certification process involved creating a website highlighting everything that OCA does to qualify as a green school, from activities to school policies and classroom curriculum. 

The teaching begins in the Early Childhood Center, where OCA students participate in the learning process. Activities like going outside on nature walks, discovering new things outdoors and then bringing them inside and exploring the world around them, provides the students with the knowledge they need to grow and succeed. Through traditional classroom instruction infused with an environmental  consciousness, children are not only taught academic skills, but also life skills such as time management, responsibility and organization as well as a love of what is around them and an increased understanding of why taking care of the Earth will improve their lives. 

Another important part of sustainable practices is reuse.  The Early Childhood Center's natural playground is environmentally friendly with structures built from upcycled materials, tree bark, and non toxic materials.

Additionally, elementary students were taught by Mrs. Sandy Gunzburg about worm composting and why it is useful. Students learned what to save from their lunches to feed the worms. Students will use their composted soil in the school garden where the Environmental Club, led by Morah Anne Norris, planted vegetables that they will harvest and enjoy as healthy snacks in the classroom.

OCA's Environmental Club has been instrumental in encouraging the entire student body and staff to further their thinking on nature and the environment. With days like "Trash free Tuesdays" and plants put around the classes to extend and freshen air quality, students are exposed to environmental awareness inside and outside of the classroom.

Students engage in conserving energy by turning off the lights and air conditioners when appropriate. Students are assigned as energy monitors to ensure that this is getting done. Stickers have been placed over the light switches that read "Don't waste - please remember to turn off this light" to further remind faculty and students.

Partnering with Pearlstone has been crucial to OCA's environmental studies. The teachers and staff have had professional development instruction that addressed environmental education and how to implement it into all subjects from spelling to Chumash.  As Rabbi Mordechai Bennett, 4th and 5th grade rebbe noted, "Becoming a green school made us, the whole school, more sensitive to the needs of others and that we should not be wasteful or take advantage of what we have, In the mishnayot, we have seen time and time again that in the Beit Hamikdash the Kohanim would not let things go to waste, so why should we?"

To model to the students first-hand how their actions can help the world, the entire school participated in collecting money in order to plant trees in Israel with the Jewish National Fund (JNF). The school raised enough money to purchase 10 trees in Eretz Yisrael. Each child/class who gave money got to write a message on a leaf or fruit and hang it on the tree. The tree was made out of recycled Trader Joe's bags.

The students are proud of their efforts to achieve the certification to continue their sustainable practices, "We work hard to be a green school and now other schools around the world or Baltimore can come see what we do so they can also help the environment," said Maayan Abramson, kindergarten student.

To read even more amazing green practices and activities happening at Ohr Chadash, check out their website  - which contains a link to the special green website.