Learning to grow
Park School greenhouse sheds new light on science classes
by ELIZABETH TAUFA Reporter
Anew addition to the Park School campus has been shown to be an effective teaching tool and a lot of fun for students and teachers alike.

Park School teachers Michelle Maggio, left, and Martha Barrett work with fifth-graders Wei Fregoe, second from left, and Caroline Connors in the school's new greenhouse.

The Preston L. Wright Greenhouse was completed and dedicated in June.

Since the beginning of the school year, Park students of all ages have used the greenhouse for science lessons, particularly the fifth- and sixth-graders, for learning the scientific method.

"The kids planted seeds in different types of soil to see if soil affects plant growth," said Martha Barrett, Park School science teacher for the fifth and sixth grades. "Some of the plants did well and some didn't."

The greenhouse has been useful for Barrett and fellow teacher Michelle Maggio in enforcing lessons in science all year long, rather than just in the warmer months, as was previously the case.

In the experiment, the students planted plants in soil, water, and soil with salt to see how their plants would grow. They made predictions and observed their plants twice a week. Observations included recording outside and greenhouse temperatures, weather conditions, height of the plants and leaf count.

Park sixth-graders Henry Jones, left, and Joel Armstead work on planting some additions to the greenhouse's growing collection of vegetation.

"It helps us learn," said sixth-grader Joel Armstead of his experiences in the greenhouse. "We learned that plants in salted dirt don't grow."

"We get to plant plants that we always wanted to plant," added Wei Fregoe, a fifth-grader. "We learned more about plants and how they grow."

The students are also taking what they learn in the greenhouse home with them.

"My mom says I can have a vegetable garden," said sixth-grader Henry Jones.

"We already have three gardens at my house," added Caroline Connors, who noted that she plans on helping out with those gardens this year.

Parents can see the greenhouse at the Park School's January open houses at 1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 27 and 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 31. The Park School is located at 4625 Harlem Road, between Main Street and Sheridan Drive. Interested parents should call 839-1242, ext. 107.

Upper-level science teacher Glen Herman is the Park School's Garden Club adviser. In the greenhouse's first year, Herman and the students have planted a variety of plants, including this avocado plant.

For next year, the teachers are already thinking of new ways to use the greenhouse for other subjects.

"We were thinking about a nutrition unit using the herbs that they've grown," Barrett said. "We can maybe create recipes and study how the herbs are beneficial."

As for the upper level sciences, much of the greenhouse's uses have focused on pollution and its effects on the environment.

And because of the Park School's outdoor campus, the environmental sciences come naturally to the teachers and students.

"Kids are much more environmentally sensitive," Maggio said.

"We don't tell them what to think when it comes to pollution," Barrett added. "We tell them to believe what they want to believe instead of a teacher telling them what to believe."

The students also participate in a campus cleanup once a year - yet another project that could possibly include the greenhouse.

"The kids could plant the seedling they grow in here," Barrett said. "That way they'll want to take care of it more."

Yet the possibilities for the greenhouse are endless as far as the teachers are concerned.

"Park is great at letting teachers create their own ideas," Maggio said. "They're very supportive."

"Being new, we're trying to get as many ideas for the greenhouse as we can," Barrett continued. "The more we can use it, the more meaning it will have."

Those ideas can also take the form of clubs, including a new garden club, led by upper-school teacher Glen Herman.

"There was interest in how we could use (the greenhouse) as far as learning goes," Herman said. "I asked to do a garden club. So we just got the kids in here and waited to see what would happen."

Herman noted that the students in the garden club have been very enthusiastic with the plantings of various vegetation - everything from peas to trees.

It's also helped with a sense of ownership and responsibility.

"It's like pets. They feel responsible for the things they've planted," Herman said. "It also makes them appreciate the natural world. When they grow up, they'll remember that they were in school, but they were getting their hands dirty, and they weren't just in the classrooms. Anytime they can stand up and move around doing things, that's interesting."