This edition will also feature reused gifts
Back in 2019, the current Year 5 class (Year 2 at the time) came up with a great idea that continues to positively impact our school to this day. The idea was to only have reused gifts at their June Festival stand.
It was a hit! It was very important for the whole be.Living community—even at a festival—to give thought to the waste we produce (including plastic).
The pandemic then arrived and we had to put our treasured June Festival on hold for two years, but now, with the current situation, we are very happy that this festival which is so meaningful to our children can return (with proper safety precautions in place). And we will put this great idea into practice by organizing a campaign to collect used toys to make up the gifts of our festival.
“Every year, Year 5 is responsible for organizing be.Living’s June Festival. So since they were the ones who came up with this idea back in 2019, I approached them and invited them to raise awareness of the issue among the other children. They bought into the idea and visited all the Elementary School classrooms to talk about it”, coordinator Gabriela Fernandes recalls.
The class told Gabriela that they proposed this project at that particular time because they had just been studying about plastic; specifically, the amount of microplastic in oceans. “It was this study that made them rethink the June Festival. They had just left Year 1, which is when the children reflect specifically on consumerism. The subject of consumerism runs through the entire be.Living curriculum because it is always linked to the environment. So our students have expanded their view as to where the things we consume come from and where they go when discarded,” explains the coordinator. “The children recalled that that year they worked on the five Rs— Recycle, Reuse, Reduce, Refuse and Rethink. That was when they really reevaluated things and changed their sphere of activities.
Since we haven’t held be.Living’s June Festival for two years, there is no better time than now to continue with this movement and reaffirm our values. One of our values is to have a more conscientious relationship with consumption, and consequently, a more sustainable and respectful relationship with our planet.
“At be.Living, there is a very strong relationship between the child and its environment. That’s why the subjects of environment and sustainability are always in our discussions and reflections from when the children are very small. Bringing this reflection to the whole community as a hands-on project, using reused gifts at a June Festival, will be very meaningful”.
We are counting on the participation of all be.Living families to collect used toys in good condition and, together, make our students’ great idea come true!
