As a teacher, I am proud of my students’  work. It is my deep conviction that throughout the year, they have been driven by passion for a cause that concerns them directly. They can sometimes argue very persuasively with their parents, who often marvel at the extent to which their kids feel personally involved in these issues. With the Antarctic Mission, we were able to take action out of a sense of solidarity for these men and women, adventurers of the cold. Through them, we have experienced intense, unique moments.
Fair winds and clear sailing!

Alice Roberge
Grade 2 teacher (first cycle)
Les Trois Saisons elementary school
Boucherville, Quebec

In our classroom, there are now three recycling bins—one for paper, one for milk cartons and juice containers and the last one for garbage. We recycle paper in a paper bag so that we can reduce our consumption of plastic bags, which pollute. We crush the milk cartons and juice containers. In this way, once again, we reduce our use of plastic bags. It works! We use three times fewer bags! The whole class takes part in this activity, and it’s not hard!
(Alexanne, Olivier)

To save electricity, above every light switch in the school, there is now a reminder to switch off the lights when we leave the room. We put these reminders everywhere, even in the principal’s office. We often work with daylight. We don’t always need electricity.
(Alexia, Carlo, Doha, Marc-Antoine, Sabrina)

We grade 2 students cut out and pasted up water drops made of blue paper all over the school: above the sinks and drinking fountains, in the kitchen, in the washrooms and in the staff lounge. There were messages like these: “Make sure the tap is completely closed;” “Don’t water the sidewalk;” “Take only as much water as you need.” All of these messages were meant to ask students and adults to pay attention and not waste water. Since we have been doing this, we think that people have been being more careful. Water is precious.
(Audrey, Élysabeth)

Around the school, grade 2 students picked up 10 bagfuls of litter. We didn’t want to play in an environment that was full of garbage. We enjoyed this activity very much. We didn’t want animals to be injured or killed because of all this pollution.
(Karyne, Anthony, Émilie, Enrick)

Olivier and I went to talk to the parents’ committee. We are the elected representatives of our class. Olivier is the minister of the environment, and I am the deputy minister. Olivier talked about all of the little things we do to protect the environment. I made a presentation on Sedna and Antarctic Mission. We had to present the project, “One week is good, two weeks is better!” We think that our presence intrigued them and encouraged them to keep thinking about the environment. They now want to take part in our projects. Next September, we might do more to organize carpooling. The parents want to participate.
(Alexanne, Olivier)

For one (or two) weeks, parents and students came to school on bikes or inline skates. Following a survey conducted by Élysabeth, teachers agreed to carpool. The aim of this activity was to reduce greenhouse gases. We believe that this activity was a big success, as there were three cars fewer on the road for one week! Hooray! Here are some comments gathered from the teachers who took part in the project:
“It was a very fun experience. This gave me a chance to see my fellow teachers outside of school.”
“We had a good time. For one week, we contributed to reducing pollution. We didn’t get into any scuffles.”
“Even if it requires some organization, this is something we could do again…” (Andréanne, François)