The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

It's Earth Hour every week for French school by Dominik Kurek Oakville Beaver Staff 3 | Friday, March 22, 2013 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Communities around the world will power down their lights this weekend for the annual Earth Hour initiative. The students at École élémentaire du Chêne are doing the same, just as they have done every week since January. The school's environment club (Les enfants de l'enviro) has organized the weekly Fridays for the Earth (Les vendredis pour la Terre) initiative. The initiative runs each Friday at the French public elementary school and the high school (Gaétan Gervais) that it shares the building with. For the initiative, the school powers down its lights in the afternoons, from about 12:30 p.m. until the teachers go home for the weekend. Many of the lights do come back on for the weekend for safety and security reasons. "We're doing this because we want the children to learn and to become more environmentally aware," said educational assistant Ann Baribault, who supervises the environment club -- also known at the school as Mme. Green. "A lot of the science we do is based on the environment and what's good for the environment." The environment club, comprised of 16 students, conducts a number of initiatives and Earth Fridays are just one way the group hopes to get eco-school status. The school is waiting for certification this May. The building has 100 elementary students and 94 high school students and the eco club monitors the Earth Fridays participation. Students in the club go around the classrooms to chart the percentage of lights that are turned out and graph how much luminous energy is saved. The club doesn't have access to electricity use data. For example, if a class turns off twothirds of its lights, then it gets charted as 66 per École élémentaire du Chêne environment club members chart the participation graph for their school's Fridays for the Earth movement. photo courtesy École élémentaire du Chêne cent saved in that classroom. Classroom, hallway, office and library lights go off. The gym lights have to stay on during the day and the hallway lights go back on at the end of the school day at 2:30 p.m. Baribault said the school averages luminous savings in the mid-70s each week and its best results were 92 per cent. However, the number doesn't account for the gymnasium, which must stay lit. "Most of the teachers do enjoy it because it's Friday afternoons and it calms the kids a bit," said Baribault. Earth Fridays will continue through to the end of the school year and the school staff are hoping to continue the initiative next year as well. The environment club has other programs in place. The school does its own composting, with classrooms and offices having their own collection bins. A couple of students in the club collect the compost from the classes on Tuesdays and Fridays. The school community is planning to use the compost on Earth Day (April 22) when it will plant trees on the property. The students in the club also make bird feeders and the students will use them to learn to identify the various birds seen at the feeders. The school is holding a community rain barrel sale to fundraise for the environment club. The money from the sale will pay for the trees that will be planted on Earth Day. The barrels will be available for pick up from the school on Saturday, April 6; however, those who wish to buy them must pre-order. Rain barrels, made from recycled material, cost $50. To pre-order a rain barrel, visit www.rainbarrel. ca/ecoleduchene. The school is located at 150 Ridge Dr. The rain barrel pick up will run from 10:30 a.m.1:30 p.m. VISIT OUR WEDNESDAY, Open House on APRIL 10 SENIORS IN OAKVILLE NEED YOUR HELP Over 120 Volunteers Urgently Needed · Walk to a coffee shop with a senior to help them maintain their mobility · Play cards with a senior experiencing memory loss to strengthen cognitive abilities AT HSC, I STAND TALL. This school has built my confidence. My friends and teachers really care about me. When I walk into school everyday I feel at home." - Current HSC Student All it takes is 1-2 hours a week! To volunteer for our visiting programs, call 905-827-8800 or email volunteering@acclaimhealth.ca [www.acclaimhealth.ca] Volunteer campaign generously funded by the A.W.B. Foundation, through the support of the: Funded in part by the Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) and the Government of Ontario. The views expressed in this publication are the views of Acclaim Health and do not necessarily reflect those of the LHIN or the Government of Ontario. Charitable Registration #: 11928 4602 RR0001 Hillfield Strathallan College is an independent day school for students from M2 and PK to Grade 12. Visit us at www.hsc.on.ca. We are accessible and affordable. Call Scott Barton 905-389-1367 ent Excell e servic since 1993 We Are Licenced by MTO DRIVING IS A PRIVILEGE, LET US HELP YOU EARN IT BONUS: PAY ON-LINE AND RECEIVE EVENINGS FREE USE OF CAR FOR ROAD TEST MAR 25 & 27 (ADVANCED PROGRAM ONLY) WEEKENDS MAR 23-24-APR 6-7 407 Speers Road Suite 213 4 DAY CONDENSED MAR 29-30-31-APR 1 SAVE $100 905-825-1172