PUSD Fifth Graders Tackle Global Warming for Civic Learning Award

Editor’s Note:The following article, written by Willard Elementary 5th grader Adrianna Baumle, has gone through minimal copy editing.

INSIDE OUR SCHOOLS

Second District Court of Appeal Presiding Justice Lee Smalley Edmon presents the California Civic Learning Award of Distinction to Willard Elementary School (Photo – Hilda Ramirez Horvath)

On May 3, 2019, Willard Elementary, an International Baccalaureate (IB) school in Pasadena, received the California Civic Learning Award of Distinction, which is co-sponsored by the California Supreme Court Chief Justice and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

By Adrianna Baumle

Our principal, Dr. Angela Baxter, welcomed special guests, including Second District Court of Appeal Presiding Justice Lee Smalley Edmon, who presented the award.  Mayor Terry Tornek was at this event along with Pasadena Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Brian MacDonald,  Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Board Member Mrs. Michelle Richardson Bailey, Board Member Dr. Elizabeth Pomeroy, Lauren Jacobs representing Congresswoman Judy Chu; Dominick Corey representing Senator Anthony Portantino; Ann Hickambottom representing Assemblyman Chris Holden; Noreen Sullivan representing Councilman Gene Masuda; Chief of Academics, Dr. Elizabeth Blanco, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Julianne Reynoso, and former Willard principals Dr. Kathy Onoye and Dr. Debra Debose.

Here is Dr. Baxter’s opening speech:

Willard is proud to showcase the three promising practices that we described in our Civic Learning Award of Distinction application. Today you will learn about the global aspects of the IB curriculum, which culminates in a 5th grade IB exhibition presentation lead by our IB Coordinator Ms. Wittry and classroom teachers Mr. Mayer, Mrs. Salgado, and Mrs. Rosales. Students work on a global issue of importance that fosters civic learning. Willard has an active student council lead by Mr. Mayer, and a prolific Green Team that operates school wide to help us reduce, reuse, recycle, and compost, led by Mrs. Grabis. Our students and staff work hard in partnership with families to provide civic learning opportunities to develop our 21st century global citizens.

Award ceremony

For the award ceremony, my teacher, Mrs. Rosales, chose my group to present our exhibition project to our guests. The topic was Global Warming and my teammates were Madison Klingbail, Arturo Romero, and Helena Hu. Global Warming is the rise of average temperature globally. For the exhibition presentation, you have to memorize what you’re going to say so I spent most of my time memorizing my cards. To present our exhibition project, we did a slide show. My slide was about Rising Sea Levels and this is what I said:

Sea levels are rising because of the rise of average global temperature. This rise of temperature is known as global warming. Global Warming is mostly caused by the burning of fossil fuels like coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Rising sea levels are caused by rising temperatures which also cause the polar ice caps to melt.  When they melt we have more water in our ocean. Usually sea levels rise about 5-8 inches every 100 years, but now they are rising much more quickly. Sea levels continue to rise at a rate of about one-eighth of an inch per year.

The Chesapeake Bay is a large, beautiful body of water located between West Virginia and Maryland. The Chesapeake Bay’s level could rise as much as four feet in the next 80 years! This alarming news is due to global warming, and also because the land is sinking. Land sinking occurs when too much groundwater is drawn from rocky areas, such as fine-grained sediment. The rocky layer compacts because the water is partly responsible for holding the ground up and when the water is removed, the rocks fall on themselves.

Global Warming is not the only thing that causes a rise of sea level. It is also the change in weather patterns. The Chesapeake Storm Surge Public Awareness and Response organization (CSSPAR) compared a 1993 storm to a 2003 storm also known as Hurricane Isabel. The reason the CSSPAR scientists compared these two storms was because they hit the same coastal area with equal force. The storm surge from Hurricane Isabel in 2003 was higher from the storm in 1993. Isabel’s storm surge was measured at 8 feet higher than normal water levels.

Although this is alarming, scientist Shawn O’Connor believes he has a solution to this crisis. He thinks that improved technology will reduce destruction when a storm hits. Satellites and GPS systems will help people understand how strong a storm can be and how long it will last.

Next Dr. Baxter introduced our wonderful Green Team which is a group of students that picks up trash and helps keep the school clean. The Green Team has a sorting station for children at lunch time. There is a compost bucket, a recycle bin, a trash bin, and even a bin for unfinished juice/milk. At the award ceremony, the Green Team presented what they do and their process of doing it.

(L-R) PUSD Superintendent Brian McDonald, Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Willard Principal Dr. Angela Baxter, Presiding Justice Lee Smalley Edmon, Mayor Terry Tornek (Photo – Hilda Ramirez Horvath)

Schedule

At 8:30 AM, Dr. Angela Baxter, our school principal, welcomed our guests. At 8:32 AM, Mrs. Daniel and Willard’s Rising Stars sang the IB song. At 8:34 AM, my group presented our exhibition project, Alexia Covarrubias, our student council president spoke, and the Green Team presented. At 8:50 AM, Ramya Bangaru, another 5th grade student, spoke about the impact of civic education. At 8:53 AM, Our Superintendent, Dr. Brian McDonald, spoke about IB education in the PUSD school district. At 8:56 AM, our supervisor, Kathryn Barger spoke about civic learning in LA country. At 8:59 AM, Mayor Terry Tornek spoke about civic learning in Pasadena. At 9:02 AM, Justice Lee Smalley Edmon spoke about civic learning in education and presented the award. At 9:08 AM, Dr. Angela Baxter closed the ceremony and the Cheer Cats performed. At 9:11 AM, it was photograph time!

Adrianna Baumle

I really enjoyed meeting all the wonderful people at this event like the Mayor and the Superintendent and watching the inspiring speeches along with the informational presentations. I hope in the future, other students can have this amazing experience at their school.

Adrianna Baumle is a Willard IB Elementary School 5th grader.