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n ow you can have all the answers to your questions about your child?s
school
in the palm of your hand. the east baton rouge parish
school
system is launching its first ever mobile app to provide the community with a streamlined way of obtaining important information. east baton rouge
school
families now have immediate access to the
school
calendar, lunch menus, bus routes, dress codes, important documents, and an updated news e a s t b at o n ro u g e pa r i s h s c h o o l a p p m ayfair lab
school
has a new passion project. in march, the k-7 magnet
school
joined the lsu?s coastal roots program, the genius program started by dr. pam blanchard and dr. ed bush. the
students
grow native plants, acorn and pecan plants in mayfair?s case, in ?can yards? and nurture them through an irrigation system built by their hands. eventually, the
students
and teachers will embark on a restoration trip to avery island to plant the coastal roots and help in rebuilding louisiana?s disappearing coast. karla
spears
, the environmental science teacher, is excited about the coastal roots program and all of the other ecostem activities happening at mayfair lab. ?we are teaching the kids about global stewardship. they are coming up with solutions for real world problems that are happening in louisiana,? says
spears
. this project began when
spears
set a goal to integrate more science programs that were hands on. then, middle
school
social studies teacher reggie west saw a coastal roots flyer at lsu while at class for his doctorate, and pitched the idea to
spears
. ?mr. west really planted the seed for all of this,? she credits. the two teachers partner together on nurturing the ecostem focus of mayfair lab and have even launched a newsletter entitled bloom to keep everyone informed of their progress. the middle
school
students
have fallen in love with the plants and environmental science. sixth and seventh graders built the trenches and installed the underwater irrigation system. they also are in charge of checking the rain gauge every morning and a?ernoon because the plants have to be watered at least twice a day. ?they check on these plants like they are their babies,?
spears
says proudly. in fact, the moment the middle
school
ers get off the bus they are headed to the plants, letting themselves in the fenced-off nursery to monitor the gauges, observe, and take notes. although the middle
school
may be in charge, every grade participates in the lsu coastal roots program. the kindergarten
students
were instrumental in choosing which seeds to plant as ms.
spears
taught them how to spot viable seeds. the kindergarten
students
floated the seeds, and if they sank, they were viable. the other grades were all able to plant the seeds in the cans. the program truly is an entire
school
project that has engaged every mayfair cub. ?they all love environmental science and want to go outside every day. they are the guardians of the plants,? says
spears
. the next project on the horizon is creating a mini orchard. the
students
will work together to plant 10 fruit trees, including orange, lemon, grapefruit, and pear on campus. the stewardship continues for this ecostem
school
. m ay fa i r l a b s c h o o l l e a r n s e n v i ro n m e n ta l s t e wa r d s h i p by joy holden feed of the things happening around the
school
district. app users will also receive district wide updates through the use of push notifications. for example, in the case of severe weather, a push alert will go out to all app users notifying them of
school
cancellations. superintendent warren drake is proud of the new app and believes it will contribute to keeping parents and family members involved. ?we are a customer-driven organization,? superintendent drake says. ?it is an honor to serve louisiana?s second largest public
school
system, and keeping the
students
and families within the system informed is a priority.? while this is just the first version of the app, a multitude of updates and improvements are already in development. the ultimate goal is to allow app users the option to tailor specific push notifications for each
school
, i.e.; athletic schedules, ebr tv productions, and specific news blasts relevant to
students
and family. sponsored content 5 0 b r p a r e n t s . c o m | a p r i l 2 0 1 8
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