Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Plans for the OCS Garden!

The first OCS Garden Club meeting was yesterday afternoon. We checked out the garden beds, took a peek at the new 7th grade garden area and had a look at the shed near the K/1 yard. Erin has good things in mind for this year that can involve anyone and everyone who wants to participate! Please see her notes below and stay tuned for updates...

 
First things first is GARDEN WORK DAY! We will be in the garden from 10am-2pm on Saturday, Sept 24th after the Pancake Breakfast. Fill up and mosey on over.
And please help spread the word! Encourage your pals and classmates to come!
 
Please bring:
 
water bottles
garden gloves
hats
old shoes
sunscreen
shovels
hand shovels
wheelbarrows or empty trash cans
your kids
 
Please mark your tools (perhaps your kids too). We do have some shovels and hand tools so you can also bring just your muscles. We are going to be predominately weeding and turning over the soil and laying out mulch. We have a tractor coming also to turn over the soil (on the west side, without beds on it) and we will be pulling the weeds from there as well. We have plans for turning that into a temporary community garden! 

We will also be adding an irrigation system!

WE NEED YOUR SPRINKLER EXPERTISE! 
CALLING ALL THOSE WITH IRRIGATION EXPERIENCE!
 
We need to get water to our beds.
 
Through a generous donation, we are going to rent a trencher to dig a trench for putting irrigation in between the beds. We will then lay PVC and then 1/4" tubing to go up into the beds, attaching it to the sides so kids don't trip on it, and then placing small bubblers in the boxes. We will need to do this for all the boxes.
 
We then want to add some directional sprinkler heads along the garden area that does not have beds. There are 3 hose hookups on each side of the garden we can work with.  We also need to add a timer.
 
We need your expertise! Please let me know if you can help in this area ASAP! We will need to buy supplies ahead of time and I would LOVE help making a shopping list. Justin and I worked on this over the summer but couldn't quite get it done. Feel free to email Erin at ocsvolunteers@earthlink.net or leave a phone message at 323-493-5177.

DONATIONS/WISH LIST
We will accept all donations! We have some money to work with from the Panda Partners but it won't be enough. 
 
We need organic veggie fertilizer - as big a bag as you would like to donate.
 
Fencing - for along the non-box side of the garden. I can get you more info on this
 
Sprinkler supplies
 
Empty spray bottles
 
Empty five gallon containers like the kind they use for paint, etc. 
They are orange at Home Depot and have lids. We will take as many as you would like to donate.
 
Wheelbarrow for school. We have one, need another.
 
We will be looking for plant donations in the near future. More info on that forthcoming.
 
Garden Shed - to place by the 7th grade area. There is a garden area over there as well and we will be gardening there once the fences come down.

WE NEED OUR ARTISTS!
We need garden signs that say "Our Community Garden" and "KinderGarden" "Grade 1 Garden" etc. Also a "No Grazing in Our Outdoor Classroom" sign.

Monday, September 12, 2011

9/24 event - help still needed!

Hello to the OCS community! We will need your help to make sure our pancake breakfast and garden work day are a success. OCS superstar and event coordinator Leah Mayer has done a ton to help us get what we need to have a fantastic morning. However, we still need quite a bit of manpower to sign on and assist with set up, clean up, supplies loans, donations and more. Please check out the current list of needs! Remember, if you come out and assist during this event, this time counts toward your volunteer hours for the year. You can contact Leah at Leahm.ocspp at gmail.com or let your room parent know what you can help out with. Thank you!



SUPPLIES:
electric pancake griddles
mixing bowls
spatulas, wooden spoons
coffee, tea
extension cords
serving bowls and platters

Help on Friday with setup assistance:
We still need at least several people that afternoon from 2-5pm

Help the day of:
We are still in need of 6 pancake station helpers from 9-10am
2 fruit station servers   
4 beverage station attendants  (both the 8-9 shift and the 9-10 shift)

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Recycling Guidelines

This year, OCS continues the tradition of recycling. Please save your acceptable recyclable items and check your calendar for collection Mondays at school. They generally will occur every other week. Please refer to this post for what to bring and what to keep at home. Thank you!

OCS RECYCLING COLLECTION GUIDELINES

                                                                             
     Aluminum Cans
                                                                                          
     Fruit drinks

     Glass Bottles (Brown and Green color) – Wine, beer, champagne, etc.

     Plastic bottles – 2 liter, water, and sports drink bottles

     Milk, OJ Cartons - Semi-see through 1 Gallon kind and smaller

     Clear, see through plastic Cooking Oil containers

     Jam and or Jelly Glass containers with the top off


Please DO NOT INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING BELOW based on what is NOT accepted at the recycling center. Retain items listed below for your BLUE recycling container at home:
           
     Whipped Cream, Sour Cream, Margarine or butter containers/tubs
     Orange Juice containers made of NON-See through plastic, i.e.,
      Tropicana, Minute Maid OJ Containers with handles.
     Liquid Detergent, Fabric Softener, Shampoo, Conditioner or
      bleach bottles of the same type
     Metal Whipped Cream or Cheese Containers whose
      contents are sprayed through a nozzle.
     Soup, chili, tuna, canned fruit and vegetable cans.
     Plastic containers for ice cream, pies, cookies, muffins, danish, etc.
     Perfume, Hydrogen Peroxide, Rubbing Alcohol
     Vitamin and other Health care bottles, i.e., body lotion or powder, etc.
     Liquid Detergent, Fabric Softeners or other laundry bottles.
     Plastic or Tin Coffee Cans, Mustard or other condiment containers
     Insecticide or Germicide containers

Again, please put this second group of items in your blue barrel at home for the city to pick up. Thank you in advance for making the process speed through much quicker and your continuing support of our school.

Friday, September 2, 2011

OCS Garden Meeting

OUR COMMUNITY
GARDEN MEETING

Monday, Sept 12th
3:15pm @ the garden

We will discuss goals for our garden, volunteerism, fundraising, education and the
Family Garden Work Day after the Pancake Breakfast on Sat, Sept 24th!

If you cannot attend, you can still be involved! Please let the office or Erin Riley know you are interested.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Pancake Breakfast and Garden Work Day!




Come and join us for a day of delicious food, conversation, and OCS garden fun! This is a wonderful opportunity to meet new people and help with our garden.
 
Saturday, September 24th, 2011
Breakfast 8:00-10:00a.m. / Garden Work Hours 10:00am-12:00pm 
Tickets are $5 per person 
 Ticket pre-sales will be available the week prior to the breakfast
We will need lots of volunteers and donations! 
There will be sign-up sheets available through classroom parents.


Supplies:
electric griddles
no less than 6 
spatulas

3 warming trays

mixing spoons

mixing bowls
serving platters/trays 

knives for cutting fruit

napkins
-300 
paper plates
-300
 plastic knives, spoons and forks
-300
 heavy duty paper cups
-300
 paper towels

cloth kitchen towels
sponges and dish soap (for clean up)

serving gloves

trashbags

3-4 coolers w/ ice - to keep orange juice and milk cool
4-5 extension cords 15-20'
4-5 power strips
Food:
(We will need multiple quantities of the items below.)
Dry Pancake batter mix
Boxes of sausages

Syrup bottles 

Fruit Salads 

Orange Juice  

Cases of water
Gallons of milk
Ground coffee 

Tea Bags



Working Help:
Set up help (tables, chairs, table cloths, food tables) 3-4 people (Friday the 23rd and  Sat. the 24th at 6:30 a.m.)

Pancake makers - 8 -9 people ( 8-9 shift and 9-10 shift or both)

Syrup servers  - 2

Coffee and tea servers 2-3

Milk, juice and water bottle servers - 2-3

Runners ( help with extras during breakfast) (2)
Clean up crew - from 10-11 a.m. (5-6)

Your participation is appreciated!!