While most people prefer to stay indoors on a rainy day, students and staff members at MAELS left the building in celebration of Better World Day. Each year on Better World Day, schools across the nation present learning projects and engage in acts of service that demonstrate the power of community. On May 6th, 2022, MAELS took part in the festivities to make the world a better place.
“Better World Day is such a great opportunity for both kids and staff to do something great for the community,” shared Ms. Onaga. “I’m so happy to be able to work with the kids and work together to help people in need.”
Last year, MAELS celebrated Better World Day by donating to residents in Nursing homes. During the pandemic, many Nursing Home residents were not allowed to have visits from their loved ones, leading to boredom and isolation for over a year. MAELS families and studentes created care packages for the residents, along with a book of uplifting quotes for them.
This year, MAELS community engaged in 3 different projects to better our community. The 6th grade Crews tackled food scarcity. The 7th grade Crews continued their learning about the importance of composting. And, the 8th grade Crews worked to honor the essential workers in our community.
6th Grade: Food Scarcity
In 2022, the 6th graders at MAELS spent several weeks studying food scarcity and how it impacts the families in the community.
“I learned that a lot of people are in need of food,” shared Edward from Crew 6H. “I knew at least a couple people didn't have food, but 38 million? That's horrible for those people, not having one of life's most crucial necessities.”
Jared from Crew 6G shared, “So many people struggle with food insecurity. It’s a bigger problem than we all thought.”
“A lot of people probably don’t know about this problem because you can’t always look at someone and know they can’t afford food,” continued Karma from Crew 6C.
“During our research, we learned people who are suffering from food insecurity tend to eat more unhealthy food,” shared Carol from Crew 6C. “That’s because healthy food tends to be more expensive. It leaves people with no choice.”
After studying food scarcity, the young leaders and their Crew leaders decided to raise money through a pretzel sale and other donations.
“We had a pretzel sale and they were $2 each,” commented Mckenzie from Crew 6H. “It was such a success and we were able to put all of the money towards buying groceries!”
The funds from the donations were distributed amongst the Crews who split the roles of the project.
Derek from Crew 6F was amongst the student leaders that went to the supermarkets to choose groceries.
Derek shares, “Each crew had $100 to spend on grocery items. My Crew went to Lidl by our school. We learned how much canned foods can cost so we had to be careful about what we bought. We wanted to stretch our money as much as possible!”
“My Crew went to Stop & Shop to buy groceries,” said Celyn from Crew 6I. “We did our best to make sure we got healthy food. I hope this project helps our community by not letting others feel insecure about not having food.”
Once the shopping was done, the Crews brought back the groceries to be organized, packed and delivered to food pantries.
“Different Crews had different roles,” shared Savanna from Crew 6E. “When the other Crews were done shopping, they brought it back and my Crew boxed it up and delivered it to a food pantry. We saw so many people coming to get food and I hope we helped some families today.”
Being the youngest of the leaders at MAELS doesn’t stop the 6th graders from doing big things! Elias from Crew 6E shared his sentiments about this first Better World Day.
“We don't always get opportunities to do things like this but because of our Crews in 6th grade, we were able to help people with food insecurity. We helped them get food and it feels good to know that I helped people!”
Ian from Crew 6D continued, “Better World Day was pretty exciting because we actually got to do something about something we were passionate about. We didn’t just talk about it but really did something about it.”
Joey from Crew 6H shared a piece of advice for those who want to make a difference in their community.
“Start wherever makes you feel good. A lot of people think they have to do something huge when in actuality, anything you do will make a difference in our world. Even if it’s something small. And that is a victory.”
7th Grade: Recycling & Composting
While the 6th graders were busy fighting food scarcity in their community, the 7th grade leaders got down and dirty on a rainy day with a different project on Better World Day.
Abiram from 7E shared, “The 7th grade Crews went to Snug Harbor to learn about composting. The purpose of this project was to find ways to help our environment. Our goal is to learn enough so we can inform people in our community about the benefits of composting.”
Prior to Better World Day, the leaders of 7th grade got prepared by researching to understand the significance of recycling and composting as a way to help the environment.
“One of the things we did as research was to visit each classroom at MAELS to see what the trash and recycling situation was like,” shared Ava from Crew 7D. “The goal is to determine how well we are separating our trash from recycling.”
“Our Crew visited the cafeteria and we noticed that the organization of the trash and recycling was not great,” shared Jacob from Crew 7J. “We think it’s because we’re rushing to get to class at the end of lunch so we’re quickly cleaning up and throwing things into one bin.”
“We noticed a lot of garbage was placed in the wrong bin,” shared Eileen from Crew 7J. “It seems like not everyone is paying attention to where it’s supposed to go.”
Amanda from Crew 7J continued, “As a Crew, we discussed that a possible solution to this could be to have different garbage cans in different colors in the cafeteria. It might help kids to be more mindful of where the trash should go.”
On May 6th, all 7th grade students traveled to Snug Harbor to continue their research about ways to protect the environment. Students visited an on-site farm to see what composting was all about!
Compost is a mixture of ingredients used to fertilize and improve the soil. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant and food waste and recycling organic materials. The resulting mixture is rich in plant nutrients and beneficial organisms, such as worms and fungal mycelium.
“Mice as well as worms can actually create compost,” shared Emma from Crew 7A.
“The farm at Snug Harbor has a lot of fruits and vegetables,” remembered Kealyn from Crew 7D. ”I learned that it’s shared with the community. We helped to clean up the farm so that it can produce more fruits and vegetables.”
Student leaders were thrilled to share fun things they learned while helping out on the farm.
Ashley Beard from Crew, “One thing I learned from this project is that compost helps vegetables grow healthier. Compost also helps fruits and vegetables taste better and fresher than ones that are shipped from far away!”
“At Snug Harbor, we pulled invasive plants,” shared Julianna from Crew 7J. “They’re invasive so we need to get rid of them but then they’re used as compost!”
“Even though it was raining and cold, we learned so much about composting,” shared Lizbeth from Crew 7D. “I learned that compost is actually hot in temperature! It can get as hot as 160 degrees.”
Student leaders share some wisdom with the community who want to make the world a better place.
“It’s so important that we take care of our world today,” said Jacob from Crew 7D. “The way we take care of our world affects people in the future and animals too!”
Adrianko from Crew 7C shared, “You can start by going to your local beach or park and clean up there! Small actions have a big impact on our environment. #TeamSeas #TeamTrees”
8th Grade: Gratitude for Essential Workers
“Kids always have the best ideas about how to serve our community, so of course we had to ask them how they wanted to celebrate Better World Day this year,” gushed Ms. Klein. “The 8th graders told us they wanted to visit establishments on Staten Island to show them all the love and appreciation.”
For Better World Day, the 8th grade students visited first responders around Staten Island to celebrate their work and contributions to our community.
“Some Crews went to a firehouse, some went to a precinct and some Crews visited the Staten Island University South Hospital to show appreciation for the doctors and nurses,” shared Mr. Arcuri.
“Before we went to visit the essential workers, we created signs and cards for the essential workers we would be visiting,” shared Constantine from Crew 8G. “We wanted to tell them why we appreciated them.”
In addition to posters and cards, the 8th grade Crews also chipped in for gift cards so that first responders can buy lunch on them.
Dinuki shared “For Better World Day, the 8th graders went to different locations to thank, appreciate and support the essential workers in our community. Today, my Crew went to the Squad 8 Firehouse and got to explore the setting. We were able to thank the firefighters that are always there for us and helping the community.”
Ms. Isufi recalled how beautiful the Better World Day experience was for her and her Crew.
“One of my Crew students saw a piano in the lobby and started playing beautifully,” she shared. “A lady came toward us and told us she can play the same song and she did! She played the same song after hearing it once and it was amazing. It was such a great way to see our communities coming together and doing something beautiful.”
Being seniors in the school, this year’s Better World Day was not their first rodeo. The MAELS seniors had words of wisdom for those planning to engage in Better World Day again in the future.
“People who want to change the world should not expect immediate results,” shared Ava from Crew 8G. “Not to say it isn’t a worthy aspiration but ‘making the world a better place’ is simultaneously vague and a large task. It would be better to break down that concept and work at it pieces at a time, preferably with like-minded individuals that can support your vision and add their own input.”
The success of this year’s Better World Day has inspired our young leaders to continue doing good work in the community on their own.
“So many of my Crew students said they want to go back to the hospital to show more appreciation and offer their services,” shared Ms. Isufi. “I hope they do!”
Follow along on social media by searching the hashtag #BetterWorldDay.
Written by Dr. Michelle Ng, Director of Equity