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Noble in the News
San Jose school wins arts grant
Noble Elementary wins grant for arts program
The
Noble Elementary School PTA in San Jose has won a $2,000 grant to offer
an after-school program of dance, visual arts, music and theater. The
12-week program will conclude with a student performance.
The
grant, from Target, was awarded to recognize the Noble PTA's efforts to
promote arts education. Noble is part of the Berryessa School District.
Noble Elementary PTA Receives Grant from Target for After School Visual and Performing Arts Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Noble Elementary PTA, 408-923-1935
Target Media Hotline, (612) 696-3400
Noble Elementary PTA Receives Grant from Target for After School Visual and
Performing Arts Program
San Jose, CA (August 1, 2013)– Today, Noble Elementary Parent Teacher Association announced that
it was awarded a grant from Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) for an after school dramatic arts
program. In recognition of the efforts of Noble Elementary PTA to promote an arts education, the grant
will be used to implement an after school program focusing on Dance, Visual Art, Music, and Theater
for 12 weeks concluding with a professional produced performance.
“I’m thrilled that we can revive the dramatic arts education for our students,” said Manju
Ramachandran, PTA President, Noble Elementary School. “Not only will Noble students have fun
learning new dance steps and vocal technique in a full theater production but they will have an
opportunity to learn important life skills such as confidence, leadership and teamwork as well.” The
theatrical arts program will give children the creativity to express themselves and their passions in a
very unique way that they can’t do in the classroom. “The visual and performing arts play a vital role in
developing a students ability to learn. Anything we can do to restore the arts is good for students,” said
Will Ector, Superintendent of the Berryessa Union School District.
The grant is part of Target’s ongoing efforts to build strong, safe and healthy communities
across the country. These efforts include Target’s long history of giving 5 percent of its profit to
communities, which today equals more than $4 million every week. As part of this commitment, Target
is on track to give $1 billion for education by the end of 2015 to help kids learn, schools teach and
parents and caring adults engage.
“At Target, we are committed to serving local communities where we do business,” said Laysha
Ward, President, Community Relations, Target. “That’s why we are proud to partner with Noble
Elementary PTA as we work to strengthen communities and enrich the lives of our guests and team
members.”
In addition to the grant received by Noble Elementary PTA, Target also gives through signature
programs such as:
• Take Charge of Education, a school fundraising initiative that provides undesignated funds to
local schools for whatever they need most, from books and school supplies to classroom
technology.
• Arts Accessibility, free or reduced-price admission to arts and cultural events nationwide.
• Target School Library Makeovers, a program that leverages Target’s world-class design
expertise to transform school libraries across the country with new construction, furniture, and
technology, as well as 2,000 new books.
• Education Grants and Awards, including Books for Schools Awards, Target Field Trip Grants
and Early Childhood Reading Grants, that provide schools, libraries, teachers and nonprofit
organizations the resources they need to bring learning to life and put more kids on the path to
graduation.
About Noble Elementary PTA
Noble
Elementary School is a KG -5 school in the Berryessa Union School
District with a student population of over 600 from a wide spectrum
of ethnic and demographic backgrounds. Noble PTA volunteers
work in the community and classrooms to positively improve the
education, health and welfare of all children and youth. For more
information about Noble PTA’s commitment to enriching public
education for their students, visit www.noblepta.com.
About Target
Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) serves guests at 1,856 stores across the
United States and Canada, and at Target.com. The company plans to open its first stores in Canada in
2013. In addition, the company operates a credit card segment that offers branded proprietary credit card
products. Since 1946, Target has given 5 percent of its profit through community grants and programs;
today, that giving equals more than $4 million a week. For more information about Target’s
Labels: By Erin Pound
CreaTV San Jose Announces the Winning San Jose Schools of
CreaTV San Jose Announces the Winning San Jose Schools of
The 2013 Media Access Project (MAP) Grant
San Jose, CA, April 29, 2013—CreaTV San Jose Board Chair, Charlotte Powers, and CreaTV Board Member, Javier Gonzalez, today announced the winning schools of the 2013 Media Access Project (MAP) Grant LIVE on CreaTV’s Classrooms Channel 28 on Comcast and on CreaTV’s website at www.creatvsj.org.
Joining Charlotte and Javier on the live broadcast were CreaTV Executive Director, Suzanne St. John-Crane, San Jose City Manager, Deb Figone, Dr. Xavier De La Torre, Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools and Rosa Castenada, CreaTV Educational Coordinator.
Watch the 5-minute video announcement of the 14 schools awarded the 2013 Media Access Project (MAP) Grant.
http://www.creatvsj.org/news/special-projects-2/2013-map-grant/
In March 2013, CreaTV San Jose announced the launch of the second cycle of the MAP Grant. All elementary, middle and high schools, whether public, private or charter in San Jose, as well as current MAP schools, were invited to apply for this exciting opportunity to be outfitted with digital media equipment, computers and software for a two-year period, beginning fall of 2013.
In its first two-year cycle, the MAP Grant Program impacted more than 9,600 San Jose youth.
In its second cycle, CreaTV awarded fourteen San Jose schools—five elementary, four middle and five high schools—with digital media equipment that will be delivered to the schools in time for the fall 2013 school term. The winning middle and high schools will receive field or studio kits valued at $50,000 each. The elementary schools will receive field camera kits valued at $5,000 each. In exchange for this award, schools produce half-hour TV shows every month that air on CreaTV San Jose’s Classrooms Channel 28 on Comcast and on CreaTV’s website www.creatvsj.org.
The winning schools of the 2013 MAP Grant are:
Elementary Schools:
- Carolyn Clark, Evergreen School District
- Franklin, Franklin-McKinley School District
- George Shirakawa, Franklin-McKinley School District
- Noble, Berryessa School District
- Sherman Oaks Community Charter School, Campbell Union School District
Middle Schools:
- Burnett, San Jose Unified School District
- Ida Price, Cambrian School District
- Sylvandale, Franklin McKinley School District
- Brett Harte, San Jose Unified School District
High Schools:
- Central County Occupational Center, Metropolitan Education District
- Lincoln, San Jose Unified School District
- Del Mar, Campbell Union High School District
- Mount Pleasant, East Side Union High School District
- Santa Teresa, East Side Union High School District
With the awarded studio and field kits, students learn how to make videos, tell stories and be more confident individuals by sharing their perspectives with the community. Schools produce PSAs, documentaries, short films, and cover various community, school and sporting events. As part of its mission to inspire, educate and connect San Jose communities, using media to foster civic engagement, CreaTV’s MAP Grant aims to level the playing field and bridge the digital divide that exists for students in San Jose. CreaTV San Jose believes that access to digital media and creative innovation tools is vital for our youth to effectively communicate, engage in their communities and be competitive 21st century workers.
Noble Elementary recycling pays off
Posted: 10/21/2011 04:31:50 PM PDT Updated: 10/22/2011 02:10:53 PM PDT
Click photo to enlarge
Marissa Rangel, 8, a third-grader, helps collect the recyclables Almost fairytale-like, Noble Elementary School this year converted trash into treasure.But it took a lot more than a fervent wish and a wave of a wand for the Berryessa school to win a $50,000 play structure for the school's empty playground. In a mega-recycling campaign, for one year students and parents saved, sorted and shipped what normally ends up in the trash: empty Doritos bags, Lunchables trays, Elmer's glue bottles, Colgate toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes.
And there was more: Neosporin tubes, tortilla bags and all types of pens and markers. In all, parents collected and sorted into 37 bins items from both home and school, and sent them to Terracycle, a not-for-profit New Jersey company dedicated to recycling the previously unrecyclable.
Last school year, Noble shipped more than 100,000 items that Terracycle turned into fodder for raw materials like plastic lumber and ice chests.
And as often happens when enlisting kids, Noble students, especially the kindergartners, got on board with zeal.
"If you toss something away that was Terracyclable, boy, you were in trouble," said Telma Rangel, the parent who initiated and still oversees the recycling campaign. Even on field trips, kids brought along bags and collected whatever could be diverted from the trash.
Every school day, Rangel, co-chairwoman Season Barrientos and a core of parents collected and sorted the Terracycles. It's a time-consuming and sometimes
messy task. "We hope the kids put just Capri Suns in the bin marked Capri Suns," Rangel said. "Then we can just dump them out and stomp on them."
Noble earned about $2,000 for its efforts. Last summer, the school became one of four campuses in the nation to win one of four play structures, made in part from recycled flip-flops, from Terracycle.
Rangel explained on the survey application why the school deserved a playground: "Because our kids practice being green every day, and they would be honored and thrilled to have a playground made out of flip-flops."
And yes, Terracycle ran a flip-flop recycling campaign last year, collecting the used footwear from customers at Old Navy stores.
But it's not just about money; it's also about environmental lessons and benefits. Instead of the janitor emptying garbage cans six times after the school's staggered lunchtime, now he carries it out only once. Families bringing in recyclables also generate less waste.
Two of Rangel's grown children bring empty bottles and wrappers from their work places. And her husband Gary, serving in Afghanistan, ships his energy-bar wrappers home, reminded by their third-grade daughter Marissa.
On Noble's Yahoo group site, Rangel sends parents reminders: "Halloween's coming up; don't forget to save your candy wrappers."
The new play structure is a daily, tangible reward for their efforts. A few years ago, Noble got rid of its aging out-of-code play structure, and the PTA raised $25,000 to build a new play area and replace the wood chips with recycled rubber chips. But it didn't have enough for a new structure.
"The kids pretty much threw rubber chips at each other," PTA President Manju Ramachandran said. "It's sad, but they're kids!" The PTA still hopes to raise enough to erect an additional structure in the play lot.
Noble is one of more than 40 schools and other organizations in San Jose running what Terracycle calls brigades, or collections of particular items for recycling. And the variety of items destined for a second life is expanding. "Everything comes in a pouch these days. It's easy to put in a lunchbox, but they don't break down in a landfill," said Stacey Cusack of Terracycle.
Many of those throwaways are generated in school lunchrooms, so more schools -- with energetic students and hardworking parents and teachers -- are joining the brigades.
Rangel said she didn't envision how much work the recycling would entail, but the Terracycling, has generated fun and friendships, as well as the play structure.
Berryessa holds first 5K Walk, raises $4,000 for schoolsby Wes Bowers Posted: 10/13/2011 10:12:02 AM PDT Updated: 10/13/2011 10:12:02 AM PDT
The brainchild of a Noble Elementary School Parent Teacher Association member originally intended to be a school fund-raiser quickly blossomed into an event for the entire district.Noble PTA and San Jose City Councilmember Kansen Chu hosted the first Berryessa 5K Walk Sunday, Oct. 9, raising funds to benefit all schools in the Berryessa Union School District.
The event was the creation of parent Manju Ramachandran, who initially hoped to raise money for Noble.
Ramachandran thought of the event in June and wanted to celebrate Walk to School Week, the first week of October. Ramachandran said she was tired of each campus holding isolated events and decided to create a Berryessa 5K Walk instead of a Noble 5K.
"Every one of our schools has a walkathon, and I wanted to figure out a way to bring the entire community together for our district," she said. Unlike other fund-raisers that set a monetary goal, Ramachandran set a goal of attracting 250 participants. She said 580 people registered for the run, while 515 were at the starting line Sunday. Ramachandran said about 330 participants were from Noble. There were also participants from Majestic Way and Northwood elementary schools.
Entrance fees were $20 for adults, $10 for children and $15 for a family of four. Half of the admission went to the participant's school, so if an adult paid their $20 entrance fee, $10 went to the school their child attends, Ramachandran said.
On top of that, Chu's office matched $5 for every walker in attendance, Ramachandran said.
A total of $4,000 had been raised by press time. "This is a wonderful event to bring the community together," Chu said. "It's for a very good cause and a great way to support district schools. It's something everybody can do."
The course began at the Berryessa Community Center, then traversed up Piedmont Road through Penitencia Creek around the percolation ponds. The run then made its way to the library and back to the Berryessa Community Center, a total of 3.1 miles, or 5 kilometers.
Also in attendance were about 45 students from Piedmont Hills High School who also paid the entrance fee.
Ramachandran said she tried to donate the funds those students raised to the high school, but because it's part of the East Side Union High School District, the money was rejected. After the run a resource fair was held at the community center featuring many of the sponsors including Cold Stone Creamery, Sports Authority and Sylvan Learning Center, among 13 others. Even Jamba Juice, which wasn't an event sponsor, came to the resource fair.
Ramachandran is hoping to hold the run around the same time next year and attract about 750 people. Although Walk to School Week starts the first weekend in October, she wants to make sure the Berryessa 5K Walk doesn't conflict with the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in downtown San Jose, which attracts thousands of runners to city streets. She's also hoping to move the walk to Berryessa streets rather than the trails around Penitencia Creek.
"I'm hoping we can move onto streets like Grossmont," she said. "Many of the paths on the trails Sunday were very narrow, and it was hard for people with strollers to walk." Ramachandran is also hoping to turn future runs into races, complete with accreditations as a sanctioned event. "I think it's a great way for children and families to spend time together, and come out to support the community and our schools," she said. "It was a great first time out, and there was just a lot of positive energy all day."
Contact Wes Bowers at wbowers@themilpitaspost.com or 510-661-9920. Visit us on our social media sites at facebook.com/milpitas post and twitter.com/milpitaspost.
visit www.berryessasun.com
Noble Elementary Goes Green With Playground made from Flip Flops!
CONTACTS: Lauren Taylor TerraCycle 609.393.4252 x3705
NOBLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL RECEIVES DONATED PLAYGROUND FROM OLD NAVY AND TERRACYCLE Installation of New Playground Made From Recycled Flip Flops Scheduled for September 10
TRENTON, N.J., (August XX, 2011) – Noble Elementary School in San Jose is one of four schools to receive a donated playground from Old Navy and TerraCycle, Inc., the pioneering upcycling and recycling company. The playgrounds are made, in part, from recycled used flip flops that were collected during the month-long ‘Flip Flop Replay’ that began this past April. The other recipients schools, selected through a survey done by TerraCycle, are located in Austin, Texas and Poughkeepsie, New York, with a fourth to be named.
Noble Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade students. The playground installation is scheduled for September 10.
“Playgrounds provide the ideal place for children to master physical skills, such as learning to swing, balance and climb as well as master social skills such as communicating, sharing and cooperating with other children and adults,” said Manju Ramachandran, Noble Elementary PTA President. “The kids will be so excited to have a playground after two years of playing in a dirt box! Coming back to school and seeing the new playground will be like Christmas to them because this is something in their lives they will never forget."
The Flip Flop Replay started Earth Day, April 22 and ran through May 21 at all U.S. Old Navy stores. The nationwide collection campaign resulted in almost twenty thousand used flip flops being diverted from landfills. It was the first time a nationwide retailer has initiated a large-scale effort to collect flip flops to have them recycled into playgrounds.
“This program is a great example of turning old, worn items like flip flops into a resource to benefit so many people,” said Tom Szaky, TerraCycle CEO. “Along with Old Navy, we are really excited to provide this playground to Noble Elementary School.”
The playgrounds are made by PDPlay, which manufactures environmentally-friendly playground equipment from the highest amount of post-consumer recycled content available in the commercial market. PDPlay’s use of post-consumer recycled plastic lumber keeps millions of recyclables out of landfills each year.
In addition to its partnership with Old Navy, TerraCycle has free collection programs called Brigades that divert packaging waste from landfills and help raise consumer awareness about reducing, reusing and recycling. To date, almost three million dollars has been paid to charities and more than two billion pieces of products and packaging have been collected which will be upcycled or recycled into a range of new products. TerraCycle’s innovative processes have been independently rated as among the world’s most carbon saving waste solutions.
About TerraCycle TerraCycle, Inc. is an international upcycling company that takes difficult to recycle packaging and turns it into affordable, innovative products. Founded in 2001, TerraCycle (www.terracycle.net) is the world’s leader in the collection and reuse of non-recyclable post-consumer waste. TerraCycle works with over thirty major brands in the U.S. (and in a growing number of other countries) to collect used packaging and products (chip bags, candy wrappers, juice pouches, pens, toothbrushes, etc.) that would otherwise be destined for landfills. It repurposes that waste into new innovative materials and products that are available online and through major retailers. The waste is collected through TerraCycle’s Brigade programs, which are free fundraisers that pay schools and non-profits for every piece of waste they collect and return. For information on how to join a TerraCycle Brigade and on purchasing TerraCycle products please visit www.terracycle.net.
For information on Noble Elementary School's Green Initiative please visit www.noblepta.com. # # # Labels: By Manju Ramachandran
Energy bar Wrappers Don't Go Into the Garbage at Noble School
Energy Bar Wrappers Don’t Go Into the Garbage at Noble School San Jose’s Noble School Diverts More than 78,000 Pieces of Trash from the Landfill
and Raises Funds, Using a Program that Started with Worm Poop SAN JOSE, CA – Energy bar wrappers, empty glue sticks, warn out pens and used cell phones never get into the garbage cans at Noble School in San Jose, CA, where students and parents working together diverted more than 78,000 items from going into the landfill and raised $1,400 in the process. Through a company and program called TerraCycle, Noble Elementary School decided to put into place schoolwide colorful trash cans featuring “Capri Sun” pouches, Nabisco wrappers, tape dispensers and stuff like that to train the entire student body around terracycling as opposed to tossing into the trash. "Our students have really gotten into the philosophy of saving the planet one piece of garbage at a time," says Manju Ramachandran, 2011-2012 Noble PTA president. "The school has accomplished so much, and students and parents alike became very creative at increasing our Terracycle results. We could not have succeeded so quickly without parents Telma Rangel and Season Barrientos, who run the program tirelessly." “Noble Elementary School’s efforts to keep non-recyclable products and packaging out of the local landfill are fantastic,” said Lauren Taylor, director of U.S. public relations for TerraCycle. “It’s terrific to see students are concerned enough about their community and the environment to take the time each day to collect, sort and send us what would normally be garbage.” Noble School won TerraCycle’s contest for sending in the greatest number of cheese wrappers in May among all public schools in the United States. TerraCycle was founded in 2001 by Tom Szaky, then a 20-year-old Princeton University freshman. TerraCycle (www.TerraCycle.net) began by producing organic fertilizer, packaging liquid worm poop in used soda bottles. Since then TerraCycle has grown into one of the fastest growing green companies in the world. At Noble School, the results of the TerraCycle program came in very quickly. The janitors noticed approximately two big garbage cans each day were not getting filled at lunch time. Here is a snapshot of the results for the year-long efforts. These items were all diverted from the waste stream: · 78, 000 total pieces of stuff · 13,105 baggies (or home storage containers) · 9,583 energy bar wrappers · 2,587 plastic lunch kits · 832 Colgate toothpaste tubes or brushes · 455 writing instruments (pens) Noble Elementary School was recognized by the city of San Jose for the good work. “I would like to take this opportunity to commend Noble School Elementary for their efforts to protect the earth and reduce the amount of waste going into our landfills. Noble Elementary is a shining example of environmental stewardship, demonstrating outstanding leadership in raising environmental consciousness in the City of San José,” said Councilman Kansen Chu Friday. TerraCycle’s purpose is to eliminate the idea of waste. They do this by creating national recycling systems for the previously non-recyclable items. The process starts by offering collection programs (many of them free) to collect waste and then convert the collected waste into a wide range of products and materials. With over 14 million people collecting waste in 11 countries together it has diverted billions of pieces of waste that are either upcycled or recycled into over 1,500 various products available at retailers ranging from Walmart to Whole Foods Market. The vision is to eliminate the idea of waste by creating collection and solution systems for anything that today ends up in our trash. Noble Elementary School is a k-5 school in the Berryessa Union School District with a student population of over 600 from a wide spectrum of ethnic and demographic backgrounds. The school will start TerraCycle again in August with renewed enthusiasm. “We do this whether or not we earn money for our school, we are still saving the earth and teaching our children great values, and to be green every day,” says Telma Rangel, one of two parents who run the program at Noble Elementary. To get involved with TerraCycle for your group, you can go to www.TerraCycle.net.
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