This year, we have had a lot of new families move into our school district. Two of our 4th grade teachers decided to devote time to teaching lessons on the importance of asset mapping. After researching the importance of asset mapping and why it is used, they asked their students to create an asset map of our town. The first thing they did as a whole was come up with all of the individual categories. Then the teachers broke the two classes into groups - assigning each group of students to a category. Each group used their own knowledge of their town as well as the internet to create their list of places to visit. They compiled their information into a document and then added the specific addresses to the shared map. The map can be found by visiting here!

[Andover], NJ – Florence M Burd Elementary school was awarded a $10,000 Sustainable Jersey for Schools grant funded by the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA). Eleven $10,000 grants and thirty-five $2,000 grants were distributed to support a variety of projects including aquaponics systems, outdoor classrooms, pollinator and edible gardens, water bottle refilling stations, sustainability and STEAM education, food waste and composting initiatives, social emotional learning equipment, school green team capacity building and more.

“Florence M. Burd has been successfully defining what sustainability looks like in a New Jersey elementary school.  With multiple consistent recycling programs, trash audits, composting, solar panels, and full student environmental awareness through assemblies and programming, we are so excited to add new and updated technology to our systems.  Our industrial composter will help reduce our food waste, supply rich nutrient supply back into our earth, as well as teach our students the possibilities of helping the environment by utilizing machines.  We are thankful for this award because while our school is small, we can make a huge earthly impact with this new tool.”

With this contribution, NJEA has provided $2 million to support a sustainable future for children across the state through the Sustainable Jersey for Schools program. “This is an important program that directs resources into our schools and NJEA is proud to continue to work with Sustainable Jersey,” said NJEA President Sean Spiller. “Our job is to help and support this new generation as they continue to become engaged citizens and leaders. By emphasizing the value of sustainability and healthy practices, which often go hand-in-hand with economic efficiencies, we help ensure that we leave a better world for our children’s children.” In addition to the grant funding, NJEA supports Sustainable Jersey for Schools as a program underwriter.

“These grants are designed to jump start sustainability projects that will have a far-reaching impact focused on New Jersey and our school communities,” said Sustainable Jersey Executive Director Randall Solomon. “We applaud the schools and districts ready to implement these innovative sustainability projects and thank NJEA for providing the crucial financial support that will allow these visionary ideas to come to life.” Proposals were judged by an independent Blue-Ribbon Selection Committee. 

TREX plastic materials recycling
We are entering our 7th year of participating in the TREX program. TREX uses plastic materials to make their deck materials by collecting grocery bags, bread bags, case overwrap, dry cleaning bags, newspaper sleeves, ice bags, wood pellet bags, ziplock & other re-sealable bags, produce bags, bubble wrap, salt bags, and cereal bags. All materials must be clean, dry and free of food residue. Collection bins are located at both schools. 

Terracycle recycling
TerraCycle has created a zero waste solution for the following items: Little Bites pouches, any brand of aluminum juice pouches,  ANY BRAND of squeezable applesauce/yogurt pouches, ANY BRAND of pens, highlighters, glue sticks & their original packaging, ANY BRAND of toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss & their original packaging, and ANY BRAND of #6 plastic cups. These items are collected in every classroom & in the cafeteria. For each item, Terracycle will donate a penny to our school. It doesn’t seem like much but it definitely adds up! If you have any of the above items and want to recycle them, please send them in with your child. 

Office and classroom paper recycling
Every classroom at FMB has a blue recycling bucket marked for paper recycling/bottles to ensure our used paper/bottles are properly recycled into our single-steam bin rather than ending up in the trash can. 4th Grade students go around the school every Wednesday and Friday to collect all items and deposit them into our dedicated recycling dumpster. 

Re-Use America fabric recycling
Clothing, shoes, accessories, household items, and toys meeting their criteria is collected to be reused and recycled. The bin for the district is located in the FMB parking lot.

Andover Regional School District continues to prioritize and improve our sustainable school practices as we seek recertification through the Sustainable Jersey for Schools program. The district level Green Team was approved by the Board of Education on 10/19/2022 to continue to promote sustainability and coordinate our individual school and district efforts. 

Our district-level Green Team includes the following members: 

￮ Clifford Burns, Superintendent of Schools 

￮ Nicole Sylvester, School Business Administrator/Board of Education Secretary 

￮ Robert Koroski, Board of Education President 

￮ Bryan Fleming, Long Pond School Principal 

￮ Nicole Dilkes, Florence M. Burd School Principal 

￮ Jennifer Reynolds, Supervisor of Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment

￮ Richard Medwin, Supervisor of Buildings & Grounds 

￮ Kevin Decker, FMB Buildings and Grounds

￮ Maryhelen Coiro, Union President 

￮ Justin Iazzetti, Special Education Teacher/FMB Earth Club Coordinator

￮ Mariann Whitaker, Preschool Special Education Teacher/NJEA Union Representative 

￮ Melinda DuCharme, Kindergarten Teacher

￮ Jennifer Bogert, 1st Grade Teacher

￮ Jill Johnson, 2nd Grade Teacher

￮ Jennifer Moriarty, 3rd Grade Teacher

￮ Lauren Huffman, 4th Grade Teacher

￮ Tom Carle, Music Education

￮ Claire Serratelli, FMB Art Education/LPS Earth Club Coordinator

￮ Marianela Torres, District Spanish Teacher/Earth Club Coordinator

￮ Erik Burneyko, LPS School Nurse/District Wellness Committee Coordinator 

￮ Cara Brock, FMB School Nurse/District Wellness Committee Co-Coordinator