RitterElementary School

Ritter Elementary Garden Ribbon Cutting

Ritter Elementary Garden Ribbon Cutting
Posted on 06/08/2018

On Tuesday, June 5, 2018 the Ritter Elementary Garden Club held a ribbon cutting to mark the official grand opening of our new Garden. 

Elementary Teacher Marie Nemes was awarded a Teacher Innovation Grant from the Allentown School District Foundation to help fund the garden.
She describes this amazing STEM project, "The Ritter Mobile Garden Carts," which are assembled for the children and teachers, who are enjoying them. About 650 students have the opportunity to use the garden carts to learn more about plants and their life cycles as well as tools used in the garden. Students are getting plenty of time to explore the carts and learn more about plants and the growing foods. The intermediate students have spent time looking at plant specimens with the microscopes, exploring literature and the life cycles of plants. Primary students are exploring with large hand lenses, reading books about plants and growing and sequencing the life cycle of plants. Students can then spend time out in the Ritter School Garden, applying what they have learned about plants, too."

Joining Ritter students and staff at the ribbon cutting ceremony was Allentown Mayor Ray O'Connell and representatives of local legislative offices, the Food Trust and WFMZ! 

Ms. Nemes has compiled several photo albums that show the growth and progression of the garden throughout the school year: 

TIG grant mobile garden carts: 
https://photos.app.goo.gl/919Tto2eeerngjrt8

Planting Day: https://photos.app.goo.gl/iTMXssqNJ6HdkNWn9

Ribbon Cutting:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/3gdWZvQrmF5Xd5vm1