Gross Catholic makes exemplary progress focusing on practical, inspiring initiatives

Gross Catholic's Marianist Encounters team comprises three committees, each with a different area of concern. Here is their action plan for the 2022-2023 school year and proposed plan for 2023-2024. Update from Michele Sweetmon, Ministry lead.

Committee 1: Care for Creation (Recycling and Plastic Consumption)

Plan for 2022-2023

1. Re-introduce a recycling program for paper and plastic (November - present)

   1. We have not had a recycling program since 2018. Resources and funding have been secured for two years. We will seek donations to continue the program after our initial donations are exhausted.

2. Education about recycling - students/faculty/staff - what to recycle, what not to recycle, how to recycle (November)

   1. Environmental Science students created a promotional video (see below) and presented information to Homerooms.

   2. Environmental Science students collect and process recyclable items each Friday.

3. Education about recycling and plastic elimination - school families, students/faculty/staff (January 2023 - present)

   1. Each month, a GC Goes Green column will appear in our school's family digital newsletter. This will be shared on the 2nd Friday of each month.

   2. This information will also be shared with the school community on our common area TVs.

Proposed for 2023-2024:focus on Sustainable Lifestyles

1. Campus Ministry will purchase reusable fork/spoon kits for all students/faculty/staff (August).

   1. We will no longer provide plasticware in our lunchroom. This will be an ongoing program.

2. Continued education about the elimination of plastic, not simply recycling.

   1. Encourage families to purchase bamboo toothbrushes, reusable water bottles and coffee cups, biodegradable trash bags, beeswax cheesecloth, and other reusable bags for lunch items.

3. We will eliminate paper programs at all events (games, Mass, concerts, etc.) and use QR codes to share information (August - forever).

Committee 2: Care for Creation (Toxic Technology)

Plan for 2022-2023

1. In conjunction with our House system, we will have a technology recycling drive the last week of March 2023 (March 27-31st with a truck on April 1st)

   1. Students/faculty/staff will compete for House points by bringing in approved, recyclable technology. We will use Staples as our recycling provider. We will educate on the proper disposal of technology. Education about recycling - students/faculty/staff - what to recycle, what not to recycle, how to recycle.

   2. On April 1st (NO April fools), we will have a community technology recycling drive.

   3. Education will be provided for families/students/faculty/staff on the toxic effects of technology in our landfills.

Proposed for 2023-2024

1. We would like to expand our technology recycling program to twice a year, fall and spring (September and March).

2. This can also help with recognizing appropriate recycling as we move to a 1-to-1 computer program where the school is providing a school-issued device.

Committee 3: Sustainable Lifestyles and Care for Women and Children (The Real Cost of Fashion)

Plan for 2022-2023

1. Fashion Week(s) worldwide are scheduled in February and March. We will educate our students/faculty/staff/families about the real cost of fashion, especially those most often consumed by teens.

   1. We will hang a clothesline on the large bulletin board in our Commons area. On the clothesline, we will hang real clothes (a male and a female wardrobe). Around the clothes, we will have pictures of other items that are part of daily teenage consumption (cosmetics, iPhone, earbuds, disposable coffee cups, etc.). Then we will have facts about the retail price of these items, the price to produce; the wage paid to the garment workers; and the ecological cost for production. A PowerPoint presentation on Fast Fashion (view here) will run all month on the Commons TVs for additional education.

   2. We will include information about the real cost of fashion in our GC Goes Green column in the family newsletter.

   3. Our Marianist Encounters team will have two drives: our female students will participate in a bra drive. We will partner with freethegirls.org to collect gently used bras to support women who have survived sex trafficking.

March is Women’s History Month. We will continue the awareness from our drive to educate students about sex trafficking. Our male students will collect toiletries and underwear for men, which will be donated to the Open Door Mission (70% of homeless people are men).

Proposed for 2023-2024: Care for Women and Children

1. In February 2023, we will educate our students on dating/domestic violence.

2. In conjunction, we will have a drive to support Lydia House, a domestic violence shelter for women and children.

Watch this promotional video created by Environmental Science students at Gross Catholic High School, Bellevue, NE.