Social Studies teacher Sharla Campbell has brought her sixth-graders new awareness about their natural resource consumption. This fall, Sharla had students keep a log of their water use for a 24-hour time period. She also created lessons on places around the world where there is no access to clean water, and how lack of water affects people's lives.

After learning about water scarcity, students heard from guest speakers Gilbert Tuhabonye and Peter Rouch (St. Andrew's parents and founders of the Gazelle Foundation), who came and talked to the students about the Gazelle Foundation's "Run For the Water." Students got to lift jugs filled with water (close to 40 pounds in weight) to learn first-hand what the people of Burundi go through for a glass of water.

Sharla's lessons inspired some students to participate in the "Run for the Water" on Oct. 26, which raised money for clean water technology in Burundi. Congratulations to those students who tested themselves on race day to help others in need! 

Even though it's fall, things are looking pretty green at the Upper School campus right now.  

This year's newly formed "Coalition for the Environment" club, led by senior Tia Schwab, has made significant strides to improve the Upper School's impact on the environment. Every week, this club of 50 members (including students and faculty/staff) meet to discuss their campus-wide sustainability projects.

The Coalition's notable accomplishments thus far have included a water bottle filling station in Dell Academic Center (with another soon to follow in Founder's Hall), doubling the recycling capacity on the Upper School campus, and two pilot studies: a cost-benefit analysis for refillable dry erase markers, and retrofitting the chemistry rooms with LED lighting.  

Upper School Biology teacher Dina Tucker recently sat down with Tia, the Coalition's president, to discuss her interest in sustainable development and her plans to pursue it after graduation.

How did you first get involved in sustainability?

In the 9th grade, my science class read Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. I immediately became interested in food sustainability, and gradually conservation as a whole. The summer after 10th grade, I participated in a two-week program in which I designed a farmers market for the Sustainable Food Center. That camp made me realize I was not just interested in green architecture, but every aspect of environmental studies. Last summer, I participated in the 2014 Student Climate Conservation Congress, or Sc3. The week-long conference took place at the US Fish and Wildlife Service's National Conservation Training Center near Washington, D.C. I heard speakers from all areas of the environmental movement and met students from around the world who had accomplished incredible things at their schools, from an organic garden and greenhouse to a carbon neutrality commitment. My experience at Sc3 has solidified my decision to major in Sustainability/Environmental Studies in college.

What is one of the biggest successes you've had so far this year?

On Oct. 31, the Coalition hosted a "Halloween Blackout" at the Upper School. We encouraged the community to turn off all lights on campus for an entire day and limit technology use. We are lucky to have buildings with so many windows, so teachers were able to conduct classes using just the natural light. Even the chapel and library lights were off for the day. We raised awareness about how much energy we could save by making small changes.

What is one of the biggest challenges in creating a movement of this scale?

One of the biggest challenges is that the level of the support varies. Sometimes it's hard to see the long-term benefits in short-term changes, and sometimes these changes can be expensive. For example, it could be difficult to justify an investment in solar panels when that money could be used for something else now, even though later it would lower our electricity bill and environmental impact.

What is your "pie in the sky" dream for St. Andrew's sustainability?

My dream would be to create a student-run organic garden on campus that supplies the food in the dining hall. The new land that St. Andrew's just bought really opens up a lot of possibilities!

Thank you Tia Schwab and Dina Tucker for contributing this article.

Students representing schools from all over Austin came to St. Andrew's Upper School campus on Saturday, Oct. 25 to compete in the annual Crusader Classic Certamen Tournament. The tournament tested middle and high school students' mastery of the Latin language, and Roman history and culture.

The St. Andrew's teams did well on their home turf, with Upper School's Novice and Advanced teams both placing second in the final round, barely edged out of first place. The Advanced team was composed of  team captain Bryce Deskins, Katherine Salinas, Walton Schmidt, and Jonathan Zornio.  The Novice team, led by team captain Robbie Li, was rounded out by Adam Alvarado, Will Nickerson, Will Greskovich, and Ben Sirizzotti. The St. Andrew's Middle School team placed third in the middle school level of the tournament.

Each school in the tournament was represented by a team of four students. The teams advanced through each tournament round after successfully answering 20 questions on Roman history, Roman life, mythology, and the Latin language. Some questions required students to answer in English, others in Latin.  In each round there was one Latin listening comprehension exercise, in which students listened to a Latin story and then answered questions about the content. Bonus questions kept students' eyes on the scoreboard.

Congratulations to all the St. Andrew's students who played in the tournament for representing the school so well. St. Andrew's thanks the student and parent volunteers who set-up, ran, and cleaned up after the tournament, and especially Dawn Bowyer for supplying snacks for the visiting teachers.