1 . The campaign to reduce food waste is in its third week, and we’re already seeing some great results. We’d like every student and teacher to join in the campaign, so if you haven’t started yet, read our blog and join in!

Stop wasting food at school.

“The children are making a big effort to think in a sensible way about the food they put on their plates. We now have about 15% less waste and we think this percentage grows as more children join in the campaign,” school lunch director Marge Kaplan said. The school canteen now offers two portion (份) sizes for all main meals: small and large. This week they’ll replace single bread rolls with slices of bread. You can take as many slices as you want, but one at a time.

Latest news!

From next week you’ll be able to put any waste from fresh fruit and vegetables into the special green bin at the back of the canteen. Miss Norris, the school gardener, will empty the bin each day into a giant compost (堆肥) container in the school’s vegetable garden. That can be used to improve the quality of soils.

Stop wasting food at home.

Every year, we waste about a third of our food. In the UK, more than 97% of food waste ends up in a landfill (废物填埋) site. That’s a lot! Come to a special meeting with supermarket owner Carlos Rodriguez to learn how we can save food and money at home!

Campaign meeting!

When: Friday 12 May, 5-6 p. m.

Where: School hall

What: Top tips on how to store food, measure sensible portion sizes and cook tasty meals from leftovers

Students and families are welcome!

2 . Are you still wondering about which club to choose? The following information about the clubs in our school may help you make a good choice.

4 . For primary and middle school students, being able to cook will become a must in the near future. They will also need to learn how to plant vegetables, raise poultry and maintain home machines according to the new requirements.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) recently released (发布) a new curriculum standard for labor education (劳动教育). Starting from the coming autumn term, students in primary and middle schools will take courses on labor skills at least once a week.

According to the new standards, there are three types of labor tasks. The first refers to everyday housework, including cleaning, cooking and using and maintaining home machines. Next is productive labor, including agriculture, making traditional handcrafts, and using new technologies such as 3D printing and laser cutting. The third type is service work, including volunteer work.

The new curriculum also calls for a labor week every school year, which will be a week of after-school activities aimed at labor education.

Because of a lot of studying pressure, schools have placed more focus on the school lessons, and many schools have seen housework as a waste of time. But according to the MOE, labor education must be focused on to help students cultivate social values and develop an interest in labor.

Following the release of the curriculum standard, Internet users are heatedly discussing the changes on social media. Many welcome such labor courses and say it is necessary to teach young students basic life skills. Some are happy to learn such skills during their own school days.

5 . Students at an elementary school in California, with the help of their art teacher, created a telephone hotline that people can call to get cheerful advice from kids during difficult times. Shortly afterwards, the hotline began getting thousands of calls an hour.

The hotline is available in English and Spanish. It offers the happy voices of children of different ages sharing positive messages. For example, by pressing 1, you can hear a group of kindergartners saying together, “You can do it! Keep trying, and don’t give up!” Pressing 2 brings the sounds of children laughing-a sound certain to bring a smile to anyone’s face.

Jessica Martin, who teaches art at West Side School in Healdsburg, California, thought her students just might have the magic words needed to bring calm to people in difficult times. Ms. Martin worked with students at West Side on a project they called “PepToc”. Actually, they called it “Pep Talk” first. But when Ms. Martin’s 6-year-old son drew an ad for the hotline and spelled it “PepToc”, they decided they liked that even better.

Most of the project was completed in a day. Ms. Martin worked with students from kindergarten to the sixth grade. She had the same basic question for all the students-What could you say to help or encourage someone else? Students working on the hotline thought of what they would like to say. When they were ready, Ms. Martin recorded each one. Later, she sorted out the recordings into the different parts of the telephone hotline.

Ms. Martin thought the project would only attract interest from people near the school. But the hotline was soon getting hundreds of calls a day-and then, thousands of calls an hour. It’s become unbelievably popular with stressed adults, patients in hospitals, older people in homes, and others who just want to hear the happy voices of children.

6 . Life has not been easy for veteran (退伍老兵) John Jolly, who once stayed in Kingwood Park Houston. He has been homeless for decades. Thanks to a group of caring high school seniors, he now has a real home to call his own.

Students at Summer Creek and Kingwood Park High schools worked together on a project called “Students Helping Veterans” over the past school year. The students and teachers partnered together to create muster-planned tiny homes in the Houston area for homeless veterans. Generous local community donations helped fund the project.

In cooperation with local architects, engineers, and other community partners, the schools design and build homes expected to be 200 to 300 square feet in size. In the end, they want to build a community where veterans can be surrounded by other veteran neighbors who understand their difficulties and issues.

Senior student Sarah Dalby said that when she started the project, she hardly knew how to use a saw (锯) but now she is a fast learner loves the work. “We have to appreciate the veterans for protecting us and giving us the freedom and rights that we enjoy,” she added when explaining her own purpose to take part in the project.

“This is unbelievable,” remarked Barbara Lang, a friend of the veteran who was there to provide support. A tiny home is invaluable to those who have nothing. John was clearly excited with his new, clean and fully furnished home.

The students don’t view this as a one-time effort. Their admirable plan in to grow the project, and have it spread to other schools and cities that can repeal this model.