I liked what I saw

I happened to be inside Pattengill Elementary School recently. I have always felt that you can learn a lot from just walking the halls of a school--and this was no exception.

I liked the art on the walls--drawings"in the manner of" Picasso, geometric patterns.
I liked the variety--there were lots of things in the hall, and they looked fresh and well-cared-for.
I liked the sentiments--Pattengill has been trying to become a Michigan Green School (successfully, I guess, although I'm still not clear on what that means exactly) and Earth Day (today) was a day full of service learning and school ground cleanup.
I liked the--recycling bin for toner cartridges, batteries, and more--in the hall.
I liked the clothes closet donation box--did you know that sister school Bryant (grades K-2) has a clothes closet where families can get free clothes during school hours? (I didn't know that until I saw the sign.)
And I especially liked the "giveaway" box for hats, gloves, and mittens (labelled, "Not the lost and found")--given the number of gloves and mittens my family loses every winter, I really liked this. If we had this at my child's school, I could buy less, save money and irritation, and reduce consumption.

I wanted to find out more about the Michigan Green School program and Pattengill, so I did a web search, and that brought me to a little-known corner of the AAPS web site (ready, set, grumble). Seriously! Apparently the Superintendent sends out a notice to staff every week that is a summary of great things happening in the district. And we can read it. After reading just one (I think the memo is called "This Week"), I cannot--for the life of me--figure out why this is not more prominent, and publicized to all interested parties. It's kind of a brag sheet, so why not brag to parents and community remembers? You can read This Week here.