Build Week 14: Get The Green Flag

 
 

We ended the fall semester with a Build Week and like all Long-View Build Weeks, it was a super-charged experience for our learners in the areas of collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication. Plus, it was a wonderful opportunity for learners to get out into the field and feel connected to the world beyond our walls.

Build Weeks are a unique challenge we offer to our learners and after issuing a complex problem, we take a break from our regularly scheduled academic blocks and teams of learners from all bands work collaboratively to address the challenge at hand.

The Challenge for Build Week 14:

In this Build Week we challenged learners to start the journey to earn a Green Flag Award from the National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools Program. This Green Flag is the most prestigious of the Eco-Schools USA awards and only one other school (a high school!) has earned the Green Flag in one year. And that’s what we challenged our learners to do: earn the Green Flag in one year. This Build Week was an opportunity to make significant progress toward that goal.

Furthermore, at Long-View we believe learning is built on openness, opportunity, connections, depth, and curiosity. We don’t wait for these to find us, but actively seek them out, and Build Week 14 was a perfect time for this. Interacting with professionals and specialists helps us gain perspective, learning about a high-level topic provides novelty and nurtures curiosity, working outside gets us closer to nature, and walking or taking a city bus to a venue brings the realization that the opportunity to learn is all around us.

Field Experiences and Experts Involved in Build Week 14:

  • Westcave Outdoor Discovery Center

  • The Wilkerson Center for Colorado River Education at the LCRA Redbud Center

  • Platinum LEED Certified Austin Public Library Central Library

  • The University of Texas Brackenridge Field Laboratory + Sarah Ortiz, PhD Candidate

  • Whirlpool Cave with Austin Watershed Protection Department

  • Joseph Leahy, Texas Newsroom Statewide Newscaster (NPR)

  • Chris Rusch, director + filmmaker

  • John Fleury, electrical engineer

  • Lee Alexander, architect (A+A Architecture)

  • Kiana Pastrana, Education Director (Keep Austin Beautiful)

  • Lars Helman, HVAC specialist (TEAM Services)

  • Alison Flint, Power Systems Engineer (ERCOT)

 

To see how the action unfolded, take a look at our Build Week 14 Instagram Highlight.

 
 
build weekLisa ZapalacLong-View Micro Schoolbuild week 14