New Horizon Pasadena Launches Peace Garden at Groundbreaking Event



On Friday, May 1, New Horizon School Pasadena will be holding its “Let’s Get the Garden Started!” Groundbreaking event from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. to launch its Peace Garden. Mayor Bill Bogaard, in his final year as mayor of Pasadena, is scheduled to speak at the event. Other members of the Pasadena community will also be in attendance as well as the 200 students of the school, parents, faculty, staff, and Board members of New Horizon. The morning’s schedule consists of a Garden Launch Assembly, Buddy Walk to the Garden, Groundbreaking, and Student-led Tours.

Inspired by the school’s theme, “Growing Peace One Child at a Time,” the seeds of the Peace Garden project were nurtured over the past few years under the school leadership and the NHS Garden Committee working together to establish an outdoor learning space that will cultivate deeper academic learning, spiritual inspiration, interfaith community-building, and improved health.

Specifically, the NHS Peace Garden has four main goals which are further explained in the attached brochure:

• STEM Proficiency (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)
• Environmental Stewardship & Nature Appreciation
• Healthy Communities
• Farm-to-Table

Students and faculty contributed ideas for the garden during the design phase. Specific features that are unique to the Peace Garden include:

• Salam Path (a walkway in the form of the Arabic word for peace)
• Peace-by-Piece Mosaic Wall with peace written in different languages
• Friendship Fountain (with tiles that honor friendships within the community)
• Contemplation Corner (for meditation and prayer)
• Silk Road Herb Garden (connects with 7th Grade World History course)
• Native Plant Garden (teaches students about water conservation)
• Plants from the Qur’an and other holy texts

New Image Landscaping of Pasadena is contracted for the installation over the next few months, and La Loma Development Co. provided the landscape design.

The school is also inviting local artists to contribute ideas for incorporating art into the garden especially for the Salam Path, the Peace Wall, mosaics for the Friendship Fountain, the entryway, etc.

New Horizon School’s Partners

The school’s Farm-to-Table after-school enrichment class works with the Urban Homestead, next-door neighbors of the school, on learning about where their food comes from and the value of using fresh, natural produce for daily meals.

Leigh Adams of the Arboretum is providing consulting for the Salam Path and the garden in general.

Netiyah, under the leadership of Devorah Brous, will be leading garden work days during the school year.

Weizmann Jewish Day School, Peace and Justice Academy, Sinai Akiba Academy, and Sequoyah School are other parochial schools (Jewish and Christian) with whom we have partnerships with students working together on towards growing peace and understanding.

New Horizon School Pasadena, 651 N. Orange Grove Blvd, Pasadena, (626) 795-5186 or visit www.newhorizonschool.org.

About New Horizon Pasadena

Focused on the theme, “Growing Peace One Child at a Time,” New Horizon has integrated the concepts of sustainability, stewardship, and appreciation for nature into the school program. The elementary campus launched a Nature Playground in January 2012 which has been recognized as a Certified Wildlife Habitat through the National Wildlife Federation. In May 2012, Nickelodeon’s Big Help recognized NHS Pasadena for promoting environmental education and volunteerism, and the cast from “How to Rock” worked with middle school students on several garden-based projects. In September 2012, Green Ribbon Schools.org, a reward and recognition program for K-12 students, also recognized New Horizon School among 63 schools in 13 states and Guam for achieving the online community’s highest level of participation during the 2011-2012 school year.

New Horizon School in Pasadena is an independent Islamic school recognized by the U.S. Dept. of Education as a Blue Ribbon School and accredited by both the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). Established in 1984, New Horizon School serves the needs of students from Preschool through 8th grade and is committed to providing students with an excellent academic education with a firm grounding in moral and ethical values. For more information, visit the school’s website at www.newhorizonschool.org.

 

 

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