For the fourth straight year, Shady Side Academy Middle School students devoted an entire school day to service learning at Global Action Conference Day, held on Friday, Dec. 9. Approximately 210 students in grades 6-8 spent the day learning about complex social issues and engaging in hands-on service activities.

The theme of this year's Global Action Conference Day was sustainability. The day kicked off with a keynote presentation by Gianna Fazioli, director of SSA Farms, and then students broke into grade-level groups to explore a specific sub-theme related to sustainability.

Sixth graders learned about waste and its impact on our environment. After watching an educational video, they made PSA posters to raise awareness about the three Rs – reducing, reusing and recycling – and created a mural out of bottle caps spelling out SSA's Guiding Principles. Israeli artist Telma Schulz then spoke to students about the environmental impact of plastics and led them in creating artwork using recycled plastic bags. Shultz is the associate curator of the Feinstein Recycling Room at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, and her visit was made possible by Classrooms Without Borders.

Seventh graders learned about native pollinators and their importance to a sustainable ecosystem. After watching the documentary Vanishing of the Bees, students created seed balls using seeds of plants that attract native pollinators, and scouted locations on campus where they will plant them in the spring. SSA ninth grader Parker Maivald gave a presentation on native pollinators, and beekeeper Christina Neumann of Apoidea Apiary spoke about the important role of honeybees in our ecosystem and brought honey for students to taste.

Eighth graders focused on food insecurity and learned about the economic and physical barriers that can prevent access to fresh, nutritious food. Working in small groups, students were given a family scenario and asked to plan a menu for a day's meals based on their family's dietary needs and budget. Students then went shopping for their family (using donated funds) at Giant Eagle in Waterworks, where they received a tour from a dietician. Back at school, students heard from Jennifer England of 412 Food Rescue about her organization's work repurposing food in the Pittsburgh community. The food that the students purchased at Giant Eagle was donated to 412 Food Rescue.

The goal of Global Action Conference Day is to raise awareness and educate students about key issues while empowering them to impact change in their local community. The annual service day is organized by social studies teacher Molly Braver '94 in cooperation with school head Amy Nixon and the entire Middle School faculty.

View a photo slideshow from the entire day.