In the Classroom - and Beyond

A semester of Earth Science and a year of Geography and Global Issues are required of all seventh graders. Geography and Global Issues centers on the study of physical and human geography and how they relate to past and current global issues. The different fields of human geography — population, political, urban and economic geography fields — are stressed and provide tools for examining current issues. Students learn the basic methods geographers use to study the world, including the five themes of geography, and then explore the role of geography in creating civilization. With this strong foundation, students begin to study the history of different regions of the world, mainly non-western.

Two options for seniors offer deep dives into the topic of sustainability. In Advanced Placement Environmental Science, students cultivate their understanding of the interrelationships of the natural world through inquiry-based lab investigations and field work as they explore concepts including energy transfer, interactions between earth systems, interactions between different species and the environment, and sustainability. Urban Issues and Design uses the St. Louis metropolitan area in an examination of poverty, crime, homelessness, education, economic development, transportation, pollution, and revitalization efforts. Students explore these issues, their causes, and how they are being addressed in the St. Louis area. Students learn how the modern American city came to be, the current trends in urban design, and how urban design can either exacerbate or mitigate the problems afflicting cities.

The sophomore Diversity Seminar seeks to introduce students to many facets of the development of human identity, including what it means to be a responsible global citizen in the 21st century.

Basic Gardening creates a model of local and decentralized food production: This course introduces beginning gardening — sowing, maintaining and harvesting crops. Students learn about seasonal and regional crops, how to compost and the pros and cons of organic gardening. Students also learn how to start seedlings, preserve foods and study horticulture. The raised beds for this class were built by students in the Industrial Technology & Engineering Department.

Industrial Technology & Engineering courses offer segments in sustainable architectural design; reuse materials in many projects; and builds furniture and equipment for the school, including bluebird houses for the campus, tables for the dining room, benches for our art galleries, the raised beds for the gardening class and a mantel for the fireplace in our student Commons.

 

Our Outdoor Education Program seeks to foster a deep appreciation and understanding of the natural world. It includes 7th-grade orientation at Drey Land; the Expedition Program (backpacking, hiking, canoeing, spelunking, climbing, biking and other weekend adventures to state parks and nearby wilderness areas); white water paddling and technical tree climbing instruction; and trailblazing.

Students for Sustainable Change Organization provides support and strategies to individuals who want to take immediate and direct action to make lasting and positive changes to improve the quality of the environment of the school and local community. Activities include school-wide recycling and composting, presenting a wide range of sustainability-related programs to the school, field trips to sites of interest, petition-signing, carpooling and bike-to-work days. Initiatives are constantly evolving.

KIVA is one of almost 200 field partners that lend small amounts of money to entrepreneurs in developing countries via the Internet.

The Montgomery Plan, the school's community service program, organizes student volunteers who regularly weatherstrip low-income residences, clean up the Mississippi riverfront, work in inner-city gardens, organize drives to serve the needy and provide support at functions sponsored by SLARC, the Special Olympics and an area nursing home, to name a few.

Global Youth Leadership is a national program that nurtures collaborative leadership for global communities and assists schools in their missions to inspire socially responsible young people.

St. Louis World Food Day is hosted annually on the Burroughs campus. In a single day, more than 1000 community volunteers package more than 250,000 rice/soy protein meals to benefit hungry children locally and abroad.

The Super Mileage Vehicle Club builds a car to compete in the annual State Super Mileage Vehicle Competition, using bio-diesel fuel and achieving more than 150 mpg. In recent years, the team has also competed in the Shell Eco Marathon with a car that has demonstrated 519 mpg and is 90 percent recyclable or reusable.

Since the fall of 2009, JBS has been recycling its cafeteria waste oil into biodiesel fuel used by the plant operations department to power lawn mowers and its tractor. The student-designed and student-built super mileage vehicle also runs on biodiesel fuel and has achieved more than 18O mpg during the annual statewide competition. Biodiesel fuel is cheaper, carbon-neutral and cleaner burning than petroleum diesel, and the school has eliminated the need for waste oil disposal. The biodiesel processing facility in the STAR building allows teachers to incorporate an educational-scale production process into chemistry classes.

Burroughs built and hosts three bee colonies on the north side of campus. Honey has been harvested since 2010 and our English and science classes take "on campus" field trips to the apiary. Burroughs' honey took fifth place in the summer 2013 Missouri State Fair competition.

An herb garden was designed and installed on the south side of campus in 2010. The garden features three dozen herbs, including five types of basil, three thymes and four edible flowers and three apple espaliers. SAGE, our independent food service, harvests the garden for both our lunch program and special events.