PARTNERSHIP AND PROGRAMS
Cardiff Education Foundation - CEFSurfing has taken Rob all around the world, however Southern California will always be his home, and through RMF Rob has found a way to give back to his community.In 2009 RMF was proud to further support the Cardiff Schools Education Association – “Cardiff SEA” with a $15,000.00 donation to further our educational collaborative for the Cardiff schools. "Enriching our children, schools, and community." Mission: "Uniting Cardiff parents, staff, and community to support and enrich educational excellence for the whole child."  Projects Environmental "themes" in progress include: |
Reduce, Reuse, RecycleThe school lunch program was revamped to reduce the environmental impact by focusing on two key areas: using more environmentally friendly consumables and creating a recycling program. Compostable lunch trays replaced styrofoam, which stays in landfills for thousands of years. Students use far fewer plastic utensils and wrappers. Straws were eliminated because they can choke wildlife. Finally, a recycling cart was created and kids, teachers, and staff were trained on how and what to recycle. "We went from fourteen 50-gallon trash cans down to only four lunchtime cans at Cardiff Elementary and Ada Harris schools,” said Jessica Toth, a parent who coordinated the project. "The kids were really excited to make such a big impact". With the cafeteria program, the two schools now send over 50% less lunchtime and snack-time waste to the landfill, over 300 gallons less each day.[Cardiff students describe the cafeteria recycling process to Rob] Photo: MJ Schumann A second “reduce, reuse, recycle” project tackled single-use plastic water bottles, millions of which go to landfills each day. Subsidized by the Rob Machado Foundation, reusable stainless steel water bottles were made available to students and staff at a significant discount, allowing educational discussions and awareness about the heavy environmental impact of single-use plastic bottles. “The stainless steel water bottle was a great place for our family to start”, said parent Nancy Fraser.” “It created the momentum for us to reduce in other ways as well. We started packing lunches with as little trash as possible, using reusable containers as opposed to Ziploc bags, cloth napkins rather than paper, and metal utensils instead of plastic.” |
Organic Gardening and FarmingDuring the 2008-2009 school year, organic gardening and farming was a major theme at Cardiff Elementary School. Prior to the Machado Foundation involvement, Cardiff School had a single garden location that was past its prime.With Rob’s support, Cardiff School was able to purchase individual garden planter boxes (made from recycled materials of course!), and place them next to each classroom, to make it easier for teachers to incorporate gardening into the school day. Additionally, teachers received training and grade-specific gardening curriculum. Students get to practice their writing, math, science, and other important skills in a fun, hands-on setting. [Room 6’s garden box, adjacent to their classroom] Photo: Carolyn Whitehouse Cardiff School was also able to update the main garden site, including new equipment, irrigation system, and signage. This area was used for a “school-to-restaurant” pilot program, developed with Rimel's Rotisserie, a new Cardiff restaurant. Cardiff students researched a list of produce used by the restaurant and chose what to grow. The kids nurtured their crops over several months, then harvested lettuce, carrots, radishes, and edible flowers. Finally, they transported and sold their produce to Rimel’s owners, who featured the items in their weekend menu! Two classes participated last year and the program is planned to continue in the coming year. [Cardiff students harvesting lettuce to sell to Rimel’s] Photo: Mark Whitehouse Additionally, because of the garden upgrades, the National Wildlife Federation approved Cardiff Elementary School as a Certified Wildlife Habitat and the new gardens were part of the Encinitas Garden Tour this past April. |
Ocean Environmental AwarenessThe Rob Machado Foundation also sponsored Ocean Week and Ocean Night at Cardiff Elementary School in March 2009.Ocean Week creates an exciting atmosphere school-wide and serves as the centerpiece for ocean and environmental studies. That week, Cardiff Elementary School is immersed in learning about the ocean – through reading, art, science projects, field trips, and much more. Environmental topics are woven throughout the experience. The Rob Machado Foundation made the program possible by supporting science kits for classrooms, field trip costs, supplies, a school wide assembly, and new ocean-related classroom books and manuals. [Studying crayfish during Ocean Week] Photo: Billy Stern Ocean Night, which caps Ocean Week, involves families in the learning. Several local environmental organizations participated. Highlights included:
Photo: Britta Brewer Cardiff schools are very appreciative of Rob’s support and looking forward to future environmental projects. ”Rob Machado has helped us teach students through hands on learning that science, math and helping the environment go hand in hand,” said Tom Pellegrino, Cardiff School District Superintendent. “Through gardening, students have learned that hard work, mathematics and patience produce amazing results!” |
Ada HarrisMusic has always been a passion of Rob’s and he has supported Guitars in the Classroom and Music Boosters, the organization that assists with facilitation of the Band Program in Ada Harris to ensure that kids have the equipment needed to channel their inner Rock Star!The Ada Harris Band Program is open to all 4th-6th graders. The Band Program includes 50-55 students, which accounts for roughly 20% of the student body from those grade levels. The Program includes beginning band students along with those who are returning band members in the advanced band. All students participate in sectional coaching in addition to rehearsal time with the entire band on a weekly basis. Throughout the year, both bands perform during various school-wide assemblies as well as at the Annual Ice Cream Social held at Cardiff Elementary School. Furthermore, the students have two evening concerts, where they showcase their musical prowess. The whole band experience is deeply enriching and gratifying for the students. |
