Knightly News

Fall means cooler weather, changing colors, and in Lower School, the arrival of the monarch caterpillars!

At their Garden Party each August, Pre-K families bring in milkweed plants to attract butterflies to the garden. Within weeks, students begin to observe tiny white dots on the leaves. What could they be? Next, students notice bite marks on the plants. What could be eating the milkweed? Finally, the hungry caterpillars are crawling all over the garden. Shrieks of joy erupt as students find the delicate chrysalises hanging on their plants, on their toys, and even on their boots. They watch week after week, patiently waiting, until one day, a majestic monarch butterfly emerges. This is the type of organic understanding that happens through Project Based Learning.

This year, second and fourth grade buddies are participating in the Journey North Symbolic Monarch Migration.  Every fall, millions of monarch butterflies migrate from Canada and the eastern half of the United States to Mexico in search of a warmer climate. At the same time, thousands of children from Canada and the United States create paper monarchs and send them to Mexico, the same place where the real monarchs go to roost for the winter months.  Episcopal is just one of many schools across North America participating in the project this year. 

Students worked in their Spanish classes to create butterflies with messages of peace, written in both Spanish and English. Children in Mexico will receive the paper monarchs and take care of them over the winter. In the spring, the Mexican school children will mail paper monarchs back to all of the children from the US and Canada that participated in the fall, symbolizing the return of the monarchs to the northern countries. 

The project motivates students to learn about the monarch life cycle and how to protect monarchs. Students may also study other insects and animals that migrate each year.  Children learn the importance of maintaining milkweed gardens and nectaring plants along the migration route so that monarchs will have the energy to survive the long journey to Mexico each year.

As we enter the final week of October, the last of the monarch butterflies will leave the Episcopal gardens to begin their migration to Mexico. Students will be eagerly anticipating the return of the butterflies in the spring, both in the mail and in the gardens. This cross-curricular project engages learners across the country and internationally, as they work together to protect this endangered species.

Julie Mendes, a 2001 graduate of Episcopal, moved into the role of Director of Early Childhood Programs in 2020 after teaching PreK-4 since 2012. She received both her undergraduate degree and MEd in elementary education at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. After teaching second grade in a Dual Language program in Texas public schools for three years, Julie moved abroad to teach first grade at a bilingual school in Gracias, Lempira Honduras. In her role as Director of Early Childhood Programs, Julie provides leadership and support for early childhood students and teachers.

The Episcopal School of Baton Rouge 2024-2025 application is now available! ​For more information on the application process, to schedule a tour, or learn more about the private school, contact us at [email protected] or 225-755-2685.