The third and fourth grade members of the “Waste Watchers” project, which began in 2009 with a mini-grant from KIDS, worked in teams to decrease waste in their school and community.
A new team this year will partner with high school students to introduce a “Re-Cycles” program, encouraging students to donate their used bikes for a better fit. The 2009 Composting Team will continue to help the school go green by working in teams to save water, paper, plastics, fuel and composting.
Students have installed gutters on the school shed to divert water into rain barrels, purchased reusable sporks for school meals and snacks, and have installed light motion sensors in the school bathrooms to decrease electricity.
Community partners at New England Rain Barrel helped the class sell rain barrels and compost bins to support a fund raising event for the school. Other partners that helped guide them through the project were Conservation Law Foundation, Boston Recycling Center and Carolina Hill Family Homeless Shelter. Students also organized a super salad celebration that brought community citizens together.
The students produced a video in 2009 for a contest sponsored by IC Bus. They titled the video, “Ride with Pride” and on-line votes determined their submission the winner. South Shore Public Charter School was named America’s Greenest School. The students learned that after winning this distinction for their school, they would receive a very big prize – a new hybrid school bus! The bus was delivered at a special event this April.
During math class, students created a line graph to record daily votes during the contest. They measured the shed to determine gutter installations. Incorporating language arts, students wrote letters to Congressman Delahunt, Senator Kerry and their local media. Throughout the project, technology skills were enhanced with internet research, e-mail communication, and creating their award winning video, Ride with Pride. The project rounded out their curriculum by including, music, art, physical education and health.