This year, the DC Department of General Services (web: http://dgs.dc.gov) was thrilled to recognize 45 DC Public Schools (DCPS) for their recycling achievements. These achievements were spotlighted in a recent press release listing all the DCPS schools that participated in the DCPS Recycles! program; we are excited that some schools have gone a step further by incorporating another one of the 3 R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) into their school sustainability initiatives - REUSE. For this initial blog post, we will spotlight two DCPS schools that are not only teaching their students how and why to recycle, but are promoting the reuse of materials through creative, hands-on projects for their students.
Seaton ES third graders demonstrate their functioning candy dispenser constructed from recyclable water jugs, cardboard boxes, and discarded paper.
Seaton Elementary School, a DCPS school located in the District’s Ward 6, demonstrates how a school can take the 3 R’s to the next level. So, now you are asking yourself, “In what amazing way did Seaton’s faculty, staff, and students help raise the sustainability bar?”
Well, here’s your answer:
DC Department of General Services (DGS) provided Seaton Elementary with recycling bins now located throughout the school, so that students and staff have an option between throwing something away or recycling items instead. The DGS Green Team provided labels for the new bins so students and staff can easily identify what materials can go in each bin to reduce confusion and contamination. Once the bins were set up, school staff created a program that works for their school. Third grade teacher Brittany McAllister leads the charge on the recycling program and created a unique way to implement DGS’ recycling program in her classroom.
1. She organized a team of students that collects recyclables from classrooms around the school every week.
2. To further her student’s understanding of resource conservation, she created a “Reuse Challenge” in which the students reused discarded recyclable materials, such as plastic water bottles, milk cartons, and bulletin board paper, to create new products.
Since starting this recycling program with her students, she has found that the students have started to realize the positive impact they are having to keep the environment healthy, and she noted that the DGS recycling program “has helped build our classroom community, it has given my students the opportunity to give back to our school community, and it has helped my students understand the importance of recycling.”
At DGS, we love seeing and hearing about DCPS faculty and staff members working together to teach students the importance of conserving resources and recycling; an example of this is the creative approach that teachers take in implementing these beneficial activities in their classrooms, like Seaton’s Brittany McAllister.
Another example of a DCPS school that is finding new and exciting ways of implementing the DGS recycling program in their school is Mamie D. Lee School, located in the District’s Ward 5.
At Mamie D. Lee School, the school’s Enrichment Team - Michele Shorter, Michael Williams, and William Ford - teamed up to engage their entire school in a Recycled Robots activity to build upon their established school recycling program, in which teacher Helena Newman manages by organizing and supervising students that empty each classroom’s recycling bins every week. How were they able to engage the whole school in their Recycled Robots activity?
In the implementation of the “Recycled Robots” activity, school staff were asked to collect recyclable items in special classroom bins designated for robot construction material, and together staff and students built their Recycled Robots.
Enrichment Team member Michele Shorter has noted that this project “turned out to be a very enjoyable and valuable lesson for all involved.” Once the “Recycled Robots” activity completed, DCPS and DGS representatives were in attendance for the showcase of Mamie D. Lee’s highly impressive “Recycled Robots.”
Seaton Elementary School and the Mamie D. Lee School demonstrate how lessons on reusing materials can provide fun, hands-on learning activities to further students understanding of resource conservation. Through these lessons faculty, staff and students are repeatedly reminded of the importance of recycling and conserving resources. And through creative implementation methods the activities not only benefit students but the larger DC community as well.