Solid Waste Reductions Around OFE:
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Pop Top Recycling : 2014 - present
We started out collecting pop tops at Earth Day in 2014, but it quickly grew in popularity. Therefore, we decided to make it an ongoing collection throughout the whole school year from then on, including the present.
At the end of the school year, pop tops are taken to Conservit, a scrap metal recycling center in Hagerstown, MD. The school earns $0.50 for aluminum from Conservit.; the most dense part of an aluminum can is in the tab. It's also less messy and requires less space to collect the tabs rather than the enter aluminum can. All proceeds collected from pop tops are donated to the Baltimore, MD, Ronald McDonald House.
http://rmhcbaltimore.org/ways-to-give/wish-list/
At the end of the school year, pop tops are taken to Conservit, a scrap metal recycling center in Hagerstown, MD. The school earns $0.50 for aluminum from Conservit.; the most dense part of an aluminum can is in the tab. It's also less messy and requires less space to collect the tabs rather than the enter aluminum can. All proceeds collected from pop tops are donated to the Baltimore, MD, Ronald McDonald House.
http://rmhcbaltimore.org/ways-to-give/wish-list/
Pop Tops - Earth Day 2016During our Earth Day celebration in 2016, we challenged classes to come to the main hallway to determine the mass of their classroom's collection of pop tops. A weighing station was provided as well as the rates for recycling the aluminum. This was a cool experience for kids to see how much THEIR class earned. (picture to the right is one math class participating in the challenge.
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Ink & Toner cartridge Recycling : 2013 - present
Fifth graders from 2015-16, enjoyed getting to sort and prepare the ink and toner cartridges to send away to Funding Factory for recycling. They packed them with recycled bubble wrap from the original toner packaging and boxed them up. We prepare a shipment one to two times a year.
Every Little bit helps....
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." ~ Margaret Mead
Economic Impacts from Funding Factory:
Green art - ongoing
Being "green" in art class is easy with Mrs. Reahl! She uses wash clothes instead of paper towels; she keeps magazines to be cut and used in collages; construction paper scraps are kept and organized by color tones and used for new projects; reusing foam for printmaking; and old dictionaries that were falling apart were used for backgrounds in onomatopoeia art.
Recycled Valentine Mosaics - winter 2017
From Mrs. Bertrand, 3rd grade teacher:
With the use of google drive, I have been able to move from keeping papers in file folders to being stored digitally. This has given me an abundance of manilla folders that have been sitting on my shelf for over a year. I decided to use those to make heart flip cards for students to make their parent's a Valentine. We decorated the front of the heart by using old magazines and making a mosaic. Below you will see the students working on their projects. (Feb. 2106)
With the use of google drive, I have been able to move from keeping papers in file folders to being stored digitally. This has given me an abundance of manilla folders that have been sitting on my shelf for over a year. I decided to use those to make heart flip cards for students to make their parent's a Valentine. We decorated the front of the heart by using old magazines and making a mosaic. Below you will see the students working on their projects. (Feb. 2106)
Morning Warm-ups: fall 2016 - present
Before
Since the beginning of this school year and years past, students were required to complete the Jumpstart each morning. They did so - reluctantly. Students were not engaged much. Students did not seem to care if they had completed the work or not, or if they were working on them, the work was done quickly and without much thought.
"We have increased student engagement and decreased paper usage - it’s a win-win!" |
After
In December, the Intermediate Academy (3rd and 4th grade) stopped printing Jumpstart activities for students and instead, students were warming up each morning using their IPads with apps - Door 24+ and Stride. Both of these programs match content with student abilities and needs. Engagement is higher now than with pencil paper tasks.
Students have said that they like these morning warm ups because:
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Digital Communication
Social media and emails allows staff to commuicate quickly and share what's happening at OFE with less papers going home to families. Our technology iniative with 1:1 iPads in the classroom for grade 3-5 signifcantly has cut down on the amount of photo copying we do for classroom activities too.
Pictured below are a few examples of our social media sites and emails.
Pictured below are a few examples of our social media sites and emails.
Waste-Free Wednesdays : ongoing
Waste-free Wednesday has been evolving ever since we became a Maryland Green School in 2012. It started to loose some popularity among students until this year it was really been revived! Instead of students showing their lunches to the cafeteria staff, the fifth grade class of 2016-17, wanted to get involved. The theme of our current school year has revolved around superheroes. Therefore what better way to show off our Waste-free Wednesday helpers , but for them to wear a GREEN SUPERHERO CAPE!
Student, Green Heroes & Heroines , volunteer to help check lunches during all 3 lunch shifts (two grade per shift), even giving up part of their recess time to help check for lunches that are using reusable containers. When the Green Heroes come around the cafeteria, they give out a recycling stamp on the student's hand to signify that student participated in this week's Waste-free Wednesday.
(Pictured below are the March 2017 Green Heroines in actions!)
Student, Green Heroes & Heroines , volunteer to help check lunches during all 3 lunch shifts (two grade per shift), even giving up part of their recess time to help check for lunches that are using reusable containers. When the Green Heroes come around the cafeteria, they give out a recycling stamp on the student's hand to signify that student participated in this week's Waste-free Wednesday.
(Pictured below are the March 2017 Green Heroines in actions!)
Alternatives to paper
At OFE students of all grade levels love writing with dry erase markers! This reusable surface allows us to write without using paper. Primary grades like k-2 also love using the table surfaces to write on with dry erase markers, it wipe clean with a cloth, or as many classes use, a clean pair of old socks. This allows students to enjoy practicing "Fundations skills" and saves paper! The use of iPads (any subject) and manipulatives in math classes, allow us to be engaged in learning without using unnecessary paper.
Dry erase markers, permanent markers, highlighters, washable markers, markers of any brand have been collected since OFE and recycled through Crayola. This year we have the markers on display to watch the amount grow and we will ship them at the end of the school year. Students love to drop them off to the recycling area.
Dry erase markers, permanent markers, highlighters, washable markers, markers of any brand have been collected since OFE and recycled through Crayola. This year we have the markers on display to watch the amount grow and we will ship them at the end of the school year. Students love to drop them off to the recycling area.