December 19, 2008We're dreaming of a Green Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa in Wolf Country! The five TCHS core Service Learning Classes and Service Learning Council created a holiday service learning project to teach the importance of recycling and saving planet Earth.
The students used recycled materials to create sparking holiday ornaments. They turned soda cans, plastic water bottles, and burned out light bulbs into works of art. The Green Team, under the direction of Service Learning teachers Michael Robbins and Michelle Nason, helped collect hundreds of water bottles and cans, which students rinsed in preparation for the project. The students brought in burned out light bulbs, soda can tab tops, and additional cans and bottles.
Students asked parents to replace the old fashioned light bulbs with the new energy saving bulbs and made ornaments from the old ones. Installing only 6 compact fluorescent light bulbs will save the average American family $60 per year according to the Sierra Club.
Mrs. D. said she loved the project because she is an artist and former art teacher and was able to infuse some artistic creativity into the classes. VPS student, Crystal Mitchell taught Mrs. D. and the students how to transform soda cans into ornaments with a little careful cutting and some curling. Mrs. D. taught students how to paint and cut water bottles to create some amazing ornaments that look like colorful ribbons. Burned out light bulbs were painted and wire was attached to hang them for one-of-a-kind original ornaments. Students tuned Styrofoam plates into doves, and linked soda can tabs into garlands.
Mrs. D. said she loved the project because she is an artist and former art teacher and was able to infuse some artistic creativity into the classes. VPS student, Crystal Mitchell taught Mrs. D. and the students how to transform soda cans into ornaments with a little careful cutting and some curling. Mrs. D. taught students how to paint and cut water bottles to create some amazing ornaments that look like colorful ribbons. Burned out light bulbs were painted and wire was attached to hang them for one-of-a-kind original ornaments. Students tuned Styrofoam plates into doves, and linked soda can tabs into garlands.
On Green Holiday Day we set up tables in the courtyard to teach students and staff how to make ornaments from recycled materials. Each station was managed by service learning students in Santa hats who taught the steps of turning trash into treasure. Students and staff were able to create an ornament for their own holiday celebration.
One table that attracted students and teachers was dedicated to the academy's partner, Green America (formerly Co-op America). On the table were books and magazines from the non-profit that promotes the greening of America. Also, at the table was a display telling how to have a green Christmas using LED lights, buying living Christmas trees that can later be planted, recycling any real Christmas trees for mulch. Each year, 10 million Christmas trees end up in the landfill. Be green and recycle your tree. Many cities offer programs to turn your tree to mulch or wood chips. Call (800) CLEANUP or visit www.earth911.org to find the tree-recycling program near you. We also offered creative green gift ideas from the Green Pages and Green America web site, and other green hints.
The gift wrapping display taught how to create beautiful gift wrap from brown paper bags. Presents can also be wrapped in comics, bandannas, and dish towels. The Sierra Club says, "If every family wrapped just three gifts this way, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields." What to tie your presents with? Use old VHS tape curled with scissors for ribbon and ties. Need tags? Make them from recycled Christmas cards.
The trees in the courtyard were decorated by student-elves in the morning. The holiday mood was set by Philip Mahoney, a gifted TCHS student who played piano and saxophone with Mrs. D's husband who played guitar and sang. TCHS American Sign Language student-carolers also performed signing to three Christmas songs.
The response to our Green Holiday service-learning project was overwhelmingly positive. Looks like it was a big hit and will become an annual holiday tradition in Wolf Country!
Preparation took several weeks. Brittany hold up an ornament she made from a soda can.
The Service Learning classroom was turned into Santa's workshop. In the background, John hangs the plastic ornaments made from water bottles so the glitter can dry. The students worked in a production line fashion with some sorting and rinsing bottles and cans, some cutting, some painting, some glittering and some serving as quality control.
