Small Group of Upper School Students Leads Big Projects

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Members of the Upper School Environmental Club like to think big.

And they like a competition.

Recently they launched a school-wide drive to collect one million aluminum pop tabs for Ronald McDonald House in Greenville.

The 20-year-old Grove Road facility redeems the aluminum tabs for $.25 - $.60 per pound. Ronald McDonald House volunteer coordinator Debi Warren explained during assembly on November 16 that with approximately 1,000 tabs equaling a pound, a million tabs are worth $250 - $600, funds that Ronald McDonald House will use to expand its facilities.

Lower School Either Drinks the Most Soda—or They’re the Best Recyclers!

In the drive’s first week, the Lower School won first place for collecting 6.3 pounds—about 6,300 tabs! In second place, the Upper School’s 2.4 pounds narrowly edged out the third-place Middle School’s 2.1 pounds collected.

“We collected about 10,800 tabs in just one week!” noted Environmental Club sponsor Paulette Unger. (“At this rate,” she added, “it should only take us about two years to reach a million tabs.”)

Organizations that reach the one million tab mark are listed on a plaque at the House, which provides very low-cost, temporary housing for families of children who are being treated at any one of five area hospitals.

Making a Big Statement Through Recycling

To encourage recycling, the club also launched a competition challenging each Upper School class to create a recycling project with impact.

The freshmen went all out. They won the design contest with their wooden wall hanging covered with gleaming pop tops and aluminum cans in the shape of the school’s 50th anniversary logo. “They put a great deal of work into it,” said Mrs. Unger.

Second place went to the juniors for their coffee table constructed from cardboard and magazines. (Just don’t load it with too many heavy coffee-table books—and don’t expect to hand it down to your grandchildren!)

The sophomores employed a “treasures from trash” aesthetic with their recycled-magazine vase filled with bold aluminum-can flowers (just right for display on the juniors’ table).

The seniors took last place for their simple but bold peace sign built from aluminum cans and wire.

The projects were designed for fun, to create awareness of the consumer waste we generate, and as an experiment in “green crafts.”