Recycling station in the Wren Cafe

   

 

  Christian Smith

  Christian's garden

January 2012- The club used clear plastic tubes with removable caps on either end that were donated from a company. The Club name, school year, and the message to “Recycle This Year” was typed on a label and placed on the tubes. These were sold in the school store for $0.25. Students were seen around the school using them as supply holders, lunch money “banks”, math manipulative containers, etc. At home, parents used them to hold box tops, change in the car, and screws and bolts just to name a few examples.

Feb.-March 2012- Students made tablets from cereal boxes, mac n cheese boxes, Soda 12 pack containers, and other fun environmental print by stapling recycled notebook paper in them. Discarded and worn down crayons were hot glued around collected aluminum soup and bean cans and adorned with a ribbon on top. The tablets and crayon pencil/pen holder cans were sold in the store for a small fee.

April-May 2012- Students purchased aluminum can earrings in the school store for $1.00 that were donated by a student who made them.

August 2012-Club members made paper bead bracelets using old magazines. A parent volunteer demonstrated how to do this and helped the group. These were given as gifts and not sold in the store.

*The money collected in the school store is used to buy supplies for certain crafts and resources, books, and videos that the club uses for educational purposes.

*The club hopes to buy pencils made from recycled money, newspaper, and plastic to be sold in the store for a profit.

*Total collected and receipted was $49.81 school year 2011-2012.

  School Store where recycled items are sold

1.    What students LEARNED and how.. During this year’s project, students learned the value of a dollar and how creativity and labor play a valuable role in that process. Club members worked cooperatively to implement their creativity with items that could be reused or recycled. They researched how others in our state and country have started businesses and made extra money selling items they have upcycled from items that once were discarded. Students created posters to hang in the hallways and commercials to present on the live morning news show. This taught them the value of advertising in order to successfully sell their product.  

2.    What students ACCOMPLISHED (and how you measured results) Club members invented and/or created products that the Wren students were interested in buying in the school store. The money earned was used to buy supplies for club projects and educational resources. The students were involved in the process of deciding what would be purchased with the funds they had earned. The club made portable TIC TAC TOE game boards to be used during Spring Break and times while traveling. A tic tac toe board was drawn on a 9x13 clasp envelope with 5 bottle caps and 5 aluminum pop tabs included inside. The caps and tabs were reused as the Xs and Os game pieces. 77 games were made and sold in the school store for $0.25 each. Several teachers bought the games and placed them in centers in their classrooms to be played in class as a rainy day activity. During Valentine’s, club members stuffed Vortex plastic tubes (donated by a company that was going to discard them) with confetti and candy. A label was assembled to the tube titled “Valentine Vortex.” Students bought the tubes in the school store for $0.50 each and even gave them to others instead of making or buying a paper Valentine. Students continue to use these tubes to store their school supplies in their desks.  For Garden day, club members created flowers using Bottle Cap art. The flowers were placed at the entrance of the school in existing flower beds and around the greenhouse in the garden. Summer bookmarks were created using aluminum pop tabs, ribbon, and recycled/discarded library cards from the card catalogue.

   

   Tic Tac Toe commerical skit

  Stuffing Vortex Tubes for Valentines Day

 Valentine Vortex Tube commercial- I "Moustache" you to buy one!!

 

GREEN STEPS GOAL 5-RESTORE: HABITAT 2013

 

Butterfly Garden and observations

 

       

 

     

 

Ladybugs    

2.    What students ACCOMPLISHED (and how you measured results) The Carolina Fence Garden was completed with the help of parent volunteers, students, teachers, and our Watch Dog Dads. This was measured by observing the progress first hand and keeping a picture journal to showcase the progress. Miss Gurley has updated the Garden Club webpage with photos she has taken during the project installation and scheduled school wide Garden Days. The Butterfly Garden was completed with the planting of various butterfly attracting plants. The garden was established 2 years ago and has been a work in progress since then. Students researched the different types of bushes that would attract bees for pollination and butterflies for a nectar source. Garden Club members were able to purchase these plants using funds from their “Bulb” selling/fundraiser during this school year.  Bird watching journals were kept by different grade level students to document the behaviors and eating habits. Students also noted the impact of the season and time that affected the nesting of Wren birds in the provided Carolina Wren birdhouses. Do Not Litter signs were placed throughout the Garden area which supports the efforts of the wREnCYCLE Club to keep school grounds clean and litter free.

3.    What students TAUGHT others and how—During school wide Garden Days, students were taught the importance of working cooperatively and collaboratively to beautify the garden area. Students followed the WREN WAY by showing RESPONSIBILITY for their actions which included taking care of their school. Students understood the importance of taking Pride in their school community.

 

  Science Biome project-paper mache

     CAROLINA SPLIT RAIL FENCE

 

   

                

 
      

  

GREEN STEPS GOAL 6 Protect: Water 2014-2015

 The wREnCYCLE club and Garden Club worked collaboratively to add a rain barrel/rain chain feature to the existing garden. The water that is collected will be used to fill the bird baths and to water the smaller garden beds instead of using water from the hose. Rachel Herold with Anderson Co. Stormwater Partners was a mentor during this project.

                                 

 student hand prints cover the rain barrel                               rain chain made from cut plastic bottles

 

EARTH DAY 2015-At Wren ---Every day is Earth Day!!

                 

 

 first graders picking up litter around the school          kindergarten wall display      Lions Club & Foresters of America sponsor trees for 4th gr.

 

              

  Students use iPads and the Pic Collage app to create Earth day posters.

 

*After this year's Relay for Life, the bags were collected by team members and returned to our school. The wREnCYCLE Club cut each bag apart and assembled them on a "Memory and Honor Wall" display.

 

 

 

 Green Steps Goal 7: Restore Soil-Composting 2015-2016 (began)

ongoing: Students will begin composting food scraps in the school cafeteria. The scraps will be placed in a compost bin in the garden and the soil will be spread in the garden when ready.

 

The wREnCYCLE Club collected over 2,000 plastic grocery bags. The bags will be cut and tied into "plarn" to make a recycled mat.

 Here is an example of the mat!

 

Club members completed a service learning project where they made handprint wreaths to hang in the hospital rooms of children at Shriner's Children's Hospital.

 

         Students created B2 posters to remind drivers to "turn the key and be idle free".

 compost cuties--These girls take the compost buckets each day from the cafeteria and pour the banana peels and apple cores into the compost bin for the earthworms to break down the food waste.

 

The wREnCYCLE Club competed in the 2016 Anderson Soil & Water Conservation Bulletin Board Contest. The topic was "We All Need Trees". 3/22/16

 

             

 

 2016-2017 HIGHLIGHTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           

           

    

Students recycled plastic bottle caps into travel Tic-Tac-Toe boards. These games were sold in the mornings in the school store for $0.25 each. A commercial on the news show inspired students to purchase these games for Spring Break travels!

   

           

            

           

Spotlight!   While in Guatemala, Mrs. Wagher and her family served with a mission team to build houses for families in local villages. She gave the little boy, front/center, a "Go Green" reusable bag. He was so excited to have this new bag. (It's almost as big as he is!)