Greening Our Schools Part 2

At the start of the school year last September, my son Myles' third grade teacher Ms. Reilly was guiding the class through the process of compiling the class room rules. My son excitedly raised his hand and offered this rule to the group - "Go Green!" Since the class was unclear about how to proceed, they developed this program that is now being rolled out throughout the school:

There are many ways classrooms can go Green. In Ms. Reilly’s third grade class:
1. The morning message is written on the chalkboard instead of paper
2. Students think about what they are throwing out before they do it: Does it really need to be thrown out? Can it be recycled or reused in any way?
3. Two sides of paper are used whenever possible
4. Lights are turned out whenever they leave the room and things are turned off when not in use: for example, fans and computers
5. Parties are not super-waste creators: for example, only one napkin per student
6. They do not throw out their plastic bottles and cans from snack and lunch; since the school does not have recycling, parents chip in to bring them to the recycling center
7. Hand washing involves the minimum amount of water, soap, and paper towels
8. They have a Green Conservationist (just like a Line Leader, Paper Passer, etc) whose job it is to assist the teacher in making sure:
* Waste items go into the right place: garbage or recycling
* Two sides of paper are used
* Lights are turned out when not needed or no one is in the room
* Things are turned off when not in use: for example, fans and computers
* At parties classmates only use as many napkins, etc as they really need
* Only a small amount of water, one push of soap and one paper towel is used when classmates wash their hands
* Provide Green ideas to the teacher and classmates