Dunkirk James Roberts, teacher, Westlawn Elementary School I teach the Life-skills class at Westlawn Elementary School in Dunkirk. This was a new program that was implemented by the Jay School Corporation two years ago. I currently have 10 students enrolled in this program in grades K-5. I started our recycling program during the 2007-2008 school year. There were several reasons why I believed this program was very important to start and maintain for the past two years. One reason was to help protect our environment and to save trees. Another reason was that this recycling program provided a way in which my students had an opportunity to interact with other students here at Westlawn. It also provided my students an opportunity to give something back to their school community. A fourth reason was that this program generated funds for our school. The money received for our recycling efforts is placed in the Student Council Fund. Then, this money is used to support various school activities (i.e., field trips, etc.) that may receive little, if any, funding. These reasons still hold true today. When I first started teaching here at Westlawn, I discovered that cardboard, paper, cans, etc. were being thrown away into the regular trash containers. So, I talked with Jeff Davis, our school principal, about having my students start a recycling program. I explained how this would be beneficial for my students as well as our school. Mr. Davis agreed it would help students become responsible citizens, as well as help our environment and school. The first year, my students and I wrote a letter to every teacher explaining our recycling program. My students also made recycling boxes for each classroom. We started out with one large container (10 yards) to place our recyclables in. We recycled only once a week and had about half the school involved. Our recycling program has expanded since then. This past year we have every classroom involved. We now have two large containers and fill them up every month. My students recycle the kitchen items (boxes, cans) every day. We collect recycling for the whole school every Wednesday and Friday. Roger Johns, our school custodian, also continues to recycle for us during the summer months. This is fantastic! Our plans for the future are to continue our recycling program here at Westlawn and to encourage others to recycle at home and at work. My students take their recycling job very seriously, and they have fun while doing it. Since starting this program, it has helped my students tremendously. Just recently, Jay School Corporation implemented the “Character Counts!” program. This program emphasizes six pillars of traits (Caring, Trustworthiness, Respect, Fairness, Responsibility and Citizenship). The Life-skills class and the Student Council were chosen to represent Westlawn at a special ceremony concerning this program that was held at the Jay County High School on February 22. The Life-skills class was acknowledged for their dedicated service to their school community. This was quite an honor for my students and their families.

Click photos for larger versions Westlawn Elementary Westlawn Elementary Westlawn Elementary Westlawn Elementary   Is your school already participating in green activities? We want to know about it. Please contact Lynelle Miller at lamiller@doe.in.gov to pass on your innovative classroom and project ideas as well as share photos.