Checkpoint: Reusing magazines and newspapers

Reusing magazines and newspapers is not a new idea for South Arbor's Kindergarten teachers.  They've been doing it for years!  

Not only are magazines and newspapers used to contain artistic enthusiasm (aka paint spills), but they also provide a hands-on way for children to experience letters, shapes, and numbers; while fine tuning their motors skills along the way.

For example, one activity requires the students to find and cut out all the letters in their name.

Another activity asks them to find and cut out examples of certain shapes.

When making an alphabet journal, students find and cut out items that begin with each letter of the alphabet.

When a Kindergarten teacher asks for donations of old magazines and newspapers, you can be sure they are put to good use!


Career Awareness Bonus (jobs related to this post): kindergarten teacher, mixed media artist, magazine editor, newspaper editor, journalist, free-lance writer, photographer

Update to the PTO, December 13, 2012

Just what is that Green Team up to these days?

1)  Mrs. Morad and her enthusiastic team of students have been sorting and boxing the MANY foil-lined snack packaging that is being collected in the TerraCycle boxes during the lunch periods.

2) The Primary Hall won the bottle cap collection in a dramatic upset over the highly-favored Intermediate Hall.  The Green Team students will be fashioning a wall mural with all the caps.

3) The Girl Scouts are planning for a raised garden bed.  Their planning includes site location, budget items, planting specifics, and bed construction.  You go, girls!

4) Have you seen the many green-themed signs popping up around the school?

Thanks, Green Team, for raising awareness.  Because knowing is half the battle.

5) Get excited, because the Green Team is organizing a Cell Phone Recycle Event!  Is your family planning to upgrade your telecommunications this holiday?  Don't toss that old cell phone.  Recycle it during morning or afternoon traffic on Thursday January 17 and Friday January 18.  The phones will be donated to Cell Phones For Soldiers and will result in calling cards for soldiers to call home.  What a cause!  And don't fret, this reputable charity erases all sensitive information.

6) As the holiday parties pop up and teachers ask for donations of food and supplies, consider making a small change to reduce the holiday trash.  The biggest culprits for party trash are individually packaged snacks and disposable tableware.  Consider volunteering to bring a class set of cups, or a tray of cut fruit.  You will be amazed at how much little differences can make and I've found teachers are open to wise suggestions.

Students speak: TerraCycling and Bottle Cap Collection

From the written contributions of 8th graders Sam, Pavitra, and Sarah:

In order to conserve materials and aide the environment, our school has undergone a system of terra-cycling.  We have implemented a number of systems.  

One of these is the bottle cap collection, in which students compete to recycle the most bottle caps for their hallway. 

This effort has yielded over a thousand bottle caps, and these will be used to create a mural for the school halls.

photo by Abi, 3rd grade

At lunch, students are encouraged to recycle their chip bags, candy wrappers, and other foil-lined bags.  

Each day, this system produces two boxes of materials that would have otherwise gone to the landfill.  At the end of each week, our school ships these materials to the TerraCycling program to be made into other goods, such as backpacks.

As you can see, this will accumulate a massive amount of waste over the school year.  Our school is quite involved in the process and we hope it will aid the world in its struggle for good.



The Green Team is delighted with the enthusiasm the students are showing for these responsible green efforts.  One first grader handed me this the other day.

Finally, congratulations to the Primary Hall who won the bottle cap competition in a dramatic upset over the highly-favored Intermediate Hall.  The Green Team students will be planning and constructing a mural with these bottle caps in the coming weeks.

Career Awareness Bonus (jobs related to this post): packaging engineer/designer, recycle center manager, mixed media artist, 8th grade teacher