All of Page Elementary School went dark for one hour – no lights, no technology. During that time, students said they hope they made a difference.
“I think we made a difference – at least a little,” said Avah Lilley, a fifth-grader in Mrs. Schneider’s class. During the lights out hour, students read by flashlights, made Earth Day book marks, and some even went on a scavenger hunt.
Lilley and other Page Student Council members also took time Thursday to pick up trash around the playground.
“It’s (Earth Day) important to help save the Earth and keep it clean and healthy said fifth-grader Emma Bowman.
Students said they learned there are many ways they can do their part at home as well – simple things like turning off lights when you leave a room, turning off the water while you brush your teeth and taking a shorter shower.
“It makes you feel good to be helping keep the Earth healthy,” said Liam Lietz. “It feels like we are doing our part to help.”
“It was a productive and beneficial Earth Day,” said Mrs. Schneider. “I think just by something as simple as turning off all our lights here at Page for an hour can make a difference.”
A group of kindergarten through third grade virtual students also remembered Earth Day. Students headed out to Calvin Hill to clean up around the park. Each student was given TKVS Cares stickers and seed packets to plant at home. They also got to enjoy some much-needed fun time on the playground.
At Lee Elementary, students combined their regular reading lesson with Earth Day activities. After a reading assignment in class, students learned about an organization called “Kids Saving the Rainforest.” “We wanted to help too,” said second-grader Brystal Vos.
Mrs. Thaler’s second-grade students decided to earn “money” in their classroom throughout the week by meeting classroom goals. The goals included being good friends, working hard, being good first-time listeners, and earning good special reports. Each day the students rated their efforts and tallied their progress on a prominently-displayed color graph. Once they met their goal, Mrs. Thaler donated the funds to Kids Saving the Rainforest to sponsor the tree planting.
Students said it was hard to meet the goal, but they were glad they did it. “I feel like we did something important to help,” said Valarie Wahl who especially likes the idea of helping save animals in the rainforest.
“I think it was good because I love animals and I want to help save them all,” said Vos.
Second-grader Lucy Draaisma said they also learned about different ways students can help at home and at school. “You can recycle and put food waste in special food bins. You can just plant trees and flowers.”
Eli Wilkins, a second-grader, said he liked being able to help. “We don’t want the Earth to go extinct! That’s why Earth Day is important.”