Jun. 27, 2018
Le Roi Daniels School has won $1,000 thanks to their efforts in a recent plastic bag grab challenge.
Grade 3 teacher Kaitlin Weintz is passionate about environmental education and waste in the world and led the school through this recycling initiative for Earth Week. The school is one of only 11 across the country to win a grand prize for community engagement, receiving the $1,000 to put towards an environmental initiative within the school or community. Schools compete for three prizes within their province, and Le Roi Daniels won the Alberta grand prize.
According to the challenge’s website, "The Plastic Bag Grab Challenge is a waste reduction program for elementary schools across Canada that engages schools and students on the 3Rs hierarchy: reduce, reuse, and recycle. The challenge, which can be integrated into educational curriculum, is open to all Canadian students from junior-kindergarten to Grade 8."
Le Roi Daniels was one of 635 schools and 210,000 students across Canada to participate in collecting over 1,903,193 plastic shopping bags to be safely recycled. The school community focused on the 3 R's, specifically the reduce and reuse initiatives. They then challenged students to think of ways to reduce their personal plastic footprints.
The school collected over 5,000 plastic bags with the help of staff, students and families. Teachers integrated this into the curriculum for the month of April, and students became thoughtful of ways to take better care of the environment. The school’s K-3 students became passionate leaders about recycling and reducing their plastic footprints. Students came up with a creative idea on how to better manage the school’s reusable paper scraps and became more conscious about whether their waste belonged in garbage or recycling bins.
Students engaged their families and communities, and collected plastic bags with their families and neighbors. Many parents took the challenge to their places of work as well.
Congratulations, Le Roi Daniels School!
