The contest was a quickly put together event for the month of February that exploded. The enthusiasm for the competition was huge. The halls were full of plastic for recycling. We asked MOHAWK for a box for each homeroom teacher (15 kindergarten, 14 1^st grade, 13 2^nd grade , special ed and 3 office boxes for a total of 47 boxes) - which were filled very quickly!
     Ms Angie Gravitt and "Beecycle"(the GREEN TV puppet), announced the contest on a GREEN TV segment of BEE TV (CPS’s school wide closed circuit TV program) This segment is on once a week with a GOING GREEN TIP OF THE WEEK.  Trisha McClurd of Mohawk and the Green Quenn, Angie Gravitt, with "Beecycle"
Each homeroom was challenged to fill up their box by the end of the month. If they filled up their box, they earned extra recess time. The first class to fill up their box, got to help load the MOHAWK truck with Mr. Lamar (a very creative incentive on a tight budget!)  Ms. Tricia McClurd from Mohawk also brought key chains made from recyclable green plastic for everyone in that class, as a prize. A video was shown of kids loading the truck the last week of January on GREEN TV so the kids would know what they were working toward.
  We didn’t think we would have a class fill a box by the 2^nd day of the contest – but they did. By mid month, we had 17 boxes full and Mrs. Hamilton’s first place class helped load the Mohawk Green Works trailer and they LOVED IT!!!!!!  
     In honor of Valentine’s Day, we made a HUGE heart near our ‘CPS IS GOING GREEN’ wall that says . . . "CPS Loves the Earth" . . . for every box/bag the students filled, they got their teacher’s name written on a small heart then it is taped on to the larger heart! Some classes filled up their box 3 times so their class had 3 hearts!!!!!!!!!!!
     Kids were bringing in huge bags of plastic daily, and even the very tiny children were dragging them in from car drop off in the morning.  Also, parents from the community are using our school as a ‘drop off’ site for their recyclables as well.
     Students stop in the hallway and count the caps on the graph used to chart the number of bags CPS fills each month.  They also look for their teacher’s name on the big heart. It is encouraging to see that our students are motivated to do something to help our planet.
      At month’s end a total of 72 bags of plastic were collected, and they lined the length of the main hallway. Mrs. Hood’s second place class helped load the truck and trailer this past Friday as their reward. What a haul for the shortest month of the year. CPS really does love the Earth. 
     Thanks to everyone for your support and your plastic. Keep watching for the GOING GREEN TIP of the week with Beecycle and the Green Queen as they crown a student and a staff member as Green Champions of the Month.