Trash-to-Treasure

1. Trash-to-Treasure

2. Context St John’s College is an independent, Anglican boys’ school located in Houghton, Johannesburg. www.stjohnscollege.co.za The school motto is ‘Lux, Vita, Caritas’ or ‘Light, Life, Love’. The school is situated on the edge of the Inner City and although the boys are mostly from very privileged backgrounds, we are constantly aware of the fact that the surrounding community is very poor and we aim to uphold our motto by the various Community Service projects that are carried out within the school. The Pre-Preparatory School consists of Grade 0, 1 and 2 accommodated in 10 classes on its own campus a distance from the College and Prep. St John’s College, St David Rd, Houghton

3. Motivation for the project The accumulation of waste and pollution is currently a high priority global issue. In keeping with the theme of the World Cup I encouraged the boys to focus on cleaning up our environment, so that the visitors coming in to South Africa could enjoy a cleaner country. I, therefore, implemented the project, Trash-to-Treasure, to teach the boys about the necessity to re-cycle as the primary step towards a cleaner and healthier environment. The generation of an income from collecting materials for re-cycling served as a wonderful incentive. The money collected was donated to charity or used to purchase essential school equipment. On a personal level, I was determined to prove that even Grade Ones could succeed with this type of project and make a difference.

4. Project Description The aim of the project was to collect as much waste material as possible that could be re-cycled. We collected paper, glass, cans and plastic. The ‘trash’ collected each day was sorted, weighed and the weight was recorded. • The money collected from the waste was used to donate to charity or in the case of the less privileged schools, to purchase essential school equipment. • Various technologies were used to investigate the global waste problem and to document the findings. • The boys created e-books to use in presentations to schools within the community to make them aware of the problem and to encourage them to join the re-cycling campaign.

5. 21st Century Skills 1 The waste accumulated outside each classroom every morning. Creativity: Creativity was an essential element. It was displayed in the creation of each boy’s Wikispace and E-Book. Critical Thinking: Making judgements and decisions came into the project at each stage eg. selecting relevant material to post on the Wiki. Many in the group made their own decisions on how to go about getting people in their street to collect waste. We had to have many brain-storming sessions to solve the problems with regard to sorting and weighing the waste material as the amount of waste that came in far exceeded my wildest dreams.

6. 21st Century Skills 2 • Communication and Collaboration: The project began with an exercise in collaboration. The boys and parents were invited to a presentation on the project. I communicated with them via e-mail as the project proceeded. It was necessary due to the age of the children. Many of the parents were helpful in arranging guest speakers, donating containers to collect waste material and providing transport to schools to do our presentations. The boys communicated very effectively when doing their presentations and when chatting on Skype. • Information, Media and Technology: Throughout the project information was being accessed and evaluated. I read to them and we found facts and figures on the Internet and evaluated what we heard and saw. This information was used in their Wikis and in their E-books.

7. 21st Century Skills 3 • Life and Career Skills: The boys learnt to adapt to change and to be flexible particularly as the project grew and the amount of waste collected became enormous. This led to some of them developing their own initiative (sending letters and e-mails to neighbours and relatives) and they were able to guide the rest of the class.

8. 21st Century Skills 4 The visits to other schools exposed them to diverse cultures and economic groups. They related well to the ‘Trolley Boys’ and were always eager to help them out even posting a lookout for them at break times lest we missed them go by. Handing over our plastic to the ‘Trolley Boys’ on Joe Slovo Drive each Tuesday.

9. Subject relevance 1 • Life Orientation: The “Trash-to-Treasure” project made the children very aware of their environment and the impact that excessive waste has on our lives and the lives of land and water creatures. They learnt how products can be re-cycled thus reducing landfills. • Literacy: • Reading and Listening: I read books from the Library to the boys on re-cycling and we read articles together on the Internet. • Reading and Writing: Once the information had been gathered the boys used that to write the stories for their e-books. • Speaking: Many class discussions • were held regarding factual information • on the topic as well as discussions about • how the waste material should be collected • and sorted. The boys explained their project • to other schools and then presented their • e-storybooks.

10. Subject relevance 2 • ICT: In collaboration with me and with their parents the boys accessed the Internet to gather information on the topic. This information was placed on their individual wiki pages on the “Trash-to-Treasure” Wiki. They used ‘2Create a Superstory’ to create e-books. • They were introduced to Skype so as to be able to communicate to schools that we did not have time to visit.

11. Subject relevance 3 • Community Service: This is an integral part of our curriculum at St John’s and it was wonderful to see how even these little children were able to make such a difference to the lives of others by donating plastics to the ‘Trolley Boys’, donating money received to charity and showing those less fortunate than themselves how to help the environment and benefit themselves. • Comment from Father Jaques Pretorius, the College Chaplain, “This is absolutely fantastic, the College boys haven’t got anything like this going, in fact we should get these boys into the Diocese, they could teach them a thing or two.”

12. Teaching and Learning Strategies 1 I feel that to a large extent it was my personal input and motivation of the children that gave the project its momentum. I was able to go beyond the usual day-to-day classroom activities and apply many ‘out-of-the-box’ ideas. A guest speaker from ‘Whole Earth’ was invited to talk to the children at a Friday Assembly. There was a very flexible approach. As obstacles were encountered the boys and I had to negotiate the situation and come up with solutions. As individuals emerged with their own particular strengths they were encouraged to continue. As an example there were children in the other classes who took it upon themselves to be responsible for the daily weighing and there were others who emerged as strong motivators encouraging their classmates to bring “trash” to school.

13. Teaching and Learning Strategies 2 • New technologies were introduced to the children. They used the Internet, Skype and ‘2Create a Superstory. • One of the most positive aspects of the project was the collaboration with the parents of the boys involved in the project. At the initial meeting some of them were very hesitant about whether I would succeed in this endeavour. Comment at the end of the meeting from a mom, “You are very brave!” As the project developed, the parents became as excited as the boys. From them I received donations of storage bags for the waste material, assistance with transport to other schools, organisation of the guest speaker and constant contact and positive feedback.

14. Learning Tasks and Activities 1 Parent Info Evening: The parents and there sons were invited to an evening of tea and refreshments at which I presented the project. Although some parents were rather hesitant as to whether a project of this magnitude would be possible with 6 and 7 year olds, the general feeling was that they were very proud of their sons for being chosen to participate in this type of activity. At this meeting I collected all the parents e-mail addresses so that I could keep them informed at each stage of the project. I also gave them their son’s logons to the “Trash-to-Treasure” Wikispace. I handed out a list of suitable children’s websites for them to look at with their sons.

15. Learning Tasks and Activities 2 • Presentation to Parents

16. Learning Tasks and Activities 2 • Investigation: During the normal ICT lessons with this particular class, I presented various material to them and we had class discussions on the topic of waste and re-cycling. We read Library books and looked at many children’s websites on re-cycling. • They worked on their Wiki pages at home in collaboration with their parents and at school they shared their information with their class mates, an activity they couldn’t wait for each week!

17. Learning Tasks and Activities 3 • Some website addresses given to the class: • www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/kidspage/glass.html • www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/kidspage/plastic.html • www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/kidspage/glass.html • www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/kidspage/tin.html • www.chevroncars.com/learn/wondrous-world/recycling-facts • http://kidsforsavingearth.org/index.html • http://tiki.oneworld.net/pollution/pollution_home.html • http://www.water-pollution.org.uk/health.html

18. Learning Tasks and Activities 4 • Wiki:Wikispace: ‘Trash-to-Treasure’ https://trash-to-treasure.wikispaces.com/ Username: LBradfield Password: dog4loud • Waste Collection and Data recording: At the same time that the Wiki and the e-books were being created, all the ten classes in the Pre-Prep were encouraged to bring in paper, glass, cans and plastic. For the purposes of this collection, I asked Mondi for small Ronnie Bags for each boy. They kindly donated these and each boy’s name was written on his bag and he brought it to school each day filled with “trash”.

19. Learning Tasks and Activities 5 The “trash” was then sorted by children in each class and weighed with a spring balance. The weight was recorded on a sheet each day and returned to me at the end of the week. At Assembly each Friday, I addressed the boys and gave them an encouraging motivational talk and ended with the results of the previous week’s collections. Each boy in the top 3 classes were rewarded with “treasure”, a chocolate gold coin. Their excitement each week for these results was phenomenal!

20. Learning Tasks and Activities 6 • E-Book: Each boy in the class created their own electronic storybook telling their own story about why we should re-cycle. This was a highlight for them and often one of them would appear at my door before school asking if he could work on his storybook. The stories were shown when the boys did their presentations to other schools. • Visits and Presentations: Initially the boys skyped a school and told them about the work they were doing and challenged them to collect as much as they had. We then went out on visits to other schools; a previous Model C school in Kempton Park, Yeoville Community School and Masibambane, our sister school in Orange Farm. Examples of an E-Books

21. Learning Tasks and Activities 7 • Trash-to-Treasure visit to Aston Manor Primary 3 June 2010 • What is the name of the project and why is it called that? • Our project is called Trash-to-Treasurebecause we are collecting trash and earning money from it. • What type of trash do you collect? • We collect glass, paper, cans and plastic. • Why are you doing this project? • We are doing this project because we think it is important that we must save our planet from litter and pollution because this is our world and we must look after it. • How do all the other children in your school help you? • All the other children at our school bring all their trash to school each day. • What happens to the trash? • When the trash arrives at school we weigh it and record the weight and then it is taken to the re-cycling place at school. The Mondi truck comes to collect the paper. Collect-a-can collects all our cans. Consul Glass takes the glass away. We give all our plastic to the trolley boys who come past in the road so that they can get money for themselves because they are very poor.

22. Learning Tasks and Activities 7 (contd) How much have you collected so far? In the first week we collected 682 kg In the second week we collected 823 kg In the third week we collected 686 kg In the fourth week we collected 706 kg How many weeks have you been collecting trash and how much have you collected altogether? In 4 weeks we have collected almost 3 tons. It is exactly 2.897 tons of trash Do you collect trash from anywhere else?Dean: Yes, I have written letters to all the people in my street and they now put their re-cycling trash on the pavement for me to collect. Timothy: I have e-mailed some friends and family to collect as well. What are you going to do with the money you earn from the trash? We are going to choose a charity and invite them to Assembly and give them the money we have earned from collecting trash. How much have you earned so far? About R600 Do you know what happens to the trash when it is re-cycled? Yes, a lot of plastic is used in making our clothes. Bottles and cans are cleaned and used again. Paper is re-cycled into other paper like toilet paper.

23. Learning Tasks and Activities 8 Grade 6 pupils at Aston Manor Primary listening to our presentation. Grade 0-3 at Masibambane listening to our presentation.

24. Learning Tasks and Activities 9 • Collection: Mondi Paper, Enviro Glass and Collect-a-Can were the 3 companies that we used to collect our “trash”. After discussion with the boys it was decided to donate the plastic waste to the ‘Trolley Boys’ who negotiate their way through the suburbs collecting from dustbins. In this way we would be helping them to fill their trolleys and therefore collect cash a little quicker.

25. Learning Tasks and Activities 10 Collection Receipts

26. Learning Tasks and Activities 11 • Donation: Once all the money from the various re-cycling companies has been collated the boys will choose a charity to donate it to. This charity will then be invited to Assembly at which the cash donation will be handed over. • Follow-up: The plan is to follow-up on our school visits by Skyping them to find out how there collections are going and what they intend spending their funds on. • Thank you: The whole “trash-to-Treasure” would like to thank our school ground staff for helping to take the weighed “trash” to the collection point.

27. Relevance of ICT Tools The use of Wikispaces allowed the boys to do research work and to be able to share it immediately with their peers. Skype was a wonderfully successful means of communication where visiting was more difficult. The boys thoroughly enjoyed it and improved their communicating skills each time it was used. Creating electronic storybooks was probably the highlight for these boys. It was the first time that they had been introduced to this programme and they took to it so well loving the animations and the drawing templates. It was fascinating to see how serious they were about getting their story across to the potential audience.

28. Innovative use of ICT Tools All the ICT tools that were used were new to the boys. This kept their enthusiasm going, as they were always eager to know what new trick I had up my sleeve. The use of the Wikispace created wonderful enthusiasm amongst the boys and they were always eager to show their latest additions to the space. Skype was also new to them and allowed a new and different means of communication. The schools we visited thoroughly enjoyed the e-book presentations.

29. *A note from Fiona Do note that for the 2012 project entries you should follow the requirements/headings noted at the side of the entry PowerPoint template which may have been different in 2010. The point is that everything should be clearly shown as in this example.

30. Educator and/or Learner as change agent 6 weeks = 8 tons The boys and I have created a positive attitude towards re-cycling within our entire school community. 8 tons in 6 weeks. Parents and local business have been bringing their waste material to our collection points. The local ‘trolley boys’ know that they can call in and collect more ‘trash’ to fill their trolleys and hence the wallets.

31. Reflection on the project 1 What worked? The topic was embraced enthusiastically by the boys and the staff. I believe that my motivation and weekly reward kept the momentum of the project going. The boys thoroughly enjoyed using the Internet and Skype, aspects of technology that don’t usually come into their day-to-day lessons. The idea of going out to visit other schools was very successful. What didn’t work? The storage of the waste material prior to collection was difficult. No-one anticipated collecting 8 tons of waste in 6 weeks. The Wiki was limited as it was by invitation only. I was not comfortable opening it up because of the age of the children. Many of the other Pre-Prep boys felt left out as they did not have the opportunity of ‘doing all the exciting things’. On a personal level I was busy doing a 10 week Internet course through UCT which made my workload enormous.

32. Reflection on the project 2 • If you implemented this project again – what would you do differently? I would organise the collection points and weighing facilities better. I would like to be able to involve more children and to do this I think I would need to extend the project over a much longer time period so as to give the classes a turn on a rotational basis. I would like to be able to visit many more schools and communities.

33. Conclusion Initially parents and staff thought that a project of this type and magnitude would not be possible BUT The class of 6 and 7 year old boys involved in the project became highly efficient entrepeneurs who collaborated well with their peers to collect the most amount of waste. They became confident motivators and spoke well to the school body as well as to the children at the schools we visited. Throughout the duration of the project they remained passionate about the cause. They kept quoting, “REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE”