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School Proud To Be Green

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By COURTNEY CAIRNS PASTOR, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 19, 2008

WESTCHASE - Environmentalism has taken off with such force at Westchase Elementary School that one third-grader asked the principal whether the balloons she was using at an assembly were Earth-friendly.

Principal Joyce Wieland reassured the boy - and his 1,000 classmates - that she had researched the balloons and found out they were latex and had come from a rubber tree in a process that didn't harm the tree.

The students applauded.

It was an appropriate response, considering the nature of the assembly. Westchase gathered Jan. 11 to celebrate becoming one of 10 finalists in the country in an environmental competition.

"You are the reason why we're here today," Wieland told the cheering children. "No matter how old we are, young or old, we can help the environment."
Westchase won $5,000 as a finalist this month in All laundry detergent's "Go Green and Small with All" contest. The program ties into All's "small and mighty" detergent, which is concentrated and requires less packaging than a traditional bottle.

Teacher Debbie Steinfeld had read about the contest in a magazine and asked Wieland whether Westchase could participate. It involved getting children on board at home and at school.

Students turned off lights, recycled plastic and turned off water while brushing their teeth. They filled out "Eco Report Cards" online and submitted personal stories and photos of their efforts.

At school, children learned from online textbooks and jotted answers on portable dry-erase boards. School staff sent home notes with one family member instead of all siblings to save paper. Teachers refilled and reused glue bottles.

More than 3,000 schools participated. Westchase was the only Florida school to become a finalist. It will learn this month whether it will win the grand prize of $50,000 for eco-friendly improvements to the campus, iPod shuffles for all students and a chance to be featured on the "Ellen DeGeneres Show."
Westchase celebrated its achievement at a recent assembly, where each student wore green T-shirts and chanted "Westchase Wizards, we are keen, all excited and all green."

Fourth-grader Stephanie Punzak shared with the school a speech she had written - on the back of a sheet of paper so she didn't waste paper. She said the contest got her thinking more about how to preserve Earth's resources.

"I did like to leave my lights on," Stephanie said. "But now I love to turn them off."

The 10-year-old talked about how to "go green."

"Does that mean painting your face green? Absolutely not," she said.

It's about cutting showers short, she said, using a dish towel instead of a paper towel and turning down plastic bags at the grocery store.

School board member Susan Valdes congratulated the school for its changes and praised families for following through at home.

"This is your world, this is your town, your community," she said. "We all have a vested interest in keeping it safe and clean."

Reporter Courtney Cairns Pastor can be reached at (813) 865-1503 or cpastor@tampatrib.com.

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