Classroom Recycling Contest

You can help raise money for your child's classroom while helping our environment! This year, we will run our classroom recycling contest throughout the year, beginning in October. Each month, the classroom to collect the most money, based on a per student average, will get recognition in the morning announcements, get written up in the FYI, hang a "recycling stars" banner on their classroom door and have a brown bag lunch with Mrs. Parker! The classroom to win this honor the most throughout the year will win a special prize at the end of the year.

Please look for the bins outside of your child's classroom and feed them with aluminum cans, bottles and plastic bottles. Please make sure that the plastic bottles have a CA CRV (or cash refund) stamp on them. Although milk jugs and large juice bottles can be recycled, we only receive money for CRV items, so please look carefully before bringing plastic containers to school. Please also make sure all items are rinsed!

For those families wanting to recycle their own items, you can turn the money and receipt into Mrs. Franks in the office and she will make sure that they get to the appropriate people. This way, your contribution will be credited toward the contest.

LUNCHTIME "FOOD SCRAPPING" NEEDS YOUR HELP!!
Since last year, our diligent first through fifth graders have been separating out food and paper into green waste cans during each lunch period. Pleasanton Garbage Service makes regular pickups from Vintage Hills to keep that food waste out of the landfills and turn it into rich, organic compost soil for gardens and landscaping. Parent volunteers are desperately needed for lunchtime shifts (just an hour -- 11:45 to 12:45 ) to help us man the Food Scrap stations!! It will be an easy and fun volunteer experience, with training and rubber gloves provided :-)

Something Green to Chew On . . . Did you know that daily over 20,000,000 baggies are discarded and added to our landfill? These plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade—breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest them. You can make a difference by reducing the number of baggies you use in your childrens' lunches. Instead, choose reusable containers! There is an alternative to plastic baggies available for purchase through Vintage Hills PTA. Wrap-n-mats are cloth mats, lined with food-safe and lead-free PEVA linings. These contain sandwiches and snacks and double as a placemat. They are reusable and washable. Check them out at www.wrap-n-mat.com. They are available in green for $4 each. Contact Beth Louderback at b.louderback@comcast.net to get one!

Recycling is the right thing to do for our environment and is any easy way to raise money for our fantastic teachers. Remember, the money our children raise will be spent in their classroom(s) during this school year!
If you are an eco-parent, or just want to make a difference by volunteering on this adventure, please email Beth Louderback at b.louderback@comcast.net.