Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012

Dixon Road students recycling books

Students at Dixon Road Elementary School are getting a lot more from their recycling lessons than learning how to separate plastics from cardboard.

In organizing a book-recycling project, Cindy Parrott's students are learning to create an advertising campaign, count books and be responsible for a school-wide effort.

They're teaching their fellow students to recycle, and the entire school will get free books thanks to their work.

The premise, said student Dylan Lopez-Ibarra, is simple: "It's about donating all your books instead of throwing them in the trash."

It's a message Dylan and his classmates have taken to the entire school during morning announcements on TV.

They've made videos and even a rap song to persuade the entire campus to bring in books they no longer want.

"The kids have had such a good time with it," Parrott said.

So far, the books have poured in. Since starting the collection earlier this month, students have donated more than 1,000 books. The goal is to hit 2,000 books by February.

Once the book drive ends, the students will set up the books in the school library, creating a free book fair.

Depending on how many books are brought in, each student will get to pick two or three books.

"This will be one more opportunity for kids who don't have books," said Heather Barkley, the school's librarian.

To make the project a success, Parrott gave each student in her class a task. Some are responsible for decorating the collection boxes, others for counting the donations.

All have participated in the videos and class discussions about recycling.

They've learned that the materials used to bind books makes them hard to recycle. They can't be put out by the curb like newspapers or magazines. That means reusing books is the best way to keep them from cluttering landfills.

The kids also have learned how to graph the book totals, and how to persuade their classmates.

"That's the big thing - 21st century skills," Parrott said.

Books made the most sense for a school-wide recycling project, Parrott said. "We didn't want the kids bringing in plastic jugs and newspapers.

"Everybody's got books at home. It's a win-win situation for everybody."