Project Update

The recycling project is still humming along. We are implementing a new collection plan beginning next week. This plan will have each classroom empty their own bins into the large green bins on the first floor. The first floor will empty on day 1, second floor on day 2, third floor on day 3, and day 4 will be a make-up day.

The PR campaign is certainly heating up. Flyers have been made and will be hung up soon. A poster will soon be posted on a bulletin board on the second floor. An interview will be posted to the AHS Nest school newspaper. Daily announcements will also begin next week.

In addition, we are beginning to reap the benefits from the recycling. We recently received our second check from T.A. Predel, this time for $95. This check has been deposited and the money will be used either to help continue the project or help reduce the costs of future student activities (e.g. proms).

We're Back!

After a brief hiatus for Summer Break, the Albany High School Recycling Project is back! The first meeting of the Peace and Social Actions Club will be held on Wednesday, September 18 in room 108. We will hopefully conduct an audit to determine our at-hand resources and begin planning more recruitment efforts. In addition, a massive public relations campaign to promote the project will begin shortly. The goal for this year is to have the program extended to every classroom and office in Albany High School.

Once the "audit" is conducted, final preparations for the (largely completed) Albany Fund for Education grant application can be made (if additional funds are deemed necessary). The application can be submitted thereafter.

Recruitment will be performed on both a school-wide and program-specific basis. All students in all grades and academies are encouraged to participate. However, juniors and seniors in the IB program who need CAS hours are especially welcome to assist. A large amount of manpower will be necessary for school-wide collection.

The public relations campaign will utilize both basic poster advertising and modern technology, including QR codes. The project will hopefully be promoted through flyers, morning announcements, the school newspaper, and (most importantly) word of mouth.

All of these topics will be discussed at Wednesday's meeting.

Here's to a busy and successful year!

The First Check

The recycling project has produced funds for the first time. We have received a check for $23.13 from T.A. Predel and Co.. The money will be deposited in the activity funds account of the Peace and Social Actions Club, to pay for future materials for the project.

 

The Great Changeover

Yesterday was a key milestone in the progress of the project. The Peace and Social Actions Club went around to all of the classrooms within Leadership Academy and gave each classroom new, dedicated recycling bins. New signs were posted as well, advising students to put paper in the blue bins and all other trash in the white bins. The eventual hope is for this to be expanded to all classrooms in the school, once funding for new bins has been secured.

On a related note, the PSA for the recycling project created by the video production class is now being shown on the TVs in the cafeterias.

Project Update

The last two weeks have produced a couple of important developments with the project. First, I attended the meeting of the Albany Fund for Education last Monday (March 11). With me at the meeting were Mrs. Miller and Ms. Plumadore. At the meeting, I introduced the project and recounted a brief history of the progress so far. I also described some of the future plans, and things that are still needed for the project to be successful. The purpose of attending was to set up for potential future grant money from the AFE.

Also emerging this week was a finalization of plans for classroom collection. It has been agreed that students in self-contained classes will assist with the collection. They will go around 8th period each Wednesday to empty the recycling boxes. The boxes will be put out in the hallway by the teachers who have boxes. This was first done on Wednesday, March 20.

Collection has Begun

Collection of paper to be recycled has begun. Cardboard boxes have been placed in several offices and classrooms to collect the paper. Each afternoon, the boxes are emptied into the larger bins. The first scheduled pickup of the bins by T.A. Predel is later today. Current plans are for boxes to be placed into more classrooms, with some of the larger bins being placed in offices. Eventually, a rotation will begin with other students assisting with the collection.

Update for the Week

On Monday, I held a meeting of the Peace and Social Actions Club. The meeting was arranged to discuss new ideas for the use of the grant. However, the meeting ended up centering around promotion of the project. Ideas that were tossed around included flyers, announcements, articles for the school newspaper, and production of a video.

On Tuesday, a meeting took place involving the Peace and Social Actions Club, some school administrators, and Jody Paige from T.A. Predel and Co. The meeting was held to discuss the implementation of the recycling program at Albany High School. Specifics were arranged with Mr. Paige. T.A. Predel agreed to deliver 10 95-gallon bins to the school. These bins will be placed in strategic locations throughout the school. Students, led by the Peace and Social Actions Club, will go around to collect the bins and bring them to a central location in the school. Every other Thursday, T.A. Predel will come to the school to collect the wastepaper. They in turn will pay $50/ton collected, to be transferred into the activity fund of the Peace and Social Actions Club. The funds will then be used to maintain the program. Some classroom recycling will take place in select classes beginning this school year, and full-scale recycling is scheduled to begin next year.

Today, the bins were delivered by T.A. Predel. The bins will be put into use following mid-winter break.

Peace and Social Actions Club Meeting

Yesterday I held a meeting of Albany High School's Peace and Social Actions Club. The meeting was held to discuss the ongoing recycling project. During the meeting I made contact with the company with which I will be dealing, T.A. Predel. I spoke with Mr. Jody Davis, and he briefly described the recycling within the city school district already underway. He also described prior attempts with paper recycling at Albany High, and the difficulties faced in the past. We agreed to a meeting to discuss plans for a recycling program. This meeting will be held February 12th at 3:30, in the Leadership Academy conference room.

Meeting with Carol Reiser

Yesterday I had a meeting with Mrs. Carol Reiser over breakfast. A professional grant-writer, Mrs. Reiser has agreed to assist me with the project. We discussed several things together. I introduced the project to her and explained the grants that I was looking at. She gave me some things to consider with the grant process. Among these include budgeting, completeness, and succinctness. In particular, she told me to be sure to look at all parties involved. She also mentioned that she is going to give me a workbook that will guide me through the process and help track my progress. In addition to discussing the grant, we also talked about the project in general. She gave me some additional contacts to make and a few other suggestions. All-in-all, it was a very productive meeting.

Initial Planning Meeting

Yesterday (1/18) there was an initial planning meeting held to discuss my recycling project. Among the issues discussed at the meeting were the recent history of recycling at Albany High School and some of the challenges such programs have faced. One particular obstacle was the use of recycling bins as trash receptacles by students.  Based off of the information provided, it was decided that the recycling bins would have to be placed in strategic locations, away from the primary student traffic. In particular, bins will be placed in or near the copy rooms throughout the school buildings. Another solution discussed to solve this problem was the incorporation of recycling education into the science curriculum, especially that of earth science classes. In addition, it was determined that students, through the Peace and Social Actions Club, would be the ones emptying out the recycling containers. This would most likely be done on a weekly basis.
Ideas were floated about doing poster contests or competitions between academies as ways of generating interest. The concept of doing something for Earth Day was also brought up.

Some basic housekeeping was also done at the meeting. Ms. Hatfield agreed that it would be easier if I contacted Mrs. Carol Reiser about assisting with the grant-writing process. Mrs. Miller agreed to be the official supervisor for the project. I agreed to make all the contacts with any outside companies to secure the removal of paper waste. All-in-all, this was a very productive, albeit abrupt, meeting.