Nine schoolchildren in uniforms smile and hold colorful, decorated bottles in front of a whiteboard. The bottles have googly eyes and creative designs, and the group appears to be celebrating a craft project.

Saving the earth is everyone’s job and Corpus Christi School (CCS) believes it is important to teach these responsibilities to its students. In honor of Earth Day students at CCS created recycled art and now recycle markers.

Since 2016 the small Catholic school has partnered with Scrappy Pappy a locally owned, non-landfill affiliated, recycling business. The students recycle glass, paper, plastic, aluminum, and electronics every day.

“We are teaching our students what they can recycle and why it is an important contribution to our community and the world,” said Principal Dick Taylor. “This year we added two more green initiatives.

Art Teacher Molly Gianangeli has taught students to design art out of recyclable goods. All grades worked on a different subject creating robots out of pop cans, turtles out of two liter pop bottles, animals out of papers, candles holders out of CDs and plastic spoons.

“We also just expanded our recycling program and partnered with Crayola in the Color Cycle. This program is designed to repurpose plastic markers. We are collecting all brands of plastic markers, including dry erase markers and highlighters. After we have a large batch of markers we will be packing them up to ship them off to Crayola where they will repurpose the entire marker, regardless of the different kinds of plastic or how they are assembled,” said Taylor.

“The company uses special methods and melts them down to turn the markers into fuel. This project is another way for our students to understand the importance of their role in protecting the environment,” he added.

“My class was thrilled when I shared this fun recycling program with them. This is a great program for schools to get involved in, and the project will keep thousands of tons of plastic out of landfills every year. Our students are having fun with recycling and making the world a greener place,” said third grade teacher Lisa Simmons.

Corpus Christi School will continue to build on their green program every year and teach students why is it important to take time out of their day to recycle.

“Remember you are only given one world let’s work together and make it a greener place,” said Taylor.

If you would like to get involved in CCS Color Cycle program please drop old markers off to Corpus Christi School located 1512 Warwood Ave. Wheeling between the hours of 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

CCS is a private, Catholic school educating students from preschool to eighth grade. Founded in 1916 and originally staffed by the Sisters of St. Joseph, it continues a 101- year tradition of excellence in Catholic education. To learn more information about CCS please call 304-277-1220.

 

A young girl in a plaid school uniform works on a craft project at a classroom table. The blackboard in the background reads Earth Day. Craft supplies and glue are on the table.
A girl wearing glasses and a white shirt glues colorful sequins onto a green paper craft shaped like a bear while holding a bottle of glue at a classroom desk.Several colorful “pop can robots” made from soda cans, plastic cups, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, and craft materials are displayed on a table with a card that reads: “Pop Can Robots, 5th Grade.”.Colorful turtle crafts made from blue and green foam shapes with plastic bottle bottoms as shells, decorated with beads and googly eyes, are displayed on a green table. A white paper sign is in the background.


Two rows of paper butterflies made from folded, recycled paper are displayed on a tiled wall above a sign that says RECYCLE WITH and has an image of people recycling.