Oxbow Community School, an elementary school in Huron Valley, has won the honor of being a “green school” - an initiative sponsored by Oakland County and Oakland Schools to promote more ecologically based, earth friendly activities within our schools: www.oakgov.com/waste/green_school/this_year.html With earth day fast approaching, many people are realizing that being green goes far beyond recycling or turning out the lights. Oxbow’s teachers have gone above and beyond to achieve this significant award. Chris McAuliffe’s fifth grade class can honestly say they are “off the grid” and power their classroom using solar panels. They even made solar ovens! They have been creating miniature motorcycles made totally from junked VCR machines (above). The school recycles the usual cell phones, printer cartridges, paper and magazines. There is a dumpster sized bin next to the school for the local community to use to recycle newspapers. Oxbow’s art teacher is a master scavenger and goes to area restaurants to recycle their wine bottles and collects huge volumes of egg cartons, cereal boxes, paper towel tubes and magazines to use in her art projects. "Why use paper when you can paint the school’s ceiling tiles? Students enjoy the novelty and it leaves a lasting legacy for future students to enjoy," she reported. Finally Oxbow’s Lego team was the first elementary school to be invited to compete at Nationals as a result of their in depth research and understanding of ecological issues affecting climate change. Congratulations Oxbow!
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