Parent Teacher Organization Holds Auction to Raise Money for class trips.
On March 26th, Walt Disney Elementary School’s parents, teachers and support staff helped raise enough money to send all classes on class trips!

The Walt Disney Elementary Parent Teacher Organization held an auction to fundraise for class trips at all grade levels.  At this auction, the teachers, parents and community members came out to support the funding for class trips by purchasing raffle tickets for theme- filled baskets. Parents, teachers, support staff, and local businesses donated many theme filled baskets to be raffled. The baskets that were donated contained items such as gift cards, coffee, candy, tasty cakes, movies, movie tickets, candles, jewelry and much more. Throughout the evening the lines for raffle tickets seemed endless and it was evident that the community was eager to help the parents’ and teachers’ efforts to raise money for class trips!  What an amazing turnout!

In addition to the raffle, an auction led by the master auctioneer, Mark Costanzo (fourth grade teacher) helped to raise additional money to support class trips. During the auction, students were given Mickey Mouse ears to use as their board with which to bid. Teachers from each grade level, special area teachers and building specialists offered fun activities to be auctioned off to the students.  Students bid on activities such as breakfast with their teachers, lunch with their teachers, a manicure given by their teachers, a guitar lesson after school, tie dye shirts after school, a bowling trip, a knitting lesson, a WI challenge with teachers, a vocal singing lesson, an instrumental lesson, a cartooning lesson, sign language lesson, a Spanish lesson and a trip to Sonic. In addition to these activities, staff also donated a four pack of Trenton Thunder tickets and a free eye exam with gift certificate.  Two students held the highest bid of sixty dollars for lunch with their teachers!

A silent auction was also held for projects that teachers and students created and donated.  The items that were auctioned off included personalized stools, class books, and United Nations Day projects.

Overall the efforts from the parents and teachers paid off!  The event was a success! The auction evening raised over $7,000 to go directly towards class trips.  All students will be able to participate in class trips with transportation and admission fees paid for. Way to go Walt Disney community, parents and teachers!

Hoop for Heart

Denise Melnick, Health & Physical Education teacher at William Penn Middle School, began the Hoop for Heart event in 2003 after her father, Mr. Francis Mason, died from heart disease.  Ms. Melnick works with co-coordinators, Katie Beam and Tina Austin, to continue this event each year in an effort to bring an end to heart disease by contributing all money raised by the event to the American Heart Association.  This year alone, the hoop for Heart event raised close to $7000.00

In the weeks leading up to Hoop for Heart, health teachers speak with William Penn students about heart disease, heart-healthy choices and the importance of helping others.  In a testament to their commitment to the cause, the students at William Penn decline the gifts that they are offered by the American Heart Association so that additional money can be donated to the fund.

Students purchase "hearts" for 25 cents each, dedicating them to friends or loved ones.  These hearts are displayed in the lobby of William Penn Middle School in the weeks leading up the event.  In addition, students and teachers have raised money by reaching out to family members, friends and community business owners.   This year, students were able to donate $1.00 for a chance to make a half-court shot at the Pennwood vs. William Penn basketball game.

A Few Ways to a Greener Life

• Instead of weed barrier use newspaper to keep weeds out.  Newspaper will degrade, so it will need to be replaced next year.
• Stop buying water bottles.  According to The Clean Air Council, Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour.  Invest in a stainless steel bottle to reuse.
• Recycle your water.  Use a rain barrel to collect rain water and use to give your plants and flowers a drink.  This water should not be used to drink or play in, just to water plants.
• Create a compost bin. Start with a plastic tote.  Drill plenty of holes along the bottom and sides for air, fill with peat moss, add water and you are ready to go.  Bury your waste and mix around occasionally.  Start in the fall and soil will be ready for the spring.  Kids love to get involved.  Any vegetable or fruit waste can be used.  Strawberry tops, potato peels, fruit rinds, vegetable ends, etc. are full of nutrients.  For a full list of compostable items visit Plantea.
• Borrow from the library instead of buying books and movies. This saves money, not to mention the ink and paper that goes into printing new books.  It also is a great activity for kids to do with their parents.
• Make your own cleaning supplies.  It is easy to do, better for the environment, and much cheaper.  Basic cleaning supplies are borax, baking soda, salt, vinegar, lemon juice and water.  Everything from laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, counter spray, glass cleaner, and drain cleaner can be made for a fraction of the cost of purchasing in a store and without the harmful chemicals.

The Do's and Don'ts of Recycling

According to The Clean Air Council, each year, Americans trash enough office paper to build a 12-foot wall from Los Angeles to New York City. They also estimate that only about one-tenth of all solid garbage in the United States gets recycled.
PAPER
Do: Recycle all junk mail. Newspaper, catalogs, envelopes, letters, paper grocery bags, and school papers are all recyclable.
Do: Recycle all cereal, cracker, and snack boxes. They are considered paper too.
Do: Recycle paper with staples, clips, or spirals intact (the metal pieces will be filtered out by machines later.)
Don't: Include any paper with greasy food stains like pizza boxes, although the bottom of the pizza box can be recycled.
PLASTICS
Do: Return plastic bags to local stores for recycling. Find a local spot at plasticbagrecycling.org.
Do: Collect plastic bottle tops (soda, milk, and water) and soda tabs and send into school, they are sent to local charities. William Penn Middle School is a collection point.
Don't: Forget to remove bottle caps.
FOR GLASS & METAL
Do: Include pie tins and foil, metal bottle caps, wire coat hangers, scrap metal.
Don't: Worry about removing labels.