May 2011: Hayes Lewis Elementary
June 8, 2011 by crd_admin
Hayes Lewis Elementary
Eastern Kentucky PRIDE has recognized Hayes Lewis Elementary School for its SciPride Club, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
“Hayes Lewis Elementary has one of the oldest PRIDE Clubs in the region, so that’s a great accomplishment,” said PRIDE’s Mark Davis.
Davis presented a plaque of appreciation to the school’s PRIDE Club last Friday. PRIDE also treated the club members to a pizza party.
“We want to thank the students and faculty for your dedication and service to PRIDE over the last 10 years,” Davis said. “Your commitment to protecting and preserving the environment will make a long lasting impact on your community.”
PRIDE encourages schools to start PRIDE Clubs as a fun way for students to learn about the environment and serve their community. The clubs participate in the school’s environmental education projects, mentor younger students, volunteer for cleanup events and perform other community services.
The Hayes Lewis Elementary SciPRIDE Club wrote its own mission statement: “The goal of the SciPRIDE Club is to use personal responsibility to create an environment with respect to all living things and their homes, taking care to preserve all plant life for our future generations, working to keep our school, community, county and state a desirable place to live and work through scientific activities relating to our environment.”
The SciPRIDE Club, which is sponsored by teacher Glenda Mitchell, meets weekly. Its members operate the school’s recycling program and conduct campus cleanups.
They recently hosted the school’s fifth bi-annual Environmental Fair. Sixth-grade students presented lessons and read to younger students. They taught their classmates about how to be a green consumer and follow the “three Rs” — reduce, reuse and recycle. Fifth and sixth-grade students hosted the guest speakers who made environmental presentations. Students in kindergarten through fourth grade enjoyed the fair, which also included Earth Day activities and many gifts, such as activity books and trees. All students participated in a campus cleanup, and the PTO hosted a cookout for them.
“Your Environmental Fair is a great example of how students make a difference by sharing their knowledge and concern for nature,” Davis said. “By holding the fair every two years for a decade now, so many students have been impacted. Students attend the fair when they are in the early grades, and then they have their chance to host it when they reach fifth and sixth grade.”
“For this kind of hands-on learning activity, I am pleased to also present you with the PRIDE Environmental Education Project of the Month Award.”
The PRIDE Environmental Education Project of the Month program rewards creative, effective ways of promoting environment awareness and stewardship.
PRIDE is a nonprofit organization that promotes environmental cleanup and education efforts in 38 counties of southern and eastern Kentucky.
