Daily Archives: December 13, 2017

Appleton high school students build Habitat for Humanity home

Appleton Habitat for Humanity

Post-Crescent: An unfinished house has been a classroom for a group of Appleton high school students for the past few months.

But in about a month, a local family in need of a place to live will be moving in.

The house was built by 22 students, mostly juniors and seniors from all three Appleton high schools who worked at the site on South Pierce Avenue for a two-hour, two-credit class this past semester as part of the school district’s partnership with Habitat for Humanity.

Marcus McGuire, a teacher at Appleton West who runs the class, said he was glad students were involved in the project because the experience could help them find careers in construction.

The students took part in the build every step of the way, McGuire said, and worked directly with contractors to do more specialized work, such as plumbing or wiring.

“My goal is to mimic an actual job site as much as possible,” he said.

Read the complete article on student Habitat for Humanity project.

A Wauwatosa elementary school receives Recycling Excellence Award for composting efforts

Tosa compost

Journal Sentinel: Sometimes trash talking is a good thing, and at one Wauwatosa school they not only talk the talk, they follow that up with award-winning action.

Wauwatosa’s McKinley Elementary received the 2017 Recycling Excellence Award for Projects and Initiatives from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for their work the past two years creating a recycling and composting program.

“The Recycling Excellence Award program is designed to encourage and reward communities and programs for outstanding efforts, innovation, and performance in recycling, while providing examples of how to increase the effectiveness of local recycling programs,” wrote Joseph Van Rossum, the director of the Bureau of Waste and Materials Management with the Department of Natural Resources. “It’s an honor to recognize these programs for their waste diversion achievements.”

Even though the school’s recycling program is innovative and unique, teacher Elizabeth Daily said the kids regard it as “business as usual.”

Read the complete article on McKinley Elementary School’s award.