Students take charge of recycling program at Jewel Middle
Who's in charge of Jewel Middle School's new recycling program and creating valentine's for the troops and dressing as elves at the North Aurora Lions Club Breakfast with Santa?
The 15 students who belong to the school's junior Lions Club. Leo's members are the catalysts for many of the volunteer opportunities at Jewel, according to teacher sponsor Debbi Ahlden.
"We get the Leo's involved and they get the rest of the school involved," said Ahlden, who teaches Life Skills classes at Jewel including cooking, sewing and computers skills.
Several weeks ago the Leo's began a recycling program for Jewel.
"On Monday, Wednesday and Friday the Leo's and the other student volunteers collect bins from classrooms and take them out to the recycling Dumpsters outside," Ahlden said.
The school district purchased the bins and the teachers and students in each classroom collect paper bottles and cans.
"The teachers and the students are both excited about the recycling," Ahlden said. "The barrels are overflowing on pick up days."
North Aurora seventh-graders Sarah Stengle and Jessica Karwoski joined the club last year when they entered Jewel. They are two of the Leo Club members who take up some of their school time with the recycling project.
"Everybody helps a little," according Stengle. "We collect the recycling during our REACH (study period) time at the end of the school day."
"Last year there were only about five people in the Leo's. We have mostly seventh-graders and a few eighth-graders in the club," Stengle said.
Stengle is following her parents' and her sister Tina's examples as Lion and Leo members. Sarah was awarded the John Adams Leo Service Award at the club's annual award meeting in January.
"My sister won this award two times so it's pretty cool that I get to follow in her footsteps," Stengle said.
Stengle said that 10 Leo's helped out at the Lions Club Breakfast for Santa in December.
The volunteers dressed in elf hats and helped with all the younger kids.
"We had to take all the butter and syrup and put them in big containers at the end of the breakfast," Stengle remembered. "It was a sticky mess."
Stengle and Karwoski both agreed that Ahlden's input has been great for the Leo's so far this year.
"I like the Leo group because we are always helping out in the community," Karwoski said.
"Miss Ahlden is so awesome," Stengle said. "We are doing so many activities."
Ahlden said she is looking out for projects for the Leo's to make things for others.
The Leo's are chipping in and contributing a few homemade Valentine's Day cards for a group that plans to send 140,000 cards to American troops in Iraq.
Right now, Ahlden is researching Project Linus, a group that makes blankets for hospitals.
She has seen that when her Leo's start doing something at Jewel; other kids will follow along and volunteer too.