Friday, March 18, 2022 – Cherokee Bend second-graders in Ms. MacPherson’s class recently finished a collaborative project researching pollution, the environment, and the impact they could have as a class and school with more environmentally friendly apparatuses within the school.

The class presented their project to school and district administrators. Each student in the class took a turn to present his/her memorized portion of the presentation. Facts about local, national and global plastic versus styrofoam usage were shared. The students compared the two materials’ ability to be recycled and discussed the long-term effects the two have on the environment. Students also spent weeks prior to the presentation researching styrofoam usage specifically at Cherokee Bend and across the school district. 

One goal of the students was to bring to light the amount of styrofoam used and how paper, plastic or reusable materials would be more environmentally friendly. The students found that in their individual classroom, they will use around 1,400 pieces of styrofoam in just one school year. Taking into account class sizes, different schools along with many other factors, these second-grade students estimated that our entire district goes through over 300,000 pieces of styrofoam every school year.

Students then provided numbers for costs of alternative materials that could be used in schools and presented evidence of what trashing versus recycling these materials could look like for the environment. The amount of thought, time, attention to detail along with many other factors shines a light on these students’ commitment to engaged learning.

“This is the best classroom presentation I have seen from students in my 20 years of education,” said Dr. Sandy Ritchey, CBS Principal. “These second graders are committed not only to learning but making a difference in our community.”