States F through K

FLORIDA
Florida Junior Level
Workman Middle School
6299 Lanier Drive
Pensacola, FL 32504
(850) 494-5665
Project Title: Ivan Can’t Stop EnerJags
Project Advisers: Phil Klein and Karen Atkinson
Student Directors: Christa Childers and Carly Borden

The 2004-2005 school year turned out to be a challenge to all the students and teachers of Workman Middle School. Workman was the middle school that suffered the most damage from Hurricane Ivan. Even with help from many agencies, the students missed a month of school.
That didn’t stop the Workman EnerJags. We learned about energy and shared what we learned with others! We set goals to teach the Primary Science of Energy experiments to the four classes of third graders at Holm Elementary School. We decided to bring the four classes of fourth graders to our cafeteria to learn the experiments in the Elementary Science of Energy kit. All of the students we worked with had worksheets they had to answer as they went through the experiments.
We used the Monitoring and Mentoring Kit to explore the energy efficiency of our school. We invited the maintenance person in charge of our school to give us a guided tour of our three different buildings. We also began to monitor classrooms, gathering and recording data. We plan to continue to monitor these same classrooms and see if we can come up with ways for Workman to save energy.

ILLINOIS
Illinois Primary Level
Stuart R. Paddock Elementary School
225 West Washington Court
Palatine, IL 60194
(847) 963-5836
Project Title: Energy Saving 2005
Project Adviser: Kathleen Cochrane
Student Directors: Samantha Bartolai, Jessie Hedrick, and Fiona Helgren

This year we had many new ideas, but we also used some ideas from last year. We had three kinds of projects – some for students at our school, some for the school district, and some for the community.
Projects for our school included the Energy Gazette newspaper, Electricity Day, the energy play Rocky and Bullwinkle, a book exchange, Save-a-Gallon campaign, the talent show, door hangers, and kindergarten buddies recycling games. For the district, we told about energy saving light bulbs at Pantherfest and had an Earth ANGELs reunion. We set up energy game stations, a food table, and energy skits for the former Earth ANGELs. Students came back from five different schools. This reunion helped refresh the old Earth ANGELs memories with energy games. We had a follow-up where the old Earth ANGELs could bring a friend and an energy activity or idea to us. It turned out great!
We reached out to the community by sending energy and
environmental messages home on grocery bags with Jewel shoppers and talked to Palatine senior citizens about saving energy at home and when they drive. We also gave them kits to help them save energy.

We used lots of energy, but had fun.

Illinois Elementary Level
NATIONAL FINALIST
Apple River Middle School
301 West Hickory
Apple River, IL 61001
(815) 594-2210
Project Title: Apple River Energy Club
Project Adviser: Pam Phelps
Student Director: Alicia Schetgen

From solar to hydrocell…from Apple River to England…from tracking production to persuading others…from Springfield to Washington, DC…from preschool to 3rd grade…from our district to neighboring districts…from Energy Club to community groups…this has been a peak production year for the club. We participated in the dedication of the solar panel at Warren and taught preschool to 6th graders in our district and in a neighboring district. We tracked our solar energy production and consulted with another district that was deciding “to shine or not to shine” with solar energy. We will be helping with their dedication on May 6th. We entered contests and sponsored contests for others. We organized a science fair. One project involved paper reduction. The school reduced their paper waste by 5 1/2 pounds in three weeks and teachers continue to recycle.
We were wired with several community groups to spread the current of energy knowledge – ComEd, Alliant Energy, IREC, the PTO, town board and others. We spread our solar rays through articles to England, Springfield, and the Illinois Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Our club energizingly designed hydrocell posters and wrote letters to government officials in Washington, DC and Springfield. We are ENERGIZED!

Illinois Elementary Level
Husmann Elementary School
131 Paddock Street
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
(815) 459-7114
Project Title: Learning, Teaching, Reaching
Project Adviser: Betty Trummel
Student Directors: Grace DiCecco, Kelsey Bear, Kevin Dwyer, David Roman, Kiernan Chrystal, Kevin Wilson, Kate Pottala, and Nina Gaida

We are happy to be celebrating our sixteenth year with NEED. Following the theme of “Learning, Teaching, Reaching,” our class focused on our own community and how to teach others. We also did community service projects.
LEARNING: NEED activities and materials helped us prepare for our Energy Fair. A photography project sent us searching Crystal Lake for the three Rs or pollution solutions. Projects like our solar clothesline and energy timeline dioramas helped us share what we learned.
TEACHING: Our Energy Fair was presented to 3rd and 4th grade students. “WNRG NEWS” helped teach visitors how to save energy. Parents toured exhibits, heard presentations, and solved Energy Bumper Stumpers. The best activity was doing the Energy Olympics with our parents. Working together to design costumes, flags, and theme songs was fun!
REACHING: Flyers with energy saving tips were handed out to homes in our school neighborhood as we picked up trash on a Saturday to improve the area. We wrote letters to the editor of our local newspaper about the amount of pollution in Crystal Lake. For Earth Day, we decorated bags for our local Jewel food store with information about energy and conservation.

Thanks to NEED for another great year!

Illinois Elementary Level
Ina Grade School
511 South Elm Street
Ina, IL 62846
(618) 437-5361
Project Title: Saving Energy at Ina Grade School
Project Adviser: Idella Robertson
Student Director: Brittney Wise

The goal of the fourth and fifth grade classes of Ina Grade School was to conserve and manage the energy use of our school wisely and efficiently. We conducted an energy survey with parents at open house. We checked temperatures, humidity levels, light levels, and appliances in our classrooms and throughout the entire school. We recorded our data and analyzed it. After studying our data, we realized that many of the individual classrooms did not have thermostats or blinds covering their windows. To save energy, blinds can be put on the windows to block out sun in the summer and let it in during the winter. Thermostats in rooms allow for individual control without wasting energy to cool or heat already comfortable rooms.
We also found that many classrooms did not turn off or put their appliances in sleep mode when they were not in use. Students can help by monitoring blinds, lights, and appliances to conserve energy. We would like to share this way of life with future generations. For this to happen, we all must work together to save our planet’s energy sources. Our energy saving recommendations are being sent to the Principal, Superintendent, and School Board.

Illinois Junior Level
Ina Grade School
511 South Elm Street
Ina, IL 62846
(618) 437-5361
Project Title: Energy: What It Is, Where It Comes From, How We Use It
Project Adviser: Diana Dickneite
Student Director: Ryan Peas

Our goal was to begin an energy education program at our school. There are presently two teachers that are part of NEED. One is working with the primary classes, first through third. This year, the seventh and eighth grade English classes gave eight different oral presentations on energy to the first grade class. Each year, additional energy units will be developed until the whole school is actively involved. Starting with the first graders, we hope to make saving energy an important part of their lives, as automatic as putting on a seatbelt in a car. The results of our presentations went beyond what we expected. The first graders caught on quickly to these new ideas. Many already knew ways that they wasted or saved energy. We did a review and the responses were enthusiastic and showed a good understanding of the material.
Our school has completed a “Greening Schools Grant” to apply for the installation of light sensors. We also talked to the recycling center and they felt saving the cans from the kitchen and recycling them would be a good next step. We also applied for a local grant to create a native plant area for our school.

Illinois Junior Level
Stuart R. Paddock School
225 Washington Court
Palatine, IL 60067
(847) 963-5800
Project Title: Energy and Environment Helpers Club
Project Adviser: Melanie Andres
Student Directors: Iulia Gheorghiv and Bethany Lewin

Our goal as a club was to teach students and adults about the importance of conserving energy through fun activities. We worked very hard to reach our goal - brainstorming ideas for projects as a club, learning about energy, and deciding on ways to teach others and get them involved.
We worked on a great many projects throughout the year. We held a trash audit, collected gently used toys, games and books for a K-8 school in Chicago, and created Recycle Residence by reusing our house from last year. We collected many items to recycle or reuse. We also collected money for UNICEF School-In-A-Box Kits for victims of the tsunami. We presented before PTA, created two activities to be taught to primary classes, and held an environment contest. We also asked Paddock families to submit their own energy hints, which we compiled and published. In addition, we participated in the Earth Angels’ Reunion Day. We are still working - creating games, helping the PTA Environment Committee with a waste-free lunch day, and planting flowers. This year we think we reached a lot of people with our messages about saving energy and helping the earth.