GOING GREEN

Dovetailing with UNESCO’S Week for Sustainable Development, St. Stephen’s first-ever Green Week was very successful and, as several students have put it, a great show of what our students are capable of achieving together. The six-day event (November 9-14) set out not only to raise awareness of environmental issues, but also to empower student leaders on a broad scale and provide the creative spark for future school-wide projects.
Some forty members of Students United for Nature (S.U.N.) and the Recycling Club collaborated to plan and run the week, with Activities Coordinator Mr. Pringle, S.U.N. Faculty Advisor Mrs. Johnson-Mottola, and me, Jennifer Chen, as Recycling Faculty Advisor on-hand to help guide the vision to fruition. Threemajor educational moments punctuatedtheweek: an all-school Eco Quiz team competition, the screening of Leonardo Di Caprio’s powerful documentary The 11th Hour and a guest talk by parent and FAO Senior Fishery Industry Officer Michele Kuruc on the urgency of protection of the world’s fisheries. Every day at lunch students had the opportunity to support environmental causes by participating in the raffle and bake sale or signing petitions calling upon the administration to take new green initiatives, such as phasing in recycled paper products throughout the school, reducing food waste at lunch, using eco-friendly cleaning products andeliminating plastic cups and stirrers in the bar (Rome does not recycle these items). Ms. Murphy, who has wholeheartedly affirmed our commitment to going green, is preparing a response.
Other festivities, intendedto energize the student body, included an acoustic concert and all-school Field Day that saw 150 students in twenty teams descend on Circo Massimo Friday afternoon to compete in a rotation of recycling-themed relays, Capture the Can and a battle of Tug ofWar so intense that we broke both ropes!
The Saturday Eco Fair, the flagship event, offered a combination of crafts for families and opportunities for all to dialogue and learn. Student leaders ran non-profit sales of fair trade t-shirts, St. Stephen’s cloth shopping bags (Keep an eye out for sale of these at other community events!), raffle tickets, and homemade baked goods. Representatives from Greenpeace and Occhio del Riciclone mingled with the modest but enthusiastic turnout to discuss local and global environmental efforts and sell funky accessories fashioned from recycled materials. An organic barbecue with live entertainment capped off the day.
Themain event was a series of presentations, beginning with S.U.N. on the damaging consequences of our excessive use of plastic bags and their participation in the Occhio del Riciclone’s Porta la Sporta initiative to educate area shopkeepers and encourage them to promote the use of reusable shopping bags. In sharing about their organization, Greenpeace urged everyone to consider their role in protecting the environment and congratulated our two clubs on their projects. Jan Klaus di Blasio ‘04 screened the trailer of the moving documentary Home, andS.U.N. President Sofia, Recycling President Guido, and Ms. Murphy delivered impassioned closing remarks. Green Week’s most tangible outcomes are the 500 Euros raised for environmental causes and a pizza party generously donated by Parents Association President Carmen Moauro awarded to Team #19 for ranking first in the weeklong competition. But surely the most sought-after goals were to inspire heightened awareness of the range and seriousness of the dangers we as human beings face given our abuse of the environment and to provide the impetus for action.
Sofia clearly expressed the week’s educational purpose in a poster addressed to the student body: “You have every reason to ask yourself, ‘In what way am I helping the environment by playing a quiz game or watching a movie?’ True, you may not be saving the world from the effects of global warming simply by attending the Eco Quiz in Morning Meeting. But at least you will have gained some knowledge about environmental issues. And that is already a start.” Responses by students at each grade level, including Shirley and Giorgia, confirm an earnest move in the direction of education. While Roberto praised Green Week for “show[ing] what our school is capable of doing,” he expressed the hope that in future years a larger percentage of the student body will feel implicated and compelled to take action. This emphasis on active engagement was very much the spirit of remarks that Recycling Club Secretary Emma prepared for the Eco Fair. Describing the dire state of the planet, she urged, “The only way that we can change this pessimistic view on life in a few years is by a drastic change in our society, culture and everyday life, and the way we and other people think!…. We hope that you will enjoy this event and leave with a though: How am I going to make a difference?”
Many other participants, including junior Bhavana and Giulia, felt that GreenWeek successfully incited new reflection and action. “It was also very well set up, with the groups and the competitions, and I think that’s what really got it going: competition and the will to make our school and possibly our city a greener place!” Trojano said. Moreover, taking part in an important effort was a personally enriching experience for Giulia: “Saturday was awesome because I finally got to work on something that I’m really feel proud of!” Whether or not Green Week will become an annual tradition – as many certainly hope it will –, the green movement has set down fresh roots at St. Stephen’s. How it will grow to make a difference both at SSS and in our larger community is up to us – as individuals with a conscience and as a school with a true commitment to action.

Ms. Jennifer Chen, English Departmen
Faculty Advisor for the Recycling Club

 

RECYCLING CLUB

If you walk around school for more than a minute, you will most certainly stumble upon some strange looking yellow or blue bin with “paper”or “plastic/ glass/ tin”written on it. You also may find some posters that will tell you some interesting facts about the horrible treatment we are giving to our only earth. The St. Stephens Recycling Club 2009 has been making huge progress at school in terms of both recycling and community this first semester.
Our group is composed of about 25 students from every possible grade and background, showing a spirit of awareness as well as great dedication. This dedication was reflected in the outcomes of UNESCO “Green Week” during which each of us took an important role, whether it was by making posters and publicizing or by working at the center of the decisions and planning. Before “Green Week”, the Recycling Club bought and organized the bins and supplies that were needed to set up the recycling structure at our school. We also explained what can be thrown into each bin by performing skits and making posters. We are divided into two committees: the maintenance committee that takes care of the condition of the bins and the collection committee that actually transports paper and other goods to the correct disposal location near school (soon to be inside school).
Recycling is the minimum one can do to slow down the process of a looming catastrophe. It is somewhat a placebo used by world governments to keep the majority happy, thinking that by putting forth this minimum effort they are saving the planet. By keeping an open mind and accepting the education given to us and turning it into action, we can make a much greater difference in our environment.

Guido President Recycling Club
Emma Secretary Recycling Club