Student representatives sort out paper in classrooms
By River Valley High School
RECYCLING paper is not as easy as it should be.
People throw rubbish into paper-recycling bins all over Singapore, ruining paper which could otherwise have been recycled.
But River Valley High School has this problem licked.
Each class is given a cardboard box for waste paper, and it is the job of a Green Representative to. make sure that only paper gets into the box. When it is full, he puts it into the school’s main recycling bin.
Said one such representative, 15-year-old Cheong Lah Theng: "Sometimes I have to go through the waste-paper basket to take out the paper which some of my classmates have thrown there, rather than the recycling box."
For this, and other activities, the school was given the Green Leaf Merit Award.
The students take an active part in environment-related contests, there is an ecology pond on the grounds, and the school even has a club for budding greenies.
The teachers have played a large role in making students conscious of their surroundings. Said Mrs Lim Woon Foong, 32, a science teacher with a master’s degree in botany: "We incorporate environmental consciousness into the syllabus."
Secondary 1 students are taken to water treatment plants, sewage plants and incinerators to understand waste management. In Secondary 3, chemistry students learn social chemistry — about the effects of toxic waste, acid rain and ozone layer depletion.
In Secondary 4, biology students learn about bio-diversity and nature appreciation. They are taken to nature reserves and bird sanctuaries such as the Kranji mangrove swamp and Labrador Park where they have to record their observations for a project.
As early as 1987, the school made the ecology field trip part of its biology syllabus. This year, the trip was open to all students, and Mrs. Lim said the response was very good.
But it is typical of the school that this is not seen to be enough. "Right now, the non-biology students that go on the field trips are only spectators. I am thinking of follow-ups for them, simple projects which will reinforce their knowledge."
Green representative Cheong, who is not a biology student, said the school played an important role in creating green consciousness.
She said: "The teachers lead us to take part in environmental activities."
They are also good role models, she said. "For example, there’s a recycling bin in the staff room. And the vice-principal is always reminding students to co-operate with the paper recycling project," she added.
Other schools can certainly take a leaf from River Valley High’s green book.
Source : The Straits Times, November 21 1994
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