Starside Elementary Goes Green with Bob the Ball

Have you heard about the new student at Starside Elementary? His name is Bob, and he's the most popular kid at school. Bob wears cool costumes for all the school holidays, and has his very own bag for collecting Valentines because he gets so many. Students love Bob so much they write him letters, draw him pictures and even write plays about him.

It's not just the students though. The office staff at Starside Elementary in De Soto, Kan. support Bob as much as they can, wearing signs around their necks saying "Bob's Buddy," "Vote for Bob," and "Bob is #1." But the best thing about Bob is that he has gotten the students and the staff excited about recycling.

Bob is a ball of aluminum foil that, thanks to efforts of students, staff, grandparents and neighbors, grew to such epic proportions that he merited a name. While Starside Elementary had been engaged in recycling and "green-aware" for many years, the students wanted to raise the bar by dedicating a year to an environmental issue.

The idea for Bob began at a staff luncheon when teachers got together to think of a theme for the year. They began an aluminum ball with leftover foil from the meeting. The ball initiated a discussion among students about where aluminum comes from, how it is extracted from the Earth and how recycling it can put a stop to the damaging effects of aluminum mining.

As the students' enthusiasm spread to the surrounding community, foil was saved and added to the ball. Halloween costumes made from foil became "Bob food" after the festivities had ended.

Whether sporting a Santa hat or Valentine ears, Bob has been active in school celebrations and has attended several school assemblies. The 5th graders gathered around Bob for their class picture. It takes several people to lift Bob now and he is on rollers so he can travel. Bob the Ball will be recycled and the students are already planning to create another aluminum ball next year that will be named Betty. Betty will be an important part of Starside Elementary's theme for next year: Starside Going Greener.

Submitted by Paula S. Henderson, Starside Elementary School

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