School system takes One Bag Challenge Celebrates Youth Art Month
By WILLIAM PAINE
Patriot Publishing
Pulaski County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Laura Walters attended this week’s meeting of the Pulaski County School Board to promote the county’s One Bag Challenge anti-litter campaign.
This year’s theme is “Pick it up Pulaski!,” and students who participate are eligible for cash rewards and a $1,000 scholarship opportunity.
“The challenge began on March 1, and so far, we got 211 bags, 17 tires and other miscellaneous trash,” said Walters as she addressed the board. “The challenge will run through June 30.”
For the second year in a row, the school system will join the county in their efforts to clean up the roadsides of Pulaski County, as school clubs and athletic teams are being encouraged to participate.
In addition to giving students a sense of satisfaction for doing their part in cleaning the community, participants have a chance to win $100 at a monthly drawing, which will take place at the April, May and June school board meetings.
For each bag collected, middle and high school students will receive one submission for the monthly drawings. Three winners will be drawn at each meeting.
Participants are asked to take photos of their bagged trash along with information about where they picked it up before sending it to lwalters@pulaskicounty.org or texting to (540) 230-6272. The photos will be posted on the county’s Clean Community Council website.
Three more drawings for the $100 prize will take place at every meeting of the board of supervisors continuing from March through June and all citizens of Pulaski County are eligible to win.
Additionally, high school and middle school students can take advantage of a $1,000 scholarship opportunity, which is funded by both the school system and the board of supervisors. The scholarship can be won by either submitting a 1000-word essay, which reflects on the student’s trash collection experience or by creating a Social Media Challenge encouraging others to take up the cause. Essays must be submitted to gina.paine@pcva.us
Orange bags, trash grabbers, gloves and vests are available free of charge at both the high school and at the county administration office.
Elementary school students can participate in the One Bag Challenge by creating artwork that promotes the Pick it up Pulaski theme. Students attending 4th and 5th grades are encouraged to create posters promoting the One Bag Challenge, while Kindergarten through 3rd grade students will color in pictures provided by the schools. Artwork submitted by K-5 elementary students will be shown by the Fine Arts Center at the Pulaski County Innovation Center in April and May and contest winners will receive a gift basket.
Winners of the scholarship, Poster Contest and Coloring Contest will be announced at the FAC reception at the Innovation Center on May15th.
The Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley has declared March to be Youth Art Month and artwork from elementary, middle and high School students from Pulaski County and Radford are currently on display at the Edna B. Love Gallery at the FAC’s 21 West Main Street location. Youth Art Month will be on view for the entirety of March and there is no admission charge.
In other school news, the problem of chronic absenteeism is apparently improving in Pulaski County Public Schools.
According to Superintendent Rob Graham, school attendance is at 94 percent at almost all schools and chronic absenteeism is down by 19 percent from last year. Graham attributes this partly to communication software, which notifies parents when their children aren’t in school and it informs them as to how many absences their children currently have.
The Future Farmers of America will be celebrating National Agriculture Day on Tuesday, March 18 with a Drive your Tractor to School Day parade. Starting at 7 a.m. in Randolph Park, about two dozen tractors will make their way to Pulaski County High School and some of them will likely be transporting school board members along the way.
Towards the end of the meeting, school board vice chair Sabrina Cox made mention of a monetary donation to assist Dublin, Critzer and Snowville Elementary schools with enough money to take students on field trips to Williamsburg and Jamestown.
“Our community, spearheaded by Adam Farris of Iron Heart Winery, donated $7,433 to help pay for field trips to Virginia historical sites,” said Cox. “We live in a wonderful community. Don’t let anybody tell you any different.”