School District: Snoqualmie Valley
School Location: Snoqualmie
Began participating in the Green Schools Program: September 2008

Level one of the Green Schools Program: Achieved in June 2009

Waste reduction and recycling

• Twin Falls Middle School opened its doors in September 2008.  Led by teachers John Spiess and Dawn Frearson and supported by custodian Betty Hamilton, Twin Falls started its first year with an emphasis on resource conservation.  During the summer of 2008, Spiess, Frearson and Hamilton prepared to have classroom and lunchroom recycling set up for the first day of the new school.
• Recycling containers provided by the Green Schools Program were placed in the lunchroom for milk cartons, juice boxes, plastic bottles and aluminum cans and in hallways for comingled recycling.  Spiess and his team also worked hard to receive additional grant funding for more containers, given the large size of the school.
• Through morning announcements and lunchroom monitoring, the Green Team at Twin Falls helped students learn what materials can be recycled.  Over the course of the year, the recycling rate at Twin Falls improved from a solid starting point of 41 percent to a high of 50 percent.
• Twin Falls students developed Waste Free lunch ideas to share with their fellow students who bring lunch from home.  A Waste Free lunch includes durable and recyclable packaging. 
• Spiess and the environmental club prepared conservation tips for the weekly parent newsletter and promoted “no-print” days to encourage paper reduction.   

Environmental education/energy conservation

• Teachers at Twin Falls work together on curriculum design.  One example is a unit called the “Garbage Dump Dilemma” where students look at what happens when items are left to decompose.  The unit includes math calculations and scientific testing and measuring of variables.
• Through the Cool School Challenge, the school worked to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
• The school reduced energy use after the district provided automatic computer shut down at the end of every school day. 

Awards

• Spiess received a King County Earth Hero at School award in 2009 for his leadership in setting up a recycling program and guiding the school’s environmental club.

Twin Falls Middle School’s plans for 2009-10 include the following:

• Continuing to educate students about the importance of waste reduction, recycling and resource conservation
• Adding to their Waste Free lunch ideas and encouraging students to eat the food that they bring to school or accept in the cafeteria line
• Continuing to reduce energy use
• Starting an anti-idling campaign

For more information about the school’s conservation achievements and participation in the Green Schools Program, contact:

John Spiess, teacher
spiessj@svsd410.org

Ruth Moen, principal
moenr@svsd410.org