High school scholars at Uplift Infinity have been working hard and having fun while picking up trash after school.
The Environmental League at Uplift Infinity meets every Tuesday after school. Supplies such as trash bags, buckets, and trash pickers are passed out to scholars, and then the race is on.
“We have a weigh-in at the end and we just kind of try to have a friendly competition of who can pick up the most trash,” said Mr. Magers, Chemistry teacher and Environmental League advisor at Uplift Infinity.
Scholars work in teams to locate any trash that they can find around campus parking lots, the soccer field, and along the sidewalks.
“We have kids of all ages on our campus, and they can be messy, so we’re just trying to keep it clean,” said Juan Castillo, junior at Uplift Infinity. “I’ve always liked cleaning up my community, and the fact that I can earn community service hours for this, it’s like a win-win.”
Community service hours are part of the CAS requirements for high school scholars seeking an International Baccalaureate Diploma.
The three components of CAS are:
- Creativity – arts, and other experiences that involve creative thinking.
- Activity – physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle, complementing academic work elsewhere in the DP.
- Service – an unpaid and voluntary exchange that has a learning benefit for the student. The rights, dignity, and autonomy of all those involved are respected.
Participating in extracurricular activities or organizations such as the Environmental League is a great way to help satisfy the service component of CAS.
“I didn’t start the club, Mr. Magers actually started the club based on the one he ran at his previous school,” said Cesia Benitez, senior at Uplift Infinity and President of the Environmental League. “However, I’ve always been enthusiastic about climate change, and I just wanted to make my own type of impact in my community.”
Cesia’s biggest takeaway as she heads off to college next year is that volunteering can be a really rewarding experience.
“Picking up trash might sound boring at first, but once you’re out there, and you spend time with your friends, it’s really fun,” said Cesia.
As of November 9th, the Environmental League had accumulated 84 hours of community service, and a total of 50 lbs. of trash.
“It’s our school, and it’s important to keep it clean for our families and visitors, and we need to make sure we are presenting ourselves well,” said Genesis Romero, junior at Uplift Infinity.
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