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Yankee Town students showcase outdoor classroom, recycling and community projects
Summary
Students and staff from Yankee Town Elementary presented a school spotlight to the Warrick County School Corp board highlighting an outdoor classroom and trail, a book vending machine, recycling drives and community fundraising and volunteer projects.
Yankee Town Elementary students and staff presented the school’s programs and recent achievements to the Warrick County School Corp board during the board’s April 28 meeting.
The presentation, introduced by Director of Schools Dr. Redmond and by Yankee Town Principal David McConnell, described a new outdoor classroom and trail developed with help from Kaiser Aluminum and the school PTO, a recently installed book vending machine, monthly "Deposit Tuesdays" where parents provide refreshments for staff, the plant-a-promise program during Red Ribbon Week, and student-led recycling and service projects.
Board members heard that the outdoor classroom — the "Yankee Hollow Trail and Outdoor Classroom" — has been revitalized with trail markers for science lessons and is used by teachers when weather permits. The school described a calming hallway outside special education rooms intended to help students self-regulate. Librarian Ms. Timan told the board the school installed a book vending machine about two months earlier to reward students for reading.
Students said the school participates in a national aluminum can recycling program and reported winning a prior nationwide competition by recycling 163,590 cans, which the presentation said funded Quaver social-emotional learning software for classrooms. The school said it is competing again and has collected almost 100,000 cans so far this year.
Student leadership also described fundraising and service efforts. The group listed community donations made with student-raised funds to organizations including Love Like Ashton, the Warrick Humane Society, Youth First Society Suicide Prevention, Borrowed Hearts, and the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. The student leadership said its Christmas food drive supplied 41 families and 189 children and raised more than $3,500 for community organizations.
The presentation closed with a short musical performance by a student and an invitation for board members and attendees to visit Yankee Town Elementary.
Board members thanked the students and staff and invited them to stay or depart after the recognition.
