A high school peer-to-peer
project is partnering Life Skills
and science students in an adopt-a-plant
initiative to allow young teens to mentor
while learning about the growth cycle of
plants. Using the school’s greenhouse,
students are propagating babies from
spider plants and nurturing them until
they are large enough to share with
others. The spider plant is among several
houseplants known for improving indoor
air quality by filtering out volatile organic
compounds. Students have learned that
ozone, or smog, is the main component
of air pollution which filters into homes
and other indoor environments. Spider
plants have been effective in reducing
ozone concentrations in classrooms. In
connection with the adopt-a-plant
project, improvements to the green
house are underway, making the space
wheelchair accessible.
The high school green house is home to
plants being nurtured to improve the air
quality in classrooms.
Crafton Elementary sixth grader
Sean Hart finished with a top
score at the Sumdog math competition
sponsored by Allegheny County in
October. The online contest assesses
math proficiency through the use of
mathematic equations and games.
Upperclassmen enrolled in the Holocaust
Studies semester course traveled to the
Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh in Squirrel
Hill to learn more about the era of the Nazi
regime. They were accompanied by teacher
Timothy Patsko.
While there, students observed The
Butterfly Project, an art exhibit of ceramic butterflies meant to
symbolize the lives of some 1.5 million children lost during the
war. Harry Schneider, an 80-year-old Holocaust survivor, shared
his story. “I was told to stay alive so I could tell the world of the
atrocities that took place,” said Schneider. Schneider’s family
escaped the war camps by fleeing to the dense forests of Poland
and later crossing into Russia. Born just outside of Warsaw, he
was two-years-old when German soldiers visited his home and
burned it to the ground.
After viewing artifacts from the Holocaust and watching a
documentary, the students hopped on a bus to travel several
blocks to the Holocaust memorial, Keeping Tabs. Keeping Tabs
is a collection of six million can tabs collected over an 18-year
period. The tabs represent the six million Jews murdered during the
Holocaust. The sculpture, made of 960 glass blocks, stands nine
feet high and spans 45 feet in width. Each glass block contains
6,250 can tabs. From the air, the sculpture is intended to portray
a segmented Star of David.
Each block in the Keeping Tabs
memorial contains 6,250 can tabs.
From the air, the memorial
resembles the Star of David. Mr. Patsko and students, standing in front of the Keeping Tabs
memorial, were enthralled by the remarkable commemorative.
4 2 CARLYNTON-MONTOUR
Junior Alexis Dixon chats with survivor Henry Schneider after he
shared memories as a child in war-torn Germany.