By Greg Farrar
Students from Newcastle and Hazelwood elementary schools are honored as Earth Day Heroes for their work to reduce waste during the Newcastle Earth Day event April 20.

Students from Newcastle and Hazelwood elementary schools are doing big things to help reduce waste on the planet, and they were honored for their efforts at the city’s 2013 Earth Day celebration.

All of the hours spent rifling through trash cans, collecting juice pouches and teaching others about recycling and composting paid off when the students received Earth Day Hero Awards.

More than 50 students from both schools gathered on the stage at Lake Boren Park to receive their certificates, distributed by Newcastle’s Mandy Schendel, 2012 Miss Washington and a Hazelwood alumna herself.

“All of these kids do a great service for the environment, so it’s our pleasure to acknowledge their earth-friendly efforts,” said Grace Stiller, the Newcastle Earth Day chairwoman.

At Hazelwood Elementary, a team of students collects thousands of juice pouches at lunches to close the recycling gap and encourage reuse of items. The school also has a community garden, coordinated by teacher Kate Ingalls, which encourages sustainability and environmental education.

At Newcastle Elementary, a group of about 100 students known as the Waste Watchers dedicate their time to sorting through trash cans to properly recycle and compost items. They also teach their peers about the merits of correctly disposing of waste.

“They volunteer their time, giving up their recess or social time to work in the lunch room,” said Kathy Keegan, a teacher at Newcastle Elementary School. “It’s kind of dirty and stinky, but it really empowers them.”

It was a special moment for many of the students, who beamed with pride as they received their certificates and shook Miss Washington’s hand.

Keegan, who works and lives in the Newcastle community, said it was important for the city to honor the efforts of its environmentally minded kids.

“It is super exciting,” she said. “It’s a big honor for the students. It’s not a glamorous job, but it’s a big deal for them to make a difference in our school and our community.”

Newcastle Elementary School second graders Hannah Wand and Karina Fluegge have teamed up to  enter the Cartwheels for a Cause video contest in hopes of winning the grand prize of $5,000.

Inspired by their first grade teacher, Katie Tinnea, the girls created a short video in which they do cartwheels while reciting important facts about colon cancer.

The makers of the video that garners the most votes will receive a $5,000 donation to the cause of their choice, plus a personal prize of $1,000. If Hannah and Karina win, they plan on donating the $5,000 to the Colon Cancer Coalition, and giving the $1,000 award to Tinnea’s family.

To support Hannah and Karina’s entry, go to www.veritymom.com/2013-cartwheel-for-a-cause, and vote for video No. 7, by Stina Fluegge. Voting ends at 5 p.m. March 11.

Watch the video here: www.veritymom.com/cartwheel-entries/cartwheel-7-stina-fluegge.

Relish in the wintry holiday season with a family visit to Chaplins Bellevue Volkswagen Ice Arena and support the Newcastle Elementary School PTSA at the same time.

From Jan. 7-13, visit the ice rink, mention you are with Newcastle Elementary School and a $3 donation will be made to the PTSA for each paid rink admission.

The ice rink is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 3-9 p.m.; Wednesday from 1-9 p.m.; Friday from 3-11 p.m.; Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the dates listed above.

Admission is $10 including skate rental.

The Chaplins Bellevue Volkswagen Ice Arena is sponsored by Bank of America and is at 10201 N.E. Fourth St., Bellevue.

Volunteers are needed to organize, decorate, clean and build supplies like bulletin boards. Outside work is needed, too, with power washers and landscaping.

The Jubilee Day of Service will be from 1:30-5 p.m. Aug. 12 followed by a barbecue at Lake Boren Park.

Volunteers are needed to serve Hazelwood Elementary School and Newcastle Elementary School.

The goal is to assign teams of volunteers to each teacher who wants help getting his or her classroom ready for the new school year.

Last year, members of the Seattle Revival Center, Beit Tikvah and Emmaus Road Church helped 11 teachers at Hazelwood and Newcastle elementary schools ready their rooms for the school year.

Volunteers may sign up for this year’s event at http://erchurch.wufoo.com/forms/z7x4m1.

For the third year in a row, a local service group is building teams of volunteers who will give up a Sunday afternoon in August to help Newcastle elementary school teachers prepare their classrooms.

Volunteers are needed to organize, decorate, clean and build supplies like bulletin boards. Outside work is needed too with power washers and landscaping tasks.

The Jubilee Day of Service will be from 1:30 to 5 p.m. Aug. 12 followed by a barbecue at Lake Boren Park. Volunteers are needed to serve Hazelwood Elementary School and Newcastle Elementary School.The goal is to assign teams of volunteers to each teacher who wants help getting their classroom ready for the new school year.

Last year, members of the Seattle Revival Center, Beit Tikvah and Emmaus Road Church helped 11 area teachers at Hazelwood and Newcastle elementary schools ready their rooms for the school year.

Volunteers may sign up for this year’s event at http://erchurch.wufoo.com/forms/z7x4m1/.

In order to make sure there are enough volunteers, people are asked to sign up before the deadline on the last day of school June 21.

By Christina Lords Jenna Silvestri, 7, a Newcastle Elementary School first-grader, prepares to create a combustion reaction after Pacific Science Center outreach coordinator Carrie Pucko gives her the proper safety instructions at the school’s first-ever science fair May 11.

Jenna Silvestri stands atop the Newcastle Elementary School stage with more than 100 students clustered around its stairs in eager anticipation.

Outfitted with neon safety glasses and a long plastic tube that connects to a metal pot in front of her, she’s ready to go.

A countdown begins.

Three.

Two.

One.

After taking in a huge gulp of air, the 7-year-old supplies the experiment with the one thing it needs — oxygen — and blows. A big flame of fire puffs up in front of her.

As a first-grade volunteer and participant in Newcastle Elementary’s first science fair, sponsored by the school’s PTA, Silvestri said she was excited to learn more about science.

“I didn’t really know very much about it, so I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do an experiment,” she said. “But now I like it.”

Silvestri joined more than 200 students to create about 125 projects for the fair, which also featured the Pacific Science Center’s Radical Reactions demonstration by outreach coordinator Carrie Pucko.

“The show’s primary function is to get interest up in these young kids,” she said. “It gets them excited about science, even with this very simple chemistry. They see that this stuff is actually kinda cool.”

The show provides visible examples of combustion and chemical reaction using various materials and is a favorite demonstration for small children, Pucko said.

“Fire never fails to impress,” she said, “especially when the lights go out.”

Some teachers required participation in the fair, while others could volunteer a project if they wanted, event organizer and PTA member Danielle Dixon said.

“They can start a lifelong passion for learning about science,” she said. “They learn to hypothesize, and they learn what to do if their hypothesis isn’t correct … They get that love of learning early on.”

Silvestri said it was her first time learning about how to formulate a hypothesis and find a conclusion. She said she wants to learn more about science in the future.

Her experiment — Can I make a hummingbird nest? — turned out to be trickier than she thought, she said.

“Parrots are my favorite animal so I wanted to learn more about birds,” she said. “Then we found a hummingbird nest that was lost and had fallen down, and I wanted to learn more about that.”

After creating a list of materials a hummingbird needs to make a nest, analyzing data and evaluating results, she said she concluded she couldn’t create a hummingbird nest on her own because she lacks one essential material — spider silk to keep the other materials bound together.

Newcastle residents Rich Crispo, Lisa Jensen, John Jensen, Eric Markell, Charlie Black, Macaire Ament, Katie Ringwood, Maggie Likes, Sue Mystkowski, Chris Scheckler, Brian Park, Kurt Fluegge, Andy Wand, Christine Chapelle, Milia Kostadinova and Michele Maresh served as judges for the event.

“I picked up on something early on,” Markell said. “The girls were more intellectual about it. The guys were more like, ‘What can I make a mess with?’”

Newcastle Elementary School is gearing up for its fourth annual Amazing Race on June 8.

Newcastle’s Amazing Race is a family event where participants compete against other teams in academic and physical challenges, but more importantly help out local charities.

This year  the event will raise money and collect clothing for the Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank and Treehouse, a foster care agency.

Each team in the race consists of one adult and three children. The participants do not all have to be from the same family, but each of the students must attend Newcastle Elementary School. Registration costs are $40 per team to compete in the race.

Registration fees will be donated to the designated charities.

There are only 30 team spots available on a first come, first serve basis. You can also find an electronic form of the application on the school’s home page.

From May 21 to June 8, in conjunction with the race, the organizers will also be holding a clothing drive.

These donations will be split among the Issaquah Clothing Bank and Treehouse. Acceptable donations include gently used clothing for adults, teenagers, children and infants.

Collection bins are located outside the main office.  Contact fourth grade teacher Trent Neugebauer at  Neugebauert@issaquah.wednet.edu for more information.

Learn more about the event and register via the registration form.

The Newcastle Elementary PTSA-sponsored event will begin with a Radical Reactions demonstration by the Pacific Science Center.

After the show, attendees can engage in hands-on activities led by staff members from the Kids Quest Museum and observe science fair projects created by students from Newcastle Elementary School. Judges from different branches of the science community will be there as well.

California Pizza Kitchen is at 595 106th Ave. N.E. in Bellevue; Barnes & Noble is at 626 106th Ave. N.E.

The fundraiser will be in lieu of the school spring scholastic book fair.

Call the school at 837-5800 for more information.

“These stewards of the environment are our heroes — for conserving resources, protecting the environment, and spreading the word about sustainable practices,” Constantine said in a statement. “I am proud to recognize them for their hands-on commitment to the planet.”

A King County Green School since 2009, Newcastle Elementary School ensures its recycling and composting programs thrive through Waste Watchers, a program where students monitor lunchroom containers to ensure proper sorting.

In an effort to save paper, the school’s staff-meeting notes are no longer printed out, and teachers and students work together to post signs about conserving resources.

The school has also increased its recycling rate from 50 percent to 60 percent.

The executive will present awards to Earth Heroes at 4:30 p.m. April 26 at Maplewood Greens, in Renton.

The program will recognize one student, three student groups, four school programs, eight teachers and seven other school employees this year.

Some of the accomplishments of those receiving the awards include enhancing the health of a local watershed; creating an eco-leaders program for fifth-graders to teach environmental topics to younger schoolmates; repairing old computers and distributing them free to needy families; and repurposing and reusing furniture, equipment and materials that would otherwise have been discarded.

Many winners also participate in the King County Green Schools Program to take specific actions to conserve natural resources and reduce waste.

Email Donna Miscolta at donna.miscolta@kingcounty.gov or call 206-296-4477 for information about the Earth Heroes at School Program.