EDUCATION: Newfane students 'Wild About the Earth'

By Joe Olenick<br><a href="mailto:olenickj@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Joe</a>
Lockport Union-Sun & Journal

NEWFANE May 02, 2008 11:37 pm

— Things got a little wild in the hallways of Newfane Elementary School on Friday.
Students, parents and residents packed the school for the Wild About the Earth festival, an event that teaches Newfane kids the importance of recycling and caring for the environment.
Every year, the school holds a festival that focuses on some multi-cultural theme. Principal Kathleen Nagle said all of the attention on the environment these days is what inspired the festival’s theme this year. It also taught the kids something.
“It’s best to start early with kids,” Nagle said. “And it is just a nice thing to draw the community in and bring everyone together.”
Nagle added that two teachers, Tammy Ludwig and Beth Gaskill, were in charge of putting the whole event together. Students helped, and even accounted for the massive amount of artwork displayed in three of the school’s hallways.
Each of the hallways in the school was given a name, such as “African Safari,” “Under the Sea” and “Tropical Rainforest.” Streamers of different colors hung down from the ceiling — green for the safari and blue for the sea. Even the crafts set up at special sections in the hallways related to the themes. Newfane students Ethan Morgan, Caroline Connolly, Tiffany Loughrey and Adi Zafrano were in charge of the “butterfly puppet” craft table.
“They showed us what to do, and we’re showing others,” Connolly, a fifth-grader, said.
She and Loughrey explained how to make a butterfly puppet.
“First you take the paper and draw on both sides. Next, you tie it with a pipe cleaner to the (popsicle) stick,” they said.
Located in the Tropical Rainforest hallway, and like the rest of the craft tables, the butterfly puppet table got a little busy as the night went on.
“There was a giant mob,” Morgan, a fourth-grader, said.
The other crafts included making a fish out of a recycled bottle and paper and making a “snake charmer” bracelet out of a paper towel roll. Animal ears and manes made out of paper were worn by kids, and even a few adults. There also was face painting, an explanation of why so many kids had whiskers Friday night.
Some Newfane kids took recycled material and transformed it into robots, which were on display in the main lobby and by the pool lobby. Parents were impressed by how the robots looked.
“They have some real talented kids here,” said Scott Boudeman.
Boudeman was at the festival with his wife, Mary, and his children, Andrew and Lauren. Both children had whiskers painted on their faces. Andrew said he had a robot on display, and he helped out with the decorations.
Along with the festivities, the Lions Club was also collecting ink cartridges, eyeglasses and cell phones under the tent in front of the school. Special presentations were made by the Niagara Power Authority, which also showed off a “hydro car” by the main entrance.
Children’s author Eric Carle’s “Brown Bear” was performed in Spanish in the elementary gym, where a bit later, educational performer Glenn Colton performed a concert. There were additional presentations, one about geothermal energy and another by Modern Disposal about recycling and what products it produces.
“We have long felt you go to school to learn,” said Modern presenter Ted Osborne. “If they learn when they’re younger, they’ll carry it through the rest of their life. They’ll also bring it home and teach the parents.”
But just because there was educational value to it, doesn’t mean it couldn’t be fun. Loughrey and Zafrano would agree, as they both said they were having lots of it. They responded at the same time when asked why they like the “Under the Sea” hallway the best.
“Because it’s cool!” they exclaimed.
Contact reporter Joe Olenick at 439-9222, ext. 6241.


Special displays at the Newfane “Wild About the Earth” festival
• Student artwork and craft stations in the hallways
• Recycled robots in main and pool lobbies
• Miller Hose fire prevention
• Special presentations by the Niagara Power Authority and Modern Disposal

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