Giant Yellow Marker Collection Recycling Box At South Avenue and Sargent Elementary Schools

Photo Credit: South Avenue Elementary School

“Penny,” the marker collection box at Sargent Elementary.
Photo Credit: Anna Sullivan Youatt

With recycling markets tanking everywhere (see New York Times article “As Costs Skyrocket, More U.S. Cities Stop Recycling”) now that China is not buying most of the recycling it used to - especially from the United States - it’s clear that it’s becoming harder to recycle, and waste has been building up more than we realized.

Crayola Launches Fun Marker Collection Recycling Bins

What is catching on, therefore, is increased awareness of ways people can tweak the small stuff in their lives to get rid of stuff without throwing it into the trash. Crayola offers an initiative for schools looking to reduce waste, called ColorCycle, and information can be found here. Says South Avenue Elementary’s Principal Laura Cahill: “The South Avenue PTA started the color box in conjunction with Crayola ColorCycle, and we are encouraging families to send in their old markers throughout the year. We also put markers in here at school as they get used up during class.”

Says Ryan Green, Vice President of South Avenue’s PTA: “Any kind of marker can be collected from any brand. Dry-erase, permanent, doesn't matter. You can send them to school with your kids, and teachers send the little messengers to dump the markers into the tube.”

How To Contain The Dead Markers Before Depositing Into Marker Collection Box

If you’re in a house that has a high marker-loss count, where separated tops and dried-out bodies are found scattered on the floor and in the couch, they now have a place to rest and find a second life. If you don’t have a kid at South Avenue, consider setting aside your markers for a friend who does.

To get into the habit of keeping trashed markers out of the regular trash can, simply designate a pretty box or container in your home, and collect the markers over time. I just stepped on a dead blue dry-erase marker last night. Top on the floor, body on the desk. Dried out and done.

Also, Bottles and Cans Collections For Recycling And Fundraising

The South Avenue PTA, and several other PTA/Os at other schools, also have Bottle and Can Collection points where you can give the school your bottles and cans instead of putting them into your big orange-top recycling bin. It has been announced by recycling professionals at Beacon City Council meetings that glass collection is becoming difficult to sort through. Broken glass contaminates the recycling collection at large, and can make it so that big batches of waste (aka recycling materials) are no longer eligible to be recycled.

Color-A-Thon Happening Saturday - Short Run Around Block Raises Money For South Avenue Elementary

DETAILS:
Registration: Starts at 10 am
Bounce House: 10:30 am to 12 pm
Color-a-Thon: Starts at at 12pm.
We will have music, food for sale, and an awesome raffle. Enjoy South Avenue’s playground where we just added a new climbing wall and ten spin!

The moment South Avenue has been waiting for all year is here - The Color-A-Thon (also called the Color Run)! This is South Avenue Elementary School’s big fundraising event organized by the PTA, which helps them buy playground equipment for the school, fund field trips, purchase class supplies, establish a sustainable school link with an Ethiopian partner school, and more.

Color-A-Thon Open To All

The run is open to everyone in the community, not just South Avenue students, and you can register at the event for $15. Some teachers and students have sponsored “student spots” for those who don’t have the registration fee, including teachers like Mrs. Biersack and Mrs. Fabia. Other teachers, including Mrs. Nunez and Principal Cahill, will be at the run throwing color and participating in other ways.

Raffle Prizes

Raffle prizes include fun stuff from Alps Sweet Shop, Beacon Bath & Bubble LLC, Beacon D'Lites, Homespun Foods, Hudson Beach Glass, and Obercreek Farm. Other participating organizations include Wee Play Community Project, with a gift certificate to the Ree Play Sale (last weekend in April!), and Beacon Recreation for donating a 2019 Beacon Pool pass.

How The Color-A-Thon Works

So it’s pretty easy - you wear white and run around the block in the neighborhood next to South Avenue. The streets are blocked for the run, and you can run around as many times as you like. Often there are parents running or walking with the kids, so if you can’t run or walk, your child will most likely join up in a pack with others.

Then, there are color points at each turn, and bright colors are literally thrown onto you! You get covered head to toe in color, and it’s a lot of fun. The color powder is made from cornstarch, and the bright color in it is a mystery. :)

You can register at the event.

TIP: Walk, don’t drive to this event. Your car will get really messy with color when you get back in after the event. Shoes get really messy.

Color-A-Thon Made The “Morning News”

South Avenue Elementary’s librarian, Mr. Burke, produces a morning news show from his library in the basement. He goes throughout the school for different scenes and has recurring characters. Usually played by himself (kind of like how Tyler Perry often plays so many roles in one movie).

Here’s Mr. Burke exploring what would happen if the Color-A-Thon and the State ELA Tests were on the same day (they were the same week this year).

South Avenue Sidewalks By Elementary School To Get Reconstructed

Kids are about to get an easier commute to South Avenue School as the crumbling slate sidewalks are set to get reconstructed by the City of Beacon. Not even a rugged three-wheel jogging stroller can make it down these sidewalks without threatening to tip over. "The intention is to go from Main Street to the school," said Beacon's City Administrator, Anthony J. Ruggiero. A timeline has not been set in stone (pun intended), but a contractor has been hired.

Usually homeowners pay privately to have their sidewalks done. But not in this case. "This is a traveled area to the school. It was viewed as safety for the kids," said Anthony when we reached out to inquire about specifics on the financing. "We received some funding from Dutchess County. There is no cost to homeowners, however, they are responsible for maintenance and upkeep."

So - yay!