By Kathy Brown.
Sixth grade social studies students at Haddam Killingworth Middle School have started selling “Save the Ocean” bracelets after being inspired by a new World Geography course this year, taught by sixth grade Social Studies teacher, JoAnn Smith.
Students in grades 4-8 at HKMS/HKIS can purchase the bracelets at school for $1 each; all proceeds will help the byebyeplasticbags.org foundation, which was founded by two young girls in Bali, Indonesia. Melati (age 17) and Isabel (age 15) were only 12 and 10 years old when they were inspired by a lesson in school. Bye Bye Plastic Bags was founded by them in 2013 and has grown into an international movement.
Like Melati and Isabel, Haddam and Killingworth students wondered what they could do, after Mrs. Smith read the book Gone to Drift by Diana McCauley with her class, about plastic in the ocean. The students wanted to help. Emerson Golden, Sydney Wrinn, Addie Harkin, Paisley Hardgrover, and Reagan Aronson came up with the idea, and the other students wanted to help. First they made some bracelets, then purchased rubber ones that say “HK Cares 2019-20” on one side, and “Save Our Oceans” on the other.
Students in other classes and grades can purchase the bracelets during lunch from students who sell the bracelets during each lunch wave. They are hoping to make around $300 to donate to Bye Bye Plastic Bags.
“The students say it feels really good to know that they are helping to make the world a better place,” said Mrs. Smith. “Like Helen Keller said, ‘Alone we can do so little, but together we can do so much.'”
