Mount Arlington Public School has been working hard this past year on a two phase program. Phase I of their program is a bicycle and Pedal-A-Watt system utilized in their physical education classes to generate electricity. The electricity produced is used to charge large batteries that then power the sound system which supplies their PE classes with music. To accompany this Pedal-A-Watt system Mount Arlington has created a log sheet that compares the participant’s heart rate before and after their pedaling and then tracks the calories they burned. With this log they have created multiple fitness cha
llenges and opportunities. The first is the “Mount Arlington PowerUp to PowerSave Challenge”. In this challenge the entire student body has the opportunity to log their time on the bicycle and see if they can generate more energy than staff, administration, local police, PTA and the Board of Education members combined. Along with this student vs school community challenge, awards will be given for the following achievements: most watts generated by a single participant, grade level with the most energy produced, endurance award for the participant who logs the longest session, and an insanity award for the most intense session logged. The next opportunity ties this initiative to another Sustainable Jersey
project that Mount Arlington has been working on. Classrooms receive an “Energy Hog” sticker when they forget to turn the lights off, shut down technology devices, etc. Teachers can work these “Energy Hog” stickers off by logging time on the Pedal-A-Watt bicycle. With Phase I of this initiative well on its way, Mount Arlington has begun moving forward to Phase II. In Phase II the school plans on enlisting the help of the PTA parents to assist in the installation of small greenhouses to grow small seedlings. This year these seedlings will be sold to parents as a fundraiser. Future plans are to use these seedlings to create a community-wide garden for the students to maintain, and the entire community to benefit from. Great work Mount Arlington Public School!
http://www.mtarlingtonk8.org/
