Game Show at Glendale

Below are just a couple quick images from playing the Energy Game Show at Glendale this afternoon. The fourth graders had a lot of fun with "Who Wants to be an Energy Zillionaire." When asked what was one thing they were surprised to learn after playing a game filled with energy trivia and fun facts, most responded with the fact that the U.S. consumes nearly $1,000,000 in energy every minute of every day, 365 days of the year. Also several students thought that of this staggering amount of energy, some of it was surely wasted and not all used wisely. GD 4th graders are Energy Rock Stars!

Award Winning Westwood

Westwood Elementary joined the other award-winning schools in the district this morning. At their staff meeting, camera shy head building operator Barry accepted the award on behalf of the staff and students in their K- 5 school. Principal Pam Winfield praised Barry and the staff's conservation efforts which resulted in the Outstanding Achievement in Energy Reduction Award for 2010. Way to go, Westwood! Thanks for doing your part, you are Energy Rock Stars!

Today's Energy Thought

It's that time of year again... time to adjust the direction of your ceiling fans as we head into the warmer summer months. During cooling season, the blades should be rotating in a counter-clockwise direction. If your fan is spinning clockwise, look for an adjustment switch located on the motor at the center of the fan and slide it in the opposite direction, when the fan is turned off, of course.

The effect of a ceiling fan in the summer months is very similar to what we call a wind chill factor when outdoors in cooler temps. By producing a breeze or wind chill, the downward airflow of a ceiling fan can make a room with a thermostat setting of 78 degrees feel more like 72 degrees. The actual thermostat reading does not change, it does not cool the room, but people in the room will feel the wind chill effect making them more comfortable.

TOMS Earns Energy Award

Upon arrival at Twin Oaks Middle School last week to present their SEE Award, I found several staff members reclining on the floor of the Gold gym. They were actually making a formation of human letters to spell out LAKERS for a project they are working on promoting school pride and spirit. It was an entertaining process to observe. Once completed, the staff then gathered for their meeting.

At the time of the staff meeting, head custodian Bob had already left for the day so his assistant Terry accepted the award on behalf of the students and staff at Twin Oaks. TOMS received recognition for Outstanding Achievement in Energy Use Reduction for 2010.

Thank you, Twin Oaks for doing a great job at saving energy in your building and saving money for the school district! And as you've heard me say before, it's not just about saving energy and money. It's also about being good stewards of our natural resources and eco-conscious keepers of the earth, the world our students in ISD 719 will be growing up in for many years to come.

The Awards Continue

Congratulations to Five Hawks on Outstanding Achievement in Energy Reduction for 2010! Accepting on behalf of all the students and staff in their school are head building operator Bill and principal Tim Bell. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed, Five Hawks!

Way to go everyone, keep up the great job of being eco-conscious and Energy Rock Stars!

Back by popular demand!

The year two game show "Who wants to be an Energy Zillionaire?" is returning to the district for a second time this school year due to teachers requesting the activity for their classroom having missed it the first time around. The limited return engagement goes through Friday June 3rd. It is best suited for grades 3 - 12. If you would like me to visit your classroom to play this fun and educational activity with your students, please contact me via email or at ext. 0051.

Congratulations HOMS!

Earlier this week at Hidden Oaks Middle School Diane, an assistant to head building operator Scott, accepted an energy award on behalf of the staff and students in this energy conscious building. As I congratulated them, I also shared with them that these results are great but it is not just about saving energy to save money. The middle school staff is also helping to preserve natural resources to make the earth a better environment for their students to grow up in and modeling behavior that shows the kids we need to be good keepers of our resources. Congratulations, HOMS, for Outstanding Achievement in Energy Reduction for 2010!

Another Award Winning Building

Head building operator Jim and Principal Richardson accepted an energy award for Glendale Elementary in Savage at their staff meeting yesterday. Glendale met the district goal of a 10%  reduction in energy use for 2010. The students and staff in their building have been working very hard on their energy conservation efforts and this award proves it.

Thank you, Glendale for being on board with the SEE program, you are Energy Rock Stars! Keep up the good work in your building and hopefully you will do just as good or better in 2011. Looking forward to bringing more great energy activities to your building this fall including another version of the Energy Game Show and a human powered generator, a fun interactive tool for the students.

Energy with a Canadian Twist

Click here for a couple of ENERGY QUIZZES from an Eco Kids website in Canada. These may be a little more challenging because you need to be familiar with the metric system or how to convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius.

Click here for some fun ECO GAMES at the site. Even though these links are from our neighbor to the north, the issues and information are still applicable to us in the United States. The quizzes are fun, especially the one that takes you from room-to-room in a house. Also check out the games and other cool stuff at the Eco Kids site. The HOME PAGE has options for students or teachers. Check it out, eh?

Did you know?

TRUE or FALSE:
More money is spent in schools each year for energy than for both textbooks and computers combined.

Scroll down for the answer...

Lighting accounts for the majority of a school's energy costs followed closely by heating and cooling. What is spent on energy is greater than what is spent on books and computers combined so the answer is TRUE. Because energy use is controllable, when we conserve energy in the school district we are saving money and then are keeping these monies in the district for other student necessities. Thaks for doing your part!

Award Winning Jeffers Pond

Congratulations to Jeffers Pond! At their All School Assembly last Friday, I was able to present the principal Mrs. Solberg, head building operator Mr. Baumbach, the entire student body and all of the teachers and staff with an award from SEE.

Jeffers Pond earned recognition for Outstanding Achievement in Energy Reduction for 2010 by exceeding their annual energy reduction goal of 10%. Way to go, JP! Thanks for doing your part to save energy and keep those energy dollars in our district.

Working together WE can make a difference!

As a fun side note, at the close of the all school meeting, the students did the Laker Class cheer which had each grade level chanting their graduation year. The current kindergartners will be graduating in 2023!

Today's Energy Thought

Although it may not seem like it if you look at the calendar or the wacky spring weather we've been having this year, summer is just around the corner. While most students and staff are out of the schools during the warmest months of the year, the buildings are still open for a number of summer classes. Principals, building operators and summer school teachers need to work together to maximize our energy savings while trying to beat the heat.

Today's energy thought is: Cluster summer school classes to save energy. Be flexible and mobile within the building so only one pod or hallway of classrooms is air conditioned for classes. Zone cooling is a great way to conserve energy while most of the building is unoccupied during the summer months. Keep summer school classrooms clustered together and you are avoiding unnecessary cooling costs.

Thanks for working together everyone, together WE have the power to make a difference.

Thank you, Mr. Ingles

Prior Lake High School Communications teacher Nick Ingels recently posed the following question: What is the leading cause of preventable energy waste? Great question, Mr. Ingles, I'm glad you asked.

Well, after extensive research I am going to have to go with home electronics. According to a study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, home electronics such as TVs, DVD players, cable boxes, computers, video game consoles (even when idle) and phone or electronic gadget chargers (especially when still plugged in and detached from the device) account for 5 percent of total domestic energy consumption. If this equipment were plugged into power strips that were turned off when not in use, we could reduce our annual energy costs by more than $3 billion and carbon emissions by 18 million tons.

Wow, that is A LOT of preventable energy waste!

Did you know?

The United States consumes how much in
energy costs every minute of every day?

A) $1,000              B) 10,000

C) $100,000          D) 1,000,000

scroll down to check your answer...

If you chose, D, you are correct!

The U.S. uses a staggering amount of energy,

$1,000,000 worth every minute of every day, 365 days a year!