By Dr. Alison Hanks-Sloan, aka Dr. AHS, Aptos High Principal
We are making Aptos High School green and clean again!
Alison Hanks-Sloan
Our school exists in its own ecosystem from redwoods to rose gardens. With nearly 2,000 people entering campus on any given day, it takes a collective amount of work to keep it healthy.
Our booster club president Maria Meade helped refocus us last year when she started the sponsor a trash can project. She helped us increase the number of recycling bins by the stadium and participated in the dialogues we started with Santa Cruz County Recycling and Solid Waste along with Green Waste staff who are collaborating with us.
Santa Cruz County Zero Waste Program Coordinator Christina Horvat came to our campus to help us rethink our trash collection and paradigms. She brought two team members who walked through our quad during break and lunch talking to our students and staff about what we are putting in our bins and why it makes a difference.
We informally surveyed several students and learned that in elementary school, most students were composting and separating their trash and recyclables.
However, we have lost many of those habits at the secondary school level. Our trash bins and recycle bins too often consist of a random mixture.
I also just learned about the “Trash Talkers” whose mission is to make Santa Cruz County the cleanest county in California. On the website pitchinsantacruz.org, they refer to trash as a “health human issue, psychologically depleting, and an environmental hazard.”
We at Aptos High School completely agree.
Let’s work together as a community to make this vision come true. Imagine driving onto campus and no trash is visible. Then, you open our blue bins to add a recyclable item and see only other recyclable items there.
We are a smart group of Mariners and sorting our trash, recycling, and compost should be part of our norm. It’s also part of the law and soon to be enforced with hefty fees.
With winter break and the holidays ahead of us, please take a moment to think about trash/recycling/composting processes that work in your own home and life to help keep our community greener. We appreciate everybody who takes the extra time to compost, separate recycling, and know what belongs in the trash. Habits we create in our home carry into our school and community.
In this upcoming year, individuals and businesses will be fined for not being more mindful of what goes in our bins. This is an excellent opportunity for us to be part of the change and take the lead in our Aptos/Watsonville community.
We also want to thank our Aptos community for taking the time to say thank you to our staff.
Our booster community co-organized a holiday breakfast for our staff. It took the help of many of you to make it happen. Seascape Foods owner, Aptos parent, and Booster treasurer Julie Kellman generously contributed breakfast sandwiches, fruit, and multiple items to make it happen.
It also took the time and donations from our booster leaders, including Naomi Blanco, and several parents to provide supplies, set up, clean up, and bring delicious breakfast items. These big and small tokens go a long way, as our staff work with all SAILs up this time of year.
From grading finals to checking in with students before the holiday break, our days don’t slow down until the last student heads off campus before the holidays.
Winter break is such a great time to engage in green conversations and just in our community overall. It is also a great time to say thank you to one another and not take each other for granted.
Whether we are a teenager or a teacher, we all appreciate words of thanks and being seen by each other.
Speaking of thanks, we applaud all of our athletes, artists, academicians, and activities leaders/members and their families for taking our extra-curricular events and elevating them. Our students and families SAIL as we create a SAFE community, Aspire higher, be Integrity oriented, and LEAD by example.
Thank you also to the coaches, teachers, and staff including our trainer Hilary, our security team, our theater technician Luke, our athletic trainer Travis Fox, our activities director Ryane Ortiz, our custodians, our snack shack guru Shannon Candelario, and our office team for all the behind the scenes work!
As our families slow down over and recharge over the winter break, take time to create memories together.
We live in one of the most beautiful places in the country. We hope that you hike in our local parks, walk along the beach, explore a local museum, and visit friends/family.
While our high school students might seem aloof or give that teenage sigh, some of the best holiday moments are the times that we spend together, making a family recipe, reminiscing about holidays or family, and just enjoying a slower pace moment together.
From holiday lights to sunsets, we wish you a Happy New Year and festive winter break! SAILs up!