The world of Tzu Chi (Vol.108)

TZU CHI 108 27 “Before Principal Yee was posted here, the trash bins were always filled with paper. There is noticeably less waste paper in the trash bins now,” said Moh Fazli bin Mohd Nasir, the school’s administrative assistant. He initially found it cumbersome to reuse paper as he was never introduced to this concept. Nevertheless, Chon Moi patiently guided him in taking steps to conserve paper. He is now used to the practice, and is more than happy to help reduce the school’s expenses. “We managed to save a whole box of printing paper every three months,” he added. The third senior assistant, Yim Kum Lai, also joined the cause by continuously supplying used paper to the school. Chon Moi has often found unfinished exercise books at a nearby recycling centre. When this happens, she takes them back to the school and sorts most of them according to type, before compiling the rest into class record books. She said, “We paste together two to three unfinished exercise books, then print the cover on recycled colour paper to make a class record book.” She also allows students, who lack exercise books or forget to bring their own, to pick up sheets of paper from the pile stored in her office. Previously, the students would constantly resort to tearing out the back pages of their exercise books whenever they needed extra paper. As a result, the front pages would fall off as well. Now, with the ample supply of used paper, they no longer have to tear out sheets from their exercise books. Not to mention, all the rooms in the school are equipped with collection boxes for used paper, enabling them to be reused or sent for recycling to prolong their material life or utility lifespan. At the start of the 2019 school year, ChonMoi observed that a large surplus of used exercise books was left over from the previous year. She asked the school janitors to tie them up in neat bundles and store them in the recycling deposit room so that they could be well-disposed of. Meanwhile, she employs a paperless approach to communicating important information among the teaching staff by creating chat groups on social media applications to disseminate notices. Crafting lanterns as homework The school holidays are fun and exciting times for students, but when they come to an end, teachers face a frustrating problem as students rarely complete their holiday homework. To solve this dilemma, the school organized a creative lantern-making competition in lieu of holiday homework. Chon Moi encouraged the students to use recycled materials to create their lanterns, with help from their family members. After the school holidays, shewas pleasantly surprised to see the intricate and varied designs of the lanterns submitted by the students. There were lanterns made from flattened almond cookie tins, an Angry Bird-themed lantern crafted by using coconut shells, as well as a lantern in the shape of a temple, fashioned out of recycled PET bottles. For the students who did not finish the project, Chon Moi patiently taught them how to create their own lantern, and in the end, all 84 students successfully completed the project. The school also held a Mid-autumn Festival Carnival, whereby the students’ lanterns were showcased around the school for students from other schools to admire. Primary 3 student, Muhammad Haris Firdaus bin Wazir made a lantern from styrofoam bowls with his mother. He shyly admitted, “I like art and craft projects. What’s more, making the lantern means I didn’t have to do homework.” This project also allowed him to learn to reuse waste items, like the styrofoam bowls he used for his lantern. The Making of an Environmentally-Friendly School