Last spring my Tech Club students wrote and produced a video about the importance of recycling in our school and submitted it to a contest sponsored by the Intermunicipal Relations Committee of Blair County. Not only did their work earn top honors in the local competition, but the winning video was automatically entered into the State Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania FilmFest Contest for a chance to win statewide recognition as well as a cash prize.

Well, the votes have been tallied and you guessed it: We recently received word that “The Monster Trash” won first place at the 7th annual competition which was held this past July in Washington, PA.

How cool is that? Even better, the video will be used in future public outreach and educational programs around the state.

When asked about the victories, Aubree Reiter stated, “I am very proud that the Tech Club won the video competition because I think our video really explained the point of the recycling contest.”

Fellow techie Kermit Foor added, “I think that out of all of the videos we have made, this one was the best one yet. We worked for many hours during and after school to make this video. Without the help of our teachers and friends, it would not have been possible.”

A shout out to my Tech Club crew—especially Aubree, Kermit, Alex, Blake, Corey and Quintin—for your dedication to this project. It’s proof that hard work really does get noticed and rewarded! I am beyond proud of your efforts, and you should be too!

Be sure to check out “The Monster Trash” below.

So, is that video just awesome or what? My most favorite parts are those in which these trashy students used stop animation to create various scenes! And yes—doing so was their idea!

As I’ve previously mentioned—I love, love the skills my girls and boys continue to learn and/or hone as they create these kinds of projects! Can you say rigor, relevant and real-world? Does it really get much better than that? I don’t think so!