Valley School’s Pep Club celebrated Earth Day all week long, with visits to both Chewelah and Springdale’s Head Start Centers, activities at the school and at the Jayne Park in Valley.

Eight of the members visited Chewelah’s Head Start on Tuesday, making recycled paper with seeds they can plant, and planting a bush in their play yard. Another group of nine visited Springdale’s Center on Wednesday, planting a choke cherry bush at the park by the pond. They also made recycled paper and gifted all the Head Start children with Earth Day T-shirts. Pep Club was impressed with the knowledge that the preschool children had about taking care of the earth!

On Thursday, Pep Club helped the Valley K-4^th graders make recycled paper and planted a blue spruce tree in the play ground at the school. Saturday found Pep Club and community members at Jayne Park, where they did a town clean up and park beautification project.

Pep Club’s motto this year is “Plant Locally and Act Globally,” and they certainly planted locally. They also sold T-shirts with the proceeds going to a global reforestation project. Pep Club would like to thank Daniels Nursery, Quartzite Tree Farm and April Gardens for the donations of shrubs and trees as well as the community for supporting their Earth Day project.

Valley School’s Pep Club delivered 1,226 pounds of food to the Valley Food Bank on March 8^th. Pep Club sponsors the Have a Heart Food Drive in the month of February and encourages our students to think about families in need in our community. Thanks to all the students for making this food drive a great success!

The Baseball and Softball Spirit Challenge Pep Assembly will kick off the ball playing season after spring break.

Our Earth Day “Act Local, Plant Global” project will be celebrated the week of April 19^th - 23^rd. The group will be going to both Chewelah and Springdale Head Start Centers and doing Earth Day projects with the children. They will be planting a tree or shrub in those communities and talking about Earth Day. The club will be selling Earth Day shirts to help raise funds for the “Act Global” part of their project. We will donate funds to an organization that does reforestation in Africa or Brazil. We will also plant a tree here at the school and visit lower wing classes to teach the students about Earth Day. We are also planning a community planting at Jayne Park, so look for signs in the community in the coming weeks.

“Peace, Love and Tea,” remembering the era of the ‘60s and ‘70s, will be the theme of the Volunteer Recognition Tea on May 15^th. Mark your calendars and be prepared for a groovy time!