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New Hanover High School’s Lyceum Academy Students Win
National Recognition for Environmental Action

Six students and their teacher advisor, from the Lyceum Academy of New Hanover High School, will be celebrating this Earth Day. In addition to doing their part to protect the planet, they have also won first place in the Lexus Environmental Challenge, a national competition designed by Lexus and Scholastic to educate and empower teens to think big about possible solutions that could make a positive impact on the environment.

Joe Coulter, Hunt Harris, Evan Keith, Katy Link, Zac Rushton, Maggie Sullivan and their teacher advisor, Gordon Massengill, Dean of Lyceum, are one of only 14 first place teams throughout the country who have each won $50,000 in this Challenge. The school will receive a grant for $10,000, the teacher advisor will get a $5,000 grant and the students will share $35,000 in scholarships.

Conserving water by using low-flow toilets was their focus. They worked to educate individuals about the severity of the drought and advise them about inexpensive and simple ways to conserve water. They worked to spread a nationwide message by contacting Lowe's to request that fliers be hung in their stores across the country, with a site on Facebook, and with a blog. They contacted government officials to suggest that low-flow toilets be installed in government buildings and partnered with Sloan Toilet Company and Morehead-Cain Scholars, across the nation, to publicize their message.

Mr. Massengill commented, "I am very proud of my students for winning this challenge. It has been a gift to find such a generous contest that not only enhanced my curriculum, but also inspired, challenged, empowered, and rewarded my students for their efforts. Thank you Scholastic and Lexus for making a difference!"

As final winners, the NHHS Lyceum team was selected from 55 teams that qualified for this Final Challenge by winning in one or more of the four previous Challenges that were held from September to February. These initial Challenges, addressing land, air, water and climate, asked teams to take a stand for the environment in their local community. In the Final Challenge, they were required to reach beyond the local community and inspire environmental action around the world through innovative ideas that were communicated to a wide audience.
 

 

News/Announcements

4/17/08