OXFORD – With the month of November being officially recognized as “Oxford Recycles Month,” the Village's Twelfth Annual Recycled Holiday Ornament Contest has made great progress since kicked off at the Oxford Academy Primary School earlier in November.
The event was created to coincide with NY State’s 'NY Recycles' and the national 'America Recycles Day' held every year on November 15.
All three Oxford Academy art teachers—Katie Thomas, Charity Gipp, and Joni Eaton—will be spreading the message of recycling with their students during “Oxford Recycles Month.”
While it may appear to be just a fun contest for students, the positive ecological message it’s sending is clear to all. This contest has received support and recognition from local businesses, the Village of Oxford, the Chenango County DPW, and the NYS DEC in Albany.
Sponsored by the Oxford Holiday Committee, the contest specifies that the ornaments, no larger than 8” (requested but not always strictly adhered to), be constructed of materials that would usually go in the garbage can, such as Styrofoam cups, straws, cardboard, old unwanted CDs, etc. The deadline for entries is Monday, November 23.
Primary School librarian Renae Ruff welcomes back “Trash Tom,” the up-cycled turkey sculpture to the library to bring Oxford Recycles awareness to all. To give the kids from UPK through fourth grades, some ideas for making environmentally friendly, recycled ornaments, there are books displayed in the school’s library. Most of these books detail the importance of the “3 R’s”- Recycling, Reducing, and Reusing. There’s also a wall display, with sample ornaments and photos, in the hall opposite the Primary School office.
The Primary School art teacher, Katie Thomas, said that she is “very excited about the contest!” She will be talking to her students about the ornament contest and will show them examples. The feedback from other faculty members is that the contest is a positive creative activity that the students look forward to having at home with their families.
