On May 12, students, teachers, and parents all gathered in the HOP for the first ever 6th grade Upcycling Mela. The HOP was loud and full of energy as students attempted to sell their wares.
Ms. Pre, the organizing teacher explained, “The purpose of this event was to celebrate the students' learning and showcase their hard work creating and making upcycled products. We also wanted to raise awareness and hopefully encourage others to get creative rather than just throwing things away! This was part of our unit on sustainability and the circular economy.”
Students could bring their money to buy the products. This event was all to promote upcycling your old stuff.
The check from a teacher. Image by Sojeong CC-BY
The grade 6 upcycling MELA was a great example of reusing what you don’t use anymore. They made many things such as bracelets and scrunchies to sell at the fair!
Esther and Anya from 6th grade are making bracelets for Mela.
Image by Sojeong CC-BY
It was overall a fun experience for the 6th graders and the whole school.
If you have things that you don’t want or don’t use anymore, consider making something out of them before you just throw them away. Donate them to a local thrift store or a relative.
But the Upcycling Mela was not all that happened that day.
T-shirts from students in the T-Shirt Swap. Image by Sojeong CC-BY
If you have older siblings, you are probably familiar with the word “hand-me-down”. A lot of times you will hear them say, “I want something new”. Maybe you and your siblings don’t have similar styles, but you can always donate them. The best option is to ask your parents to donate your hand-me-downs to a local thrift store and, while you are there, pick out something new. This way you are not wasting clothes, you shopping second hand and you can find things that you will wear!
Thrifting is definitely a good way to shop because it's better for the environment. This leads us to the second part of the Upcycling Mela: the T-shirt swap. Fast fashion is one of the world’s biggest polluters. Tons of clothes get thrown away each year because it’s “not in style” or the quality is cheap so it doesn’t last long.
At the MS T-shirt swap, students were invited to bring clothes they didn’t like or wear anymore. Students who brought their t-shirts, they were able to choose from many clothes that other students brought and take a few home. It was a wonderful project with a great goal!
As we stated earlier, donate to second-had shops and shop at them as well! Yes, it will make a difference.
Ms. Pre is the 6th grade social studies teacher who was one behind it all. She was excited about the success of the event, “The mela raised over 38,000 rupees! The sixth graders are evaluating options and will vote to decide which local organization will receive a donation in their name.”
“Last year's sixth grade did a similar project where upcycling was one possible option. This year, every student created upcycled products. The mela gave us a chance to all sell at the same time.”
“I think it was a lot of fun for the students. They worked really hard and learned a lot through the process. It was really wonderful to see it all come together in the HOP! While there are always things to improve, I think that considering we were doing it the first time, it was definitely a success.”
“The MakerSpace staff was incredibly helpful and supportive, and students were able to be creative and try out some creative ideas. I am really appreciative of everyone's help and so proud of the students! Hopefully, we will do it again- and make it even better!”