Eunice High gifted students recycle plastic bags into tarps Read more: EuniceToday.com - Eunice High gifted students recycle plastic bags into tarps

Eunice High’s Darnell Fontenot’s math classroom is not your typical classroom. Inside her classroom are plastic bags, and not just a few, more like 400, two irons and an ironing board.

Eunice High School’s gifted students are currently working on a recycling project that will benefit homeless shelters. Once their projects are completed, the finished work will become tarps. The students will complete 8x8 size tarps which will include 64 sections of 256 plastic bags; and 10x10 size tarps which will derive from 100 sections of 400 bags.

Fontenot, gifted program teacher, said that each year St. Landry Parish focuses on a certain area for its students to concentrate on and this year’s focus is on recycling. 

Fontenot asked her gifted students back in June to start collecting plastic bags. She added, “I found a youtube.com video which showed how to make tarps out of recycled plastic bags and decided to have my students participate in this project. I posted an announcement on Eunice High School’s Facebook page in June and started collecting bags.”

Students collected plastic bags from local businesses, including Walmart, Champagnes, Super-One, and others. The recyclable project will continue through October.

Fontenot was approached by Melba Stelly, a volunteer of Keep Eunice Beautiful, to participate at the LSUE Recycle Day. She said, “We will display our projects at LSUE Recycle Day on Nov. 15. After that day, the students will deliver the tarps to homeless shelters in Lafayette. The homeless plan to use these tarps as a blanket to keep warm and as covers to protect their belongings.”

How do plastic grocery bags become tarps? It’s a process, and these gifted students perform the process in class period. 

They first, cut off the handles and bottoms or tails of each plastic bag, then flatten them into a rectangular shape. Once four bags are done, the fusing process begins. Fusing is done with an iron using a medium setting. Taking four flatten bags at a time, using a sheet of copy paper and placing it on top, a student passes the iron on top, which seals the bags into a rectangular sections. The process continues until the desired size needed. To finish the tarp, duct tape is used to seal off and make the edging of the tarp.

According to Fontenot, gifted programs are offered in Eunice public schools and at St. Edmund from elementary grades to high school levels. The gifted program is an enrichment project which involve students recommended by teachers and parents. Students are tested early on in elementary grades, with math skills, identification tables and skills, and puzzles. Students also attend sessions once or twice a week and complete various enrichment activities. 

Eunice High’s gifted students include Macy Ceasar, Brittany Daigle, Victoria Hebert, Kate McLemore, Kylie Miller, Francessca Simien, Lauren Vidrine and Trinion Winbush.

Not only do Eunice High’s gifted students participate in recycling, the school’s student council members do their part, too. The school has plastic and paper recyclable bins for all students to participate. Also, Eunice High has an account set up at a recycling center in Eunice for EHS parents and students to drop off recyclables with proceeds going to Renaissance Academic Pep Rally. Eunice High earned $2,000 from last year’s recyclables.Fontenot said the gifted students will be collecting plastic bags through October and if anyone wishes to donate bags, they can be dropped off at the school’s front office.