Students at the Upper Elementary School walked away with valuable information about our environment and bullying thanks to a very special event.
On March 21, the Upper Elementary School celebrated Earth Day - - held every year on April 22 - - a little early by welcoming representatives from Sylvania, a worldwide leader in innovative lighting products, and aspiring country music singer, Jessie Chris.
In addition to raising awareness about the harmful effects of pollution and the need to protect our environment, Sylvania and Chris are active participants in the “Be the Light” campaign. The national campaign, spearheaded by the “Be the Light” organization, strives to spread hope across the world by encouraging random acts of kindness and volunteering. 
In partnership with “Be the Light” and Sylvania, Chris, who was recently named “Artist to Watch” by Billboard Magazine and is in the midst of a 100-school tour across the country, performed a concert for third, fourth, fifth and sixth grade students in the school gymnasium. Chris was a victim of bullying growing up, and her songs describe what she went through and are intended to help children who have also been bullied.
Mr. Lalonde, technology and coding teacher at the Upper Elementary School, organized the visit by Sylvania and Chris.
“I reached out to Sylvania, and just by sheer luck, they were very receptive because they do a lot of work in schools,” Lalonde explained. “But, usually Sylvania and Jessie Chris don’t visit schools together, so we were very fortunate to get them to come to Westmoreland at the same time.”
After the concert, Chris spent time with students in Mr. Lalonde’s classroom and participated in a discussion about Earth Day and ways to save energy, like using LED light bulbs. Both are topics Mr. Lalonde’s students have already been learning about.
“We have spent class time talking about Earth Day because it’s so important,” Lalonde said. “Students are curious, and want to know how they can make their ecological footprint more environmentally friendly. We covered the history of Earth Day, how the Clean Air and Water Act in the 1970s was a major turning point and ways to ‘go green,’ like using wind and solar energy.”
Parts of the discussion featuring Chris, Mr. Lalonde and his students were filmed by Sylvania. The company is using the footage to produce a video for its social media platforms - - particularly to explain how LEDVANCE light bulbs produced by Sylvania reduce energy usage. Sylvania also filmed third grade students singing, “This Little Light of Mine.”
As a token of appreciation and as a way to promote its products and saving energy, Sylvania gave every student and staff member at the Westmoreland Central School District a free LEDVANCE light bulb - - a total of more than 1,200 bulbs. Sylvania also donated $1,000 to the Upper Elementary School.
Along with their LED light bulbs, Mr. Lalonde sent Upper Elementary students home with information about LEDs - - and the savings behind them. The information was also shared with the Jr./Sr. High School and Primary Elementary School.
For Mr. Lalonde, who plans on retiring at the end of the school year, the visit by Sylvania and Chris was very fulfilling. Besides being a teacher, a while back, he started his own website - - earthfixes.com. On the site, he shares ways to “go green,” provides insightful ideas and resources related to STEAM (science-technology-engineering-art-math) and regularly posts to a blog.
“The current problem with climate change is pretty huge, and something needs to be done,” Lalonde said.
Making the visit by Sylvania and Chris a great opportunity for students.
“They were very receptive to having a star like Jessie Chris in their building, and they were really in tune with her message on bullying,” Lalonde said. “It was also a great chance for us as a community to consider what we can do to save energy and save the planet.”
One LED light bulb at a time.