The front lawn at the Upper Elementary School is home to three brand new spruce trees.
Members of the school’s “Helping Hands” Club, with the help of Mr. Lalonde, technology teacher, Mr. Polera, principal, and district maintenance staff, planted the trees in June. They were purchased using funds donated by Sylvania, a company that produces energy efficient light bulbs. 
In March, the Upper Elementary School celebrated Earth Day a little early by welcoming representatives from Sylvania and aspiring country music singer, Jessie Chris.
Together, Sylvania and Chris raised awareness about the harmful effects of pollution and the need to protect our environment. Chris also performed a concert for third, fourth, fifth and sixth grade students in the school gymnasium. She 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.
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 spent time learning about, and the discussion was filmed by Sylvania to produce a video for its social media platforms. The video explains how Sylvania’s LEDVANCE light bulbs reduce energy usage.
As a token of appreciation, 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.
In addition to planting the trees, the donation was used to build a “Buddy Bench.” The bench, constructed by Mr. Lalonde and Mr. Boisen, will be installed on a concrete slab near the trees this summer. The cost of the slab will be covered by the donation.
The Upper Elementary School thanks Sylvania for the donation!