GRANITE CITY - Mitchell 4th grade teacher Kim Antonovich-Merz has been named the 2022 Madison County Green Schools Coordinator of the Year for her leadership and creativity in organizing and managing the Green Schools Program at Mitchell 3-4 Education Center.
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Bailey Lutz from Madison County Building and Zoning presented Antonovich-Merz with a $500 check and a trophy in a small ceremony last week. In addition, Mitchell School received $500 to recognize Antonovich-Merz's recycling efforts.
Currently serving as the Green School coordinator at Mitchell, Antonovich-Merz shows her passion for environmental education and her dedication to the efforts of the Green Schools Program. Since starting in the role as Green School Coordinator in 2004, she has worked effortlessly to start a sustainable recycling program. Antonovich-Merz works to hold public recycling days for electronics, shoes and tabs.
She is currently overseeing a district-wide summer recycling program for students to help purchase benches in honor of two teachers who passed away - Dawn Bruder of Frohardt (2019) and Jamie Kindle of Wilson (2022).
In the 2021-22 school year, Antonovich-Merz promoted many of the Madison County competitions and collection programs. This included recycling over 140 pounds of plastic bags, 393 pounds of soda can tabs, 59 pairs of shoes, 17 pairs of eyeglasses and 15 pounds of dried up markers.
Mitchell School won fifth place and $100 for the Madison County plastic bag collection, which will be recycled for playground equipment.
She also continues to promote the paper recycling at the school which she helped get started in 2004.
“I feel that the recycling program at Mitchell has had a great impact on students learning to protect our Earth by recycling items instead of sending them to the landfill," she said.
Kari Dioneda, a fellow staff member at Mitchell 3-4 Education center explains, “Kim is the originator of our recycling program and has performed this task as Green School Coordinator honorably for 18 years. Her long list of achievements overseeing the recycling program and dedication to our planet should not go unrecognized”.
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