Thursday, March 28, 2024

Find out how these students are creating a traveling eco-bus

Students from ODS worked together to pull the seats out of School Bus 914 in one day, Friday Nov. 6. (Southside Daily Photo/courtesy of VBCPS)
Students from ODS worked together to pull the seats out of School Bus 914 in one day, Friday Nov. 6. (Southside Daily Photo/courtesy of VBCPS)

VIRGINIA BEACH — Students from Old Donation School are working on their capstone projects, working in teams of three or four to identify a community need and then create a project that helps fill the gap.

This year they’ve picked an eco-friendly option, repurposing the gym floors from the former Princess Ann Middle School and parts of school bus 914 for use in creating an eco-bus.

“The goal is to convert the bus into this traveling exhibit that could go to different schools and show not only what we’re doing in terms of sustainability, but what other folks are doing,” said Tim Cole, the division’s sustainability officer.

According to a news release from the school district, the concept originated when ODS Principal Kelly Hedrick read a blog about people across the country converting old buses into classrooms.

She said her teachers loved the idea and ODS civics teacher Jared Fritzinger jumped on board for a very special reason.

Hedrick worked with Cole and ODS civics teacher Jared Fritzinger on getting the project off the ground.

They spoke with the school division’s Office of Transportation and Fleet Management Services to find a bus that was going out of service and got clearance from the Office Facilities Services to repurpose the gym floors from PAMS.

They also got Technical and Career Education teacher Wayne Champigny to see if his students could help convert the diesel engine into one that runs on vegetable oil.

The ODS students are excited to work on the project, according to the news release.

“I was like, ‘that sounds amazing and I really have to work on that,’” said ODS eighth-grader Arianna Lawton. “Sustainability is good for our future and we can help students learn more about it.”

That enthusiasm prompted several ODS students to join Fritzinger Nov. 6 to prep the wood and remove all of the seats from bus 914 in one day.

The students need anything that is reusable or sustainable — like cabinetry, Fritzinger said.

But most importantly they need professionals who know how to install items.

“As the year progresses, we are going to work on the interior design with the curriculum group and try to put the whole package together as we look for funding and materials sources,” Fritzinger said.

“We received grant funding and got a projector and a screen for the inside of the bus,” Fritzinger said. “We also have a solar panel and I have to figure out how to put a solar panel on a bus. So knowledge, materials, labor, support – those are the things that are really going to be the most helpful to us.”

Read more about the school division’s three sustainability goals and the difference students and staff are making by visiting vbschools.com.

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