There's Gold in/on That There Trash Can!

At Barth Elementary School, "the trash can is coveted," a source whispered to The Digital Notebook

What does that mean exactly? We decided to plumb the depths of this mystery.

Turns out it wasn't hard to find the answer. There's even a video!

The trash can is coveted because it rewards students in a unique way for taking care of their classrooms.

As a result, the folks at Barth have a cleaner school, happier custodians and children competing for the cleanest classroom.

While all of that is great, I'll be honest with you. I'm writing about this mostly because I wanted an excuse to post this totally awesome video put together by teacher speech and language pathologist Hayley Quigley to highlight the program.

Without further ado:



(Yes, that is principal Ryan Oxenford doing push-ups with the Golden Trash can on his back).

Oxenford told The Digital Notebook that the whole thing started as a result of the renovation project now going on at Barth, and the mess it necessarily generated.

It's hard enough to keep a school clean under normal circumstances, but with the dust everywhere from the working being done, and the concrete from the stripped floors holding on to every scrap of paper, custodians Bill Grim and Annette Lacey had their hands full

"So we decided to enlist the kidsto  help," Oxenford explained.

A brief brainstorming session later, and we present the Golden Trash can, a prize given out each morning during homeroom to the room that is the cleanest and neatest.

"Part of the Barth Pledge is to keep a clean place and the kids parade the trash can through the school when they win it, and we got the kids motivated. We have seen a huge difference in the classrooms as a result," Oxenford said.

He also praised custodians Bill Grim and Annette Lacey for being good sports about their super-hero costumes.

"We have a really great staff over at Barth and they are a key part of it," Oxenford said. "We are all working together to keep our school clean."

(Also, they look great in spandex.)