“This is our seventh year organising the event, but it’s the first year we’ve had a raised stage catwalk,” explained an excited School Director, Russel Page.
Mr Page was one of 50-odd models to strut the catwalk and show off his creative apparel constructed from recycled – or reused to be more precise – materials.
Decked out in a hip-hop-themed ‘battle’ suit he made using milk and juice cartons, Mr Page explained the ethos behind the event.
“Our school has three main goals – first to improve reading skills, second to facilitate success orientations – character development and getting along, for example – and last but not least, to instill in children the value of ‘environmental stewardship’,” he said.
Indeed, the “Recycle Fashion Show” is just one effective way to raise awareness among students and encourage them how to reduce the amount of rubbish that is created and disposed.
“All of the students in the school contributed to the show in one way or another. Not all went on the catwalk, about half of them, but all took part for extracurricular credit. Some helped to build and decorate the stage, while others helped make and design the costumes for their peers. The older kids played a big part in guiding the younger kids,” he said.
Mr Page explained that students were asked to only use recycled materials, which they sourced from their own bins at home, or were allowed to collect from the school’s main recycling bank.
Central to QSI’s Environmental Stewardship philosophy, all students and staff separate and recycle everything from white and colour paper to plastic, metal and glass.
Each classroom has their own separation bins, which are emptied into the school’s main bank on a weekly basis by students. When the bank is full, a rep from the municipal waste management department is called to collect, and the school even earns a little bit of money.
“A little bit, by everyone, can go a long way,” Mr Page concluded.