Superintendent’s Spotlight:

WARWICK — Daniel Lupkovich is on a mission and he’s not going to let a bunch of plastic water bottles get in his way.
Daniel, a third-grader at Sanfordville Elementary School, intends to protect the Earth and is a founding member of the school’s new Green Cub Club. The students meet once a week in Room 209 and there they strategize ways to make their school, their community and their planet cleaner and greener.
“We talk about what we can do to make the Earth a better place,” Daniel said. “We don’t want to be walking around outside having fun and then see litter.”
Daniel, says Principal Johnna Maraia, is among the school’s leading recycling advocates and a true steward of the environment. The Green Cub Club, she said, has organized the collection of empty water bottles and Daniel volunteers to recycle them each week at a local supermarket.
The club also maintains two compost bins in the school’s courtyards, and in the spring the compost will be used in the gardens and flower beds.
“I admire his energy and his dedication and I’m proud of how he’s stepped up,” Maraia said.
Most recently, Green Cub Club members have led a campaign reminding their classmates not to let the water run while they brush their teeth.
“You waste four gallons if you leave the water on,” Daniel said. “That’s clean water going down the drain. And you’re supposed to brush your teeth twice each day, so that’s two times the water.”
The Sanfordville Green Cub Club is part of the Warwick Valley School District's larger environmental efforts, which include an array of initiatives.
Among them:
Water refill stations where students can refill their reusable water bottles have been installed in the school;
Florescent light bulbs have been replaced with energy-conserving led bulbs; and
The district’s solar project on Sanfordville Road will soon generate approximately 2.9 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year.
Daniel is looking forward to moving-up to the Middle School and eventually the High School, where, he says, “I’ll join any club that is taking care of the Earth.”

Each week, Warwick Valley School District Superintendent Dr. David Leach shines the “The Superintendent’s Spotlight” on one of Warwick Valley’s students. “Superintendent’s Spotlight” features students who reach goals, face challenges, and are role models to their peers.