Magnet High Walking the Walk!

Magnet broke its own record this Saturday! Since 2013, we have participated in the Red River Cleanup, and I have always wanted to get at least 50 Magnet folks to participate, representing several student organizations. And this year we did it! A HUGE shout-out goes to the OVER 60 (!) Magnet students, teachers, and parents who helped clean up their city and our own Coates Bluff Nature Trail and bayou! Mrs. Procell, Mrs. Soileau, Mr. Stevens, Mrs. Berry, and Mr. Ilgenfritz will all be smiling when we see all those Good. Clean. Fun. T-shirts this week. Thank you to all those who came! We had students from Greens Club, Mock Trial, SLAM, NHS, Model UN, Key Club, History Club, and I'm sure many more. Plus, we had new students who aren't yet active in a club come on their own!

Why do we participate in the Red River Cleanup each year? Because we like walking the walk and helping clean up our city! The RRCU was founded by Adam and Lisa Willard 9 years ago. To learn more, visit the web site. Since 2010, RRCU volunteers have removed over 102,106 pounds of trash. That statistic doesn't yet include what we picked up this past Saturday. Educator and environmental activist Jon Soul has long helped the RRCU as well. One of our teams of Magnet volunteers, Jon Soul, and Montessori School for Shreveport's board member Noel Alexander focused on the Coates Bluff trail and bayou this year. Here's what Mr. Jon, as his students call him, says about this past weekend's cleanup: " Shreveport is located in the Red River Watershed, meaning that all surface run-off eventually drains to the Red River (too often carrying trash with it). Within Shreveport, there are 21 smaller watersheds meaning 21 different ways that it gets there. The Coates Bluff Nature Trail and Anderson Bayou are in one of those watersheds. So for this year's 9th Annual Red River Cleanup, Magnet High students picked up litter from the trail and bayou (by canoe) and had a really good time doing it! (Meaning that trash will never reach the river.)" Way to go!

Greens Club President and senior Sarah Salvatore loves participating in the Red River Cleanup. Here's what she says about her experience this year, "The Red River Cleanup is a wonderful example of people coming together to do something greater than themselves. The event is extremely fun, and I hope this won't be my last year to participate in it!" I imagine that this won't be the last year Sarah participates, as each year I see several of my former students who came with me to the Red River Cleanup. Now in college or in the local workforce, Magnet alums show up all the time, organizing their own groups to come or coming on their own for some Good. Clean. Fun. Check out our gallery of pics!