Ms. Buono's 8th grade classes have embarked on a quest to persuade people to use refillable water bottles and "take back the tap" instead of buying disposable plastic ones.  They hope to make MVMS a more green, eco-friendly place.

    Ms. Buono, U.S. history teacher, spearheaded the project when she noticed the increasingly large amount of plastic water bottles ending up in MVMS garbage cans. 

    "We had to start somewhere," said student Julia. 

    Ms. Buono said the first question students were curious about was, "Why aren't kids using the drinking fountains to refill their bottles? Does the water taste bad?"  Her students went around trying to get different opinions on what made students ignore the fountains for refilling their bottles. 

    Taking some water from each fountain, students were blindfolded, and took a water-tasting test.  Their results proved that the water fountain across from the library and the fountain outside Mr. Diperro's class, near the snack bar, had the tastiest, most refreshing water.  The majority of students said that this was the most enjoyable part of the project. 

    In addition to helping the environment, the program has also been lots of fun for the kids participating.  Eighth grader Cameron said he really enjoyed working with his friends and doing something beside regular class work.  

    The students’ research has confirmed that disposable plastic water bottles fill up landfills at an alarming speed and use up natural resources such as oil.  The production of plastic bottles lets off greenhouse gases, contributing to global warming.  It only makes matters worse when Americans throw away 30 billion water bottles a year.

     But with Ms. Buono's class taking the initiative, MVMS has

hope. Presentations in the library, posters, and a costume made out of water bottles found in MVMS trash-cans have helped raise awareness of the issue. 

    At the presentation, students entered the library and were greeted by eighth graders.  When everyone was seated Ms. Buono’s students began to tell about all the damage disposable water bottles can do. 

    They played a movie the students had created, which many said was their favorite part. The movie pointed out that Americans spend more money on plastic water bottles than on ipods and that bottled water, which is sometimes just repackaged tap water, costs four times more than gasoline.

    To round off the presentation, they raffled off free Camelback and Sigg water bottles, and concluded it with a water bottle rap to the music "Toxic." 

    "The presentation really made me think about all the water bottles I use every week, so I went and bought a reusable water bottle to stop harming the environment," said sixth grader Teddy.    

    Many think this will be a helpful program, but some regard it with caution.  Sixth grade student Tom, who regularly uses the drinking fountain said, "Reusable water bottles won't help because they still use lots of plastic." 

    He suggests that everyone just drink out of the water fountains.

    "This project has been very successful because we've spread the word as well as getting a water bottle refilling station," said eight grader Madelaine.