{"id":245887,"date":"2019-10-15T12:16:40","date_gmt":"2019-10-15T02:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=245887"},"modified":"2020-07-16T12:08:10","modified_gmt":"2020-07-16T02:08:10","slug":"tiny-school-is-smiling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2019\/10\/15\/tiny-school-is-smiling\/","title":{"rendered":"Tiny School Is Smiling"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Principal Anja Janosevic and support teacher Shaque Dugdell showing the area where they hope to establish a kitchen garden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

October 15, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Taabinga State School’s remarkable effort in collecting used toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes for recycling has paid off … the school has come second in a national competition!<\/p>\n

For their efforts in the Colgate Community Garden Challenge, Taabinga State School has won a $6000 prize pack which includes three community garden sets (made out of recycled oral care products), two custom-made benches and a $500 Bunnings voucher to help set up the gardens.<\/p>\n

Principal Anja Janosevic said more than 1100 pre- and primary schools took part in the Australia-wide competition.<\/p>\n

Newcastle High School in NSW, which has more than 1000 students, just pipped Taabinga (370 students) for first place, collecting 127,297 points to Taabinga’s 112,851.<\/p>\n

Rochedale State School in Brisbane (which also has more than 1000 students) came in third place with 100,643 points.<\/p>\n

All three schools will receive the same prize.<\/p>\n

“It’s an amazing thing for our tiny little school,” Ms Jonosevic said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“When we told the students on parade on Friday morning, they lifted the roof. It was very exciting to see their faces.”<\/p>\n

Support teacher Shaque Dugdell said Taabinga could not have done it without the community’s help.<\/p>\n

“When we needed help, we asked and the community answered!” she said.<\/p>\n

“The support from the South Burnett Dental Group was phenomenal.”<\/p>\n

They would also like to thank the other Kingaroy businesses and people who helped them collect the\u00a0old toothbrushes, empty toothpaste and toothbrush packaging, empty floss packets and used toothpaste tubes: Raine & Horne, the Commonwealth Bank, Conquer Fitness, C&K Kindy, South Burnett Childcare, Kingaroy Police, Uniting Care, Linard Floral, Visitor Information Centre, Telstra Store, Orana, students at Kingaroy State High School and South Burnett Online.<\/p>\n

Individuals also dropped in items directly to the school.<\/p>\n

“One lady who was driving past the school stopped, handed a bag over the fence to the teacher on duty, and then kept on driving!” Ms Dugdell said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Colgate challenge is being held again next year, so Taabinga State School will continue to collect oral care items.<\/p>\n

“We probably won’t go all out to win but it’s for the greater good. It was astounding how much we collected. Imagine how much we kept out of landfill,”\u00a0Ms Jonosevic said.<\/p>\n

“It’s getting the children to think about sustainability.”<\/p>\n

Taabinga State School collects other items for recycling: Australia Post packs, bread tags, bottle tops, pens, highlighters and felt markers.<\/p>\n

Ms Jonosevic said a couple of locations had been picked out for the garden bed prizes, including a “kitchen garden” in a space behind the tuckshop.<\/p>\n