By Diane Dunne, Littleton Head of School
On Thursday, October 23, students, parents, teachers, and invited guests all beamed with excitement as the giant ceremonial check for $95,591.75 from State Farm Youth Advisory Board was presented to Mackintosh Academy. The event honored the seventh graders, along with their teachers, who had successfully applied for a grant to purchase and install solar panels on all three school buildings. Mack students, pre-K through 8, performed a rousing sun medley, and our six grant writers wowed the audience with solar facts like the following:
The solar voltaic system funded by our grant will provide up to 34,400 kilowatt hours per year. That is equivalent to 850 cubic feet of coal per year. This means, in one year, we could fill this gym almost 6 inches high with all the coal we don’t use. In 20 years of using this solar system, we could fill this entire gym up to 10 feet high with the coal we do not use.
Speakers, including Dr. Dan Arvizu, Director of the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), and Phil Cernanec, Littleton Mayor, praised the power and energy of these young people to meet the challenges of the 21st century and make the world a better place for us all. As the students exited via flash mob to the tune of The Future’s so Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades, the audience applauded enthusiastically and couldn’t help but agree.
