USC Students Win Zoo Tour

It was a rare and exciting reward for the school work some Upper St. Clair students took part in.

Ms. Laura Carlino's ninth grade biology students placed second in the Save the Polar Bear School Challenge and won a behind-the-scenes tour of the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium.

The student got an up-close look at the tigers, lions and giraffes, while learning about the animals' eating habits, personalities and their plans to mate.

"The students loved it, especially the giraffes because we are able to directly interact with one," Carlino said.

Carlino's students impressed the judges of the Save the Polar Bear School Challenge with their plan to educate their peers about ways to reduce energy use and lower carbon footprints.

In the beginning of their challenge, students performed an energy audit. By using the results, the students developed a list of initiatives to implement to make a difference with the student at .

Two weeks later the students performed another energy audit are found out by increasing awareness and education to the students and teachers, they were making a change in the school's energy consumption.

The final energy audit showed that more people were turning off the lights and using natural light from the windows, using refillable water bottles, turning off the Promethean boards and power strips when not in use and using the website Blackle for the computer homepages.

The project earned a second place finish out of 25 schools.

"This was the school's first year of participation and we definitely intend on participating for many years to come," Carlino said.