Star Academy Student Sparks Initiative
How does a Grade 4 student get over 600 followers in just two weeks? She does something important!
With school closures and social isolation, Lila was trying to figure out a way to connect with others to celebrate Earth Day 2020, knowing she wouldn’t be able to spend that time with school and community celebrations. So with time at home with her family, Lila came up with “Lila’s Earth Day Light Up The Night” on Facebook. Shortly after launching the Facebook page with her mother, word began to spread. Star Academy quickly shared it on their social media platforms, their teachers to their online classrooms, and Lila’s friends and family shared it around the world.
The concept is easy for everyone and creates an activity to do at home with your family while we are all social distancing. Everyone has an empty jar to upcycle and make a homemade lantern, from there the possibilities are endless. On Earth Day at dusk, set it outside with a candle and you are uniting with people around the world to celebrate our planet. Lila is encouraging people to share and tag their lanterns on her page to unite people globally with this stay-at-home Earth Day celebration.
Lila’s leadership and execution of Star Academy’s Social, Emotional, and Global Pillar while at home are impressive. Children everywhere are missing their friends (okay, so are we adults) and this has created a connection and bond as classmates and friends collectively unite over this project. Lila’s goal “…is to the light up the earth in honour of Earth Day and to remind each other that while we may be home in our separate houses, we are NOT alone.”
Lila’s class had special activity online where they got together and created their lanterns together. Camaraderie and teamwork stood out as two traits of students at Star Academy with a united goal as they worked alongside one another (virtually) to create something important to share with others on Earth Day.
Friends supporting friends is important, and everyone acknowledging and supporting Earth Day is a goal for communities around the world. Way to go Lila for bringing people together and reminding us we are not alone!
