Kindergarten through third graders attending the Edmonds School District’s Madrona K-8 School got an interactive lesson in recycling and the environment during a theatrical assembly Monday.

The performance was one of two assemblies at the school Monday afternoon (the other was for grades 4-6), reaching nearly 500 students and teachers. The goal was to educate attendees about recycling and empower them to become recycling experts at school and at home.

Madrona School already has a Green Team of third-grade students who take action on campus to make the school more green. Every day after lunch, the group spends the first several minutes of their recess sorting the waste from lunch — making sure items from their class were recycled and composted correctly, or correctly thrown into the garbage. The Green Team also meets as a group every Wednesday to brainstorm ideas to make the school more green. Right now, they’re creating a slide show to raise awareness of the earth for Earth Month.

Third grader Joanne Sanders said she joined the Green Team because “I really just wanted to be an example… a lot of things go into the trash and recycling and compost that weren’t supposed to.”

The team’s adviser is Lizzy Stafford, who teaches first, second and third graders at Madrona.

The Recycling Rock Stars free theatrical assemblies are developed in partnership between Snohomish County and WM (formerly known as Waste Management). Students learn the importance of recycling and reducing waste, and simple everyday actions to protect the planet.

Monday’s K-3 assembly was performed by two professional actors, husband-and-wife duo Terence Kelley and Angela Kelley. The audience first met both characters on the red carpet where Manny Mayhem — rocker, celebrity and influencer of the decade — accepts an award. During his interview with the Reporter Gilda Glitter, it becomes clear immediately that he loves trash and consumption. Gilda and the audience all know that making this much trash is not the norm, and that there are other ways to live on the planet. Gilda, with help from the students in the audience, takes Manny on an interactive adventure to learn alternatives to making so much trash.

WM had been presenting these theatrical assemblishes about recycling and the environment since 2012. The performances were paused during the pandemic but were restarted this year.

Located in Edmonds, Madrona K-8 serves Edmonds School District students from Brier, Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace and Woodway in a multi-age instructional setting. A lottery system is used for enrollment.

— Photos by Julia Wiese