Earn Points & Have Fun!
There are many ways to earn points in Renew Our Schools! Click on the boxes below to see the options in each category. Under each category, you will find the description of the project, the way you earn points and the number of points you can earn. You can do as many projects and earn as many points as you want throughout the competition! Your points will be added to your points earned through energy reduction at the meter to determine your place in the competition. Have fun! For a printable version of all ways to earn points, click here.
Required Actions
The following 2 items are required and must be submitted by the end of the competition.
Conduct an audit of at least 20 rooms in your school and 5 areas that need improvement. Please use your discretion as to which classrooms look like they use the most energy. Look for rooms that are over-lit, too warm or too cold, or have many electronic devices left on. Use your tools provided in your tool kit to determine the light levels, temperature and electricity usage of the devices in the room. Describe 5 specific areas of your school that need improvement. May be submitted once. Energy Audit Form
What gets Submitted: School Audit Form
Point Value: 40
Submit a student-created presentation or video that demonstrates your school’s efforts, hard work, and findings. It needs to include the following: The area(s) of your school that were found to use the most energy, the area(s) of your school where the greatest energy use improvement was achieved, your struggles and successes, what you learned, your methods of involving the entire school and how you got the word out! May be submitted once.
What gets Submitted: Final presentation or Video
Point Value: 50
Ways to Earn More Points
Choose from any of the following actions to earn points in the competition. Choose the ones that work best for your school. You can submit as many or as few as you want!
Earn points by having any teacher in the school teach a lesson about energy!
Lesson Plan: General
Implement one energy-themed (renewables, conservation, sustainability) lesson into a classroom in the school. May be submitted multiple times.
What gets Submitted: Lesson plan and 2 examples of student work
Point Value: 10
Lesson Plan: Your Community's Energy Source
Create and teach a lesson plan that traces your community's energy source from start to finish. Map out where your community's energy comes from. Who provides your electricity and gas? What types of renewable energy are used in your area? May be submitted once.
What gets Submitted: Lesson plan and 2 examples of student work
Point Value: 10
Lesson Plan: Energy Facts about your community
Create and teach a lesson plan in which students research energy facts about your community.
What gets Submitted: Lesson plan and 2 examples of student work
Point Value: 10
School Energy Policy
Can you get your school to adapt an energy policy that creates change in energy usage. May be submitted multiple times.
What gets Submitted: A copy of the new energy policy signed by an administrator
Point Value: 20
Phantom Loads
Explore phantom loads and list 5 appliances in your school that have a phantom load. May be submitted once.
What gets Submitted: Lesson plan and 2 examples of student work
Point Value: 10
Kilowatt Lesson Plan
Use your kill-o-watt meters to calculate how much the electricity is used by 5 appliances found in your school during a week. May be submitted once. Kill-A-Watt Electricity Monitor Form
What gets Submitted: Lesson plan and 2 examples of student work
Point Value: 10
Using a Light Meter
Take lighting level measurements in 5 classrooms and report on what was found compared to the standard lighting levels. Measurements to be taken at desk level at three locations in each room - at a desk, in a corner, and in front of the white board. May be submitted once. Light Meter Lesson
What gets Submitted: Lesson plan and 2 examples of student work
Point Value: 10
Be energy detectives! Investigate the energy usage of your school and find ways to reduce it!
eGauge Demonstration
Gather all students in the school to observe the eGauge and shut down all lights in the building. Watch the load change. Note: The eGauge website is not designed to handle many computers accessing it at once. If you do this activity, make sure you only use 1-3 computers in the school to access the site. May be submitted once.
What gets Submitted: Picture of all students viewing the eGauge screen. Quantify the kW reduced.
Point Value: 20
Energy Savings Hour
Determine your school's average daily energy use and see if you can reduce your load by 15% for one hour. May be submitted multiple times.
What gets Submitted: Entry confirming time window of energy saving hour.
Point Value: 20
Energy Savings Persistence
Incorporate the energy savings hour into daily practices for one whole week.
What gets Submitted: Show the reduction on the eGauge for every day for one 5 day school week. May be done multiple times.
Point Value: 30
Energy Savings Weekend
Determine your school's average daily energy use when the building is unoccupied and see if you can reduce your unoccupied building load by 10%. May be done multiple times.
What gets Submitted: Entry confirming time window of energy saving weekend.
Point Value: 15
Nothing can be more eye-catching than a fun logo or advertisement. Create your own fun way to get the word out!
Signage/Posters/Lightswitch covers
Your signage can be in the form of banners, murals, posters, billboards, or small signs to be hung around school creating awareness and reminding your school community to conserve energy. Try to think of something ‘catchy’ that will be noticed! You may include information specific to your school (mascot, school name, etc) or it can be a ‘universal message’ that can be used in any school or location. May be submitted once.
What gets Submitted: Submit 2 of the best student creations.
Point Value: 20
Homeroom competition
Conduct a energy-themed competition among homerooms, grade levels, etc in your school. May be submitted multiple times.
What gets Submitted: Submit pictures of the competition.
Point Value: 15
Environmental Club
Take a picture, create a mission statement and develop 3 measurable long-term goals of your school's environmental club. May be submitted once.
What gets Submitted: Submit picture, mission statement and long-term goals of your school's environmental club.
Point Value: 20
Admin Presentation
Present an energy conservation idea to your administration as a way to incorporate a change in your building. Some examples are Smart plugs, smart power strips, lighting change, etc. Raise money to make that change. 10 bonus points if they make the change! (this excludes the Energy Appliance Policy from above) May be done more than once.
What gets Submitted: Pictures of students presenting idea to admin and a description of your idea.
Point Value: 30
Fundraiser
Hold a fundraiser/raise money to make your school more energy efficient. For example, host a bake sale to make money to replace light bulbs in a few classrooms, buy smart strips, etc. May be done more than once.
What gets Submitted: Pictures of students at the fundraiser. A description of activity and what was purchased with the money. A before and after picture of the change.
Point Value: 20
Students As Teachers!
Students teach other students a lesson about energy conservation (regardless of age of teaching and learning students). May be done more than once.
What gets Submitted: Pictures of students teaching students and a written description of the lesson.
Point Value: 30
Your local community is a great place to find experts in the energy field. Tap into their knowledge by visiting them or bringing them to your school!
Local Energy Expert: Club
Invite a local energy expert or organization (someone other than your mentor)to speak to your club (if you invite more than one, they must be from different organizations).
What gets Submitted: Submit pictures of the expert speaking with the group. Submit a description of the expert and their role in the energy/sustainability field.
Point Value: 20
Local Energy Expert: School
Invite a local energy expert or organization to speak to your school.
What gets Submitted: Submit pictures of the expert speaking with your school. Submit a description of the expert and their role in the energy/sustainability field.
Point Value: 30
Local Energy Expert: Mentor
Invite a local expert to mentor your students in the competition. This person could assist with the audit and lead a 'walkthrough' of the building looking for energy-saving tactics. Certain experts could include: energy engineer, employee of a local utility, green architect, energy consultant. May be done more than once.
What gets Submitted: Submit pictures of the expert working with the group. Submit a description of the expert and their role in the energy/sustainability field. For the school district competition, please take a picture of your assigned mentor.
Point Value: 30
Energy Source Tour
Take your students on a tour of an energy source in your community-wind farm, coal plant, solar farm. May be done more than once.
What gets Submitted: Submit pictures of your students on the tour. Submit a description of the energy source.
Point Value: 40
Do you have something you would like to do that is not on our list? Create your own project to earn points!
Design your own energy themed idea. Please submit the idea to Program Manager for approval BEFORE you begin.
Point Value: Point value and what you submit is based on the project
