Sitero Francisco Memorial National High School, Division of City Schools – Valenzuela and the City Government of Valenzuela today unveiled the school’s new solar array. The installation is the first solar photovoltaic (PV) solar system to power a school in the National Capital Region (NCR) of the Philippines

US based Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) headed by Mr. Glen Kizer through Mr. Danel Li of Wanxiang America Corporation donated the solar panel system to the school. The solar array will help educate students about the benefits of solar energy through a monitoring website, while also providing environmental benefits. Sitero Francisco Memorial National High School (SFMNHS) is located inside Sta. Monica Subdivision in Barangay Ugong, Valenzuela City.

Hon. Rexlon T. Gatchalian, Congressman of the First District of Valenzuela ; Hon. Magtanggol T. Gunigundo I, Congressman of the Second District of Valenzuela; Hon. Shalani Soledad, Councilor of Valenzuela City and girlfriend of the newly elected President of the Republic of the Philippines – Hon Benigno Aquino III; Mr. William Manz, a former US Peace Corps who represents FEE on the exploratory talks between FEE and SFMNHS; Dr. Luzviminda Ona, Regional Supervisor of the Department of Education Regional Office; Dr. Flordeliza R. Mayari, Superintendent of the Division of City Schools of Valenzuela; Dr. Andres M. Leabres, Superintendent of the Division of City School of Malabon; barangay (village) officials; representatives from private sector, principals of various schools in Valenzuela City; teachers, parents, students and members of the community; and two television networks participated in today’s event to officially “flip the ceremonial switch” of the solar array.

The Solar Project of Sitero Francisco Memorial National High School is 1 kilowatt (kW) and is mounted as a shed type located near the school stage. It is expected to produce about 2,190 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per year by converting sunlight into electricity. The solar array consists of 6 solar panels and covers about 50 square feet of roof space. These panels will offset approximately 3,000 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) each year, the annual equivalent of planting 215 trees or not driving 4,000 miles.

Sitero Francisco Memorial National High School is proud to partner with the Foundation for Environmental Education to help educate students about solar energy and help the environment from the threat of global warming. The school hopes it will mold an impression on the minds of students and their families and engage them in a collective effort aimed at the well-being of our community and country. The solar array is a giant step in the school’s environmental efforts to go green and efforts to provide leadership in Valenzuela City toward an eco-educated citizenry. It also promotes the SFMNHS practice of actually applying what students’ learn into everyday action.

The solar panels were installed by Laguna-based FFG Solarpower. The duty tax of the cargo and the more than Php 250,000 installation cost of the solar panels by professionals from FFG Solar Power, Inc. were shouldered by the City Government of Valenzuela.

“The City Government supports projects like this. I share Mr. Villareal and Mr. Tan’s vision. I hope to be able to tap renewable energy, such as the solar power, in local government buildings someday.”, Valenzuela City Mayor Sherwin T. Gatchalian said in a statement.

Plaques of appreciation were also presented to Mr. Glen Kizer, Mr. Daniel Li, Mr. William Manz and several other individuals who have been instrumental in the success of the project. Mr. Manz was requested to receive the awards for Mr. Kizer and Mr. Li.

Sitero Francisco Memorial National High School has plans to harness the energy of solar power. The school has received a 1KW photo-voltaic solar array donated by Wanxiang America Corporation and the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) headed by Mr. Glen Kizer. The solar initiative is one of the flagship projects of Mr. Cesar C. Villareal, SFMNHS Principal. Mr. Jameson H. Tan, SFMNHS Science Department Head, was designated to communicate with a potential donor. Mr. Bill Manz, a former US Peace Corps Volunteer, was requested by Mr. Kizer to validate the request of the school. In the later part of 2007, Mr. Manz conducted an ocular visit to the school.

SFMNHS would be the first school in the National Capital Region to use solar panels for energy and the first school in the country to have a hybrid energy set up ( solar energy with on-grid energy set up). The ceremonial switch on of the solar project is scheduled to be held on June 1, 2010. Hon. Sherwin Gatchalian (City Mayor of Valenzuela ) will lead the ceremonial switch on and unveiling of the commemorative marker. He will be assisted by Dr. Flordeliza R. Mayari (Schools Division Superintendent) and several other city government and education officials. The 1KW solar project will be used for the lighting needs in nine classrooms.

Sitero Francisco Memorial National High School

Once operational, the solar project will help students become more aware of their energy needs, the science behind it and other energy issues. As part of the project, the school will also install a web-based solar monitoring station that can be used by school staff, science teachers, and students to monitor the energy production in real-time. The data can be utilized for science lessons about energy and electricity, and possibly even competitions between schools on energy production.

The solar panel was shipped in October, 2009 from Illinois, USA by Mr. Daniel Li of Wanxiang America Corporation. It arrived at the Port of Manila last Nov. 14. Mr. Crisostomo Mayari, proprietor of CD Mayari Customs Brokerage facilitated, free of charge, the preparation of certain documents and transactions for the release of the cargo. The duty tax of the cargo, as well as the installation of the solar project, was funded by the City Government of Valenzuela through Mayor Sherwin T. Gatchalian.

A picture of the installation will be posted on SolarSchools.org after the ribbon cutting.

– by Jameson Tan

In San Rafael, California, Bahia Vista Elementary School has a beautiful garden inside a fence with a wind screen. And there is also a solar array sticking out above the garden and soaking in the sun just like the plants and flowers and vegetables growing in the garden.

Juan Rodriguez is the Principal and Karen Holleran is in charge of the garden and so too the solar panels.

The location of this school is on Bahia Vista Way in San Rafael and just a few feet from the San Francisco Bay. There are more than 400 students at the school. PG&E donated the solar electricity system to the school and that is Karalee Browne of PG&E with Karen Holleran in the picture below. Karalee is on the right and Karen is dragging all of her teaching materials across the playground. It is a 1.4 kW system.

Karalee Browne of PG&E with Karen Holleran

If you would like more details about how these systems are installed or how the data works visit the Bahia Vista Solar School site.

The live data showing how much electricity is being generated can be seen by clicking the link right above the picture of the PV system on that same web site.

How many great people have you seen in your life who shouted and criticized and pushed everyone around them? People who are lonely often lash out at those people around them which typically widens the separation between those they want to come closer. Too many people are tough on the outside, but soft on the inside when it should be the other way around.

It is why teachers are so important. A great teacher finds a way to balance kindness and compassion with discipline. There is a common misconception that teaching is about telling others what to do. This would make the students get used to being passive and to take direction from others. Good teachers use a variety of methods to help students learn. Good teachers are not looking for students to follow them. Good teachers are looking for students who may need a little help getting started, but who will move ahead on their own if given the opportunity. So many of you who read these blog stories are great teachers and we try and point you out as we can, but there are so many of you that will never get the recognition that you deserve. I know only the smallest percentage of teachers out there right now, but the ones I do know are so important to our collective future and without even knowing you personally, you must know how much we appreciate all you.

I believe Jameson Tan is also great teacher. I am sure none of you know Mr. Tan and probably none of you will ever meet him because he is a teacher at a school in the Philippines. Rather than describe how nice and kind he is, but how persistent he is to help his students, I am going to share with you one of the many e mails he sent us asking us to help his school get a solar electricity system.

Thank you for the interest in helping our school acquire a solar panel. It is our long cherish dream to be a solar school and we're hoping through Mr. Kizer this will soon turn into reality.

Our school's official name is Sitero Francisco Memorial High School, located at Sta. Monica Subdivision, Valenzuela City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Our telephone number is 00633-445-3903. It was established in 2002 and has been a consistent winner in various competitions in the division and regional level. We are the first and so far the only public secondary school in the Philippines who have conducted a computerized election for our student government.

We're offering complete secondary school from first to fourth year level (equivalent to grade 7 to 10 in US). The Philippines has the shortest basic education in Asia, with grade 1 to 6 to complete elementary and grade 7 to 10 to complete the high school. Our land area is 1,400 square meters. Negotiations are underway for the purchase of additional 2,000 square meters of land by the city government for our school expansion.

Our plan is to have a hybrid type of electrical service once the solar panel is with us. The majority of our electrical connection will remain on-grid while the small portion will be on off-grid utilizing the solar panel. We envision our school to be a model school introducing the potential of solar energy in the country among public schools as well as other institutions to contribute to the growing clamor to lessen the impact of global warming. We do hope that through the Foundation headed by Mr. Kizer and other concerned organizations and individuals this will soon come into reality.

Thanks and God bless.

James Tan

When I forwarded this e mail to my friend Daniel Li of Wanxiang Solar, his company Wanxiang America Corporation agreed to help us get a solar electricity system to Mr. Tan. When I talked to Paul Loeffelman of American Electric Power, he agreed to bring the school into AEP's Learning from Light Program and we have sent educational materials to the school that were created by another non-profit, the National Energy Education Development Project (NEED). There were so many people helping and also so many barriers because of shipping and government regulations, but in the end Mr. Tan remained nice the entire time and yet remained firm in his determination to get solar on his school. The pictures that are in this story show you that the solar panels are being installed finally. It literally took a village in the Philippines and four organizations in the US, and one from China, to get this done, but it all started with a very nice and kind teacher at a school in the Philippines who searched the internet and found our Solar Schools Program and decided he wanted his students to be part of the solar schools initiative. He has succeeded. And like so many great teachers around the world and all over the US, it is the students who will benefit.

I must also point out that none of this could have been possible without the help of my old friend Bill Manz who visited the school and met Mr. Tan and then came back to Ohio to talk to me at a Starbucks about why we should help this school. I have a picture in my office of Bill Manz and Jameson Tan with some other teachers from the school. Now I will add a second picture to my wall. A picture of Jameson Tan with the School Principal, Mr. Cesar C. Vilareal as the solar energy system is being installed. In case you never meet him, Jameson is the one in the blue shirt.

Principle and Jameson Tan

We will put up a page on the web site SolarSchools.org with a picture and the information about this project and with Mr. Tan's e mail in case you want to contact him about what he is doing at his school. It will be in the "Learning from Light" section. We have also asked Mr. Tan to write his own blog story about this project and he has agreed so stay tuned for his follow up.

Attaching The Panels

Solar Array

Solar Panel Construction

Battery Bank

We learn all the time. Even if we walked around and tried to deliberately avoid learning anything new, it would be difficult. Of course, a school is one of our primary learning centers and because we want people to learn about solar energy, we have a number of solar schools including a large number throughout Illinois and quite a few in Chicago. And I do mean a formal school building with solar electricity attached to the building or on school grounds meaning “solar + school = solar school.” But we also have a number of non-school learning centers to which solar energy is also attached. One of these non-school “solar schools” is the Field Museum along Lake Michigan in downtown Chicago. There is a large solar array on the roof and it generates electricity that flows into the museum to help power the lights and the heating and air conditioning systems. And there are now plans to use the solar electricity system to help educate visitors to the museum. That is why I call it a non-school “solar school.”

First, some background on the Field Museum itself:

Founding

The Field Museum was incorporated in the State of Illinois on September 16, 1893 as the Columbian Museum of Chicago with its purpose the “accumulation and dissemination of knowledge, and the preservation and exhibition of objects illustrating art, archaeology, science and history.” In 1905, the Museum’s name was changed to Field Museum of Natural History to honor the Museum’s first major benefactor, Marshall Field, and to better reflect its focus on the natural sciences. In 1921 the Museum moved from its original location in Jackson Park to its present site on Chicago Park District property near downtown where it is part of a lakefront Museum Campus that includes the John G. Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium. These three institutions are regarded as among the finest of their kind in the world and together attract more visits annually than any comparable site in Chicago.

Collections

The Field Museum was founded to house the biological and anthropological collections assembled for the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. These objects form the core of the Museum’s collections which have grown through world-wide expeditions, exchange, purchase, and gifts to more than twenty million specimens. The collections form the foundation of the Museum’s exhibition, research and education programs, which are further informed by a world-class natural history library of more than 250,000 volumes.

Public Learning

As an educational institution the Field Museum offers multiple opportunities for both informal and more structured public learning. Exhibits remain the primary means of informal education, but throughout its history the Museum has supplemented this approach with innovative educational programs. The Harris Loan Program, for example, begun in 1912, provides educational outreach to children, bringing artifacts, specimens, audiovisual materials, and activity kits to Chicago area schools. The Department of Education, begun in 1922, offers a changing program of classes, lectures, field trips, museum overnights and special events for families, adults and children. Professional symposia and lectures, such as the annual A. Watson Armour III Spring Symposium, presents the latest scientific results to the international scientific community as well as the public at large.

Research

The Museum’s curatorial and scientific staff in the departments of Anthropology, Biology, Geology, and Zoology conducts basic research in the fields of systematic biology and anthropology, and also has responsibility for collections management, and collaboration in public programs with the Departments of Education and Exhibits. Since its founding the Field Museum has been an international leader in evolutionary biology and paleontology, and archaeology and ethnography, and has long maintained close links, including joint teaching, students, seminars, with local universities – particularly the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Next, some information about the solar array on the roof of the Field Museum:

It is important to note that there are two sides to a place like the Field Museum. There is the Visitor Side or the front part that visitors to the Museum see and there are the exhibits the visitors see and there are restaurants and restrooms and ticket takers and guards and a whole group of people making sure that your visit to the Museum is a positive one. You also learn a lot about natural history and right now you would learn a lot about diamonds. Then there is the back part of the Museum or the Administration Side. This is where the research is taking place and new exhibits are being planned and built and it is also where the heating, air conditioning, ventilation system, lights, and the people who administer the Museum work and spend their days. The Field Museum is more than 1.3 million square feet and just the natural gas and electricity bills exceed $2.5 million per year. That means it is more than $200,000 per month just to heat, cool, and light the Museum. So a few years ago, the Field agreed to a solar electricity array on its roof. This array does save the museum a little bit of money on its electricity bill, but more importantly it is way for the Museum staff to learn about solar energy and soon to take what it has learned and share it with the visitors to the Museum. The Field is going to use what it learned on the Administration Side of the Museum to help expand its educational outreach on the Visitor Side of the Museum. We applaud the Field for having a fantastic museum and for helping educate the City of Chicago and much of Illinois and Indiana and Michigan and Wisconsin about solar energy.

The Field Museum has a page on the Illinois Solar Schools web site, including a link to its solar electricity data. Carter O’Brien is our contact at the Field. He can be reached at cobrien@fieldmuseum.org.

In Cypress Fairbanks, the solar school project is at the Science Resource Center(SRC).  The Cypress Fairbanks ISD has a number of schools within its district including the Arnold Middle School which is directly across the street from the Science Resource Center (SRC).  The National Energy Education Development Project is administering the educational  part of the TXU Energy Solar Academy Project and has conducted one teacher training workshop at the SRC already.

TXU Energy donated the pole mounted solar electricity system and you can see the data at the following web site:

http://www.txunews.com/solaracademy/solarmap.html

The mission of the SRC shows how it serves as the science support center for the district.

Mission: The mission of the Science Resource Center is to support and enrich the science program in
Cypress-Fairbanks I.S.D. so that our graduates will achieve the goal of scientific literacy.

With a staff of seven, the SRC provides science teaching aids for every school in the Cy-Fair district.  In the spring, they stage field trips for kindergarten, first and second grades.  Volunteers are trained there to teach demos appropriate to different grade levels, often using live animals which are housed at the SRC.  “Big Events” are provided for each grade level in elementary school.  First grade receives fertilized chicken eggs to incubate and watch hatch.  Second gets painted lady butterfly caterpillars to raise and watch metamorphose into butterflies.  Third and Fifth grades go to the district nature trails behind Millsap elementary school and each school gets the use of an inflatable planetarium for one week during the year to teach fourth grade students about the universe.   To supplement the solar panel, each elementary school in the district is provided with a “NEED kit,” assembled by the SRC staff.  It contains materials for six different stations that teach about different types and sources of energy.

The SRC is located just to the East of Highway 290.  It is just a few minutes from Houston up Highway 290 and it is located in what I would call “Northwest Houston.”