Villa Angela-St. Joseph’s Earth Day 2026: Joining Neighborhoods for a Cleaner Community

Students and faculty from Villa Angela-St. Joseph, Cleveland, OH, joined the neighboring communities of Euclid and Collinwood for a collaborative Earth Day cleanup featuring educational environmental vendors, including Cuyahoga Waste Management and the Euclid Library.

On Saturday, April 25, 2026, the City of Euclid and the Collinwood area of Cleveland joined forces to celebrate Earth Day by cleaning up the community. Members of the community went out to the parks, beaches, and streets to pick up trash, tires, and anything else they could find. Each area had a pickup center where participants could pick up supply kits before heading to their preselected cleanup location. When the event ended at noon, each city waited to see who picked up the most trash. This year, for the first time, there was a tie! Euclid and Collinwood’s count was 103 each. 

Our students assisted in this event. Villa Angela-St. Joseph had 17 students who cleaned our campus and the surrounding areas. We were joined by President Tom Carone and Principal Greg Sedmak. Our students then went to Orr Arena, where they continued to help with the event by working with various vendors, such as Cuyahoga Waste Management, Euclid Library, and others who provided information on recycling and the environment.

Creativity Recycled: Celebrating Student Artists at the Spring Pep Rally

The school also celebrated its second annual Earth Day Contest by challenging students to create original artwork using recycled materials.

Villa Angela-Saint Joseph High School held its second annual Earth Day Contest. The contest was held in April, encouraging our students to create an environmentally friendly theme piece of artwork. Students had to include elements made from recycled materials in their artwork. Winners of this year’s contest were announced during our Spring Pep Rally on Friday, May 8th. Congratulations to senior Crysta Rutkowski, who took first place with her wearable dress made from newspapers, paper bags, and recycled trim from old wedding dresses, which held it all together. We had a tie for second place between senior Allen Wilson and sophomore Addison McCarthy. Allen created a turtle out of cardboard. The turtle's mouth opens and closes. While Addison created a tunnel book. Congratulations to our winners and everyone who submitted their original works.

Villa Angela- St. Joseph High School student winners: Crysta Rutkowski (middle), senior, Addison McCarthy (left), sophomore, and Allen Wilson (right), senior

Updates sent by Cristina Nahra,

Teacher & Moderator, World Language Club,

Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School,

Cleveland, OH

Marianist Encounters Newsletter

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