The kids and teachers of the Arkadelphia Public Schools in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, have taken the Ring Leader to heart, and they'd like to pass along some ways to really have fun with recycling. Betty Gentry, coordinator of the school system's Gifted / Talented Program, sent us this guide to getting the most out of Ring Leader:

• One child in each homeroom is selected as the class "Ring Leader." He or she attends a meeting and gets a job description, then informs the homeroom teacher about his or her responsibilities.

• Students are responsible for counting the number of rings brought in to school, and for recording that number on a bulletin board in a main hallway. Counting and recording is sometimes used as an incentive for good classroom behavior.

• At the end of each grading period, the school has an awards assembly for each grade level. This assembly also serves as an opportunity to talk to all classes about the Ring Leader Program. Each Ring Leader receives a certificate of recognition, has their name printed in the School Announcements, and is recognized in the principal's newsletter that goes home to parents.

• The class that brings in the most rings for recycling during each grading period gets an achievement certificate from Subway restaurant, giving each child a free "Kids' Pak" fun meal. The grade level class that brings in the most rings also gets a popcorn party for their class.

• Ring Leaders also attend periodic "meetings" in the coordinator's office, where they talk about the program and have fun packing up the boxes of recyclable six-pack rings for the postal workers to return to ITW Hi-Cone for Closed-Loop Recycling into new rings.