Our 8th grade students had a Day of Caring for our school and community. It was amazing to see our kids serving and helping others. Each house chose what they would do for their service which included cleaning up an educational site at Weeks Bay, sprucing up our campus, and creating caring bags for a nursing home in our community.
The House of Opportunity did some tidying around the school. They cleaned windows all over the building. All of our flower boxes were cleaned and replanted with fresh plants.
They even dug up a tree that needed to be removed! After all the cleaning and gardening was done, they washed teacher's cars to end their day.
The House of Spirit went to Weeks Bay. This is a local research and education foundation that protects the wetlands on the coastline of the bay.
Students picked up garbage and cleaned the area. They were also able to save a pelican they found wrapped in plastic!
The House of Curiosity made caring bags to take to the nursing home in our community. Students created their own puzzle books with word searches of different categories they thought would interest the tenants of the nursing home.
Students created hand-drawn cards and wrote sweet messages on the inside. They also made rice socks and fleece blankets for their comfort.
Students organized all of it and handled bringing in the supplies and the production of the caring bags. We were all set to deliver the bags to the nursing home and visit but got a call they had been quarantined for the flu.
The nursing home cancellation left 3 hours of unplanned time! We quickly scrambled to think of something they could do that would still be of service for the nursing home. So the students made videos for them. They researched exercises the tenants could do while sitting and made a video demonstrating how to do them. Another group made a slideshow of calming photos with music and another made a video of how to draw a dream catcher. They were amazing!
The day was amazing and I hope it had an impact on our students so that they feel more connected to their community and see what a difference they can make.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." ~ Margaret Mead