Students, cookies and a cause. They’re the ingredients for compassion among some primary students at Memorial School.
This fall, children in grades 2-4 at the downtown school learned about compassion, including how and why to show it. Teacher Kristen Bombay said, in particular, the lessons focused on whether people should show compassion to strangers.
The lessons focused on whether people should show compassion to strangers— Kristen Bombay, teacher
To help with the lesson, students held bake sales for five weeks, raising money for needy families locally and abroad. Students also set a goal of raising $100 to buy a goat through World Vision.
By the time the last cookie was sold, students had baked up a $468 pot. Not only did they get their goat, they bought two hens and a rooster, five fruit trees, clothing for 25 children, books and the education of a girl through World Vision’s gift program.
Students still had enough left over to spread even more compassion. They also spent $100 on food for Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold and $50 on pet food for the Lincoln County Humane Society.
Prince of Wales School in St. Catharines was a hub of activity leading up to the holidays. The school was visited recently by Canadian children’s environmental science author Frank Glew. His visit was to celebrate $17,000 granted to the District School Board of Niagara for projects to purchase environmental literacy and support readings by Glew.
The money comes from the initiatives of charitable organization Education Foundation of Niagara, Glew and TD Friends of the Environment Foundation.
The cash bought 1,200 books, which were distributed to 25 elementary schools. Prince of Wales also extended a helping paw to the Lincoln County Humane Society this Christmas.
Students will select a cause and embark on awareness campaigns— Jill Savage, teacher
The Grade 1-2 class handed out hot chocolate in exchange for donations at the school’s Christmas concert this year. The efforts raised $250 for the animal shelter. Teacher Jill Savage said the class chose the humane society because in science class her students had been learning about the importance of animals. The philanthropic act also kick-starts a new program by Savage called “Who is Nobody.”
Students will select a cause and embark on awareness campaigns.
Proud Applewood School parent Paula McNeaney sent in a long list of successes attributed to Applewood’s Me to We program, an offshoot of Craig Kielberger’s Free the Children foundation.
So far this school year, students have given up some of their toys to sell, raising $158 for Gillian’s Place, a St. Catharines women’s shelter.
Other students collected $160 in Canadian Tire money to buy toys to donate to Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold, milk bags were collected for use in making sleeping mats to provide a dry sleeping surface for people in Third World countries, and staff decided to forgo their gift exchange, opting instead to each buy an unwrapped toy for donation to Community Care.
This article was published in the The St Catharines Standard on December 23rd 2009
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