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Mayerson Service Learning Initiative
Newsletter March 2011
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In This Email:
National Youth Service Summit: April 2, 2011
Holmes HS: Bulldogs Taking One-to-One Approach
Kelly ES: Fusing Art and Philanthropy
Ft. Wright ES: Pennies for Patients
Rockwern Academy: Environmental Awareness and Money
St. Joseph, Cold Spring: Focus on Social Services
New Haven ES: Pennies for a Purpose
Jefferson Award "Project of the Month"
Liaison Superstar of the Month
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National Youth Service Summit: April 2, 2011
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Join this fun day of service and celebration on Saturday, April 2nd from 8am-4pm at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Cincinnati!
8-9am: Onsite Registration for Unite to Ignite service projects
9am-12pm: Community service projects throughout downtown Cincinnati
12-1pm: After party on Fountain Square with free food, games, music and celebrity guests (Participate in the service component to attend Fountain Square event)
1-4pm: Service Symposium recognizing and celebrating the contributions of youth to our community with mini-grants, raffles and a service fair for youth service projects
Register for the morning of service from 8:30am-12:00pm, go to www.ugive.org
Register for the afternoon service fair from 1:00pm-4:00pm, go to
Contact Children, Inc Service Learning for additional information or assistance.
This event is free and open to the public.
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Holmes HS: Bulldogs Taking One-to-One Approach
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Through the Youth Engagement Zone grant issued by the Corporation for National and Community Service, Holmes High School students (appropriately named Bulldogs Give Back) have been able to take their service learning beyond the normal school day. In January, nearly 40 high school students were trained in the One-to-One Literacy Program, becoming a volunteer coach to an elementary student in Covington. The program is designed to provide opportunities for a struggling child to practice reading and gain self-confidence through a weekly session with a coach, ultimately impacting student achievement.
With specific strategies and activities, the high school students are able to engage the elementary students on a weekly basis. Coaches (high school students) are able to create their own lesson plans, choose books appropriate to the reading level of their elementary student match, design and play reading/word games with their students, and much more. Tia Luke, Holmes High School student and participant in the Bulldogs Give Back One-to-One Literacy Program, feels the program is a great tool to help prepare her for her dream of becoming a teacher. Not only does the program help the struggling reader, but it also has an impact on the coach. Jerrica Haynes, another Holmes participant in the program, states that since she struggled as a young reader, she can better understand and help her elementary student. She feels the program is not only helping the elementary student, but it is also helping her give back to her community.
While other One-to-One programs are typically held during school hours, Holmes students have made the commitment to attending the elementary schools in the afternoons after school hours. Coaches at Holmes have launched the reading program at John G. Carlisle and Ninth District Elementary, but Bulldogs Give Back hopes to extend this to more students in the coming years, allowing the program to reach the remaining Covington elementary schools and even beyond, including such community partners as the Boys and Girls Club and local childcare centers, with the expectation that every child in Covington will read proficiently by third grade.
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Kelly ES: Fusing Art and Philanthropy
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Jan Ransdell’s 4th grade Arts & Humanities students at Kelly Elementary recently completed a Service Learning project benefitting the Welcome House of Northern Kentucky. The students were inspired to embroider pillowcases for the homeless after reading The Beatinest Boy, a novel by Kentucky author Jesse Stuart. The novel follows a young boy in Appalachian Kentucky who works to make his grandmother the best Christmas gift ever from his own two hands.
Ransdell seized the opportunity for her students to immerse themselves in Appalachian culture and learn to create a piece of “functional art”. It was the students’ idea to then donate their creations to others less fortunate. Students wrote letters to recipients introducing themselves and their projects, explaining uncommon ways that their pillowcases may be used to transport goods or protect keepsakes.
Students’ efforts were recognized on Thursday, January 27, 2011 when Donna Hooper from the Welcome House came to accept their donations and share with them the services of the Welcome House. Students gained a newfound understanding of their project when they learned that the average age of a homeless person in Northern Kentucky is 9 years old—the same age as most of the children in the room.
Kelly Elementary looks forward to working with the Welcome House in the future as they incorporate the agency into upcoming Service Learning projects.
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Ft. Wright ES: Pennies for Patients
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Each year, thousands of schools join The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's School & Youth Programs—Pennies for Patients, Olive Garden's Pasta for Pennies, and HOP for Leukemia—to experience learning, fun, meaningful service and cooperative team work while joining in the fight against cancer.
For more than 14 years, School & Youth Programs have given students the opportunity to experience the powerful feeling that comes from working together to help others. Schools raise awareness and funds in honor of local patients battling a blood cancer like leukemia.
The fifth grade students at Fort Wright Elementary are having a school wide penny war to raise money for the Pennies for Patients Program this year.
The penny war is in progress! These students are preparing to count and graph the money raised from each classroom in the building so students will be aware of classes to bomb with silver coins and dollars. The fifth graders set a goal to raise $1,800 for the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Students far exceeded their goal by raising $2,432.47!
Pictured from left to right are 5th grade students from Ms. Leicht’s class: Brendan Martin, Tanner Brzygot, Justin Matthews, Marissa Sassin, and Hannah Wartman.
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Rockwern Academy:
Environmental Awareness and Money
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Fifth grade students at Rockwern Academy, Cincinnati’s Jewish Day School, quickly mobilized a response to the devastating fires in Israel. Upon hearing the news that fires were spreading quickly, destroying many acres of forested land, students began brainstorming ideas as to how they could help. They started a campaign in the school to raise money to plant trees in Israel. Just ten dollars buys one tree that will be planted in the area burned by the fires.
Students created a power point presentation educating others about the implications of the natural disaster, how the loss of trees impacts the environment, and pointing out ways in which everyone could make a difference. They wrote a song that they taught to the whole school. They went into the classrooms to present and ask for donations. They even wrote letters to their parents. The practice of tzedakah, righteous giving, was reinforced through their actions.
The students’ service learning initiative raised awareness of a current event, enabled them to make a difference on a global scale, bridged what they are learning in the classroom with the greater community, and supported academic content. Through the campaign, $1500.00 was raised, planting 150 trees.
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St. Joseph, Cold Springs: Focus on Social Services
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What can each of us do to help a family struggling to make ends meet? St. Joseph, Cold Spring Eighth graders debated this question after they learned about the economic realities for many neighbors in Northern Kentucky during visits to BeConcerned, Welcome House, Fairhaven, Interfaith Hospitality Network(IHN) and the Parish Kitchen.
Teacher Peggy Eilerman then invited her students to use their own skills and knowledge to design, manage, promote and carry out an outreach activity that exemplifies how each person can make a positive difference. Several suggestions were discussed within the classes, many were creative and insightful.
Eventually, the class chose the suggestion of Grant Schilling that simple basic needs like soap and diapers can mean so much to help people on very fixed incomes. He expressed the idea that taking care of basic cleaning supplies can give people hope and self respect.
Over a two month time, the classes designed games, activities, and promotional methods within a service learning project that would include not only the 62 eighth graders but all 474 students and retired volunteers in their community. Amidst snow delays, classroom soap & diaper competitions, games and their own busy activities, the eighth graders carefully documented the 5500 diapers and one and half TONS of soap collected by St. Joseph School children and families.
With the help of several wonderful retired men with trucks, students delivered the donations to five social service agencies answering their teacher's question by bringing hope and respect through the gift of basic needs and a little piece of mind.
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New Haven ES: Pennies for a Purpose
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When Lisa Lokesak shared the news of a robbery at Behringer-Crawford Museum (BCM) in Covington, KY with her classroom, students immediately wanted to help.
Over the holidays, thieves stole five 600-pound air-conditioning units from BCM. Cost to replace the units was an estimated $20,000. Lokesak explained to her students that BCM would have to rely on the goodness of the community to assist with replacing the air-conditioning units. These units are especially critical in controlling the temperature of the facility to preserve the many rare artifacts housed there.
Students formed short and long-term plans to help BCM. For the short-term, students held a penny drive on their 100th day of school encouraging others to bring in any form of $1 with the hopes of raising $1,000.
Students decided the best way to help BCM in the long run would be to increase visitors to the museum. They planned a field trip for all six 3rd grade classes. Upon returning to school, the students wrote persuasive letters to other area third-graders explaining their visit and why they would recommend a trip to BCM.
In addition to incorporating their persuasive writing unit, students recognized the biographies of famous Cincinnatians on their field trip; learning about immigrants’ impact on the economy of Cincinnati within their history unit.
Students presented their check of $1,000 to BCM staff on Thursday, February 17. Since BCM recently discovered that the theft will be covered by insurance, New Haven’s donation will go towards educational programming along with supporting BCM’s summer concert series and scholarships to students who can’t afford to visit the museum with their class.
Congratulations to New Haven for achieving their goal and their dedication to service learning!
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Jefferson Award "Project of the Month"
Turkey Foot MS: Water for Sudan
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After reading, A Long Walk to Water and a visit from author Linda Sue Park the students became concerned about the kids in
Sudan. We had discussions about the conditions under which they lived and how their lives revolved around water. They wanted to know if there was anything we could do to help the Sudanese.
Students determined we could help the Sudanese by raising money for the main character’s Water for Sudan organization. They shared a variety of fundraising ideas until we came up with PJ and Hat Day where students pay $1 to wear these items to school.
Each student researched information about the lost boys, contaminated water, statistics, Nuer and Dinka tribes struggles over rights to water, and hardships on girls who spend their days carrying water. They decided which persuasive techniques they wanted to include on their own posters and videos. Their purpose was to educate the entire school about the effects of dirty drinking water and convince students, faculty, staff, and community to donate to the cause. They even set up an educational/persuasive display board and decorated a donation jar for the evening Turkey Foot Middle School chorus concert so they could reach a wider community. Students also wrote persuasive letters to companies in order solicit more donations and create an awareness of the water problem in Sudan.
Wow. This project created awareness for all students, faculty, staff, and community. This is the service learning project I never saw coming and evolved into something I never could have imagined, because of the compassion of my 6th graders. We all learned that we can make a difference outside ourselves, families, and community. We can make a difference in the world.
Students raised $400 for The Water for Sudan organization which will use the money to drill wells for the Sudanese people. This will enable girls to go to school instead of spending their days walking long distances to collect water for their families. Also, families that had to move to other water sources during the dry season and stay in temporary shelters will be able to remain in their homes.
In the words of Angela Brehm- Writing Cluster Teacher, Vision Quest/Literature Teacher
Congratulations to Mrs. Brehm and her 6th grade students on an outstading Service Learning project!
Honorable Mention:Other Nominees
-Kelly ES, 4th grade, Embroidering Pillows for the Homeless
-St. Joseph, Cold Springs, 8th grade, Soap for Hope
-Transformational Learning Center, 6th-12th grade, No Bullying-No Name Calling
-Woodfill ES, 3rd grade, Kids Bake Away Cancer Blues
Nomination Process:
The Jefferson Award "Project of the Month" can be nominated by a teacher, administrator or student participating in or facilitating the service learning project. To nominate a specific project please fill our the form located in the Resources section of www.servicelearningnky.org. Email a copy to mconnolly@childerninc.org by the 15th of each month. All applications must include a nomination form and photo.
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Liaison Superstar: Katie Boruske, St. Therese
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Congratulations to Katie Boruske from St. Therese. She has been chosen as March’s Liaison Superstar. Not only is Katie great at communicating with her service learning coordinator and supporting the staff at St. Therese, but she is also a fantastic teacher that has completed several service learning projects this year. She goes above and beyond by motivating the staff at St. Therese with her fresh ideas and enthusiastic approach to teaching. Great job, Katie!
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Literature based Service-Learning Projects:
Connecting Curriculum and Community
This workshop will feature Mason High School educators Margaret McKinnon and Caryn Jenkins along with Glenn O. Swing third grade teacher Kelly Reeves and 3rd grade students. They will share their experiences utilizing literature and reading in service-learning projects. Their presentations will address the role that these active projects can have in deepening student understanding of class work while still adhering to educational standards. Discussion will also include specific recommendations for literature and reading components and how to use them in service-learning projects. Collette Thompson from the Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement will be available to discuss resources and projects conducted by NKU.
The workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, March 8 from 4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m. in rm 102 of Steely Library. To register, persons are asked to email Jenny Smith at smithjen@nku.edu or 859-572-6620. Cost is only $10 and covers parking, materials, and snacks/beverages. Participants can pay the door.
Highlands HS Living Gift Market
On Thursday, April 7, Highlands High School’s Human Geography students will be hosting a Living Gift Market to benefit Heifer International. Heifer International is a nonprofit organization that provides food and income-producing animals to impoverished families around the world. This educational and entertaining global fundraiser is a unique way to give gifts to honor family and friends.
The Living Gift Market will offer an opportunity to “purchase” animals like pigs, chickens, llama and goats as an alternative to commercial gifts. The sponsored animals help hungry families around the world by providing them with a means to financial independence. Sponsors receive honor cards to note their purchases. The Market will provide information on Heifer International, food- and income-producing animals, the countries and people who receive the benefits of a Living Gift, refreshments, games and activities for children including Easter-related activities, arts & crafts, and entertainment.
The freshman Human Geography students have set a goal of raising $2500.00 in animal sponsorships.
The Living Gift Market is open to the public, April 7, 5:30pm – 7:30pm in the Highlands High School Big Gym, 2400 Memorial Parkway, Ft. Thomas, KY. Please join us for this family friendly service learning event. For more information contact Bryna Bass, Service Learning Coordinator, Children Inc. bbass@childreninc.org
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Contact Information: (859) 431-2075
Schools interested in sending project photos and articles for the newsletter or website may send them to mconnolly@childreninc.org.
Mary Kay Connolly
Service Learning Director
Extension 223
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This is a publication of The Children Inc Mayerson Service Learning Initiative
1053 Madison Avenue, Covington, KY 41011
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