On Friday April 29, 2011, students at Simon Kenton High School, Independence, KY, helped put the puzzle pieces together to finding a cure for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  Autism Spectrum disorder affects 1 in 110 children in the United States.  Autism is classified as a spectrum disorder because symptoms can range from highly functional to highly dysfunctional.  There is no cure for Autism, and Simon Kenton students weren’t taking that sitting down.

 

In early March, students Brooke Greene and Taylor C. Wilson, met with several teachers.  They immediately started brainstorming ways to raise awareness about ASD during the month of April; Autism Awareness Month.  Wanting to involve as many people in the school as they could, a school-wide walk-a-thon to raise money and awareness was decided upon. Students would pay $5 as a donation to walk a mile around the track.  Planning began and the girls and teachers worked hard to prepare for the event.  The walk was the culmination of a month of service learning activities in the classroom and throughout the building.

 

The day had finally arrived.  Volunteers and community members were on hand, including student photographers, pep-squad, and the Independence Fire Dept.  Balloons were up, water bottles and candy were ready to be handed out, and everyone was ready to walk. Brooke Greene, a senior at Simon Kenton, lined up a guest speaker, Michael Mendon, who is a member on the Autism Speaks charity board, a student at Dixie Heights High School, as well as a person diagnosed with autism.  Over 600 students registered to walk, and students came to the school auditorium for a brief pep rally before the walk. 

 

Michael gave the students some encouraging advice: “I walk to know there are other people out there who care.  I walk for me, but I walk for acceptance, knowing that everyone isn’t going to judge me, knowing everyone cares and loves me.”

 

The walk was a great success.  The students at Simon Kenton raised over $2,300 for Autism Speaks, as well as the school fund that funds the children with special needs program at Simon Kenton.

 

Brooke Greene commented, “The best part is that a group of high school students made an impact in less than 30 days.  My favorite part was seeing all of my friends show up, wearing the same shirt, and crossing the finish line holding hands.  We were all a part of something.  Our school bonded together to make a difference in so many lives.”

 

Brooke and Taylor along with friends, classmates, and teachers, attended the 2011 Autism Speaks Awareness Walk at Coney Island on May 21. There they presented a check for $2,000 to Autism Speaks, a national autism science and advocacy organization.  The check was wrapped in signed puzzle pieces from students at Simon Kenton.  Puzzle pieces are the national symbol for Autism Awareness.

A Journey…
A Service Learning Experience
By Deb Thomas
 
Recently I had the opportunity to meet with Ed Colina, the former principal at Immaculate Heart of Mary School who left his position in 2007 to work in Kenya, Africa.  Ed is the founder of “Journey…The Ed Colina Foundation” and is currently living and working in Kenya, Africa.
 
When meeting with Ed, we discussed ways that our St. Timothy Preschool can interact with and help his St. Timothy School in Kenya.  As an ongoing Service Learning project, our students will be communicating with the children of the school in Kenya by using several different modes of communication.  First, we will become pen pals with the students in Kenya.  You may be wondering how three and four year olds can be pen pals?  Well, through drawing.  We will be sending drawings back and forth via the internet.  Our biggest project will include drawing a United States map on butcher paper, then our students drawing pictures of their houses on the map.  We will also attach pictures of our classes and the children to the paper.  Then the children of St. Timothy in Kenya will use the back part of the butcher paper, draw a picture of their houses, and mail it back to us.  Ed is willing to take pictures of the children and send them as well.
 
During the month of May, we have planned a joint music class with the children in Kenya.  We will use Skype during music and directly try to teach a new song to the children of St. Timothy “Kenya.” This is a wonderful learning opportunity for our children to learn about children their age around the world.  When meeting with Ed, our goal was to establish a “Kid to Kid” relationship that encompasses learning and prayer with one another.  To learn more about Ed Colina and his efforts with the children of Kenya, please visit www.edcolinafoundation.org.

 

Kicks for Belize
A Service Learning Project
By Deb Thomas
 
As many of you know, our preschool and kindergarten are now part of the Mayerson Service Learning Initiative, sponsored by Children Inc.  As we begin this new way adventure in outreach, we ask that you keep us in your prayers.  Our first two projects will be completed by both the preschool and kindergarten and involve touching the lives of children in Belize and Africa  (see the Journey article about our project for Africa)
We recently taught our students about where they live and the location on a map.  The children learned about Belize and the how the people in Belize live, work, and most importantly (well, for three, four, and five year olds) how they play.  We have learned that soccer is a favorite of many in Belize, so the children and the staff decided that we wanted to send some soccer balls with our Belizers on this year’s mission trip. 
After deciding on the soccer balls, the children discovered a problem.  They learned that it costs money to buy the soccer balls and they had to determine how they were going to earn the money.  After much thought, the kids (along with encouragement from their teachers) decided that they would do small projects around the house and earn money to put in their “Kicks for Belize Bank.”  We read the book, “A Chair for Mother” and taught the children about saving money, particularly how saving even small amounts will make a big difference for others.  Throughout the month, the children did simple jobs like helping to set the table, feed an animal, help carry in the groceries, pick up toys, etc. to earn money for their bank.  In early May, the children brought their banks to school and each class counted their money.  With the money raised from all of the classes and the matching funds from Victory Bank (our B.E.S.T. Partner for Service Learning), each of our students will be able to send a soccer ball to a child in Belize!  After we receive the shipment of 150 soccer balls, each preschool and kindergarten student will personally decorate a ball.  The balls will then be presented to Fr. Rick and Lesley Duggan to take to Belize in June.
Service Learning is a wonderful way to initiate small changes in the lives of others here in Northern Kentucky as well as those across the globe.  Perhaps the biggest change is watching our parish families and teachers embrace this effort and make a difference in the lives of their children and the children we serve in the preschool and kindergarten. 

After Deb Winkler, a teacher at the Transformational Learning Center in Covington, met Greg Mortenson this fall, she brought inspiration and passion back to her students at TLC. She was so inspired by the author of Three Cups of Tea that she wanted to do her part to help. She took her excitement and the books that were donated from Rockwern Academy (another active service learning school) to her students and allowed them to read. After reading, they discussed how they could get involved.

 

The students wanted to support Pennies for Peace, a school-based charity where U.S. students can bring in pennies to help build schools for children in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The students were touched by the children across the world that had such a desire to learn but yet had so little opportunity to do so. They wanted to get more people involved in their cause so they decided to employ the help from a local elementary school.

 

They began collaborating with the first grade students at Glenn O'Swing elementary.  Three young men traveled to Glenn O. from the high school twice a week for many weeks to work with the young students. They read Listen to the Wind, the picture book version of Three Cups of Tea and did math in the garden with the students. They also helped them make lists of needs and wants, as well as write letters about what they thought was necessary to have in a school. Together the students made advertisements for the entire elementary school which included posters and commercials depicting the importance of education.

 

It was amazing to see how both the high school students and the elementary students thrived during this collaboration. The first grade students were all ears when the high school students came into their class. They enjoyed the time that they spent together and were engaged in meaningful activities. The high school students took ownership of the project and engaged the children using their leadership skills. They took on additional school work to be a part of the project and were happy to do so for the opportunity to work with young people and make a difference in the world.

 

The students are still working hard to raise money during the final days of the school. They have already raised over $200 and the number keeps growing. Congratulations to both schools for a job well done! 

Randall K. Cooper High School Energy League was selected Kentucky Senior Level School of the Year by NEED (National Energy Education Development Program) AND Senior Level Rookie of the Year at the National Level by NEED. They will be taking their service learning project on the road this summer when they travel to Washington D.C. for a national awards ceremony.

"Here are a couple of pictures of some of our kids reading the wonderful books that you (Yealey Elementary 2nd grade) presented to us last week during your tour.  I read a few myself and they were delightful!  (I learned a few new jokes, too!) Thank you very much for all the time and thought everyone put into make the books special for our kids. As you can see, they were very much enjoyed."
 
Lisa Davis
Meals & Activities Coordinator, Ronald McDonald House Cincinnati

Congratulations to Caity Baker for her outstanding commitment to service learning this year and to being honored as a Service Learning Superstar Liaison. She has done a great job encouraging the staff at Grants Lick Elementary to implement high quality service learning projects into their classroom and communicating with her service learning coordinator to ensure that the staff at Grant’s Lick has the proper resources to create impactful projects for her coworkers. She has gone above and beyond by organizing trainings for all the teachers in Campbell County. Great job Caity! 

Congratulations to Lindsey Wilson of Ft. Wright Elementary for an excellent job as service learning liaison!  She has kept the lines of communication open with her coordinator and made sure all the teachers stayed on top of their projects throughout the year.  Lindsey has been an integral part to service learning being a high priority within her school.  In addition, she led an international project with her Girls on the Run team to provide relief for victims of the Japan tsunami.  Thanks for all your hard work! 

Greetings from the student survey center of Children, Inc service learning!  This year has been a very active and productive year.  In 2010 – 2011 service learning coordinators have collected almost 2200 surveys from middle and high school students.  These surveys ask students to reflect on their project and their learning.  They also request for student suggestions on how to improve future projects.

 

Overwhelmingly, students’ reflections on their projects tend to be more favorable when they are more active in the planning and implementing their projects.  Try to keep the project student centered.   Involve the students in planning what they are doing and who will benefit from the project.  Guide them as they organize and carry out the project.

 

One way they would like to improve projects is being able to see who they are helping.  While it is not possible too make this happen in all cases, some connection to real faces and voices may further students’ connection with those they are serving.  Things like email buddies (electronic pen pals), pictures, and skype conversations could be economical ways to help kids connect.             

Splash!

 

During this school year, over 22,500 students have participated in service learning projects to date. In addition, nearly 10,000 students have lead or participated in more than one service learning experience this year. They have learned about issues, cultures, and needs locally and globally, partnering in some way with more than 160 community organizations. These partners have either provided expertise or were recipients of the students’ outreach and many were partnered with multiple schools!  Students are developing their strengths and exploring real world opportunities to use their education and skills.

 

The results are significant- over 80,000.00 dollars worth of basic needs have been gathered and donated by students. Nearly 100,000 dollars in cash has been generated and distributed to organizations, agencies and individuals in need. The Greater Cincinnati community and many international communities have received tremendous life giving support through the efforts of  k-12 students reflecting that children are not just  the hope of the future…they are seeing themselves as the solution and the leaders of today!

 

Let’s Celebrate!

Schools interested in sending project photos and articles for the newsletter or website may send them to mconnolly@childreninc.org.