by Karen Meenan
We take for granted that everyone has clean drinking water available to them. We are wrong. Every day, women and children (particularly girls) throughout the world must walk an average of 6km to find water for their families, water which is often polluted. The distance is long and water jugs are very heavy to carry. Continue reading
As we get ready to head out for summer vacation, we are wondering what you are doing this summer? Do your summer plans include service or even just learning about a cause or need in our community or the world? If you find yourself or your family diving into service, would you be willing to write a short post for our blog? It is super easy… All you have to do is write 250+ words, add a picture, if you like, and send it to 4laurieprice@gmail.com. We will get it posted on our blog to keep your service alive. Who knows what it might spark? If you would rather cut out the middle”man” you could also become a regular contributor to the blog. We will show you how! Whether or not your summer plans include service or blogging, we wish you all the best of summer!
We are excited to launch our Service Learning Blog for the Lower School. It is our hope that this will become a gathering place: to share, connect and learn. We will post stories, key happenings and thoughts around Service Learning in our school and in the world. We hope you will join us as we seek to find the meaningful, enriching intersection of learning and service.
by Michelle Tubbs
In the days leading up to May 8th, Mt Hood Climb Service Day, I found myself remembering a favorite song which I learned as a child. It goes like this:
“Mares eat oats
And does eat oats
And little lambs eat ivy…
A kid will eat ivy too, wouldn’t you?”
Why this silly song, you might be wondering? Well…I was preparing to spend some time with some kids and some ivy — not the four-legged “kid”, but the two-legged kind who would be “consuming” the ivy in their own enthusiastic way!
If you want to find out what goes on during a typical school day for my two second grade boys, it usually takes a little digging.
When I arrived home this afternoon, my 8-year-old twins met me in the driveway, rapped on the car window, and triumphantly declared: “Guess what we did at the Oregon Food Bank? We put 10,555 pounds of potatoes in bags that made 1,760 meals to give to people!”
by Kim Bissell
“My gloves are too big” exclaimed one of Mrs Bridgnell’s room 3 kindergartners. A quick switch with one of the several pairs left in the work glove basket and off two classes of buddy partners, 17 3rd graders from Mrs Hunger’s class and 17 kindergartners, went into the OES Wetlands. Students led the way with the watchful eye of their teachers, they knew their task, they understood the problem, and their part in protect ing the ecosystem.
The Lower School library is humming with activity, but it’s not the usual flipping of pages and books being checked out. Instead, it’s the steady clicking of knitting needles accompanied by the rise and fall of friendly conversation. It’s not the usual pint-size suspects, either. On this day, the space is filled with people of all ages; students from each division at OES, faculty and staff, parent and community volunteers. The group labors shoulder-to-shoulder, their faces glowing with satisfaction one minute and pinched in frustration the next. Each working to master the art of Knitting: For A Reason (FAR).
Ingredients:
132 bowls, Seven Paint Colors, Paint Brushes, Second Grade Artists, Fourth Grade Artists, Upper School Volunteers, Faculty Volunteers, Parent Volunteers
Master Chef: Ms. Synan-Russell
Infuse Artists with sense of service and feelings of hope at Bell Tower Ceremony. Give each artist a bowl, seven colors to choose from and one brush. Play some beautiful music and observe with wonder while 132 bowls come to life. Brush with a clear glaze and bake in the kiln. Sell for a good cause.
If you happened to be walking by Tina Akehurst’s classroom on April 24th, you probably heard it buzzing with the joyful noise of 18 fifth graders sewing, braiding, and decorating together to create book bags for the young children at Woodburn Learning Center. The class used all of their Scholastic points to buy various types of books, in both English and Spanish, to go into their bags for the kids at the center. As Ms. Akehurst commented, “These bags of books are truly from and created by our kids.” The look of pride on each students’ face as they carefully created the final product was a wonderful thing to observe. It was a true team effort!
Can you imagine a house where every person, animal, insect and item is welcome? It’s at OES and it’s called The Everybody House.
OES Lower School Service Learning 