Cardinal Charter Academy Students Are Learning Outside the Classroom

CARY, N.C., May 29, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Not all learning happens in the classroom. According to Cardinal Charter Academy's school counselor, Sara Penna, community service projects and becoming involved in helping the world can be a powerful teacher. During the current school year, Penna proposed two service projects, one in the fall and one in the spring. The premise was to have everyone in the school contribute in some way to benefit the entire school community and the community at-large. The plan was to have every student in every grade participate in the project to make a difference. The results were felt not only by those who benefited, but those who gave of themselves as well.

In the fall, students participated mainly in campus-focused service. One of the most unique was the creation of the Buddy Bench. Students painted a bench designed to be an inviting space for friendships to evolve. Students who may feel lonely or like they need a friend, sit on the bench while other students who notice they are on the bench come and join them. The bench has inspired new friendships and has fostered a renewed sense of companionship among students of all grades.

"When I painted a Buddy Bench, I felt good in the inside because I am helping not me, but other people to get new friends. I also loved painting the benches because we got messy and I love messy stuff." (Sadhana - 3rd Grade)

In addition to the Buddy Bench, some environmentally-focused projects included raking and picking up leaves around campus and creating eco-friendly bird feeders. Some students participated in picking up garbage off campus and created the hashtag - #trashtag where they could post how much garbage their group picked up.

There was also a cross-grade project where eighth graders went to first grade classes to read to them.

The projects were not only focused on the campus though. Fifth graders collected more than 1,000 cans of food through a competition for the Durham Rescue Mission.

"Helping out with the can drive made me feel helpful to others. I knew what we were doing was making a difference and that the things we were donating were going to a good cause" (Sam - 5th grade)

The springtime service events were focused more on the community outside of the campus. Each homeroom was tasked with developing an idea and plan to implement it. Some homerooms decided to work with the Ronald McDonald House by conducting a pop-top drive, listening to speakers talk about the services provided, collecting donations and toiletries for families using the services and preparing goody-bags with coloring books, puzzles, toys and cards for all children who stayed at the house.

Several grades prepared projects to help feed the hungry. Seventh graders held a food drive for Christ Family Church and eighth graders participated in the Interfaith Food Shuttle – a meals on wheels type of program. Another group worked with the not-for-profit organization, A Note in the Pocket, which provides clothing for underprivileged children.

Third graders embarked on a penny war and raised more than $300 for an animal shelter and fourth graders made videos of themselves reading children's books on a Youtube channel so that younger children could be read to whenever they went to the channel.

"We've seen a lot of enthusiasm in students during these service learning days," said Penna. "The younger students found joy in writing cards for people, older students expressed that they were able to do something that actually helped people. It was great for them to see a direct result of their actions."

Teachers and students alike embraced the service days.

Second grade teacher Susan Kearns provided a great opportunity for older and younger students to interact when she requested big helpers to work with the littles to make felt toys for the animal shelter.

"Our second graders were excited to spoil dogs and cats with our class-made chew toys. We also had some older kids from our middle school who came to help. Watching the older and younger students working together was wonderful, and I think that everyone learned from the experience," said Kearns.

"This project has opened up so many opportunities for our students and teachers to gain a new perspective about how big the global community is. Even though we are just a small school in Cary, we can make a big difference," added Penna.

Students also engaged in a writing portion of the projects explaining how his or her actions influenced someone else.

Students in one classroom wrote about what service meant to them and created a bulletin board so that everyone could see their accomplishments and thoughts.

The community service project is in its infancy and is expected to grow throughout the years.

"We've learned a lot over this first year and will implement some of what we learned into future projects. Students learned how they can impact their community and teachers learned how creative and generous their students can be. It was truly a win-win for our entire community," said Rebecca Draper, principal of Cardinal Charter Academy.

RELEVANT LINKS:

Cardinal Charter - https://www.cardinalcharter.org/
Buddy Bench - http://www.thebenchfactory.com/buddy-bench-benefits
Durham Rescue Mission - https://www.durhamrescuemission.org/
Ronald McDonald House - https://www.rmhc.org/
Interfaith Food Shuttle - https://www.foodshuttle.org/

Contact:
Colleen Reynolds, APR
(239) 849-6400

SOURCE Cardinal Charter Academy