November 24, 2004
Central Grade Montessori class thankful for project
Students prepare food for church community lunch
By
Herald staff writer
Students in Bobbianne Grant's fourth, fifth and sixth-grade Montessori classroom at Central Grade School got a sense of what it means to be part of a community this week.
The students, who prepared apple crisp and salad greens after shopping for the ingredients in local stores, delivered the food to the weekly community lunch at the Friends Church on Fifth and Oak in Traverse City.
"Being part of our local community is in keeping with the Montessori experience. Community service is part of what we should be about," said teacher assistant, Catherine Valovick who helped in the planning.
"We are also grateful for people in our community who were willing to help us in our efforts, like Oryana who donated most of the food to us," Valovick said.
With this week's Thanksgiving holiday on their minds, students like 10-year-old Madelyne Kathadurian were glad to be able to share something they prepared with community members in need.
"I know they will feel good because this might be their biggest meal of the day. They will be happy to have good food to eat," Kathadurian said.
Helping others also had the students thinking about their own good fortunes.
"Most of us can afford food and a nice dinner. Doing this helps us help those you can't and makes us appreciate what we have," said 11-year-old Nathan Schriber.
Preparing the food and talking about the lunch program has nine-year-old Hannah Wescott thinking about the people that live around her.
"Sometimes I look at people on the street and wonder if they are poor and don't have a house. It makes me thankful for my own house because it can get really cold in Michigan in the winter," Wescott said.
All of the students agree that this will be the first of many donations to the community lunch program.
"It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun. I think we should do this all the time," nine-year-old Logan Clark said, adding "It feels good."