TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Students Do All They Can To Help The Needy

ADVERTISEMENT

By JESSICA BAIR, The Suncoast News

Published: November 26, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - Students at Chasco Elementary and Middle schools ended up with quite a haul - more than 2,600 cans of food - during a two-week lesson in sharing.

The National Junior Honor Society issued a challenge to see which class at the middle school on Ridge Road and the adjacent elementary could collect the most cans, said Cheryl Vinson, honor society sponsor and language arts teacher.

The middle school students gathered more than 1,600 cans, while the elementary came up with about 1,000.

"We couldn't have done it without the whole campus," Vinson said. "It's a great way for the school and the students to give back."

The nonperishable food will stock shelves at food banks, such as The Volunteer Way, and contribute to holiday drives sponsored by the sheriff's office, state Rep. John Legg and state Sen. Mike Fasano for families in west Pasco County.

Jeff Starr's 19 sixth-grade advanced math students collected 147 cans and Danielle Kucera's first-graders brought in 171. Both classes will have their first-place efforts rewarded with a breakfast and a pizza party.

"I am really proud and happy that they took an active interest and really stepped up to the plate," Starr said of his class.

Fourth-grade teacher Elsie Farmerie used the friendly competition as a backdrop for lessons about nutrition, food drives and community service.

"I think they really got it," school social worker Linda Angelilli said of the youngsters, who declined their second-place pizza prize because they wanted the food to go to the less fortunate. " ... They actually related the concepts and learned values that they can take with them."

As a Title I school, Chasco Elementary has many students from low-income families who are eligible for free or reduced-cost lunches. But that didn't dampen their desire to help others.

Instead of pizza, Angelilli said she'll give Farmerie's fourth-graders a small token - Hershey's Kisses - for a big effort.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT