04/01/2006
Coventry students honored for Service Learning Projects
NICOLE WIETRAK

Sen. Leo R. Blais (R-Dist. 24) kicked off the ceremony by praising Coventry's "unique character," something, he said, the students captured in their projects.

Blais also commended the entire School Committee and Supt. Kenneth R. DiPietro for pushing the students to continue striving for excellence in everything they do.

In order to start up the projects, the school district used grant money from the KIDS (Kids Involved Doing Service) Consortium, a group that works with teachers, administrators and students to involve students in addressing real challenges faced by their communities.

"This is one of the most special workshops of the year," said School Committee Chairperson Nancy E. Sprengelmeyer before introducing Blackrock Elementary School and their work with the school's world languages program.

The high school's foreign language students and the district's ESL (English as a Second Language) students will work with the elementary students in hosting the RI Rhyme Celebration, which brings students from different Rhode Island communities together to share world languages.

Sprengelmeyer commented that it was a joy to see teachers "putting the love of languages into the minds and souls of the little ones" and thanked the teachers for encouraging their students to apply their knowledge of languages outside of the classroom.

The fifth graders of Western Coventry Elementary School made an impressive presentation on career exploration where students focused on job opportunities, responsibilities, education, training, salaries and benefits along with the short and long-term goals of each career.

On April 11 they will be presenting their research projects to third and fourth graders and members of the community on "Career Day."

The students are also preparing to orchestrate a career informational day where they will invite members of the community to discuss their careers with a group of Western Coventry fifth graders.

Washington Oak Middle School third graders treated the audience to their presentation of "Seedlings for Supper," where they outlined plans to design a greenhouse to be stationed outside of their classroom in order to learn how plants grow and also about water conservation.

The students secured corporate sponsorship from Wal-Mart, after writing the company and asking for a small donation of planting supplies for their greenhouse, which the letter stated will "show people how we have a lot of water in the world but we can only use a little bit."

After the seeds are planted, the students will make sure to keep them healthy with nutrients from their worm helpers, and as 8-year-old Jodie Lavigne explained, worm composting will begin from "the worm's hard work."

Water conservation will also be set up and students will graph rain collections and use it to water plants on a daily basis. Once the seeds begin to sprout, students will organize a seedling sale, with all proceeds going to local charities such as the RI Food Bank.

One of the most affecting pieces of the evening was the anti-vandalism campaign, Students Against Vandalism Everywhere (SAVE), presented by seventh graders at Flat River Middle School.

According to the students' research, in 2004 alone, the town spent $170,000 to clean up acts of vandalism. The group's ringleader, 12-year-old Taylor Therrien, urged kids to "know their options" when it came to vandalism and the economic, social and psychological toll it takes on the community.

The group explored all areas of vandalism, such as damage to property done by all-terrain vehicles, spray painting, mailbox smashing and graveyard destruction.

In addition, students restored damaged gravestones at the Knotty Oak Cemetery and they are currently working on posting reward signs around the community to help stomp out vandalism as well as working on a website to educate kids about the consequences of such acts.

The presentation brought forth many questions from the audience and one resident asked the group what would happen next year when they moved into eighth grade, to which Therrien responded, "We're going to keep going to make this community a better place to live."

The students will be attending a 2-day KIDS Consortium conference at the University of Maine in April to further their knowledge of vandalism and explore how it is linked with other, more serious problems such as teen pregnancy and abusive behavior.

The 10th, 11th and 12th graders from the high school presented on their yearlong participation in the Welding Repair Shop project, where the students were able to become "business owners" and made welding repairs around the high school.

After surveying the classrooms for broken desks, chairs and other items, the students estimated the cost of repairs, decided which welding process to use and repaired the items. Their efforts saved the school district a staggering $43,000 from making the repairs themselves.

School committee members presented each student who participated in a project with a certificate marking their achievement.