Choosing our Service Project - Abandoned Pets and Homelessness It has been so fun to work with Grade 2 students this year who have been so engaged and super excited about their Service Learning Project. Service Learning at Trinity is student-led with students picking project ideas, doing research, deciding how to present, and interacting with organizations to determine ways to help. We started by brainstorming ideas as a class of problems in the world we would like to help with, ideas included homelessness, climate change, farming in poor countries, and abandoned pets. Students voted for abandoned pets with homelessness as their second choice. After contacting Pets in Need, a local shelter, we learned that they have just started a project with disadvantaged teens raising money to help support homeless pets. After a thoughtful class discussion about different situations of homelessness and what it would be like to become homeless but want to keep a pet, the class voted to give some of our money to this homeless pets project. They also want to support the shelter AND homelessness – such a kind-hearted group of kids! Penny Panic I am so impressed with how hard Grade 2 students worked earning money doing chores and with stands selling lemonade, cookies, bracelets and much more. Students really wanted a goal for Penny Panic (which we normally don't do) and voted on a “regular goal” of $300 and a “challenge goal” of $640 (which would be each student earning an average of $40). I must say I was surprised by the high level of excitement for reaching their challenge goal (the vote being unanimous) and what their money could do to help. Amazingly, students surpassed BOTH goals raising a total of $979.36 in Penny Panic, which combined with Timber Trot gives them $1098.11 to donate! Yesterday, they decided to give $500 to the homeless pets project because it combines their ideas and split the rest evenly between Pets in Need and LifeMoves, a network of shelters and services for people experiencing homelessness in the Bay Area. Pets in Need and Homeless Pets We learned about what Pets in Need does through exploring their website and zooming with them on May 7. They showed us the whole shelter including the exercise yard, kitten area, and vets. Students wrote and created this short video to present their project to the school, focusing on what the Pets in Need shelter does and the needs of people experiencing homelessness who want to keep pets. vimeo.com/546694163 Students also collected materials and made 2 boxes of pet toys for the dogs and cats at the Pets in Need shelter. Enjoy more pictures here: www.vidigami.com/trinityschool/albums/331705/media
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