YORK —
Eighteen schools across Maine gathered at the State. Capitol building on Thursday, April 30th to share, and recognize service learning achievements. Service learning combines citizenship, community, and curriculum to give students the opportunity to work as a team, problem solve, get hands on experience, and make an impact in their community.Service learning stems from something students learn in class that broaches a problem in their community or a need. This year when students learned about how much waste could be decreased through composting (1/3 of our trash is compostable), students in Ms. Renfrew and Mr. Webster’s fifth grade classes at York MIddle School decided that they wanted to do something about it. They researched methods of composting and contacted local businesses that already compost. They also discovered residential methods of composting. To maximize their efforts, they designed an expo to bring together resources for residents and businesses to start a composting system.
At the ninth annual Hall of Flags ceremony in Augusta, six students from York Middle School represented their CompostKids service learning project.
They explained the process of the project, and informed participants about composting. They also learned what other students across Maine are doing in and out of the classroom to make a difference in their community.
“One project we saw was about tobacco and smoking and how bad it is for you. The students had replicas of lungs when you smoke and healthy lungs. They had a year’s worth of tar from smoking daily in a jar. They taught other classes and schools about the harmful effects of smoking cigarettes,” recalled Kelsey Cole.
Teacher Kelly Renfrew noted, “All the students learned a lot from that project, we’re going to see if that group can come to York classrooms to teach us more.”
“I liked teaching people there what kind of worms are used for worm composting bins, and answering questions about our project,” commented Shannon Todd. Spencer Cribby’s favorite part of the day was “...learning what other schools have accomplished and feeling good about helping the Earth.” Cori Galante enjoyed “...the awards ceremony, receiving the plaque, and getting our picture taken with Mrs. Baldacci.”
With new state standards incorporating service learning into the Social Studies curriculum, our community and students will have an increase in these types of learning experiences. Service learning is an unforgettable experience because it increases the level of involvement of students and ignites their desire to be part of change in how we live and learn.
Photo caption: Grade 5 teacher Kelly Renfrew; YMS students Spencer Cribby, Kelsey Cole, Shannon Todd, Cori Galante; Mrs. Karen Baldacci; students Kevin Wade, Michael Monz. (Courtesy photo)
