EF elementary schools stress community involvement
The principal of the two schools gave a presentation on how students have interacted with the surrounding area.
Greenock and Mount Vernon elementary school students have been getting involved in the community, Dr. Laura Burns, principal at both schools, said during a recent presentation to the Elizabeth Forward school board.
Burns said they’ve been making an effort this school year to bring community representatives into the schools and have students go out into the community.
“(We wanted to) show our kids what it’s like to go out, and have a bit of an impact on the community,” Burns said. “As important as reading, math and science are, I think some of the most important lessons I learned in school were just those life lessons, and we really wanted to emphasize that.”
Local firefighters came into the schools in October, visiting classrooms to talk about fire safety. Burns said students loved having the chance to explore the fire trucks.
Over the last couple years, Burns said they have collected around $400 to $500 to give to the fire department. Students pay a dollar per day for the day to wear hats to school, and that money goes directly to the fire department.
“It’s a really great opportunity for our kids to get to see some of the volunteers,” she added. “Our volunteers do come in and get to talk about their volunteer experiences, and at Greenock every year, we follow that up by collecting money for the fire department.” Burns also explained the parent newsletters they send out every week, participating in the district’s food drive, holiday parties and breakfast buddies program.
They also donate to the Elizabeth Borough Clergy Food Pantry, which is part of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and is located in the fellowship hall of Elizabeth Baptist Church.
Distribution for clients is 9 to 11 a.m. on the second Wednesday of every month. The drive ran from Nov. 3 to 14 at the schools, and on Nov. 18 students collected the items and dropped them off at the pantries.
In total, 3,335 items were collected at the elementary schools, along with around $800. The middle school collected 1,908 canned goods and $465. The schools collected all types of food, but specifically non perishables.
The collections were split evenly between the two churches, according to Burns.
“It is our Warrior ambassadors that get to go out into the community and to collect all of the food within all the buildings within the districts and then we deliver them,” Burns said. “It’s really wonderful to see our kids out there, lifting boxes. They, as a student team, opted to use their Warrior Bucks to buy food for the food bank.”
Students come in for early breakfasts several days throughout the year, according to Burns, who said the kids are proud to bring their loved ones in for breakfast before school.
Every year on Veterans Day, they also do a breakfast at the elementaries, where kids get to bring in a veteran in their life to eat breakfast with them. Burns said this was a good opportunity to bring people who would not usually come to the buildings.
The schools also have good relationships with dentists and orthodontists throughout the community, according to Burns, along with the Rotary Club of Elizabeth and U.S. Steel, which teaches the kindergarten students about the eagles on their property in West Mifflin.
Kids also got to interact with therapy dogs from The Bountiful Bowl Pet Food Pantry in Jeannette.
Burns said the kids love meeting the dogs, and they did a community collection of dog food for the dogs that the pantry rescues.
Along with the high school and middle schools, the elementaries participated in Book Buddies and in Read Across America. The kids also have pen pals with students from the high school.
“Our students get the opportunity to ask questions to the higher level students, like what it is going to be like in high school or a student athlete,” Burns said. “It was a really great opportunity for our kids just to be involved with the high school students, and they really look up to them, and they are wonderful role models for them.”
