MONROE - Change the world. It's a tall order but one that the students of Northside Elementary School have enthusiastically taken upon themselves this year, according to principal Amy Timmerman.
"Change the World" is Northside's year-long theme with monthly subthemes such as "kindness" and "generosity."
"No act of kindness is too small, the students are learning, for this is how we change the world," she said.
So far, students have listened to local volunteers talk about the personal time they donate to make Monroe a better place to live. They have raked lawns and played games with senior citizens. In November, they took the school's annual food drive to heart by collecting 914 pounds of food for the Green County Food Pantry, 100 pounds more than their previous record.
Throughout December, students are focusing on how kindness can change the world. To encourage acts of kindness, the school is hosting a toy drive in collaboration with the Monroe Woman's Club Christmas Stocking. Students can donate new, unopened toys to the school to benefit children in need in Monroe and surrounding areas.
For every toy donated, students can earn 10 moon rocks that are used to vote for a principal dare on Dec. 23. They can extend the kindness even further by giving some moon rocks to their classmates who may not have the chance to bring in a toy. For the dare, students have the option of voting to silly string the principal, throw a pie in the principal's face, or duct tape the principal to the wall.
"Change the World" is Northside's year-long theme with monthly subthemes such as "kindness" and "generosity."
"No act of kindness is too small, the students are learning, for this is how we change the world," she said.
So far, students have listened to local volunteers talk about the personal time they donate to make Monroe a better place to live. They have raked lawns and played games with senior citizens. In November, they took the school's annual food drive to heart by collecting 914 pounds of food for the Green County Food Pantry, 100 pounds more than their previous record.
Throughout December, students are focusing on how kindness can change the world. To encourage acts of kindness, the school is hosting a toy drive in collaboration with the Monroe Woman's Club Christmas Stocking. Students can donate new, unopened toys to the school to benefit children in need in Monroe and surrounding areas.
For every toy donated, students can earn 10 moon rocks that are used to vote for a principal dare on Dec. 23. They can extend the kindness even further by giving some moon rocks to their classmates who may not have the chance to bring in a toy. For the dare, students have the option of voting to silly string the principal, throw a pie in the principal's face, or duct tape the principal to the wall.
