One of things that impresses us most at NewsDepth, is the empathy shown by our A+ Award winners. Empathy is understanding and sharing the feelings of other people. This week’s A+ Award winners get an A+ in empathy.
Ms. Hayes’ first grade students, at Grant School in Lakewood, were moved by the situation faced by many children and families across Ukraine. “During snack time the students started to talk about Ukraine and were really concerned about the children who have been affected by the war,” Ms. Hayes told us. “Melanie, Will, and Aine started to brainstorm some ideas on how we could help.”
The students came up with a wide variety of ideas that would let them raise funds to donate. They decided to make buttons and sell them at recess. Ms. Hayes tells us that the students designed and made nearly 300 buttons to be sold at all of the school’s recesses. She added that they couldn’t have done it without the help of Mrs. Gallik’s class. They were a huge help with making all the buttons and selling them at recess.
As the students made the buttons, they learned valuable lessons in technology and design, art, economics, producers and consumers, and world cultures. A community member from Ukraine even visited the students to teach them about Ukraine’s culture and food!
Evie told us that she was really proud to help Ukraine. Will added that it was an important project because they got to help people in Ukraine feel loved by the rest of the world. Johnny added that helping people can have important lessons and it can be a lot of fun.
When we visited with the class, they were excited to teach us how to make the buttons. The students raised over $900 to donate to Ukraine.
This week’s A+ Award goes to Ms. Hayes’ first grade class at Grant Elementary for showing empathy to families affected by war and learning a few lessons along the way. At NewsDepth, we’re really proud of you! Keep up the great work.
Submit your ideas for our NewsDepth A+ segment to newsdepth@ideastream.org for consideration.
