Middle Schoolers Serve Up A Hefty Dose of Inspiration

Thu, 05/18/2023 - 18:23

By Jeff Wick

Mrs. Rangel’s homeroom class held a bake sale and raised $1,600 for the city’s summer rec program.

Mrs. Landis’ homeroom class got people to donate snacks and sports equipment for soldiers overseas and also wrote letters to them.

Mrs. Hoelscher’s and Mrs. Tousek’s homeroom held a bake sale to raise money to pay for Optimist Club sports registration fees for those in need.

Mrs. Perez’s homeroom held a donation drive to collect things needed by the animal shelter.

Ms. Bouchard’s and Mrs. Hrbacek’s home room went to Jefferson Place to play games with the residents there and mailed cards to them all year.

Mrs. Stewart’s homeroom read to elementary kids and also donated snacks to first responders.

Mrs. Little’s homeroom held a bake sale to raise funds to donate to the rebuilding of the Hostyn Church, which was destroyed in a gas explosion last year. The kids raised $1,700.

For those of you under the false assumption that today’s teens lack character or that they aren’t learning really valuable lessons in today’s schools, I want to be the first to invite you to next year’s La Grange Middle School 8th grade community service showcase (don’t worry, we’ll run advance notices about it in the newspaper next May just like we did this year).

It will change the way you feel about today’s youth, and make you feel like the future just might be in really good hands.

If you didn’t attend this year’s event (which was last Friday), I want to fill you in on what you missed at the second annual event.

All around the La Grange Middle School gym there were tables set up, one for each 8th grade homeroom class.

A pair of 8th grade boys (Hagen and Jeremiah) did a superb job of escorting my wife and I to each of the tables, where each group of students told us about a special community service project their classes have focused on this semester.

All the other visitors also got their own private tour guides.

The kids at each table were enthusiastic as they talked about what they had done – everything from playing games with the residents at Jefferson Place retirement

See home to making baked goods and selling them one Saturday morning at a downtown bake sale that raised $1,700 (!) for the destroyed church at Hostyn.

One of the students told us about a serviceman he knew who was stationed overseas, and he convinced his classmates to hold a drive to collect sports equipment, treats and letters for the soldiers there.

Other classes did things like read to elementary students, collect money to help those in need pay for Optimist Club sports registration fees or collected and delivered items to the animal shelter.

As we walked out we chatted with Dr. Sarah Otto, the middle school principal, who talked about how important an effort like this is in instilling a sense of community service in the hearts of the kiddos, and how well those students rose to the challenge.

It’s was a job well done by those 8th graders – kids we can all be proud of.

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