Hillside Wins Video Contest!

Lights, camera, action! The Hillside Student Council, in collaboration with Ms. Roberts, Mrs. DeCicco and Hillside Cares, received 1st place in the Coats for Kids video contest! Here's the link to watch the video again if you'd like: Coats for Kids Video

We received a $250 Staples gift card to use for school supplies. The Student Council meets tomorrow and will discuss ideas for how to spend the $250. Congratulations on a great job!

Mitchell, the One Hundredth Day of School, and the Food Pantry

In celebration of 100 Day, Ms. Healy and Mrs. Harr's kindergartners collected nearly 300 food items for the Needham Community Council's Food Pantry. Special thanks to Jen Muroff and Nancy Dubil for all they do on our Commuinty Service Learning Commitee! The next collection will be Tuesday, March 15, 2016.

Mitchell CSL and Sandwich Making

The Mitchell Community Service Learning Sandwich Making Event for Generic Ministry on Tuesday, Dec 22 was a great success. Generic Ministry is a Needham based organization that collects and distributes food, clothing and supplies to the homeless and needy in Boston.  We had 32 students and 15 adults that volunteered, creating a total of 170 sandwiches and bag lunches.  

At the end of the sandwich making event, Kristen Collins, parent of 2 Mitchell students and a volunteer for Generic Ministry, gave a nice talk to the kids about the important work that Generic Ministry does and how they distribute the bag lunches to people in need.  The kids then helped to load all of the lunches into the Generic Ministry van, seeing how the lunches are stored and all of the other supplies that are loaded into the van ahead of distributing around Boston. 
(Click here for more photos)

Ms. Cohen's Kindergarten Classes Collect Pajamas for the Pajama Program

Both of Ms. Cohen's Kindergarten classes have just completed a pajama collection for the Pajama Program, an organization that provides new books and pajamas to children in need. The classes collected 22 pairs of pajamas and Scholastic Books offered to match each pajama donation with a new book. The Kindergarteners learned about the value of giving to others who may not have as much as they do and how pajamas are something that every child needs, but don't always have.

Hillside 5th Graders Decorate Holiday Gift Bags for the Needham Community Council

In the spirit of being thankful and giving back, Hillside's entire 5th grade class spent part of the day before the Thanksgiving holiday decorating gift bags for the Needham Community Council under the direction of Mrs. Geary.  The bags were delivered to the food pantry and filled with personal care items for our community members in need.  Students wrote notes of holiday cheer for each bag they decorated, and had fun putting their personal touches on the bags.

Mitchell's "Pie in the Sky" and Holiday Card Making Event

 

The Community Service Learning Committee is sending out a huge "Thank you" to all the families who purchased Thanksgiving pies for the "Pie in the Sky" fundraiser for Community Servings, and to the 30 students and their parents who participated in the associated holiday card making event.  The Mitchell community purchased 114 pies, raising $3,185, which allows Community Servings to feed a critically ill client and family for 114 weeks, or over 2 years.  The students also made 79 holiday cards that will be sent with the prepared meals during the month of December.  See more photos here.  

 

50 Bags of Food!

Congratulations to Mrs. Spinney's Class. These Mitchell 2nd graders collected 50 bags of food for the Food Pantry! The class accompanied their treasure to the Food Pantry to learn more about how we help people in need.