Heartwarming Moments Overflow During Alexandria Country Day School’s Service Learning Day

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — You could feel the excitement the moment you entered the main doors of Alexandria Country Day School Tuesday November 26. The private school was bustling with energy as kindergarten through 8th grade students traded their desks for a day of hands-on community service. It was Service Learning Day, two days before Thanksgiving.  

“One of the reasons why the service day is always held on this day is that we can have that moment of reflection. This morning, students reflected on what community service means to them and how they feel grateful,” Leigh Poole told Zebra. She is the service learning coordinator for the school. “The November service project is a good reminder for the kids before we go into the holiday season.” Poole explained that her work begins in the summer when she reaches out to several city non-profits. 

Service learning is a cornerstone of Alexandria Country Day School’s mission. Every year, students participate in at least three service days, fostering a sense of community engagement and the importance of giving back. Students from all grades were either out in the community or working on projects at school to support several local organizations, including Community Lodgings, Four Mile Run, ALIVE!, Lutheran Social Services, and Child & Family Network Centers (CFNC).  

Shelli Vasser Gilliam is director of development for Community Lodgings. She paid a visit to the school Tuesday to talk about hunger in the community and how to create Thanksgiving food baskets. “We are a housing provider but on a daily basis we also address education and food insecurity. Today with this particular distribution we’ll be talking about food insecurity of our families that are just a mile away.”  

Laid out on long tables in the auditorium were taco shells, vegetable oil, beans, rice, tomatoes, and spices. Gilliam explained that her organization is housed in the Chirilagua neighborhood of Alexandria and a large part of her clientele comes from the Latino community. She found that when her organization provided the traditional Thanksgiving fare of turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes, the food went unused.  

“So when Alexandria Country Day School came along and we started working with what we could do on this day for Thanksgiving baskets, we discovered we need to provide food that we know our families would be interested in versus what we believe is appropriate for Thanksgiving. These items are what’s appropriate primarily and culturally for our families.”  

Making food baskets had a profound impact on 6th grader Bennett Hull. “It makes me feel bad that people have to suffer and go hungry, but it makes me feel good that we’re trying to do something about that and fix it.” Will you be looking at your Thanksgiving table a little bit differently this year? Zebra asked Bennett. “We always look at it differently and we are thankful,” the boy replied. “And before dinner, we talk about what we’re grateful for. We try to give thanks that we’re lucky enough to have a Thanksgiving dinner together.”  

An early morning rain put the skids on a walking field trip to Monticello Park but that did not dampen the children’s spirits. Service Learning Day continued indoors as students moved from the auditorium to the cafeteria to classrooms, doing a variety of meaningful projects. Suddenly the clouds broke, the rain limped off, and the school was able to salvage an afternoon field trip to Four Mile Run for an invasive plant cleanup. The Monticello Park excursion will be rescheduled. 

The day was a vivid tapestry of green as all students donned their trademark green T-shirts, proudly displaying the school’s name. In the cafeteria, kindergarteners joined the first and 8th grades to pack meals for ALIVE!  

Lynne Godek is a kindergarten teacher who supervised the ALIVE! project. “The children are packaging what we call Blessings in a Backpack. These are bags that will go home with students who qualify for free or reduced meals, and this is food to get them through the weekend. These are children who truly might not have food in their refrigerator at home over the weekend, so this tides them over until they’re back in school again. So they get entrees, snacks and breakfasts.”  

Second graders filed into a classroom in the late afternoon to make blankets for dogs that will go to Wolf Trap Animal Rescue. Their fifth grade buddies accompanied them.  

Ava Deans said she loves dogs but does not own one because her little sister is afraid of them. “I really want to help because dogs are one of my favorite animals in the whole wide world and I really, really want to care for them!”  

Pepper Lantz, her fifth-grade companion, shared how this blanket project makes her feel. “When animals don’t have the right treatment, it feels that not everybody is equal in this world. During a day of service, we are trying to build a community where everybody’s connected and we all have something to share. We’re trying to get everybody the things that they need so we can have a strong community.”  

Ava is in second grade. On Tuesday she learned about helping those who do not have enough to eat, she told Zebra. “It feels sad, but we’re willing to help them.” 

Pepper owns two dogs and said she felt sad when she thought about all those dogs living in a shelter.  “I try to think of dogs that don’t have all of this stuff and that just makes me want to do something about it.”   

Godek, the teacher supervising the ALIVE! packing activity, reflected on the impact this day has on her young students. “Kindergarteners tend to be very empathic kids, especially when they’re thinking about other children. So when they hear that there may be another child their age who may not get food, they’re all in.”  

Alexandria Country Day School will conduct another large Service Learning Day in April. 

TRENDING: Turkey Trot 2024 in Alexandria Brings Out Thousands Despite Rain