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17950 Grassy Branch
Westfield, IN 46074

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Becoming The Builders Of Tomorrow

WWES Mosaic Tiles Project
 		   Last year, the Washington Woods Elementary staff invested much time and energy into helping students catch the vision of becoming community builders. Principal Scott Williams says it wasn’t a hard sell, “Community involvement has always been part of the culture of this school. We just took it to a new level by being more intentional in our outreach.”

As part of WWES’s new Community Builders program, each grade level chose a charitable organization as its year-long focus.

  • Kindergarteners selected a local emergency veterinarian hospital and sold “custom-made” calendars to raise money for the hospital, as well as the Hamilton County Humane Society.
  • First graders supported Heifer International. To fund their efforts, the students participated in the organization’s “Read to Feed” initiative, collecting donations from family and friends for every book they read.
  • Every second grade student agreed to take on extra chores at home to raise money for children in El Salvador. The money was used to provide scholarships for Salvadoran children.
  • Third graders focused on the environment and recycled plastic shopping bags. They sold the bags to Wal-Mart and donated the proceeds to Samaritan’s Feet.
  • Fourth graders encouraged students to be more earth-friendly. Students created PowerPoint presentations showcasing which items could be recycled at school. Students continue to promote recycling by having “Recycling Engineers” visit classrooms to empty bins and reinforce efforts.

“It was so exciting to see our children understanding that there is great need in the world and that they can have a part in making the world better,” Williams shares.

All activities were intentionally blended with academic lessons as well. For example, students researched different countries or used their writing and communication skills to develop letters or other materials asking for support.

The first year of the program was a success—not only in the number of organizations impacted or the dollar amount raised, but in the students’ desire and willingness to focus outward and find ways to support each other.

Community Builders Video
Watch this seven-minute video (http://blogs.wws.k12.in.us/wwes/community-builders/) to learn more about our initiative. The video discusses WWES students' philanthropic involvement which has helped develop traits of citizenship. This is just one example of how our guiding principles provide an intentional focusing of our district culture and add a meanginful and authentic experience for our students.
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