Students at Fairview Elementary School in Waynesboro experienced a Day of Service May 17.
The annual observance, part of the building’s overall positive behavior program, featured outreach by all the students, both at the school and in the community.
“It’s all about the power of teamwork,” according to principal Megan McGuire. “We shifted our focus four years ago from ending the program with a rewards celebration and carnival to becoming more in line with the intention of the program – to teach students about the power of service and outreach in the community. We want them to see how even small acts can have a larger impact when done together.”
Students cleaned Rotary Park, worked with Mainstreet Waynesboro to plant flowers downtown, and cleaned up trash at Memorial Park, leaving positive chalk messages in its place, she added.
At the school, students painted and installed ceiling tiles that contained positive messages. “This is a legacy project for our fifth-graders. The students submitted proposals – these were all positive messages tied into the foundations we teach them including resiliency, problem solving and leadership,” McGuire said.
Students also weeded and planted as part of outdoor beautification at the school. “And they made crafts and cards to distribute to local nursing homes and at the hospital. This is a natural extension of the partnerships we have been creating with local businesses and organizations. We went caroling in the community in December to many of them,” she added.
