St. Camillus

On Friday I took the students on a field trip to St. Camillus Rest Home.  We began planning for the trip two weeks in advance.  The main goal of the trip was that the students would gain some experience in interacting with the elderly, which can be out of their comfort zone.

I gave them the option of performing and 12 students signed up to perform.  We had musical performances, dancing, and recitations.  We also made crafts for the students to hand out as they visited.

The performances were wonderful and enjoyed by the residents.  Then the students headed off in groups of two to visit with individual residents.  This was the best part for me.  We had practiced having conversations, what to do if the conversations weren't going well, and how to politely leave a conversation.  The students took it all to heart and interacted politely and genuinely with the residents.

When we got back to school we discussed the visit and the students were thrilled to offer many examples of things the residents had said about how much they appreciated the students visiting.  We all agreed it that is made our hearts happy to make others happy.

Hopefully we will be able to visit again in the next few months.

At the beginning of February we are heading to the Northbridge Food Pantry to get a behind the scenes tour of what happens to the food that we collect during our food drive.

I think one of the most important things I can do as a teacher is help the children develop empathy for others.