News Collection Greenville

The Edgemont Elementary PTA held the first ever Panthers’ Pay-it-Forward last week, uniting sixth graders from Greenville and Seely Place Elementary Schools to meet and mingle while packing meals for those in need. The goal of the evening was for the students from both schools to make new friends as they prepare for next year, when they will attend Edgemont Junior Senior High School together as seventh graders.

By the end of the evening, they had packed 11,016 meals for the Million Meal Project in the “old gymnasium” at Greenville – and they had a great time doing it.

“I really like helping people,” Seely Place student Stella Knopp said. She sees the less fortunate asking for money in New York City. “I think it’s really sad to see, so I always want to help.”

The 100 students, working with about 25 adult volunteers, packed each meal bag with a vitamin pack and scoops of soy flakes, dehydrated vegetables, and rice. Their achievement propelled the Million Meal Project toward its goal of packing 1 million meals in five years. When they were done, they celebrated with a pizza party with get-to-know-you games, bingo, and lots of prizes.

“It was great to see the students so excited about this community service event, learning at a young age that doing good can be fun and meaningful,” said Greenville parent Andrea White, a lead organizer of the event. “The night was certainly full of smiles, laughter, and great memories.”

This is the project’s first year, said Matt Blumberg, who started the initiative with his wife, Board of Education Vice President Mariquita Blumberg, and their three children. They connected with Rise Against Hunger, an international hunger relief organization, which supplies the food, packaging and equipment. The organization brings meals to those in need in countries such as the Philippines, Haiti and Zimbabwe.

Blumberg said they are on track to complete about 250,000 – a quarter of their goal – by the end of this school year. The sixth graders were glad to help.

“The Panthers’ Pay It Forward event was a fun way to get to know other sixth graders,” said Seely Place sixth grader Maeve Richmond. “I liked being able to help others while having fun with new and old friends.”

The Greenville Elementary School all-purpose room was filled with the sounds of third graders playing “Baba Oo La La,” “Perry the Sheep,” and “Hot Cross Buns” on recorders during the third grade concert on March 24. The students also sang "Thanks To You," "You-Nique," and "Fifty Nifty United States."

“The students did an absolutely wonderful job with this performance!” music teacher Kathleen Randolph said. This was the first recorder concert in her decade at the school. Some students were nervous at first, she said. “But seeing their parents and families in the audience smiling at them, encouraging them, and waving to them, their nervousness faded away and was replaced by excitement,” she said. “I am so proud of the way the entire third grade came together for this special performance.”

A recorder is a simple instrument to make sound with, making its introduction in third grade “an important step in the students’ musical journey,” Randolph said. Students learn lessons about music that they take to fourth grade when they can learn to play a band or orchestra instrument, she said.

Greenville Elementary School students visited old friends – their homeroom teachers from last year – where they all enjoyed good books for the first annual Greenville Great Read Aloud.

While teachers read to their former students, Principal Marisa Ferrara and Assistant Principal Michelle Ring got in on the fun, too. Ferrara read When Pencil Met the Markers and When Glitter Met Glue to a first grade class, and Ring read We Are in a Book from the Elephant and Piggie series. Other books teachers read included 2030: A Day in the Life of Tomorrow’s Kids and I Am Peace: A Book of Mindfulness.

New students at Greenville visited the all-purpose room and library for read-alouds. Some of last year's teachers who no longer teach at Greenville joined via Google Meet or Facetime. Sixth grade teachers, whose former students moved up from the school last year, read to kindergarteners.

“Children had so much fun reuniting with their teachers and catching up with classmates from last year,” said Ring, who organized the event to celebrate National Read Across America Day (a little bit after the actual day). “Teachers enjoyed spending time with their students from last year, and some sixth grade teachers got to experience a whole new grade level. We definitely plan on continuing the tradition in years to come.”

Through the generosity of the Edgemont Chinese Association, Greenville students were fortunate to see a lion dance through the hallways of Greenville. The lion dance is an important traditional way of celebrating Lunar New Year. It is performed to bring prosperity and good luck for the upcoming year. To continue honoring the celebration, teachers will have access to books highlighting how various countries celebrate Lunar New Year. Among these titles are Chelsea’s Chinese New Year by Lisa Bullard, Golden Blooms by Y.T. Tran and Our Moon Festival by Yobi Qiu.