Middle School Giving Tree Brings Joy to GS Families
Little Lions With Hearts of Gold
Middle School Giving Tree Brings Joy to GS Families
Each school within the district has its own way of spreading cheer by donating to families in need during the holidays . The Giving Tree at GSMS is a long-established program where the student body , teachers , staff , and administrators are able to help make the holidays a bit brighter for the students of the middle school . Beginning in November , the students take part in the Silver Wars to begin raising money for the Giving Tree . This year , seventh grade won a movie in the auditorium as the Silver Wars winners , but the best news is that the student body raised $ 1,100 this year !
Every enrichment class at the middle school sponsors an anonymous student , raises funds , purchases clothing and needed items , and wraps all the gifts . As there are only 27 enrichment classrooms , and GSMS has many more students who could use some holiday cheer , adults from the middle school and central administration sponsor students as well . Additionally , the Giving Tree had outside donors who gave hundreds of dollars , including the City of Greensburg Police who donated $ 1,000 ! The donated funds are used to purchase GS apparel at Dominic ’ s Sports , Inc ..
Barb Garofola , GSMS SCA advisor , makes nearly 100 phone calls to parents and guardians to see if they could use some help this time of year . Once she makes a connection with those who do , they create a wish list together of the students ’ needs and sizes . The middle school faculty delivered gifts to the homes of 65 students
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Little Lions With Hearts of Gold
Michael Petrosky , Anna Leonard , and Katlyn Swierczynski display their endless receipt from the Giving Tree purchases .
before the holiday break . Mrs . Garofola , stated , “ I am incredibly fortunate to be in the position to help make the holidays happier for our own kids ! Our other student council fundraising involves donations to charities outside our school , so even though so much of the Giving Tree is confidential , it is a wonderful opportunity for our students to help their peers .”
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GREENSBURG SALEM SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS
Hutchinson Elementary students proudly participated in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society ’ s Pennies for Patients program and the Whip Pediatric Cancer Heart of Gold program to raise money to combat cancer and assist with cancer research . For three weeks in October , classrooms collected spare change and competed against one another to become one of the three top fundraising classes in the school . According to Mr . John Manley , the school ’ s guidance counselor , the students were given the challenge of giving back to the community , not only to help support a worthy cause , but also to instill the satisfaction of helping others and making a difference .
To encourage the students and their families to donate , they were promised that if they raised $ 1,000.00 , Mr . Manley would get a pie in his face , at $ 2,000.00 , Mrs . Scarpo would be pied , and if they reached the $ 3,000.00 goal , Mr . Bringe would take the pie ! Just before the winter break , the students were given the grand total of their earnings . As a school , the students raised $ 3031.40 for their cause ! The students were thrilled to see their three favorite school leaders , plus the teachers of the top three earning classrooms , get faces full of whipped cream , but more excited that they were able to work as a team to raise so much money for a great cause .
The top three classrooms who donated the most money also received some special rewards . Mrs . Doran ’ s class raised the most money and earned an Olive Garden lunch for the entire class . Mrs . Zahorchak ’ s class was the second top fundraising class . They will enjoy an ice cream party for their efforts . Ms . McMaster ’ s class will
Students from the top three classrooms display Hutchinson ’ s “ Hearts of Gold .” Left to right : Jake Robl , Brody Chismar , Rosie Pretends Eagle , Amiah Carter , Madison Hull , Jasmine Carns , and Tyler Martin .
get to have cookies and lunch on the stage for being the thirdplace fundraising classroom . Everyone in the school worked hard to raise money for two important organizations focused on fighting cancer . Mr . Manley stated , “ The entire school community did an awesome job ! We are very proud of them !”
Greensburg-Salem | Spring 2017 | icmags . com 35