M.O.D.E.L. (Mentors Opening Doors, Enriching Lives) program students at Walnut Springs Middle School selected a service project this year that was aimed at giving back to younger students. Emily Edwards’ second grade class at Huber Ridge Elementary was the lucky group chosen to partake in this yearlong effort. Thirty M.O.D.E.L. pupils from Walnut Springs were paired with the Huber Ridge youngsters in September, when they began communicating back and forth. Both sets of students wrote pen pal type letters, which were exchanged for many months.
On March 21, the two groups finally had the opportunity to meet one another, face to face. The Walnut Springs kids traveled to Huber Ridge, where they met their pen pals, had lunch together, and engaged in icebreaker activities. Smiles and laughter abounded.
Jen Harris, school counselor at Walnut Springs, said, “The bus ride back to Walnut was filled with so much appreciation and positive energy. Such a simple idea showed tremendous impact on our 8th grade M.O.D.E.L. students. They were beaming with pride and gratitude for this experience.”
One Walnut Springs pupil shared, “I felt much more connected to my pen pal than I thought I would. It was cool to see someone who is in the place I used to be.”
The M.O.D.E.L. program continues to grow at our middles schools. For additional information, please contact Tami Santa (santat@wcsoh.org)) or Cynthia DeVese (devesec@wcsoh.org).