Teachers and students in the Kettle Falls School District have been celebrating Better World Day in May for many years with other Expeditionary Learning schools. This year, our district decided to continue the tradition. We picked our own day, May 31st, with the plan to get all our school buildings working together and with the community.
At the elementary school we believe that doing meaningful work in the community helps make our CREW traits real to students. Those traits are Caring, Responsibility, Effort, and Wisdom. If we want CREW to extend beyond the classroom, we understand that we have to give them opportunities to practice, so every grade, Kindergarten through 4th grade participated in Better World Day activities.
- Kindergarten helped put down new wood chips around the school playground and painted kindness rocks which were then placed around Kettle Falls.
- 1st grade partnered with the Town and Country Days planning team to clean tables and pick up trash before the weekend events.
- 2nd Grade, after learning about the needs of pollinators, worked with high school wood shop students in Mr. Axtell's class to build bat houses. Students also cleaned and planted flowers in front of the school, and created a pumpkin patch by raking, putting plant blocker down, and planting pumpkins they started in their classroom. All three activities address key ways to help pollinators in our community.
- 3rd Grade helped clean up the grounds (sticks, pinecones, and pulled tree saplings) outside at the Kettle Falls Historical Center and created posters to raise awareness and collect donations for the reconstruction of the museum. The historical center flooded this winter and is going through major reconstruction to repair, restore, and replace parts of the building and a number of artifacts.
- 4th Grade participated in Better World Day by creating gifts and cards for the local seniors at Gold Hill Manor. They read prepared poems and delivered cards, handmade paintings, and bird feeders to the residents.
Want to partner with us or have an idea for Better World Day next year? Contact the school office and let us know! (509)738-6725
