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Current Projects
Keysor First Graders Help Animals
The first grade team at Keysor has taken on animal protection and care as their year-long theme. During the months of October and November they focused on homeless animals and local shelters. They worked with the Humane Society of Missouri to lead a school-wide collection of items on their wish list (old blankets, towels, paper, and gently used toys for the shelter animals). They also made "doggie bandanas" to sell before school every Friday in October. Students bought them for their own pets, friends’ pets and some donated the bandana back to an animal at the shelter to “dress up” a shelter animal for adoption. The students raised $320 to the Humane Society of Missouri from their sales. Students took a field trip to the shelter to drop off the donations. They brought the money, Wish List items collected, and dog/cat cage toys they made. Students learned about responsible pet ownership on their field trip.
In November, they had a visit from Lisa Thess who ran a Humane Society Shelter in St. Charles County. She told the students about the work that did to rescue the animals from the flood of 1993 and how to make sure they keep their animals safe. The students also learned some of the Club Hope Curriculum during first semester to learn more about why it is important to take care of the environment and native animals. Next semester they are hoping to reach out to more organizations like the Wildlife Rescue Center to get a broader idea of how kids can really impact the welfare of the animals.
Keysor Student is Dedicated to Helping Hospitalized Children
The following story was written by Abbey Painter, 5th grade student at Keysor Elementary School:
Several years ago I went to the emergency room at Missouri Baptist Hospital because I was sick and was dehydrated. While I was there, I was bored and decided that kids in the ER needed something to do. A couple of years later, I called the hospital several times and arranged to have a book party with my friends so we could collect new books for kids to read at Missouri Baptist.
About a year later I was at Children's Hospital for an appointment and started asking questions about what happened at that hospital. I learned that many of the kids at Children’s are there for a long time, so I decided they needed something to take their minds off of being sick. I contacted the hospital and asked if they could use a library on wheels for their patients. I did research online and worked with my dad’s friend to design a mobile library book cart. He built the cart for me and then I painted it with my mom. Then we threw an even bigger book party to collect new books. We donated the book cart to Children’s Hospital.
Several months later my parents came home from a holiday party and said they had talked with someone who works to raise money for Children's Hospital. They throw a big gala every other year to raise money, and Mrs. Holley, whose husband was the principal at Kirkwood High School, was in charge of the party. She had heard about my book cart and asked if I would be involved with the gala. This year they were raising money for Healthy Kids Express, which is kind of like a big bus that goes to schools and helps kids get medical help if they need it.
I had lots of questions about Healthy Kids Express and was glad I got to visit the bus last summer. I heard that many of the kids who visit Healthy Kids Express don't have socks or have old socks with holes in them. Last year I worked with a classmate and my REACH teacher at Keysor, Mr. Hayman, to start a group called Others First. I started to wonder if Others First might be able to collect new socks at school, which we could then donate to kids who visit Healthy Kids Express. Mr. Hayman thought it was a good idea, so we organized a sock drive called Box O’Sox last fall. I got lots of help from other kids, Mr. Hayman, and my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. McCoy. Thanks to Keysor kids and parents, we collected 878 new pairs of socks for Healthy Kids Express!
I did get to help with the fund-raising gala for Children’s Hospital. I gave a speech on the stage at Fox Theater, telling all of the adults my story and how I had tried to help kids at the hospital. I have learned that not everyone is as lucky as we are and that there are really great programs out there that can help. (story by Abbey Painter, Keysor student)