Mrs. Sherwood’s third-graders at Clarkston Elementary took a classroom lesson and turned it into a caring outreach to a fellow Clarkstonite.
Josh Valenti, a 2003 graduate of Clarkston High School, is currently stationed in South Korea on military duty for the United States Air Force.
Sherwood heard about Valenti from Wendy Burleigh, a literacy aide at Clarkston Elementary, whose son is friends with Valenti.
‘I just mentioned it to the staff,? said Burleigh. ‘So (Mrs. Sherwood) immediately volunteered her class to do it and so then she told me after she spoke with them just how enthusiastic they were.?
Sherwood’s students, who were learning how to write letters, decided to help him with any homesickness he might be feeling.
‘The teachers are always looking for service projects and I thought ‘Well, this is a good one.? And especially being third grade, I thought ‘Yeah, they’re going to get into it,?? Burleigh said.
Together, the class worked on holiday cards, jokes, pictures and letters. When their work was done, the class packaged their crafts together and sent them to Valenti.
‘Within about two weeks, Josh had received them and he e-mailed my son… he said it really made him feel good that others were thinking of him,? Burleigh said.
The class decided not to stop there, and they are preparing more goodies to send before Valentine’s Day. Burleigh said other teachers have decided to do the same and are having their classes work on similar projects.
‘I really did think more teachers would (join in) knowing there was that personal connection, but (Mrs. Sherwood) has always been very positive about things,? Burleigh said, adding that the previous year, when Sherwood was a fifth-grade teacher, her class made care packages and sent them to troops in Iraq.
The thing Burleigh noticed the most was how much the students expressed caring for Valenti in their work.
‘They were really concerned and when you read some of their letters, kids even said ‘I will pray for you that you stay safe… thank you for doing this for us.? It’s like they know what’s going on in the world, and so they were really appreciative and they were truly, truly excited to do this,? she said.