Fifth graders Kate Rudnik, Zoey Rzewnicki, Olivia Pawlik and Elliott Bramer show off their specially designed totes for incoming Kindergartners. Photos provided.

By Megan Kelley
Editor
mkelley@mihomepaper.com
INDEPENDENCE TWP. — Students at Independence Elementary recently wrapped up a month of service learning projects and held a final assembly to highlight all the work each grade level did during the school’s 22nd annual SOCKS (Serving Our Community Kid Style) event.
The school wide initiative begins when students return back to school from spring break and traditionally lasts about a month. It is meant to target specific grade levels with a number of community members to provide students with opportunities for civic engagement as well as academic instruction, said Anne Duffy, coordinator for the SOCKS program.
“It’s an academic service learning project. Each grade level partners with a different community partner to help serve their biggest need at the time and every grade level partner is different,” Duffy said.
The goal of SOCKS originated from staff at the school wanting to expand their curriculum
“We looked at curriculum and looked at how we can continue to fill our academic needs in the classroom while providing meaningful service. So, when we first started looking at SOCKS and Serving Our Community Kid Style, that’s kind of where it started from branching our curriculum needs to our service needs,” Duffy said. “Then we just kind of reached out to different partnerships, and they were happy to partner with us to create – we’ve had these partners for 22 years and each year we always have them come in and they visit each classroom and visit the grade levels, and they do kind of a presentation and teach us about their organization and their partnership, and then they talk to us about what are their greatest needs are at the time. And then that’s where we try to fill in the service to help with that.”
Each grade level works on their own projects throughout the month.
Young Fives created garden projects for the Kindercub Garden and also visited Clarkston Family Farm.
Kindergarten worked with Grace Centers of Hope by making personal care packages for families in need.
First graders partnered up with the Michigan Humane Society and Paws with Cause by raising money and sponsoring a collection drive for shelter items.
Second grade students supported the United States Armed Services by sending care packages and writing letters of support.
Third graders partnered with Meals on Wheels as volunteers by donating items and raising money. They also wrote personal letters to the senior citizens.
Fourth grade students helped Children’s Miracle Network by making blankets for those who are sick and hospitalized.
Fifth graders contributed to the Kick Starting Kindergarten program by creating tote bags full of age appropriate activities to help new Kindergartens as they come into the grade next year.
This year, Duffy was happy with how the program went and hopes that in participating in service learning, students at Independence Elementary will gain empathy and compassion that will stick with them for their lives.
“We’re really hoping to teach empathy and compassion, right? Not just empathy of sharing one’s feelings, but compassion of taking action and doing something about it. And that’s what we’re trying to build with our leaders here at IE,” Duffy said. “Learning to have a heart of service and use the academics we’re learning each day to branch out into our community to serve others, offering empathy, compassion, awareness, advocacy, teaching them that our little hands can make a big difference.”