In embracing the ongoing theme of fostering understanding and celebrating the greater Cleveland community, the 6th grade class took a service-learning based class trip on Friday, September 14, 2012.
The day began with a visit to The Rainey Institute, a center dedicated to enhancing the lives of Cleveland's youth through arts programming in its after-school and summer programming. They were treated to a dance lesson taught by Sanjib, an artist-in-residence from India. This visit was followed by a tour of the Botanical Gardens' Midtown Learning Farm, part of their Green Corps Program, to see this garden in all its splendor.
The rest of the days' activities took place in Ohio City where the girls divided into four groups. The groups went their separate ways for lunch, eating at ethnically diverse restaurants such as Ohio City Burritos, Orale, Phnom Penh, and Nate's Deli. After lunch, the groups traveled to their destinations to conduct service:
The Near West Intergenerational School is a sister school to the Intergenerational School, and it aims to create lifelong learners in the children it serves. Our sixth graders served as Reading Mentors to their students that day.
Refugee Response is an urban farm designed to empower refugees by providing them with education, employment, and training that they hope will also encourage future economic development in our region. The group of girls who visited this farm met refugees currently working the farm as they learned more about how it works and its impact while getting their hands dirty as they helped in the garden.
For over twenty-five years, Transitional Housing, Inc., has worked to end the cycle of homelessness by providing homeless women a safe environment, programs, and services aimed to give them the tools necessary to become independent women and to break the cycle of homelessness. This group of girls had the opportunity to meet current women residing at Transitional Housing and to listen to their life stories.
Iglesia Emmanuel supports a Head Start Program, and the group who visited this location had the opportunity to interact with preschool-age children from the surrounding neighborhood. They enjoyed teaching the children various finger plays and reading picture books to them.
The day ended with a ride on the Rapid back to campus. Boarding in Ohio City and transferring to the Green Line at Tower City, the group returned to HB with instructions to write reflections about their observations from the train's windows. This culminating activity provided a unique opportunity for them to pay close attention to our city, its architecture, geographic design, and people.
The 6th grade team and Center for Civic Engagement director Stephanie Hiedemann, would like to thank Tony Coyne, a parent of a current eighth grader and local expert on urban planning, for speaking to the students the day before the trip to prepare them for the experience.