Jobs and service are structures at Merriam that provide students with meaningful work to deepen their understanding of community and help them experience a sense of commitment, responsibility, and pride. School jobs are purposeful and planned at Merriam. All students in grades one through four have grade level jobs within the school. They provide services that allow us to have a store, report the news, send mail throughout the school, and have beautifully cared-for plants in the lobby.

Students in the first grade have the job of running the school post office. It is usually up and running by Valentine's Day. Each classroom chooses an address, receives an address book, and a letter template. Children are encouraged to write to classmates/schoolmates and send their letters through the school's post office. We highly encourage families to use our post office as well. First graders and volunteer parents sort, stamp, and deliver the mail. Look for more information about the post office in upcoming newsletters.

The second grade service-learning project for the year is to care for the Merriam School plants in the common areas. Each second grade class will maintain the plants on a monthly schedule. Students will learn about responsibility while educating the larger community about the importance of plant care. By caring for a common space in the school, students develop respect for themselves and others in their immediate community.

The third grade will be using their math and organizational skills in running the Merriam School Store. Committees of students research items to order, conduct advertising, and determine how profits will be allocated. In addition to interacting with student consumers when the store is open for business, students must count the money, check the inventory, order supplies, and arrange to deposit earnings.

This year the fourth graders will be providing a variety of services to the Outdoor Classroom. In partnership with Cathy Fochtman, students will be researching plants that can be added to the garden in an attempt to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. After completing their study on Fast Plants, students will be aware of the variables that impact plant growth and will consider these when choosing plants for the garden. Before spring, students will start the plants from seed in the classroom.

Other classes will begin designing a guidebook for visitors to use when they are visiting the Outdoor Classroom. After students identify plants and animals that are found there, they will provide detailed pictures and short descriptions within the guidebook. Classes will also help with trash pickup in the area.

If parents are interested in helping with this project, please contact your child's classroom teacher for further information.

Fifth and sixth grade teachers (and their students) will take the Handshake Project into many different arenas of the professional and amateur sports world as our service learning this year. Our plans include:

• Sportsmanship Surveys: We will design surveys about experiences of sportsmanship in local youth sports. Hopefully the results of this survey will be to increase awareness about what goes on in the amateur sports world at all levels.
• Sportsmanship Stories Web Site: We'd like to build a Handshake Project web site that links to other sportsmanship sites. We hope to gather and publish sportsmanship stories and pictures from kids and grownups here in town and then extend the collection to state, national, and perhaps even worldwide anecdotes ’Äî both good and bad.
• Sportsmanship Skits: Children will brainstorm, script, produce, and perform skits for younger kids in an attempt to strengthen attitudes around positive sportsmanship - both as players and fans.
• Handshake Project Year II: We plan to continue letters, posters, and slide shows with semi-pro and college sports as one focus. This would be in addition to possibly revisiting the Yankee and Red Sox handshake.
• Media Extensions: We hope to find and make connections to the print and broadcast media nationwide, especially to folks who believe in the goals of our project, who will help us with specific aspects of it and spread the word

Most jobs take place during part of the school year, are shared by grade level, and include all students. Many parent volunteers contribute service in order for our students to have these experiences. The seeds of service were planted when the school opened and have sprouted up every year with individual and pairs of students developing plans and carrying out varied service projects throughout each school year.

These efforts are run entirely by students, and some have become annual events. Included this year in plans are:

• Pennies for UNICEF
• Winter outerwear for homeless shelters
• Backpacks for Katrina Victims
• Collection for a school in Indonesia
• Holiday gifts for families in need

Children learn to share their time and resources and acquire new skills (caring for plants, running a business, understanding expenses, managing profits, and advertising). They also feel a sense of purpose and satisfaction in a job well done. Most of these skills will probably not be tested on the MCAS, but we believe they will contribute to well-rounded, meaningful lives for our students. At the end of their sixth grade year at Merriam, students will have had a variety of jobs that will have widened their view of the world and put them in contact with people and ideas not necessarily in the Acton Public Schools curriculum. These are the ultimate social studies experiences. Our students can and do make a difference in the lives of others.

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