Service Learning Awards Presented to Coventry Students

Parents and students filled the Coventry High School library for what was one of the largest turnouts for the Coventry Public Schools Annual Service Learning Celebration.

Now in its seventh year, the service learning program integrates real-life community learning activities into the traditional classroom, providing students with an opportunity to do something that will have a greater impact on the community.

Students in grades K-12 participated in service learning projects led by their respective teachers. One of the more ambitious projects, “Learning Math in a New Way,” involved the construction of a sign for the entrance to Washington Oak Elementary School. Students from Don Jacques’s fourth-grade class designed a life-size replica of the sign in paper utilizing math skills such as measuring, proportion and area, as well as artistic design skills. The template was then handed over to Gene Dufault’s woodshop students at Coventry High School, who created the actual sign. Jacques praised his student’s efforts in the endeavor.

“This was a great project," he said. "It was a lot of fun, and it is something students can be proud of for years to come.”

In all, Coventry students completed 13 projects. Others included “Food Sculpture,” in which high school ceramics students created replicas of popular foods to be displayed at local area restaurants and businesses; and “Well House Cover,” in which students created a well cover for the Paine House Historical Museum. Gene Dufault, who led students in the latter project, expressed enthusiasm for the learning service process, calling it “an incredible learning strategy, especially for woodwork.”

Town Councilman Raymond Spear, who awarded several of the night’s recognitions, used three words to describe service learning and the attributes students gain from the program: citizenship, ownership and integrity.

The grant that helps fund the service learning program ends next year. However, State Rep. Lisa Tomasso was optimistic about the future of the program, stating, “I believe service learning is not something that requires dollars. It’s something that can be done for free.”

Tomaso encouraged any resident in need or with an idea for a service learning project to submit it to the school system. “Every student will benefit from an idea," she said.