Meals on Wheels!

In our 6th grade Service Learning class recently, we made pinecone turkeys for Meals On Wheels, a program that brings meals to people that can’t go out and get food. The pinecone turkeys will be delivered with their meals as a Thanksgiving gift. We wanted to cheer up their day by giving them this handcrafted item. We felt good after the experience because we know that it will make someone very happy.

- Kimberly R., and Ainsley M.

Zoe's cute creation 

Chris T. working hard 

Kimberly shows off her turkey

The finished products!

What is Service Learning at Crane?

Upper School students in Service Learning at Crane learn what it means to be a philanthropist. They examine successful service projects carried out by peers, and each section chooses and designs their own service projects. This year at Crane's annual Country Fair, Arin Pieramici, an 8th grader, decided that Crane should set up a Service Learning booth so that people could learn more about Crane's Service Learning program. Arin and some friends helped to design a SL Wheel of Fortune: "People would spin the wheel and whatever organization they landed on, we would tell them about it. We wanted lots of new families at Crane to learn about the Service Learning program and the organizations that we support. SL has been an important part of my experience in the Upper School and I wanted to spread the word to other kids so that they could get excited about it too."

Arin P., Isabel G., and Shelagh M. paint the wheel for the fair

Arin and Isabel creating the wheel!

What else is happening in service around campus?

Coin Drive for the Phillipines 11.18 - 11.22

A couple of weeks ago, Super Typhoon Huiyan hit the Phillipines. We decided to start a fundraiser to help the victims of this disaster.  We figured that holding a coin drive would be a useful way for doing a fundraiser because everyone always has spare change floating around in their pockets. Tomorrow is the last day for the fundraiser.

- Olivia G. and Zane M.

Coin drive!

Avianna G., Elizabeth P., Hala A. showing off their can for the drive

Service Learning Week 2

Crane kids have been busy all over Santa Barbara County giving back to our community!

STORYTELLER PRESCHOOL  9.17.13

Today at Storyteller, there was no way we could have wiped off the grins from those kids’ faces. They were so excited to have us play with them. Mostly they wanted to play games like "Hide and Go Seek" and "Duck Duck Goose." This was the first time that we have ever been to Storyteller and we cannot wait to go back.

-Tyler D. & Ian C.    

Amanda plays with some of the kids at the water bucket

HEAD START PRESCHOOL 9.18.13

During our second trip to Head Start, we made treasure maps with the preschoolers and then we searched for treasure with them. We drew the treasure maps with crayons. Most of the kids at the preschool knew what a treasure map was already. We used whatever we could find in the classroom as treasure, such as stickers, balls, and other objects. The kids had a blast. We took them all around the campus. It was fun knowing where we had hid the treasures and watching the kids' faces light up when they found something. 

- Josh T. 

Nobody is too old to play in the sandbox!

Ryan having girl time!

         

Rovi loves drawing with these tots!

Olivia reading with her new buddy

Tessa makes discoveries with some of the little ones

Playing in the sandbox with Tessa

Josh holding it down as the only boy in the group!

Maddie plays with stamp pads

Bella working with her little friend on some artistic creations

Rawwrrrrrrr! 

Olivia C. and her new friend 

Clare Bear and Co. play with sidewalk chalk!

Ringggg ringgg!!! Hi Tessa!!!

WILDLIFE CARE NETWORK 9.18.13

Checking out the bird rehab area

Sofia and Forest separating meal worms for bird food

Yum! Meal worms!!

Butterfly Beach Clean Up 11.12.13

Our 7th grade group headed over to Butterfly Beach to check for trash.

For such a small beach, there sure was a lot of TRASH!

7th Graders' First Trips

Last week 7th graders at Crane embarked on our fall Service Learning adventures! We piled into the Crane vans and headed out across Santa Barbara county to places like Head Start Pre-School in Carpinteria and the Wildlife Care Network in Goleta.

Head Start Preschool!

When we were at Head Start Preschool, we split up into two groups. One went to the playground, and the other played on the field. Josh is the only boy in our E-Day Service Learning group, so he played  soccer with the little boys. Some of the girls went to the playground and pushed the young ones on the swings. We played this game that was called Dog and Cat. One person pretended to be the dog, and the other little girls and boys were the cats trying to run away. After pushing them on the swings and going down the slides, we went inside. The teachers played music and the kids danced around. We had a great time at at the school and can't wait to go again! 


- Olivia C. & Tessa D. 

Stella with preschoolers at Head Start

Josh coaches children in soccer skills at Head Start

Jack and his friend are sizing up the basketball hoop

They love the water! Here Maddy M. is surrounded by little ones!

Maxx plays trucks with one child 

Traffic jam! Oh no! I gotcha!

Wildlife Care Network!

When we were at the Wildlife Care Network, we first took a tour of the facilities. We saw many of the cages where they kept the animals. We learned many things about the health of the animals and how they care for them. We learned that it takes a lot of work to prepare the special meals for a songbird's diet! Some examples of the animals we saw there were baby raccoons, many different types of birds and some pelicans. After the tour, the boys went off to spread mulch around the entrance of the area. This is important because it keeps the dust down. While the boys were doing this, Sofia went to wash the pelican dishes. It is surprising how messy animals can be! She said it was really gross and was glad she wore gloves. We all had a really fun time at the Wildlife Care Center. Stay tuned to find out more about our visits there!  


-Kyle A., Charlie Mac., Forest D.

7th grade boys shoveling mulch at Wildlife Care Network

Sofia washes pelican dishes!

This swan came to the WCN while we were there. He had swallowed the hook of a fisherman who was fishing Lake Carneros.