Parkview Elementary School Has Big Reasons To Be Thankful

valpo-community-schoolsParkview Elementary School students and staff are thankful for volunteers. Parents, grandparents, retired educators, friends of staff members and our neighboring Valparaiso University students all give their time and talents to help the children of Parkview. Volunteers often come in groups like Our Greater Good of Valparaiso and Calvary Serves, an extension of Calvary Church of Valparaiso. We value each one of our volunteers and are grateful for their contributions.

Valparaiso University students give their time to support learning in the Study Buddy and College Mentors for Kids programs. The Study Buddy program provides tutoring for Parkview students in grades 1-5. Tutoring sessions focus on developing problem solving skills in both Math and Language Arts. College Mentors for Kids (http://www.collegementors.org/campuses/23) meets one day per week on the Valparaiso University Campus. Through the College Mentors for Kids program, Parkview students are exposed to higher learning environments and given rich opportunities to experience science, math, art, music, drama and more.

Our Greater Good of Valparaiso, which is a newly formed non-profit organization, (http://www.ourgreatergood.com/) is committed to building powerful partnerships in the Valparaiso school communities. OGG visited Parkview Elementary and asked how they could help. Since the winter of 2014, they have been instrumental in helping both individual families and the entire school. The OGG team donated a Saturday, giving the hallways and classrooms of Parkview a fresh new coat of paint. The colorful hallways and classrooms help brighten our days.

Calvary Church of Valparaiso also reached out to Parkview Elementary in September, by offering to help with landscaping. Calvary Serves sent a team of 40 volunteers to Parkview Elementary, who on a Saturday morning added mulch, plants, and shrubs and revived the exterior grounds at Parkview Elementary School.

As we count our blessings, Parkview is thankful for the wonderful community we live in; a community that gives their time and resources for the good of our children. Parkview Elementary school volunteers give even more than time; they mentor, they nurture and they genuinely care. Thank you for helping us to provide for the students of Parkview. “Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nation's compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and just plain love for one another” - (Erma Bombeck). To ALL the Parkview Volunteers, we appreciate you!

Anne M. Wodetzki is Principal of Parkview Elementary School in Valparaiso.