1.d.

The candidate for certification: understands community resources for

learning.
What: Guest Speaker Pictures, STEM competition, Bags of Love, March of
Dimes Fundraiser
Who: Teacher Candidate
When: 2014-2015 School Year

Significant Details: We have provided several opportunities (through field

trips, guest speakers, and projects) for students to learn more about our
community and its resources. Included are some photographs from several
of these opportunities.

Analysis: Laurens County is fortunate to have many community services and

resources that can enrich student learning. We apply these services in two
ways. We bring in guest speakers and take field trips to learn more about
our community resources, and we participate in several projects to learn
about the importance of giving back to our community. Both are wonderful
opportunities to enhance our learning and to make a difference in our
community.
One of the local churches in town has a backpack ministry. Our school
benefits from this ministry. Since we are a Title I school, we have many
families in our school system that fall below the poverty level and receive
government support. This ministry has partnered with our school to provide
backpacks, filled with food, to children in need. These backpacks go home
every Friday to assist these families in need. The church collects the food
and brings it to the school on Friday morning. Each Friday, several students
are chosen to help pack the backpacks. It is a wonderful lesson in helping
others and sharing within our community.
Some of the other projects that my class has participated in this year are:
Bags of Love for Senior Options, raising money for March of Dimes,
participation in Relay for Life, and a walk for Williams Syndrome Awareness.
These are all good opportunities for children to learn to focus on helping
others and giving back to our local communities.

We have had several guest speakers to visit our classrooms and share
information this year. Some of them are: local law enforcement, Mrs. Dawn
Nelson (a dentist), Mrs. Bonner (a retired teacher who reads to our class),
Mrs. Cheryl Topping (a retired teacher who often pulls small groups to teach),
and Mr. John Topping, who dresses and teaches students about the American
Revolution and the Civil War. We also had a Veterans Day program and
invited local veterans to have lunch at our school and speak.
Two of our field trips focus on community. The first is an annual field trip to a
local church. It is called Vehicle Day. This church invites numerous local
organizations to attend, share, and educate the students about their
services. Some of the participants include: Laurens County Water and
Sewer, Laurens Electric, The Commission of Public Works, The Laurens
County Recycling Center, Animal Control, EMS, local firefighters and police,
and Wal-Mart Distribution. The second annual trip that we do is to a local
science center called The Joe Adair Science Center. It is an event focusing on
ecology and making our community a better place to live.
Planning: For the future, I would like to continue to incorporate a focus on
community services and resources. I would like to research and add more
guest speakers and field trips our schedule. I think that these important
resources help students build an awareness of community around them.