Landstown Middle and Landstown High students combined forces to brighten the spirits of senior citizens.
They painted unique designs on flowerpots and delivered them to residents of several local assisted living homes. During the visit, they played games, painted rocks and engaged in some nice conversations.
Kaylee Powell heard about the opportunity to participate in the community service project from her gifted resource teacher, Victoria Sachar-Milosevich.
The Landstown High junior said she enjoyed the experience visiting Bickford of Virginia Beach Assisted Living & Memory Care.
“They seemed very happy to have someone listen.”
Kaylee presented her flowerpot painted with stars and jellyfish to a resident named Jill and painted a rock for her.
“She talked about stuff she remembered in her life,” she said.
For the past three years, Sachar-Milosevich, known as “Milo,” has teamed up with her counterpart at Landstown Middle, gifted resource teacher Ashley Smith.
Word spread about this year’s project and the response was amazing, Sachar-Milosevich said.
Interest in community service participation has grown exponentially.
Because there were so many volunteers, the high school students were divided up based on interest. Last semester, one group made about 50 no-sew fleece blankets for ForKids, a nonprofit organization serving the homeless.
In February, another group began working on flowerpots for nursing home and assisted living community residents.
Both projects were made possible through a grant from the Virginia Beach Education Foundation.
THE FLOWERPOT PROJECT
Part 1: Meet and Greet
Approximately 40 Landstown High students took a field trip to Landstown Middle in February.
They joined about 80 middle schoolers to learn about the project and get to know each other.
Sachar-Milosevich explained they’d be giving their finished products to senior citizens.
“You will have the opportunity to learn from them and them from you,” she told them.
“Now, secure your plan and bounce ideas off of each other.”
They brainstormed and sketched out designs on paper. All kinds of unique ideas appeared, from flowers, bees and butterflies to geometric shapes and musical notes.
Landstown Middle student Kyrie Spaulding drew a basketball hoop design, while Landstown High junior Emily Dao’s drawing transformed a flowerpot into an ice cream cone.
Eighth graders Ethan Bennett and Max Massetti said the chance to make something for someone else showed that giving to others is important.
“That’s pretty cool,” said Ethan. His idea included sun and grass, while Max’s design incorporated a robot.
Part 2: Base coats
The high school group returned to Landstown Middle in March to paint the base coats on the flowerpots, which were 4 inches tall and made out of clay. Art teacher Kate Corder provided quite a selection of acrylic paint.
Conversations flowed during the painting process.
“We answered lots of questions about coursework, sports and clubs and all,” Kaylee said.
Part 3: Finishing the flowerpots
The flowerpots were completed at their respective schools during the school day, usually at lunchtime in the gifted resource teachers’ classrooms.
Part 4: Delivery
Students recently delivered the flowerpots and interacted with residents.
Sachar-Milosevich said the project was about “bridging the gap” between not only middle school and high school, but with the older generation.
“Reaching out to the community shows compassion,” she said.
Expanding on the Idea
The plan is to continue a relationship with several of the centers and return to help in small but meaningful ways, such as gardening or decorating doors for the holidays.
Kaylee said the experience taught her a lot about helping others.
Donating money is good, but there are many other ways to help, such as volunteering in a soup kitchen or homeless shelter, she said.
“I think it’s very important to start community service early,” she added.
“Then it becomes something like an inkling in your brain when we go out in the real world.”
