*This article was contributed by Laura Smart, partnership coordinator for Virginia Beach City Public Schools.
A unique partnership between a special education class at Princess Anne High School and Pembroke Elementary School is in the bag – the Beach Bag!
Students in Intellectual Disabilities teacher Angela Dunkailo’s class are learning valuable life skills while at the same time supporting elementary students in need. Each week, Dunkailo’s students (with the assistance of PAHS faculty and staff) raise money to buy food items needed to fill a Beach Bag. They shop for the food and then pack and deliver approximately 30 bags to Pembroke Elementary School each month.The Beach Bags program provides healthy snacks and shelf-stable meals to children who may not have enough to eat over weekends or school breaks.
“By participating in this service learning project our students are not only collaborating to fill a real need in our community, they are learning vital consumer and financial skills essential to being productive workers and citizens,” Dunkailo said.
Many of the high school students already have a personal connection to the elementary school, having attended Pembroke Elementary when they were younger. This partnership is helping to strengthen those existing bonds with former teachers and school staff.
“When we were first connected with this class at Princess Anne High School we knew it would be a perfect match for all students involved,” said Kathy Kodya, security assistant at Pembroke Elementary School. “We are happy to see our former students and delighted they are reaching out to help others with such a meaningful project.”
Kodya and guidance counselor Joan Saunders coordinate the distribution of Beach Bags at Pembroke Elementary School. It is just one of 52 schools participating in the Beach Bags program across the school division. Since its inception in 2009, more than 21,000 Beach Bags have been provided to families across the city.
For more pictures of the Princess Anne students in action, visit our Facebook album.