{"id":11556,"date":"2023-10-31T10:24:48","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T14:24:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=11556"},"modified":"2023-10-31T10:24:48","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T14:24:48","slug":"green-run-collegiate-senior-gives-back-to-diamond-springs-elementary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/green-run-collegiate-senior-gives-back-to-diamond-springs-elementary\/","title":{"rendered":"Green Run Collegiate senior gives back to Diamond Springs Elementary"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Joshua Miller wanted to be like Brandon Lugo when he was in first grade at Lynnhaven Elementary. The Green Run Collegiate School senior completed his Eagle Scout project this summer at Diamond Springs Elementary, where Lugo is principal. Seated on oak logs within the new learning space in the school\u2019s courtyard are, from left, Joshua\u2019s mother Chelyse Miller, assistant principal Karen Drosinos, principal Brandon Lugo, and Joshua Miller.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

–Cindy Butler Focke<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

One of Joshua Miller\u2019s teachers made quite an impression on him in first grade. Flash forward to 2023. The Green Run Collegiate senior found a way to give back to that teacher, Brandon Lugo, now principal at Diamond Springs Elementary. The 17-year-old helped build outdoor learning spaces at his former teacher\u2019s school for his Eagle Scout project.<\/p>\n

Lugo was a special education specialist who would spend time in Joshua\u2019s first grade classroom at Lynnhaven Elementary. Joshua said his former teacher inspired him.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Diamond Springs Elementary has new outdoor learning spaces, thanks to Joshua Miller. The Green Run Collegiate school senior chose the school for his Eagle Scout project. Ten oak log seats were placed in a circle within the school courtyard, while 20 are outside the school, soon to be positioned around a garden.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHe was my first-ever male teacher,\u201d Joshua said.\u00a0 \u201cHe actually got me to want to wear a suit and tie to school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brandon Lugo described Joshua as \u201ca very sharp young man, resilient, with a good head on his shoulders.\u201d He kept up with him through the years as Joshua\u2019s mother, Chelyse Miller, is currently administrative assistant at Diamond Springs and Seatack elementary schools, and will soon be assistant principal at Creeds Elementary.<\/p>\n

Miller said Lugo always asks how Josh is doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe cares,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Lugo was impressed when Joshua asked him, \u201cWhat can we do for your school?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe threw around some ideas on how to improve some of the dull, bland and older looking areas,\u201d Lugo said. They decided the project would involve turning logs into outdoor stools placed in circles for students, so they\u2019d have unique and fun spaces to learn outside.<\/p>\n

Joshua became a Cub Scout in the first grade and has since earned more than 30 merit badges. He is on his way to becoming an Eagle Scout, demonstrating leadership through a community service project.<\/p>\n

Planning for the project began about two years ago. He made a list of supplies and posted a wish list online at Amazon. The response from friends, family members, and the community was great.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Joshua Miller wanted to be like Brandon Lugo when he was in first grade at Lynnhaven Elementary. The Green Run Collegiate School senior led a group of volunteers for his Eagle Scout project: outdoor learning spaces at Diamond Springs Elementary, where Lugo is principal. They gathered outside Joshua’s home to cut, sand, and seal logs for two seating areas.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI was happy so many people were so caring about this small school,\u201d Joshua said.<\/p>\n

He estimated the donations, including chainsaws, sandpaper, sealant, and a first-aid kit, were valued at about $750. That included a shed for the courtyard to store supplies.<\/p>\n

The main items needed were logs. Dom\u2019s Cheapscapes and Tree Service came through and dropped oak logs at Joshua\u2019s house. On July 8, friends, family, and members of Joshua\u2019s Boy Scout Troop 504 worked most of the day cutting logs in the Millers\u2019 yard. The logs were sanded, and a sealant added for durability. Even Papa Johns joined in, donating pizza for the volunteers.<\/p>\n

A couple days later, the logs were delivered to the school. Joshua\u2019s crew of more than 20 arrived and got to work. Assistant Principal Karen Drosinos remembered the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really impressed that high school kids did this,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was a big task.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ten logs were placed in a circle within the courtyard. They worked hard in the extreme heat, taking regular water breaks as required by their leader Joshua. The other 20 logs were left outside the school building to eventually be positioned around a garden. Drosinos said her first thought was, \u201cOur kids are going to love this!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the beginning of the school year to celebrate the new learning spaces, now enjoyed by many of the almost 500 prekindergarten through first graders and their teachers at Diamond Springs Elementary. Joshua\u2019s mother said her son\u2019s efforts have sparked others to plan for more improvements to the area, including butterfly and sensory gardens.<\/p>\n

Joshua has a plan for his future. As part of the Virginia Beach City Public Schools\u2019 Environmental Studies Program, he studies at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation\u2019s Brock Environmental Center in the mornings and has an internship there, setting up cameras to study the invasive species nutria. He\u2019s also very devoted to the protection of penguins through the Western Bay Wildlife Trust, a community-based conservation group in New Zealand dedicated to protecting wildlife and native ecosystems.<\/p>\n

Next fall, he\u2019ll attend Tidewater Community College for two years to become certified as a veterinary technician. Then, he hopes to enroll in University of Mary Washington to study conservation biology.<\/p>\n

Lugo praised Joshua for seeing a need and doing something for others.<\/p>\n

\u201cJosh has made a lasting impression on students at Diamond Springs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
On July 8, friends, family, and members of Joshua Miller\u2019s Boy Scout Troop 504 worked most of the day cutting logs in his yard.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

–Cindy Butler Focke One of Joshua Miller\u2019s teachers made quite an impression on him in first grade. Flash forward to 2023. The Green Run Collegiate senior found a way to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":11562,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11556"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11568,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11556\/revisions\/11568"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}