Roxbury Township Public Schools

News and Events

A Message from Dr. Boyd, Principal

Franklin School

How Do Students Learn to Think Beyond Themselves?

Are young children able to learn civic duty?  Are they able to look beyond their own personal needs and help others?  I believe the answer is “yes”.  Today’s schools are faced with many challenges designed to help children grow and learn.  One such challenge is to guide students as they develop not only their cognitive skills, which enable them to read, write, add and perform other mental tasks, but to develop a desire to help their fellow man.  We call it “civic duty”.  It is that aspect of your character that causes you to go beyond yourself and reach out to others.  At the elementary level, we do not use the phrase “civic duty” until children reach the age where they can understand what it means and what it entails.  But while children may not understand this phrase, they are more than capable of understanding the idea of giving and caring for others.  In school, we talk with our students about serving others and helping those in need.  Children understand these concepts almost intuitively, yet we still need to guide them to the point where they will internalize them and act upon them.

 What can educators do to help children fully understand civic duty?  What is the key to unlocking the desire in children to help others?  What will make them value acts of selflessness and kindness?  Frankly, putting others before yourself is not always something that comes easily or naturally.  Schools need to model civic responsibility and then provide opportunities for their students to engage in activities where they can experience the positive feelings associated with serving others and thinking beyond themselves.  Being a volunteer, performing jobs, and helping to raise money for worthy causes are among the activities that help children to understand selflessness.  At Franklin School, students are learning how to serve through a variety of activities which promote volunteerism and help them to value altruism.

 WEE Deliver is an intra-school mail system that gives students, parents, and staff the opportunity to write to one another once a week.  Mail is “gathered, sorted, and delivered” weekly by student volunteers supervised by our PTA moms.

 The St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Math-a-thon was a fundraiser held at our school this past fall.  Over 100 students in grades one through four completed Math Fun Books and raised $7,994 from sponsors who supported their effort to help children battling leukemia and other blood-related diseases.

 The Early Act Club is a school-wide service organization comprised of over 100 first, second, third, and fourth grade students.  These students serve by organizing and carrying out fundraising projects to benefit individuals at school, in the community, and at the international level.  Money has been collected to supply polio and measles vaccinations for children in developing countries.  Winter hats and mittens have been collected and donated to Social Services.  Early Act students have assisted with school campus clean-ups.  These members are learning to serve in a variety of ways.

 Peer Tutors are students from our third and fourth grades who serve as helpers in kindergarten and first grade.  They practice the alphabet/letter sounds, sight words, and math facts with students who have not yet mastered these skills by visiting classrooms on a regular basis during extra help work periods

 Our Girl Scout Recycling Program is alive and well!  Several fourth grade girls can be seen in the hallways on Friday afternoons collecting paper from each classroom, the office, the library, and other instructional areas for recycling.

 The March Dance-a-thon is being sponsored again this year by our Early Act Club.  During the school day, all students participate in a variety of dances during their gym periods.  Sponsor money collected from the Dance-a-thon will be used to enhance the Outdoor Classroom at Franklin School.

 The local Boy Scout Troop served in our Veteran’s Day Program last November by participating in the flag-raising portion of the program with men from the US Army.  We honored veterans and those brave Americans currently serving in the armed forces.

 The Weather Station located in our Outdoor Classroom is up and running.  Weather Reports are shared two times a week by students in 3^rd and 4^th grades as a result of equipment available for this purpose.  Students take scientific readings related to barometric pressure and report the expected weather to the students over the public address system in the school.

 These are but a few examples of activities and events at Franklin School that involve students serving others.  Whether they are helping younger students or raising money for a worthy cause, we are trying to teach them that there is a world out there that extends beyond them and it is right and good to put others before you.