Colorful artwork from Beth Rose’s Mount Olive Middle School seventh graders brightens the lives of seniors at the Mount Olive Parks and Recreation Senior Center.(Beth Rose|Courtesy photo)
This group of Mount Olive Middle School seventh graders, taught by Beth Rose (far right), connects with seniors at the Mount Olive Parks and Recreation Senior Center by sending them artwork, snacks and games.(Beth Rose|Courtesy photo)
Seniors decorated the Mount Olive Parks and Recreation Senior Center with a collage made from artwork donated by Mount Olive Middle School seventh graders.(Beth Rose|Courtesy photo)
Seniors from the Mount Olive Parks and Recreation Senior Center send “Pumpkin Day” greetings to Beth Rose’s seventh graders at Mount Olive Middle School.(Beth Rose|Courtesy photo)
Linda Jackso, left, and Eunice Mills give a thumbs-up and a smile when asked what the middle schoolers’ thoughtfulness means to them.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|Courtesy photo)
It’s snack time at the Mount Olive Parks and Recreation Senior Center thanks to the generosity of Mount Olive Middle School seventh graders.(Beth Rose|Courtesy photo)
Mount Olive Middle School seventh-grade Language Arts teacher Beth Rose, second from left, delivers her students’ artwork to the Mount Olive Parks and Recreation Senior Center.(Beth Rose|Courtesy photo)
Whilte taking a reading comprehension test, Beth Rose’s seventh grade students enjoy lollipops sent to them by senior citizens from the Mount Olive Parks and Recreation Senior Center.(Beth Rose|Courtesy photo)
Lollipop in hand, seventh grader Thatcher Weeks is ready to tackle his reading comprehension test.(Beth Rose|Courtesy photo)
Lollipops from their senior friends make classwork a little sweeter for these Mount Olive Middle School students in Beth Rose’s Language Arts class.(Beth Rose|Courtesy photo)
For Mount Olive Middle School seventh grader Jailyn Jones, test-taking isn’t so bad as long as it’s accompanied by a lollipop.(Beth Rose|Courtesy photo)
Mount Olive Middle School seventh graders make Veteran’s Day artwork for the seniors at the Mount Olive Parks and Recreation Senior Center.(Beth Rose|Courtesy photo)
Beth Rose’s seventh-grade Language Arts students at Mount Olive Middle School receive a super-sized thank-you from the seniors at the Mount Olive Parks and Recreation Senior Center.(Beth Rose|Courtesy photo)
Each month, Mount Olive Middle School has a “character word” for the month. In October, that word was “caring.” One of seventh-grade Language Arts teacher Beth Rose’s classes decided to put “caring” into action by drawing and coloring fall-themed pictures for the senior citizens at the Mount Olive Parks and Recreation Senior Center. And that was the end of that. Except that it wasn’t. It was really just the beginning. The students and the seniors have since developed a relationship that enriches the lives of all.
Rose says her students got the idea for showing their appreciation for senior citizens during a Social-Emotional Learning lesson. (Social-Emotional Learning helps students develop self-awareness, empathy and interpersonal skills that will help them in being successful both in the classroom and throughout life.) The students read a Langston Hughes story, “Thank You, Ma’am,” in which an elderly lady almost has her purse stolen by a young boy, but instead of turning him in for punishment, she shows him compassion—taking him to her home, feeding him, talking to him, and even giving him money to buy shoes.
“My students were really captivated by this [elderly] character and started talking about how senior citizens have so much knowledge, strength, and hope that they share with young folks, and said we should do something to show the seniors in our community that we care about them,” Rose says. That’s when the seventh graders made the fall artwork, which Rose delivered to the center.
The seniors responded by sending the students lollipops, and they also shared a picture of a collage they’d created using the students’ artwork.
So, the students reached out, the seniors responded, and, once again, this is where the story could have ended — but it didn’t.
Instead, Rose says, “The students then said that we should do a ‘reverse adoption’ (where the kids adopt the adults) and have the kids in our class adopt our senior friends…so we decided to do just that! Since then, we have started dropping off snacks, holiday poems and artwork, and then a basket of games and snacks to kick off the new year.
“Each month we are discussing our character word and talking about ways we can be the change we want to see in our community. Then, we apply this to a class activity that we can do to brighten the spirits of our senior friends. The kids are so excited that they are doing something that brings joy to others, and they get super excited when we get a picture or a text showing us the seniors playing games or enjoying snacks that we sent.”
Retired teacher Lynn Joyner is active at the senior center, helping coordinate many of the activities there. “As a retired educator myself, Beth Rose and her class give me hope,” she says. “This young teacher and her seventh graders are our future. We are in good hands.”
Two seniors who have saved the artwork they received, intending to frame it, are Linda Jackson and Eunice Mills.
“The first time [the students sent something], it really shocked me,” says Jackson. “It feels like they care.”
Mills, too, says she was surprised when the students reached out. “It means a whole lot to us,” she says.
Recently, the seniors bought a sheet of poster board and tailor-made a super-sized thank-you card for the students to show their appreciation for the “love & gifts” they’ve received.
Rose says the project has blossomed beyond anything she initially envisioned. “Honestly, this series of activities has turned out to be so much more than I planned,” she says. “The students have latched on to this idea and really thought of some good ideas for ways we can not only succeed in our classroom, but to be good citizens, as well.”
To date, the students and the seniors haven’t had the opportunity to get together in person, since the senior center is only open during school hours. But, says Rose, “I am hoping we can get the groups together in the spring.”
One of the big take-aways from this project that Rose wants for her students is that there are many ways to show care and compassion that don’t require a lot of money. “Whether it is a penny, a talent, or our time, we all have something to give and some way to make the world a better place,” says Rose.
And if her students take that sentiment to heart, it really is just the beginning.
