Fourth-graders find way to share with others this Christmas season

SIOUX CENTER – Sioux Center Christian School fourth-graders are sharing God’s love to children at Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center this Christmas season.

Every child who comes in for an appointment during December will receive a paper angel, a baggie of almond bark pretzels and a chocolate bar, and a small booklet with the Christmas story from Luke 2. All of the items were handmade by the students.

Promise Community Health Center nurse Kristen
Schuler demonstrates how much sugar is in a can of
Coke to Sioux Center Christian School fourth-graders.
The class toured the health center after donating
handmade items and goodies to give to children who
have appointments at Promise this Christmas season.

The fourth-grade project was part of a school-wide challenge to provide service to others during the Christmas season.

Laura Van Ravenswaay, one of the three fourth-grade teachers, said the 57 students in the class were excited to take part in the project.

“Our goal was to encourage the students to think about others this season and find ways to share God’s love with them,” she said. “We have been learning to be justice seekers and community builders. Working with Promise through this project allowed them to reach out to kids near their age.”

Van Ravenswaay said a donor provided each class with money to use for supplies for their projects. The fourth grade decided to make chocolate bars that say “Merry Christmas” in connection with reading “The Chocolate Touch.” In the book, the protagonist has a hard time seeing beyond his own interests until he is faced with a crisis when his mother begins to turn into chocolate after he kisses her.

Sioux Center Christian School fourth-grade
students made paper angels, a booklet of
the Christmas story from Luke 2, and a
baggie of handmade goodies to give to
children at Promise Community Health
Center during this Christmas season.

“We are always trying to help the students recognize others’ feelings and needs,” she said. “Making candy treats that they did not get to eat was a tangible way of allowing them to put others before themselves.”

One fourth-grader used his keyboarding skills to type out the Christmas story from Luke 2 for the booklet. Last Thursday, the students rotated through three stations. In the first room, they prepared treats. In the second room, they made the paper angel ornaments. In the third room, they illustrated the Christmas story booklets.

The fourth-graders delivered their handiwork to Promise on Monday. They took a tour of the health center and saw a brief demonstration from nurse Kristen Schuler about how much sugar is in a can of Coke and a bottle of orange juice.

Van Ravenswaay was thankful the students had a chance to take the tour.

“Even though they won’t meet the recipients of their gift, it helps them to visualize what the kids experience when they come to Promise,” she said.

Promise Community Health Center of Sioux Center is the only Federally Qualified Health Center serving the far northwest corner of Iowa. Promise provides medical, prenatal, dental, vision and behavioral health services. To learn more, visit www.promisechc.org and watch this video. To read more Promise news, visit promisechcnews.blogspot.com.

Promise Community Health Center executive director
Nancy Dykstra leads Sioux Center Christian School
fourth-graders on a tour of the health center.

STUDENT REFLECTIONS:

Here are several reflections by Sioux Center Christian School fourth-graders about their Christmas project for Promise Community Health Center and their tour of the health center on Monday:

• “I learned that you shouldn’t just receive presents. You should sometimes give back.” – Brody
• “I liked making pretzels, but not eating them was hard. I learned that there are a lot of people needing help.” – Ethan
• “I learned that when we make stuff for people, they really like it and enjoy it.” – Dorian
• “I learned that it is not all about me.” – Kennedy
• “I liked making the angels and pretzels. The angels were a little bit tricky because I wanted them to look nice for other people. I learned that the health center used to be a bowling alley. It got changed into a place that can save people’s lives.” – Reagan
• “I liked that we got to make things for other people. We went to a doctor’s office and delivered them. I learned that doing things for other people makes you feel good.” – Peyton