Throughout November, all NHA students are encouraged to focus on being thankful and displaying gratitude. Brooklyn Excelsior Charter School students are learning first-hand the value of giving back by donating 250 pounds of candy to military personnel overseas to benefit the nonprofit organization, Operation Gratitude.
To demonstrate the school’s monthly Moral Focus virtue, gratitude, students collected candy to send to military members and give thanks for their service. The candy care packages also included special handwritten cards from the students. Each year, Operation Gratitude sends over 300,000 care packages to military members who are deployed overseas.
“In alignment with our Moral Focus virtue of the month, students were encouraged to write thank-you notes expressing gratitude to soldiers and servicemen and servicewomen who are overseas and couple the letter with a donation of candy,” said Sally Girouard, interim principal at Brooklyn Excelsior Charter School. “The kids were really generous in their donations. They were very excited to make such large contributions.”
Throughout the month, students and staff participated in lessons and class discussions exploring the impact that military members have on our country. Teachers included interactive lessons that highlighted the work of military members and the sacrifices they make while serving our country.
“Candy is a luxury that many troops abroad do not readily have access to. Our students were able to show gratitude by being morally virtuous and sharing what we have an excess of,” said Girouard. “It was a very sweet experience; students and staff loved it and were amazed by the amount of candy that was donated.”
Operation Gratitude is a non-profit organization that aims to “forge strong bonds between Americans and their military and first responder heroes through volunteer service projects, acts of gratitude, and meaningful engagements in communities nationwide.”
Next month, Brooklyn Excelsior students will focus on self-control as part of their newly established monthly Moral Focus community outreach program. Each month, the school will connect their Moral Focus virtue with a different program that benefits the community.
About Brooklyn Excelsior Charter School
Brooklyn Excelsior Charter School is a tuition-free, public charter school in Brooklyn, New York, serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.
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