The Giving Time of Year

by: Amanda Van De Yacht

Right now, I should be focusing on how excited I am to spend the long break with my family, but you see, as a teacher, I truly have two families: home and work, and as I prepare to spend some much needed time with my own kiddos, part of my heart is with the LCHS kids too.  So as we head off to break, I want to take a few minutes to reflect on how lucky I am to be working at Little Chute High School.  On a daily basis, I get to witness students doing amazing things, whether it be through their numerous talents or their compassionate hearts. Let me take a moment to highlight some of the best events happening around here.

Luke Sampson and Aly Myers learn how to
properly wrap gifts.

First of all, led by Hannah Dornfeld and Clare Hietpas, Student Council and FBLA paired up to "adopt" eighteen kids from the elementary school.  The idea for this project was inspired by Hannah herself, as she has been an integral part of collecting and packing up food for these same families each week.  First of all,  each elementary student was sent home with their own advent calendar.  Then for the next two weeks, high school students selected and shopped for each kid, with only a gender and grade in mind.  All names were kept anonymous, but our students took pride in knowing that they helped make a young child's holiday a little sweeter.  A special thank you to the Little Chute Gridiron Club for the LC wrapping paper!

Kendra Huray proudly displays the great gift she purchased.

Clare Hietpas and Chris Peeters pause for a quick picture.

Secondly, the Little Chute Diversity Club put together another successful hygiene drive.  According to member Patrick Joosten, "It was a record-breaker this year."  Little Chute students managed to collect over 1887.5 items.  All items are then delivered to Homeless Connections in Appleton.   Mr. Van Eperen's class of 13 managed to bring in the most items, with 237.5  They will be rewarded with a breakfast of their choice. 

As I mentioned earlier, this time of year, more than ever, reminds me of the students that stand out in other ways.  It is important to remember that our students come from very different backgrounds.  If I can make one final plea, it would be that the Little Chute community remembers others during this break.  While some of the students will run out the doors on Wednesday, December 23th, there are some kids, due to circumstances beyond their control,  that will amble their way out of these halls because the thought of being home for ten straight days is daunting.  Please take time to remember your fellow neighbors who may not look forward to this break; use these ten days as a time to make a difference.