Students collect ‘fortress' worth of food for Parker Task Force

PARKER - The students at Mammoth Heights Elementary will celebrate the completion of a huge food drive on Friday.

The two Mammoth Heights classes that collected the most food will design and build a fortress around the school's mascot-Marty the Mammoth-in the school's atrium, using the thousands of cans of food collected.

"It is up to the students," explained Shannon Exum, one of the parents who organized the food drive. "The students are going to complete the castle. The students are going to use their imaginations to complete it."

Exum was one of the parents who spent Thursday evening gathering all of the food in preparation for Friday's event. She says she's not sure just how many items were donated.

"Millions, I feel like. A lot!" Shannon Exum said.

All of the food collected will be donated to the Parker Task Force. The students also collected pieces of the packaging for the Box Tops for Education program-which earns additional money for the school.

"We all benefit," said Exum.

She says the project have made the students excited about giving.

"We're fortunate and we just want them to know that there are others that are less fortunate and that it feels good to give," Exum said.

It's not a trick... students collect treats for soldiers, rescue mission

CASTLE ROCK - When most people think of Halloween, memories of costumes and stockpiling candy probably come to mind. Students at several Douglas County schools honored tradition, with a new twist: Instead of trick-or-treating for themselves, they did it for others.

Both Castle Rock Elementary and Stone Mountain Elementary in Highlands Ranch held Halloween events that will truly be a treat for others.

Through "Reverse Trick-or-Treating," students at Stone Mountain Elementary collected 4,649 items for the Denver Rescue Mission, including 796 razors, 140 sticks of deodorant, 466 tubes of toothpaste, 1,033 diapers, 201 cans of shaving cream, 179 bottles of shampoo, 918 toothbrushes, and 916 bars of soap. These items will be distributed to homeless men, women and children at shelters across metro Denver.

Meanwhile, the Castle Rock Elementary "Sugar Rush" resulted in a collection of candy weighing in at 375 pounds. U.S. troops serving in the Middle East will be on the receiving end of this trick-or-treat outing. The school's Parent Community Forum has plans to collect even more candy next year-they've set the goal of collecting one pound of food from every student at the school-which would mean 500 pounds of sweets for soldiers next Halloween.

Middle School students put financial literacy lessons to work

HIGHLANDS RANCH- Eighth graders at Mountain Ridge Middle School now have a better understanding of the financial challenges their parents must manage.

Teachers Beth Peters and Deb Fox-Gliessman have completed a month-long learning unit about personal finance, introducing budgeting, taxes, financial planning and saving to the soon-to-be adults in their classrooms.

Researching careers and financial concepts provided a new perspective to the middle schoolers, as they contemplated their "dream lives." As a result, students found themselves thinking in new ways about the future, from educational and career goals, to the role they will play as active citizens and community members.

The personal finance unit culminated with a field trip to the Wells Fargo building in Denver to experience Junior Achievement's Finance Park, a financial literacy center for middle and high school students. Upon entering the building, each student was assigned a fictitious "life," and was then tasked with making decisions about budgeting for housing, clothing, groceries, transportation, entertainment and insurance.

Students experienced real-life simulations for each of the concepts they learned in the classroom, and finished the day with an increased understanding of how to align personal goals with sound financial decisions.

Mesa Middle School community encouraged to ‘Give from the Heart'

CASTLE ROCK- The National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) at Mesa Middle School has decided to make its food and toy drive a community-wide effort this year.

In addition to persuading classmates to give, the NJHS members are also encouraging community members to make a contribution.

To participate, drop off non-perishable food and new, unwrapped toys donations at at Mesa Middle School on Saturday, December 3rd, from 8:00 a.m. until noon.

Ranch View "Mixes It Up"

HIGHLANDS RANCH - The Ranch View Middle School student body has completed a month-long campaign about social acceptance with an activity that tested how well they have learned the lesson.

November 11 was designated as "Mix It Up Day." During lunch, students were encouraged to break away from their friends and eat with others. Each student was assigned a letter of the alphabet , which designated their table assignment.

Teachers and administrators joined the effort by encouraging students to ask some "start questions." All were encouraged to move out of their routine social networks and interact with their peers. New social bonds naturally occurred as the lunch crowd "mixed it up."

Eighth-grader Tori Alleyne summed up the results of campaign: "I learned about different people and their interests. It was really cool to find out how much we had in common."

Stone Mountain Elementary tackles hunger

HIGHLANDS RANCH - Stone Mountain Elementary was one of 15 schools in the metro Denver area invited to take part in the Denver Broncos "Tackle Hunger" food drive. The effort is part of the larger 25th Annual Broncos Wives Food Drive.

During the last week of October, boxes filled with more than 1,000 non-perishable items appeared in the hallway at the school.

The Stone Mountain Student Council organized the effort.