Students Respond to National Tragedy

In project class on Monday, November 21st, our class watched a video about a shooting at a gay club in Colorado Springs. When the video began, it sounded like the same issue that we all hear about once or twice a week in class (especially because our current unit is centered around gender). However, when the video ended, our teachers did not react in the same way as they did after watching other videos. They did not tell us to fill out a worksheet or arrange our chairs into a circle for a discussion. Instead, they responded with emotion. To be honest, our whole class was in a bit of shock; we never really knew what to say when our teachers started crying. The events that took place in Colorado Springs hit close to home for our teacher that grew up in Utah, and also has multiple friends that live very close to Colorado. Not only did this affect his emotional wellbeing, but the fact that he is a part of the LGBTQIA+ community also affected him.

Our whole class quickly took out bins of markers and started ripping sheets of poster paper to make signs. If I had to guess, I would say we made around 15-20 signs combined, and quickly rushed to the end of the block to present our signs to oncoming traffic. Nobody had discussed going any further than Folsom and 10th, but there were already cars coming from all directions honking in support of our signs. We gave up our recess time to walk to Civic Center.

San Francisco is generally a progressive place. We received shouts, fist waving, then honking, but all in support of our signs. A couple people walking past the twitter building filmed, and others just kept their heads down and said nothing. Of course ignoring an issue that does not directly relate to you is the most convenient, but our school personally has a lot of time and resources to make small changes, or just spread awareness. A few kids started chanting things like “ban guns, protect youth” or “Out of the closet, into the streets”. For a few people, it was the first ever sort of protest they had ever been a part of. It felt nice to know that what we were doing was not just going to be put in one of our teachers’ binders, the world (everyone between school and City Hall) would get to see it. I think it is important for us as students to get involved and be educated about things that don’t directly relate to us. We can engage ourselves in understanding different identities, and be more empathetic.

Intergenerational Service Learning at PKS

Service learning combines classroom learning with real world application. Throughout the year, the PA PKS Service Learning Committee (Service Learning Committee) has been working to identify service learning opportunities for students to learn through experience and make connections within their communities.  Here are some exciting current projects. 

Integrating Service Learning with Learning English as a Foreign Language (ESL)

Since March 2021, Middle School students have connected with immigrant and elderly students enrolled in Edith Witt Senior Community’s ESL class to serve as their conversation partners.  The Edith Witt Senior Community is a community-based organization that assists seniors in obtaining and maintaining safe, quality low-income housing and affordable resident services for those in need.  Students and seniors communicate with each other in English and Mandarin on topics that the teacher provides.  The ESL class takes place every Tuesday from 3-4 pm.

Launching the PKS-On Lok Pen Pal Program

Since January 2021, the Service Learning Committee has partnered with On Lok to engage our students in service learning. On Lok is a community-based organization that has provided Bay Area seniors with comprehensive medical and health care, bilingual case management, home-cooked meals and opportunities to socialize for over 50 years.  You may have seen their green vans zipping through the streets to drop off meals to seniors at their homes.

During the past several months, PKS students launched two pen pal projects, one led by the Middle School student government and the other by students in English Literacy Teacher Will Carroll’s 4th Grade Purple English class.  The pen pal projects are intended to promote connectedness between students and seniors, who had been in isolation during shelter in place.  Writing and receiving letters creates a continuing cycle for building skills in reading, writing and story-telling. And getting to know people of different ages has enormous benefits for all involved, helping them stand in the shoes of others and seeing life from a different point of view.

In these projects, students are paired with senior pen pals at On Lok and exchange handwritten letters, in both Chinese (Middle School) and English (4th Grade). 

The Service Learning Committee will host a reception at the end of the school year where pen pals will meet each other virtually.

PKS Lower Elementary Sends Cheer to Senior Centers This Year

For Lunar New Year, Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd graders made 110 pieces of lunar auspicious art for seniors at Edith Witt Center to decorate their living quarters. The words and colors and symbols are suppose to bring good luck, happiness, and health to whoever hangs it up.

During National Poetry Month, 2nd graders, guided by their English Teacher, Christina Garbarino, each illustrated a poem to send to seniors at On Lok. The illustrations were beautiful and thoughtful and receiving personalized mail was very meaningful for On Lok seniors.