This Lent we remember that it’s a time to focus on giving and loving, and that is why a group of fourth-graders decided to donate to a good cause. I put together a group of kids to make origami, duct tape bracelets, paper flowers, bookmarks, puzzles and posters. We are selling them to raise money for Make a Wish. The Make a Wish Foundation is for kids who have really bad diseases that can’t be cured, so the money donated helps them get their wish before they die. If you want to donate or buy these items, please come to Room 101 and let us know at any time. Thank you!

CLICK HERE to check out a cool slideshow I made about Make-a-Wish!!!

By Madison Miles, Grade 4

You might have seen Noah around school, but how well do you really know him? Noah was a dog that nobody wanted, and his owners threw him in some dark woods. Mrs. J found him when our school’s Noah’s Ark Ministry hosted an animal fair. Mrs. J. saw him while looking for a special dog at the fair. She was so excited about Noah she brought him to Mrs. Bopp. Mrs. Bopp decided to research him on the website for Noah’s Ark Ministry. She found out that Noah was between 1 and 4 years old and was born in a puppy mill. She found out so many great things about him and loved him so much that she adopted him. Now Noah is in training to be a therapy dog. A therapy dog is one that goes to the sick and brightens up their day. He is training to be a therapy dog at Best Paws Forward Training Academy, and when he’s done, he’ll help out kids at school. A saying from Mrs. J: “When Noah is fully trained, he will be a full-time Angel!”

By Adriana Ricciardi and Hannah Rogers, Grade 4

Every month I go to the nursing home with my friends. When we get there we first do a craft with the residents. The crafts are really fun, like the one day when we made pumpkins and the seniors decorated them. After that my friend’s mom punched a hole in the pumpkins and put a piece of string through each. So now the residents can hang them up in their rooms! After the craft we sing songs with them, and some even sing along! After about 15 songs we hope that they have a great rest of the day and we say goodbye. When I leave the nursing home, I feel like I did something really meaningful.

By Lia Paolucci, Grade 5

On December 22nd, some of my fifth-grade friends and I decided to go Christmas caroling to collect canned goods for those in need. Natalie Pryatel, Katie Byram, Sydney Jenko, Haley Morgan, Anna Krizsa, Anna Cupach, and me, Maria Antonius, bundled ourselves up and walked around a local neighborhood singing some of our favorite Christmas songs. We collected more than 50 canned goods, a fruit basket, and five jars of peanut butter. The peanut butter was given to Parma Hospital, and the rest of the donations were delivered to the Brunswick food pantry. We had a lot of fun singing and laughing together, while doing something to help others in need. It was a good way to end the 2011 year. We plan to do more service together in 2012. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

By Maria Antonius, Grade 5

On Christmas you think of a tree and gifts. Well, some people cannot celebrate all those traditions that we do. I mean, think about what you are doing now, reading off a computer. You are very lucky to have this opportunity, because not everyone does. I am talking about the homeless people who live in cars or on the streets. Think about Jesus, how he was born in a barn. It wasn’t the place he was born in; it was him. On a show called “60 Minutes” they did a report on people who live in cars or trucks. It was very moving, and it made me think how lucky I am.

How lucky do you think you are? There are many ways you can help the needy this Christmas season. For example, you can donate food. Together we can give hope for those people. Treat them like you are their brother or sister, because you are. I know I am going to pray to God to help them every day because it helps. Our school does help the needy all the time. Together we can make a change.

By Rachel Russo, Grade 5

Part of being a member of a St. Ambrose sports team is representing the school in a positive way and helping others. This fall our football team had an opportunity to help the grandpa of one of our teammates. Colin’s grandpa was diagnosed with lung cancer and had to spend time at a hospital. We knew we had to cheer him up. His grandpa is a sports fan and played football when he was younger. He was a quarterback for the University of Akron and got into the Hall of Fame there. This fall after one of our football games, we gave him a St. Ambrose football team jersey that we all signed. We also put our hands on him and prayed for him. My mom took some pictures of that moment. Then we got him a frame and gave a picture to him. At the end of that he was smiling, and I felt really, really wonderful. We are asking all of our students and parishioners to say some prayers for Colin’s grandpa.

By John Monnin, Grade 5

Have you ever wondered why some schools only help people and not animals? I know I have. But St. Ambrose is different. We recently added a new ministry about caring for God’s creation of animals. I interviewed the two wonderful teachers who are the ones who made the ministry possible. They are Mrs. J, our gym teacher, and Mrs. Hill, an aide to everything. Now I will share my interview with them.

Q: What is the Noah’s Ark Animal Ministry about?

A: Our mission is to care for and celebrate God’s creation
of animals.

Q: What will the ministry do?

A: We’re going to promote adoptions from rescue centers
and shelters. Also we will promote therapy dogs to visit the homebound and those at nursing homes. Another thing we are going to do is collect donations for different shelters. We will also promote health/wellness, which means we will encourage people to walk their dogs.

For more information, send an email to NoahsArk@stambrose.us or
check out the parish website at StAmbrose.us. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on Community, and then click on the Noah’s Ark picture. The first meeting is at 7 p.m. on June 15th in Hilkert Hall room 3, but please send an email first and sign up.

By Brianna Steffen, Grade 5

Have you always wanted to help people but didn’t know how? My family and I recently went to a nursing home because after church we wanted to do good deeds. We decided to bring friendly cards to the residents. When we went, we met a nurse named Dawn. She told us she had some people for us to meet. After we gave our cards to them, my heart felt like I should do nice things like this always.

I believe that all of us here at St. Ambrose can put smiles on the faces of the residents who live there. Let’s give Easter baskets for Easter. They can be filled with chocolates, cards and coloring pictures. We would need to make about 90 Easter baskets, because there are 90 people who live there.

If you want to make a nursing home resident happy, why don’t you make a card or donate a basket or chocolate? I would really appreciate your help with this project. Bring all cards, pictures and basket/candy donations to room 101, and we will deliver them on our next trip. If you want to go with us to visit the residents, come to room 101 and ask for John. We’d love to have you go!

By John Monnin, Grade 4