The following piece was writen at the request of the Monroe News which was preparing its annual look at what the area's schools and students were doing around Christmas time.  Thanks to the principals who respnded with information to help compile this story.  

By Bobb Vergiels

            Collecting cans of food, adopting families, writing letters from home to soldiers in faraway lands, taking to the neighborhoods to deliver Christmas cards and sing carols, and entertaining in dozens of places in our community. Those were the efforts put forth by Monroe Public Schools students, staff and families as they cared about their neighbors and shared with them as the Christmas holiday approached. 

            Singers and instrumentalists from Monroe Public Schools – from the youngest second and third graders to high school seniors – performed nearly 40 times in public as the holiday season approached.  In fact, the groups – performing many of their shows on the weekends – averaged about a show a day somewhere in the community from early November until just before Christmas’

            Each school was active, too.  Here by building is a compilation of the holiday-related activities leading up to the holidays.

Arborwood Elementary Campus – Students and staff sponsored a Giving Tree which benefitted 16 local families, including 47 Arborwood students.  Wrapped gifts were donated and money donations were collected for hygiene products for the sponsored families.

Custer Elementary Schools – Enlisting the help of students, staff and parents, the Custer Student Council collected 38 boxes of food and household items to help the community, donating the goods to the Monroe County Opportunity Program

A number of Custer students designed Christmas cards and sent them to local military personnel serving in the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force. 

Two Custer families were “adopted” and members of the school family filled their wish list for them.

The Custer Choir spread some joy in the adjoining neighborhoods when the singers performed Christmas carols for the neighbors. 

Manor Elementary School – The school “adopted” three families, providing them with gifts of toys and clothes. 

            Students made holiday cards to send to soldiers serving overseas.

            Students also donated items to the Humane Society to make sure their furry friends also has a dog-gone good holiday.  Manor and the nearby shelter have had a close relationship for many years. 

Raisinville Elemetnary School --

Raisinville was very active in working with the community.  First, items were collected for The Department of Human Services to serve adults in need.  There school also hosted a food drive to serve the less fortunate in Monroe.

Four-footed friends of Raisinville also benefitted.  A dog and cat food drive was held to benefit the Humane Society’s animals.  To compliment this drive, the Raisinville Positive Behavior Intervention System Committee and the Raisinville Critter Club, created a school-wide cat and dog toy craft activity.  More than 150 blankets and 200 toys for the animals were made and donated along with the dog and cat food.

Waterloo Elementary School – The school PTO organized a giving tree for a Waterloo family, providing them with toys, clothes and household items donated by various members of the Waterloo family, including staff, students and PTO members.

            Prior to the school’s Christmas break, as is a familiar tradition at the school, Waterloo students went door-to-door delivering Christmas cards to the school’s neighbors.

Monroe Middle School – MMS decided to have some good-natured competition to help the less fortunate over the holidays.  For instance, a certain numbers of points were “earned” for various activities which produced some tasty prizes for the winning rooms before the Christmas break.

The school held a very successful canned food drive.  Several classes also wrote handmade Christmas cards to service men and women. 

Several groups held a “Penny War” in the cafeteria.  Every penny was worth positive points and any other coins were negative points.  But the real winner was the Monroe Public Schools Promise Fund, which provides boots, coats and other wearables and sometime lodging to needy MPS families. 

Throughout December, teachers also could pay money to wear jeans for the whole month, with the money being split between the Promise Fund, the National Junior Honor Society for its community projects or the Trojan Pride Project and Needy Student Fund.

Orchard Center High School – The school held an America Red Cross blood drive to help re-stock depleted blood inventories in the community.

Monroe High School – MHS had so many holiday-related activities going on that even Santa Claus might had gotten tired. 

            Nearly 35 classes decided to do something during the holiday season.  For instance, three classrooms “adopted” families from Raisinville, Waterloo and Manor schools.  Two classes “adopted” families identified by the Salvation Army. 

            Eight classrooms did activities on behalf of the Humane Society shelter.  For instance, one class made fleece blankets and several collected food and other items for the animals at the shelter 

            Hundreds of cans of non-perishable food were collected by the sophomore class to be provided to local food banks.

            Several groups, including the MHS student council, made fleece blankets for those less fortunate and those living in shelters.  Holiday cards also were made and delivered to the residents of the Lutheran Home.  The student council members also helped out at a recent GodWorks! Dinner.

            More than 800 Christmas cards were signed and delivered to the American Red Cross to distribute to members of the military serving overseas during the holidays.

            Monroe-area homeless shelters were well taken care of.  One class knit scarves for homeless shelter residents and another group donated blankets, clothing and toys for the children living at the Oaks or Righteousness Center.

            Two classrooms collected new books to provide to C.S. Mott’s Children’s Hospital for pediatric cancer patients so they have something to read as they go through their treatment regimen. 

And MHS students and staff did not forget their own at Christmas, either.  Several groups collected money and donations for Hope’s Closet, which is a room at Monroe High School, where various articles of clothing and toiletries are housed so MHS students who are in need can go there and get what they need in a not-threatening setting.

Administration Building – The central staff collected underwear, socks, toiletries and school supplies for the district’s Promise Fund.  Money also was collected for the Promise Fund to provide food, shelter, gas cards and such for distrirct families living in transition.