NORTH SMITHFIELD – From singing carols for seniors, to donating blood and providing hundreds of gifts to families in need, students and staff in the North Smithfield School District have been busy this season spreading cheer through more than a dozen recent events and initiatives.
Supt. Michael St. Jean highlighted the good works at the first meeting for new members of the North Smithfield School Committee, listing efforts over the past month at all three district schools.
“Between Thanksgiving and Christmas there are so many events,” said St. Jean. “We just want to highlight some of the events and the activities that our students are doing.”
Faculty and staff at North Smithfield High School provided more than 100 gifts for local families through the Giving Tree, and the National Honor Society added baskets full of personal hygiene products for each of the recipients. The Honor Society also hosted a separate initiative dubbed Toys for Treats.
“Community members brought in a present to donate to families in need,” said St. Jean. “In return the received a box filled with treats and Santa visited.”
As always, music students entertained their peers and visitors at the school’s annual holiday concerts.
NSHS students also purchased and wrapped gifts for ten families through the Adopt a Family program in collaboration with the Woonsocket Elks this year, delivering more than 200 gifts to those in northern Rhode Island in the initiative’s 25th year. High school chorus members, meanwhile, sang Christmas carols for residents at St. Antoine, and the high school environmental club led a session on making holiday ornaments with recyclable materials in alignment with the school’s Go Green initiative.
And a blood drive held at the school in December brought in 68 units of blood – enough to help save 204 lives.
At the middle school, students went caroling, ran their own giving tree to provide needed gifts for the holidays, and took part in a “deck the doors” competition. Hundreds of food items were collected at a drive organized and run by the North Smithfield National Junior Honor Society, and the school’s food pantry helped to provide meals for local families in need. Middle school health classes made cards for soldiers through the Holidays for Heroes program.
At North Smithfield Elementary School, a Winter Wonderland Family Night collected items for both the North Smithfield Food Pantry and Animal Shelter, bringing out some 200 families. The NSES Giving Tree provided items for 14 families, including multiple gifts for 26 students. Families and staff members also donated food items and funds to purchase groceries and gift cards for Thanksgiving food baskets.
A complete – and long – list of holiday activities was published on the district’s Facebook page.
“In the spirit of the holidays NSPS staff, students, and families have been coming together to give and celebrate,” the district noted.
