On Thursday, June 2, the entire seventh grade at Thomas Jefferson Middle School worked together to clean up trash in the area surrounding the school. Divided by homeroom classes, each group was assigned an area to work in, covering Glendale Road, Roosevelt Road to Kirchhoff Park, Fairgrounds Park, Valplayso, and all the way to Vale Park Road. “We do this as a service every year, to give kids experience with community service,” stated Spanish teacher Carolyn Rodea. “I like this [the service project] because you see the kids in a different light,” she went on to say, discussing the students’ willingness to help out the community through the clean up project, “This is the best group I’ve ever had.”
The students were given an extra incentive to gather the most trash through a contest. The Valparaiso Department of Public Works sent one of their trucks to weigh each group’s pile. Anticipation built as each load was weighed, with each class wanting to be first. In a close race between two classes, Linda Cronk’s homeroom took first place, with approximately 478 lbs of trash, including part of a bicycle, a warped piece of sheet metal, two tires, and several rotting logs.
