Tie Dyeing Shirts in Memory of Parsley Students

This year's Community Service Project was inspired by Parsley student Zach Mayo who spent much of the last year in and out of hospitals.  Realizing that wearing hospital gowns day after day is not fun for any child, former Parsley student, Jordan Pipkin, wanted to create a non-profit organization that would brighten the hospital stays for children by providing t-shirt hospital-style gowns.  With help from her mom, Shannon Pipkin, they were able to make this dream come true. 

Parsley chose to be a part of this special project by tie dyeing t-shirts.  Parsley students donated t-shirts in sizes from child small through adult sizes.  More than 600 t-shirts were tie dyed by all students and many staff members.  

For an entire week during art class, Art teacher, Mrs. Sload led the students through the tie dying process.  She demonstrated a variety of ways to prepare the shirts for dyeing. 

The students, Kindergarten through 5th grade, each took a shirt and folded, twisted, tied, or crumpled their shirts and secured them with multiple rubber bands. 



The students had the option of dipping their shirts into one of three sets of colors.  Mrs. Sload showed the students how to do this as well and then it was up to the students to dye their shirts.  Dipping the shirts in each color for a few seconds, the process was now complete.

After sitting for twenty four hours, the shirts were unwrapped and hung to dry before being washed.  The end results, each one unique, created beautiful designs and patterns.

Our t-shirts will be transformed into hospital garments by e-Z Tee volunteers who will cut open the back of each shirt and sew on ties.  These special shirts will then be distributed to children who are sick in the hospital here in Wilmington, in Chapel Hill and in Cincinnati, where Zack was treated for several months. Accompanying each shirt is a 'Get Well' card made by a Parsley student.

 

This project could not have been successful without help from many parent volunteers who not only assisted students during art class but also helped behind the scenes.

Our participation in helping make these e-Z Tees is our way of honoring and remembering Zack and another former Parsley student, Sergio Conseco-Martinez.   Though no longer with us, we carry their memories in our hearts.

Special Sack Lunches for Habitat for Humanity Volunteers

Students in Mrs. Postemski's 3rd grade classes have had a heart for community service for many years.  Over the years they have performed service in a variety of ways, but one project they have participated in for several years has been to make sandwiches for the volunteers working with Habitat for Humanity.

Students donate the fixings for the bag lunches and then each help to prepare a sandwich.  This year's lunches included a sandwich, an apple, and cookies.  The students also decorated the bags.  Though the lunches are much appreciated, it is the handwritten letters to each volunteer that are most cherished.

Parsley Patriots Clean the Beach

After learning about the importance of keeping the environment clean for sea turtles and other marine life, the students were ready to do their part in an outreach community service project helping clean up the beach. In May and June, K-2 and then 3-5 students took a field trip to Carolina Beach to pick up trash on the beach behind the boardwalk.

Following the May beach clean-up, the Mayor of Carolina Beach conducted a tile installation ceremony, featuring handmade ceramic tiles by Parsley students. Each K-5 student made a tile that now beautifies the beach’s boardwalk.

This community service project made the students more aware of the importance of not littering, especially in environments that endanger our wildlife. We are also proud to have been a part of the beautification of the boardwalk.

View the movie and listen to some third graders talk about their community service experiences.

Mrs. Warnes' 3rd grade was researching Sea Turtles and found a website they thought was a good source of information and wanted to share it with the rest of Parsley's students.
Defenders of Wildlife: Sea Turtles
As you read the webpage, you can learn:

• the name for a sea turtle's shell
• which species are the smallest and the largest
• about their diet
• about clutch size (how many eggs they lay)
• about some of the threats they face in today's world
• and more!

You can also use this website to learn about other animals.

Thanks, Mrs. Warnes' class, for sharing!

Have you found other web sources that you think we should add to our blog?

K-2 Students Beach Clean-Up

K-2 students went to Carolina Beach on Wed., May 19 to clean up the beach.
See video taken by WECT TV.

Learning About Sea Turtles

One of our first steps in being able to help sea turtles is to first learn about them and their environment and how we have a responsibility to do all we can to protect them. On February 23, Parsley had two special guests: Susi Clontz, Coordinator for Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Project and Jennifer Metzler-Fiorino, Outreach Coordinator for NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher.


We learned so many things! Students learned about the carapace and other special names for a sea turtle's body parts. They saw pictures of different types of sea turtles and were amazed to see how large some sea turtles can grow. They learned how hard a female turtle works to build a nest to lay her eggs. They heard stories about special sea turtles that have been rescued, treated for injuries, and successfully released back into the ocean. They also now better understand how important it is to not litter because that litter not only hurts our environment but also poses a risk to sea life.

sea turtle	Ms. Metzler-Fiorino shares turtle artifacts
	Ms. Clontz shared with us a recent video from a loggerhead boil. A boil is when the hatching sea turtles come to the surface in mass making the sand look like boiling water.
sea turtle skull

Please share with us what YOU learned at the assembly or anything you may have discovered on your own.

To post your comment, click on the comment link below. In the comment text box, first type your first name, grade and teacher's name (ex. John/5 Benson) in the text box and then tell us something interesting you learned. You can also ask questions about sea turtles here and if we don't have the answer we'll contact Ms. Clontz and Ms. Metzler-Fiorino for the answers. To post your comment, select 'Anonymous' from the 'Comment as:' drop-down menu and then click the Post Comment button.

Parsley Participates in Service Projects

Parsley Elementary School has a history of commitment to community service. Some of our projects over the years have included donating food and hats, gloves and scarves, making cards for veterans, singing at a nursing home, and making sandwiches for Habitat for Humanity. We have collected and sent toiletries for Domestic Violence Shelters and books to other schools including one in the Outer Banks that was devastated by a hurricane. We've collected money for Katrina victims, and most recently for the Red Cross for Haiti Relief.

One of our goals with service projects is to actively involve our students. Last year, all students participated in the painting of chairs and stools that were auctioned at "Arts Alive". Proceeds from the auction were used to purchase supplies that were used to make and decorate Easter Baskets that were filled with treats and then distributed to families through Meals on Wheels. Every student participated in this project both in the painting of the auctioned item and in the assembly or decorating of the baskets.

In 2010-2011, when this blog was created, our students participated in a Sea Turtle Project. Students learned about sea turtles and what we can do to help protect them. Funded with half the profit Parsley made from the fundraiser, Art By Me, all of Parsley's students created clay tiles that were incorporated in a beautification project for the boardwalk of Carolina Beach. Toward the end of the school year, students will be participated in a beach clean up at Carolina beach.