Bashaw Elementary practices community service

Ten-year-old Kaden Daft doesn't mind waking up at 6:30 a.m. during the school week.

He looks forward to racing around a field at Bashaw Elementary, setting up plastic golf clubs to be used by physical education instructor Melissa Dowling's classes.

"We don't get recess every day, so this is my activity I can do to get outside," said Daft, who was wiping sweat from his forehead.

Although school doesn't start until 8:30 a.m. at Bashaw Elementary, Daft gets there 30 minutes early Monday through Friday to help Dowling, and that earns him community service hours.

In September, the school launched a program for fifth-graders to earn hours by participating in a school club or activity, such as the recycling club or being a P.E. helper, which is the position Daft holds.

Daft helps Dowling about 30 minutes each day.

"All three of the P.E. teachers here have a few helpers in the morning," Dowling said. "They take pride in what they do. They come see me every morning, and they know what they're doing. They say, 'Oh, we got this.' The work is good for them. It teaches them responsibility."

The school wants students to donate 10 hours each quarter. Assistant Principal Beth Marshall said students who meet that goal are rewarded with a field trip at the end of the quarter.

Brianne Alexander and other fifth-grade teachers came up with the idea to promote leadership and give students a sense of responsibility. She said the program develops role models.

"Younger students look up to the fifth-graders," Alexander said.

School faculty members hope students are learning "big picture concepts" that can help them become contributors to their community.

"Community service teaches students skills they will use after they leave here, and also later in life," Marshall said. "We always talk to them about community service. This is their community and they're helping here."

For students Matthew Francailla, Gabriel and Nathan Alpert and Angelo Campanale, service hours mean they learn how to focus on the planet and environmental health. Five mornings a week, the Recycle Club members collect items from teachers' bins to be recycled.

Nathan Alpert said only a few teachers had recycle bins when they started, but not almost every teacher on campus recycles.

"We're making the school a better place, a cleaner place," Francailla said. "And it's fun."

Alpert and his twin brother, Gabriel, appreciate the goals they are trying to accomplish.

"No pain, no gain," Alpert said.