MCKINLEY SCHOOL EARLYACT™ CLUB HOSTS ROTARIANS

The EarlyAct™ Club of McKinley School recently hosted members of the Rotary Club of Westfield for a “lunch and learn” experience to highlight their club’s community outreach program. Sponsored by the Rotary Club as part of an initiative of Rotary International founded on the premise that at an early age, students can be encouraged to be caring and helpful. The objective is to create in the children an awareness and knowledge of their community and the world.
According to teacher-moderators Cathy McGarry and Rochelle Sgrignoli, the McKinley club, all fifth graders, meet at lunchtime to work on student conceived and led projects such as, Bring an Extra Sandwich to Lunch. Through this program they have worked out a multi-task method of soliciting and collecting extra lunches brought to the school by its students every Wednesday in the school calendar which are then donated to the Plainfield, NJ Salvation Army.
In celebration of the winter holidays members of the club designed and made unique greeting cards for deployed American soldiers in the middle east. To promote their school-based recycling project, the EarlyAct™ members produced a video, “Using the Force to Recycle” as a teaching tool for the student body on the correct manner to dispose of recyclables. The ingenious video uses Star Wars-related tools such as light sabers made completely of trash. The sound track was provided by student-musicians.
Mrs. Liz Ensslin is Rotary’s liaison to EarlyAct™ and to the Interact program for intermediate school and high school students. “Membership in these two programs is open to all students. It is marvelous to see how well the kids work together, sometimes giving up their free time, on projects that have such a fine impact on the community.
The Rotary Club meets for lunch Tuesdays at the Westfield Area Y. Guests are always welcome.