GATE Operation: Bag-Of-Hope

The Gifted and Talented Program of the Santa Paula Elementary School District launched Operation G.A.T.E., “Giving Aid Touches Everyone,” a series of service projects in the community. Operation GATE provides concrete ways for the gifted students to act upon their caring. The students help the community while learning academic skills and meeting their social and emotional needs. “ As educators, we have the opportunity and the obligation to prepare students fully to assume their roles as global citizens. How? By helping them to acquire academic skills and knowledge, certainly. Yet, equally important, by helping them to appreciate themselves and care about others. It is important to create opportunities where our gifted students can take an active role in volunteering to improve what they care about. That is what Operation G.A.T.E. is all about!” Leslie Borchard, Gifted and Talented Education Facilitator for Santa Paula Elementary School District. The first service project, Operation: Bag-Of-Hope, was centered on helping children who have lost their home or belongings in the recent Southern California wildfires. GATE classes at Blanchard, McKevett, Glen City and Isbell Schools organized Project: Bag-Of-Hope at their sites. They designed a plan to collect donations of small, new, objects that would put a smile on a child’s face. They advertised the need for donations through fliers, posters, and presentations at assemblies and classrooms. The sixth grade GATE students at Isbell Middle School wrote to business in the community asking for corporate donations. The gifted students wrote sympathy letters and poems to the children who would receive the bags of goodies.Rick Cadman, a principal at Blanchard School was excited to have his students participate, “The students were eager to participate. Operation G.A.T.E. is an excellent opportunity for each student to grow as a person.” Empathy and Compassion are the words for December’s Character Development Program at Blanchard School.The first service project was a huge success! The GATE students collected enough objects to fill over 200 paper bags that trader Joes in Ventura donated. The Friends of the Chumash helped deliver the bags of hope to children who had been affected by the fires in Ventura, San Bernardino, and San Diego Counties. The success was, not only, felt by the children who were helped, but also, by the students who organized the projects. “ We got so many great things for the bags. So many of the kids are going to smile; I have goose bumps!” Anthony Ontiveros, a fifth grade student at Glen City School. The students were so proud of themselves. It is so important to show children that they can make a difference in the world! The Gifted and Talented Program will launch another Operation “Giving Aid Touches Everyone” after the holiday break!