Westonka Students Celebrate Work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Westonka Students Celebrate Work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Hilltop students pack meals for Many Hands Many Meals.
Westonka students celebrated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in January. Although the holiday that celebrates the civil rights leader’s birthday was a no-school day for students, educators took opportunities during January to have students learn about Dr. King’s work and his contributions to society.
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and in the spirit of giving back, Hilltop Primary School students packed 33,048 meals in only three hours on Jan. 26 to combat world hunger. Hilltop has hosted Many Hands Many Meals (MHMM) of Excelsior for the past 11 years, surpassing 250,000 meals for children in need around the world. This year’s meals are expected to go to Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa.
The school raised over $4,000 to help support the packing event. “We are so lucky to be able to have all of our students participate in this event,” said Principal Mike Moch. “Each student played a special role in the packing event, along with 30 outstanding volunteers from our school community who helped the students.”
MHMM is a volunteer-driven organization committed to inspiring, engaging and educating people, starting with children, by packaging life-saving meals that ease world hunger. For more information, visit the MHMM website.
Kindergartners at Shirley Hills Primary School celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by reading books like “Martin’s Big Words,” creating pictures of how they would like to see the future, and making a collaborative poster about being fair and kind.
Westonka Middle School students did a classroom lesson on Dr. King’s work and watched clips of some of his famous speeches. “We talked about his work and how his dream applies today, right here at WMS,” said Principal Christy Zachow. “Students wrote messages about what they can do to support his work.”