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Home > Archive > Oct 3, 2007

Local Students Unite in Service and Patriotism
By Cami Cox
Staff Writer
A patriotic flame has been lit within the students of Snow Canyon Middle School.
On Sept. 11, SCMS language arts teacher Nicole Hadley and her eighth- and ninth-grade pupils launched “Support the Troops,” a campaign aimed at inciting patriotism within the students and spurring them to serve the hundreds of Utah men and women who are overseas serving them.
“I wanted my students to understand that everything they have and every choice they have, everything they experience has been bought for them and paid for (by the sacrifice of others),” Hadley said.
In cooperation with the Family Readiness Group, an organization composed of the wives of deployed servicemen, the Snow Canyon students are in the process of writing letters and cards and compiling care packages to send to 700 local servicemen and women, members of the 222nd and 145th, currently deployed in Iraq. The students are in the midst of collecting gifts and other items for the soldiers – things the military doesn't provide for them – to ship to Iraq by Christmas. Hadley, her students and others getting in on the “Support the Troops” act at SCMS are soliciting the support of the community to help them collect these items to send overseas.
“It ranges from, like, beef jerky to Febreze packets to games and seasons of 'The Office,' 'CSI,' stuff like that,” eighth-grader Brad Wood, 13, said.
Wood admits he originally intended to let others in his class do the bulk of the work when he learned about the project, but he quickly caught the patriotic fire and has personally collected around $400 to purchase items to send to the troops.
“I was thinking that at first, and then I was the one who went out there and got all that. It was pretty fun,” Wood said. “I learned it was pretty fun to help out people other than ourselves.”
“The troops really have a hard time over there, and it's nice for us to help out and make their time over there a little bit easier,” Ali Eardley, 13, said.
In addition to the care package collection project, students in Hadley's class have been learning about patriotism and military service in a variety of ways. They're currently reading “Anthem” by Ayn Rand, Hadley said, which is a book that discusses individualism, liberty and freedom.
“Our 'Support the Troops' campaign pairs along with that really well,” she said. “It's also been a good motivator to get them excited about doing something real in the community.”
Hadley has also brought guest speakers into the classroom to talk to the students about patriotism, and she has shared experiences with the students, as well.
Hadley and her husband formerly lived in Manhattan, and they know many people who were present during the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, she said. Her boss in Manhattan actually worked in the Trade Center but was late for work that morning and, therefore, was safe when the attacks occurred.
“She was really lucky,” Hadley said. “Her two sisters were walking in between the two buildings when the first plane hit.”
Hadley was able to share various such stories about Sept. 11, firsthand accounts from people she knows, with her students during their “Support the Troops” kickoff, and she also showed them a tribute video about the attacks. The students then wrote down their feelings and thoughts about Sept. 11, and their writings were posted on what has come to be known as “The Freedom Wall” outside Hadley's classroom.
Also on Sept. 11, when Hadley kicked off the “Support the Troops” project in her classes, she invited the wives of two local servicemen, both group leaders for the FRG, to speak to the students. Along with their remarks and experiences, the women shared with the students a list of items needed and wanted by the soldiers, things like chewing gum, snack chips, magazines, phone cards, movies and favorite TV shows the soldiers have been missing while overseas. The students then took up the task of collecting as many of the listed items as they can. If the students are able to collect enough items to stack from the floor to the ceiling in Hadley's classroom, the teacher has promised to book a very special guest to visit them – current Miss Utah Jill Stevens, a combat veteran who served a year in Afghanistan.
One of Hadley's primary objectives in starting the “Support the Troops” endeavor, in addition to inspiring patriotism in her students, has been to incorporate service learning into her classroom and teach the kids the importance of serving others. In working to support the troops, students in Hadley's class say their eyes have been opened to the sacrifices that have been made for them by members of the military – sacrifices some of them say they've never appreciated before now.
“I learned that there's a price for freedom – lives, blood, tears, everything,” Wood said. “Sometimes, people aren't as grateful as they should be, and it kind of let us realize that – we need to be more grateful.”

Nicole Hadley's classes will be collecting letters, cards and items for local servicemen and women until Nov. 2. Anyone in the community interested in contributing to the effort should bring items (please see accompanying list) to Hadley's classroom at Snow Canyon Middle School, 1215 N. Lava Flow Dr. in St. George. To contact Hadley, call SCMS at 674-6474.

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