By JENNIFER MEIER
CORRESPONDENT
—
MIDDLEBURY — It might sound like a massive undertaking to get fourth- and fifth-graders to clean up their school campus, but really all it took was an invitation.
Northridge High School history and German teacher Byron Brown initiated the Heritage Helps Out afternoon as part of his principal internship program.
With that simple invitation, 180 Heritage Intermediate students stayed after school Thursday to beautify school campus, including Northridge High School, Northridge Middle School, Orchardview Elementary, the Administration Building, the football and soccer fields, as well as their own school.
In just one hour the campus was clean and the students were treated to a popsicles.
“This was fantastic!” Brown said. “For the first year, it was a great turnout. It’s helping the school build its own culture.”
Brown, who created the program to coincide with Arbor and Earth days, hopes it will become an annual event.
“They did such a great job and had a lot of fun,” Brown said. “One girl found a rabbit’s skull and was thrilled to have found what she called a ‘fossil!’ And another girl found two dollar bills!”
Brown said many of the students were thanking him and the seven teachers who also stayed to help for the experience.
