SMS Team 8B Service-Learning Project

SMS Team 8B Service-Learning Project:
C ivil War Battlefield Preservation

Welcome

How The Project Began

2004-2005 Project

2003-2004 Project

Sample Preservation Letters

Project Fundraiser

Fundraiser Flyer

Preservation Contributions

Special Tribute to Students

Student Service-Learning

Questions About Student Service-Learning

Preservation Photos

Preservation Links

Press Coverage

Welcome

Welcome to the official web site for Southampton Middle School's Team 8B service-learning project: Civil War Battlefield Preservation. Southampton Middle School is a proud member of Harford County Public Schools in Northeast Maryland. The students and teachers of Team 8B have participated in this fundraiser project since the 2002-2003 school year. Please take the time to review our efforts to save America's Civil War Battlefields.

How The Project Began

The project began as a result of social studies teacher Mr. Rinehart's involvement with the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT). After attending the annual Teacher's Institute and reading CWPT's quarterly magazine, Hallowed Ground, he began to see a cause that was worthy of his students' time and energy. Using preservation information that was part of CWPT's fall 2002 curriculum, Team 8B teachers decided to proceed with the project, introducing three primary goals:

1) that the students would become aware of what preservation means
2) that the students and teachers would implement the Civil War Preservation Trust curriculum to save American Civil War battlefields
3) that the students would engage in preservation efforts, which included writing preservation letters to their representatives in Annapolis, Maryland and Washington, D.C., and organizing and advertising a two-month school-wide fundraiser

All of the goals for the 2002-2003 preservation project were accomplished. Students acquired a greater knowledge and appreciation of what preservation means to our society and to themselves. In addition, students and teachers enjoyed exchanging information and ideas using the Civil War Preservation Trust curriculum. Students subsequently expressed their ideas and opinions to their government representatives. Finally, the fundraiser was tremendously successful, as the students of Southampton Middle School contributed $1,710 toward the preservation of American Civil War battlefields. This money was donated to the Civil War Preservation Trust. Team 8B requested that half the money ($855) go to Antietam Battlefield, and that the other half go to Bentonville Battlefield in North Carolina, the most endangered Civil War battlefield in the United States. According to CWPT employees, our contribution of $1,710 was leveraged five times through matching grants -- which means that our donation was actually worth $8,550!

SMS social studies teacher, Bob Rinehart (left), visits CWPT president, James Lighthizer (right).

2004-2005 Project

The 2004-2005 Project began with 100 students writing letters to their state representatives in Annapolis, Maryland and Washington, D.C. The same number of students designed Service Learning posters to advertise our fundraiser throughout the school building. Several among them also produced and presented 14 PowerPoint shows to the entire student body of Southampton Middle School, encouraging student involvement in the preservation of Civil War battlefields through education, activism and donations.

Having participated in either of the Civil War Preservation Trust’s essay and poster contests, Team 8B students conducted a successful, two-month fundraiser, raising nearly $3000. After the fundraiser, students participated in a statistical analysis of school donations across sixty homerooms.

In early June, Team 8B visited Gettysburg National Military Park, where they presented a $2,950 check to the CWPT. Their visit was enriched by a Civil War scavenger hunt and a two-hour tour of the battlefield. In mid June, students concluded their year by reading and discussing a preservation article in the April 2005 issue of National Geographic, as well as special features posted on National Geographic’s web site on the World Wide Web.

2003-2004 Project

The 2003-2004 Project included our original goals of 2002-2003, plus two additional goals:

1) that the students would write a friendly letter to a "hero," introducing themselves, explaining to the hero why they believe him/her to be heroic, thanking the hero for his/her influence, and informing the hero about the preservation project
2) that the students would create a poster advertising our fund-raiser, using the current Civil War Preservation slogan of "Honor the Past, Preserve the Future"

With these new goals in mind, project instructional time was spent as a team in the lecture hall during integration period (1:25pm-1:55pm) throughout the month of September. Students read and discussed information from a preservation packet they received from the Civil War Preservation Trust. Team 8B teachers created a PowerPoint instructional presentation to coincide with CWPT's curricular materials.

In 2003-2004, students raised $3000, which was dedicated to the preservation of two Civil War battlefields: South Mountain in Maryland and Chancellorsville in Virginia.

Preservation Letters

Each year since 2002, students have written preservation letters to their representatives in Annapolis, Maryland and Washington, D.C.. Here are two outstanding examples of the thought and effort they invested in this important phase of the project:

Sample Letter One

October 15, 2002
To our Government Officials:

I am writing in concern of battlefield preservation, particularly, saving the Chancellorsville Battlefield. Battlefields are constantly being destroyed, and once gone they can not be restored. Approximately one acre is lost every ten minutes. That figure represents 144 acres a day. We lose an average 52,560 acres of historic battle land per year. In Chancellorsville, 17,500 men lost their lives in five hours; one man per second. Developers are currently finalizing plans for this area. They are planning to build 2,350 residential homes. In addition, they will be adding a 2.4 square mile commercial site across the street, thereby desecrating additional battle land. Approximately 10,000 people would move into this development. Most of these families would own more than one car. To introduce that many automobiles to this area will lead to an increase in pollution and congestion. And that is just the beginning. An area with such a high concentration of people will most likely lead to continued development to add restaurants, malls and office buildings. The battlefield won't be the only modern casualty; it will affect the environment, kill animals and destroy their habitats.

This is terribly upsetting considering that this is only one of the major battlefields that are endangered. Preservation is a very important part in maintaining this countries values and standards. It represents the very foundation this great country is built on. If we destroy historical sites we are dishonoring the lives that were lost to protect and defend freedom. If we forget about the past and destroy artifacts from history that teach young and old lessons previously learned, then we are bound to repeat it.

Southampton Middle School is circulating petitions throughout the student body to try to stop this destruction and development. We have received over 1,000 signatures from staff members as well as students. We would be appreciative of any support our government and representatives can offer to represent our position concerning this matter. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration.

Respectfully Yours,
8th grade male student

Sample Letter Two

October 15, 2002
To our Government Officials:

I am an eighth grade student at Southampton Middle School. I am writing you this letter about the nation's battlefields and how and why we should save them. Once these battlefields are gone, they're gone forever. If we don't save them we will never be able to show our future generations the battlefields; the place where our ancestors died to make us free. They tell a story, a story that made us America. We should protect them and encourage peace. Battlefields aren't just a way to honor America and the soldiers that died for us; they're also a place that brings tourists and money that really help the community. Tourists spend money on gas, hotels, and souvenirs, and they all come to see the battlefields. They also cost a lot less than homes would, homes that you could build anywhere. They help kids and adults learn about America's history, and if you believe in freedom and peace you would help preserve the battlefields.

There are many things you could do to help preserve battlefields. You could help by talking to Senators of neighboring states and convince them to help and let them know how much Maryland wants to save the nation's battlefields and how important they are for this country. You could also vote for battlefields on any bill that may concern battlefields. Battlefields teach us and show us what America's all about and I know that you will help not just Maryland, but also America save battlefields. Thank you so much for your time, we really appreciate it.

Sincerely,
8th grade female student

Project Fundraiser

During the project, students sold paper lions (Southampton's mascot) for $.25 each during homeroom and lunch periods. The total school-wide donations for 2002-2003, 2003-2004, and 2004-2005 were $1710, $3000, and $2950 respectively. Our fundraising effort changed slightly for the 2003-2004 project with the addition of the student letters to family members and "heros." While we continue to conduct the school-wide selling of paper lions, our hope is that students' "heros" will read about our project and possibly donate time or money toward the preservation of American Civil War Battlefields. Please see our fundraiser flyer below.

Fundraiser Flyer

Flyer

Preservation Contributions

Year	Battlefield Receiving Money	Southampton Middle School Contribution	Contribution After Leverage
2002-'03	Antietam, Maryland	$850.00	$4,250.00
2002-'03	Bentonville, North Carolina	$850.00	$4,250.00
2003-'04	* Chancellorsville, Virginia	$1,516.00	$18,144.00
2003-'04	South Moutain, Maryland	$1,387.00	$1,387.00
2003-'04	Hatcher's Run, Virginia	$100.00	$200.00
2004-'05	Monocacy, Maryland	$1,450.00	$10,150.00
2004-'05	* Gettysburg, Pennsylvania	$1,500.00	$25,500.00
3 Year Total	=	$7,653.00	$63,881.00

* The Chancellorsville donation bought one acre of land, on which part of Jackson's famed march around Union lines took place. The Gettysburg donation purchased 8.5 acres of land at the Daniel Lady Farm on the Hanover Road.

Special Tribute to Students

The Haunted House

An enthusiastic group of students created a haunted house for pre-schoolers and elementary aged children of the Fox Chase neighborhood in Bel Air, Maryland in order to raise money for our preservation project. Charging $1 for admission, they raised an impressive $50 total.

Congratulations to these students for exceeding the expectations of their peers, teachers, and parents. Their dedication is commendable!

The Mulchkins (Submitted by 4 Southampton Students from Teams 8B, 7C and 6A)

Our journey raising money for the troops in Iraq was exciting, educational, and most of all, fun. One day we came to the door of our neighbor, Ms. Joan, and asked her if we could walk her dogs. She was unsure, but we insisted. Then Ms. Joan asked if we could remove a mulch pile from her driveway. Surprised, Ms. Joan came home the next day to see that the pile was gone. She asked us if we could shovel more of her mulch into her garden, and since our spirits were high, we agreed. After eleven cubic yards of mulch, and many pulled weeds, we earned $550 for the troops in Iraq. Since we exceeded our goal of $400, we decided to donate $150 to our school's fundraiser for the Civil War Preservation Trust. Not only did we earn $550 during this project, but we gained a wonderful friend. Ms. Joan has taken us to many fun places, including the Harford County Farm Fair, as well as onto her beautiful boat quite a few times. We learned valuable lessons from this experience, such as the importance of giving back to our community and to our country. To this day, we continue to raise money with Ms. Joan for other charities. Although the work was very difficult at times, we got through it with teamwork. We remembered our goal, and we were determined to exceed it. Thanks to everyone who helped us, especially our soldiers fighting this war of freedom.

Student Service-Learning

Service-learning links academic learning with student service that benefits the community. Service-learning projects must include academic preparation, service activities, and structured reflection.

Academic Preparation: The students will attend a daily, team-wide meeting in our lecture hall throughout the month of September. During each 30 minute session, we will introduce the concept of service-learning, develop essential cooperative learning and public relations skills, explore related issues and project goals, and organize ourselves so that we can accomplish these goals.

Service Activities: Indirect Service and Advocacy

Indirect Service - The students will organize and advertise a two-month fundraiser for American Civil War Battlefield Preservation. All proceeds will be donated to the Civil War Preservation Trust.

Advocacy - The students will draft a letter expressing their concerns about the destruction of American Civil War battlefields. These letters will be sent to their government representatives in Annapolis, Maryland and Washington D.C..

Structured Reflection: The students will examine the results of our fundraiser to determine the amount of money donated by each homeroom and grade level. Using these statistics, we will look for donation trends throughout our building and discuss how companies and organizations use statistics to operate in the business world. In addition, we will decide which Maryland battlefield site and which out-of-state site should receive portions of our fund-raiser total. Each location will receive 50% of the total. We will use source material provided by the Civil War Preservation Trust to determine the recipients. Finally, our year will conclude with a field trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This trip will allow the students to see this historic location and understand how service-learning projects, volunteering, and citizenship have an impact on the United States of America.

Questions About Student Service-Learning

What is the service-learning graduation requirement? Students must complete one of the following:

a) 75 hours of student service (with preparation and reflection), which, at the discretion of the local school system, may begin during the middle grades
or
b) a locally designed program in student service that has been approved by the State Superintendent of Schools.

How will my child benefit from completing the service requirements? Students involved in service-learning typically demonstrate social, personal, and intellectual growth and development. Service-learning helps them to visualize their roles as responsible citizens and active participants in the solution of community problems. Throughout the project, they significantly improve their teamwork, leadership and problem-solving skills. Additionally, they grow to respect themselves mores as they witness the successful results of their hard work.

Won't this requirement take class time away from "the basics?" Teaching students how to be involved citizens is part of "the basics," and has traditionally been one of the primary purposes of public schools. Recognizing that many students learn best through active, purposeful experiences, The State Board of Education passed the requirement to reinforce the "book learning" that occurs in our schools. The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development has also endorsed required service-learning as a valid method of improving classroom learning. For more information about service-learning and The Maryland Student Service Alliance (MSSA), click the MSSA link on the left. (http://sailor.lib.md.us/mssa/)