By Victoria Mairal-Cruz, ’12, Contributor
On Friday, Nov. 20, Middle School students passed 2,092 pounds of turkey from student to student as part of the third annual Turkey Train. Middle School students brought in 161 turkeys for House of Refuge Mission Thanksgiving Food Drive, which provides food for many Cincinnati families in need during the holidays. Additionally, the Upper School and Lower School together donated a total of 1,597 food items to the cause.
The event started with an assembly in the Dining Terrace, where Head of School Dr. Rob Macrae spoke about the importance of giving back to our community. “We are at our happiest in life when we are serving others,” he said.
Mr. John Polasko, Middle School Head and “brainchild” of the Turkey Train, reminded students, “You’re handling someone’s meal here, so you have to respect that… let’s try not to drop anything.” Then, the entire Middle School lined up starting at the grass area in front of the Upper School science rooms, up the front steps, down the zig-zag ramp, and leading up to a freezer truck provided by United Dairy Farmers which transported the turkeys to the House of Refuge Mission.
Middle School Spanish teacher Elvira Carrillo said, “The [students] get very excited because they can share what they have with others… every time they pass [a turkey] it’s [for] a different family.” Mr. Brady Brandt, a Middle School math teacher, agreed that touching the turkeys is important, because the kids “get to feel how much they’re really contributing by all the turkeys that come through.” Seventh grader Hannah Taylor liked “that we’re passing them together as a community.”
At the end of the line, turkeys were finally passed up to eighth graders George Chantilas, Trey Hawkins, and Reid Gaede who were inside the freezer truck. When asked about his favorite part of the event, Chantilas replied that he liked that “I’m doing good for all sorts of people. It feels amazing, except that it’s a lot colder inside the truck.”
Service Learning Coordinator Bonnie Nesbitt, who helped organize the event, said, “my favorite part of the food drive this year was how the Lower School students got so excited about collecting more than the Upper School students. One fourth grader brought in over 40 cans.” According to Mrs. Nesbitt, many of the Middle School teachers seem to have “as much fun as the kids as the turkeys are passed.”
Mrs. Cindy Watlington, a co-coordinator for the Turkey Train from The House of Refuge Mission, explained that the organization will feed about 500 to 1,000 families between this Thanksgiving and Christmas. Watlington said, “nothing compares to what [CCDS] does for us all year.”
Photo by Ilana Habib.