May 28, 2009
“Nobody” Becomes a Somebody at Greendale Public
A special visitor is helping the grade 2 class at Greendale Public school become community leaders. On Wednesday, June 10, students will share the story of their new-found friend with their parents, school staff and surrounding community.
In January, the class received a very mysterious package. Students were intrigued, and eager to discover what was inside. When they opened the box, they were surprised to find a blue ‘Nobody’ doll. The doll had no gender, no age, no ethnicity, no values, it was truly a nobody.
“The challenge given to this group of students was to turn Nobody into a somebody by giving it positive life experiences,” says Greendale teacher Katie McClymont. “With each positive experience it was engaged in, it slowly, throughout the course of the school year, gained a personality and transformed into a somebody that is special, just like each student.”
Each student in the class had a chance to take Nobody home for a week. During that week, students thought about a type of living thing (a person, animal or the environment) that they wanted to assist. Students then planned a type of social justice project that they could do with Nobody. “Students documented their projects and wrote about what they did, why they did it, and what they learned,” says McClymont.
Some volunteered their time by visiting seniors in long term care homes, others collected food for Community Care, or pet food for the local Humane Society. Some students assisted their neighbours with yard work, while others vowed to be silent for 24 hours and raised money through sponsorship to help build schools in third world countries.
“Character education is an important part of DSBN curriculum,” says McClymont. “Working with Nobody helped build self-esteem by having students use their interests and abilities to help other living things. Also, by adding items to Nobody’s physical appearance, students learn the value of diversity and that we all have something important to contribute.”
For more information about Nobody, please visit www.whoisnobody.com.
Event Details:
Date: Wednesday, June 10
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Greendale Public School, 5504 Montrose Road, Niagara Falls