DATE: Saturday, November 29, 1997           TAG: 9711290215

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY REBECCA MYERS CUTCHINS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:  100 lines

ALLIANCE SCHOOL PUTS EMPHASIS ON SERVICE

A new program at Alliance Christian School is aiming to have its students become the start of Generation Excellent.

A parochial school, Alliance Christian has added to its curriculum a program dubbed Generation Excellent, a movement that calls for all students to participate in community service projects.

``The purpose is to counteract the negative `Generation X' label placed on young people these days,'' said development director Ruth DiGeorge, who came up with the idea. ``Each grade level is going to do a project for the community to show that kids do care about other people - they do have a purpose in life.''

Earlier this week, about three dozen first-graders expressed appreciation for their neighborhood firefighters by presenting them with baskets full of fruit and a collection of handmade ``thank you'' cards.

DiGeorge said she has been thinking about the idea for a long time.

``I thought if we could start in kindergarten, teaching kids how important it is to serve their community, that by the time they're seniors, it may be second-nature,'' she said. ``And then that can be a part of their lives everywhere they go.''

The projects range from kindergartners' adopting ``grandparents'' at a nearby Sentara Nursing Center to seniors' helping to build a Habitat for Humanity home.

``Through these 13 projects, kids will learn the importance of recognizing and meeting the needs of others,'' DiGeorge said.

In kindergarten through fifth grade, the projects take on themes that focus on character values like respect, encouragement, sharing, generosity and love.

The trip to the fire station was a lesson in ``thankfulness,'' said first-grade teacher Carolyn Poteat.

``Each of the children brought fruit to give to the firemen as a `thank you' for the jobs they do for us,'' Poteat said.

In return, the firefighters at Station 9 on Hodges Ferry Road gave the children a tour of their ``home away from home.''

``It's rare that we ever get gifts,'' Lt. Mike Stockton acknowledged.

In grades six through 12, the projects incorporate academics so that students can begin to make the connection between the classroom and the community, DiGeorge said.

Seventh-graders, for example, will tutor home-schooled children in computer literacy, using the software programs Windows 95, Microsoft Word and Paintbrush.

After studying the history of Portsmouth, eighth-graders will take children from the CANDII House (the Children's AIDS Network Designed for Interfaith Involvement) on a tour of the Olde Towne historic district.

``We want the kids to look forward to each upcoming year,'' DiGeorge said. ``I'm sure the first few years, we'll probably refine it, and it'll get better and better.''

Generation Excellent will become a permanent part of the curriculum at the school, said the school's administrator, Cliff Williams.

``We're a Christian school, so the focus is to actually live out their faith, but I can see how it could be adjusted to work in a public school system and be community-focused,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: MARK MITCHELL/The Virginian-Pilot

Portsmouth firefighter Ray Bierbaum shows first-graders from

Alliance Christian School how to stay low if there's a fire. The

students gave the firefighters baskets of fruit and handmade ``thank

you'' cards.

GENERATION EXCELLENT PROJECTS

Kindergartners at Alliance Christian School adopted

``grandparents'' at a Sentara Nursing Center. The value learned is

respect.

First-graders at the school made fruit baskets and ``thank you''

cards for firefighters at a nearby fire station. The lesson learned

is thankfulness.

Second-graders will collect food for the Oasis soup kitchen and

tour the facility to understand how their contributions will be used

to benefit others. The lesson learned is encouragement.

Third-graders will adopt pre-schoolers from a youth club and

read stories to them. The lesson learned is sharing.

Fourth-graders will collect canned goods, cleaning supplies and

other items for the Ronald McDonald House. The lesson learned is

generosity.

Fifth-graders will become pen pals with teen-agers in foster

care, send them Christmas presents and plan a Valentine's Day party

for foster care workers. The lesson learned is love.

Sixth-graders will collect pledges for a jump rope competition

that benefits the American Heart Association. The lesson learned is

health.

Seventh-graders will tutor home-schooled children in computer

literacy - how to use Windows 95, Microsoft Word and Paintbrush.

Eighth-graders will study Portsmouth's historic district and take

children from the CANDII House in Norfolk on a tour of Olde Towne.

Freshmen will perform a play from a literary work for patients at

Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters and a Norfolk retirement

home.

Sophomores will run a math camp, using fun projects to teach math

skills to students from an elementary school.

Juniors will provide signs displaying the various plant species

within City Park. Afterward, they'll take a class of special-needs

children on a tour of the park and its trails.

Seniors will work on a Habitat for Humanity house for one week

in May.

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