KSBW 8 ran a story that mentioned Mockingbird on September 16, 2015.
LOS GATOS, Calif. — Hillbrook School 8th graders from Los Gatos donated fifteen i-Pads to Loma Prieta third graders.
Two weeks ago a fire destroyed the Loma Prieta Community Center, but today, Loma Prieta third graders received a surprise from a neighboring school.
The third grade students at Loma Prieta Elementary School learned first hand what it means to show goodwill.
“We heard of the tragic fire and we just wanted to help out anyway we could,” Hillbrook 8th grader, Alex Nickel said.
Alex is one of five Hillbrook School 8th graders from Los Gatos who brought 15 iPads to distribute to Ms. Drazen’s third grade class. A gift that brought smiles to her 24 students.
“Having this donation is just going to make it so much easier for us to move forward,” Loma Prieta third-grade teacher, Kate Drazen said.
The five eighth grades learned a valuble less in community service:
“The 8th graders got together and thought how can we help serve the community. This seemed like a natural way,” Hillbrook School’s Director of Technology, Bill Saleck said.
Recently, a group of collegiate players and coaches donated 160 track and soccer uniforms to replace those destroyed in the fire.
“We wanted the kids to feel good about themselves in the sporting fields and the gym. We wanted to replace uniforms so they could be part of the school,” CT Middle School Athletic Director, Nancy Lanovaz said.
The fire that destroyed the school’s community center was unintentionally set by a local teen.
It will take time to recoup the losses and these donations are a big help towards that goal.
“We are still waiting to be able to have access to the building. It’s currently red tagged, so as the demolition moves forward, we’ll be able to see the structural damage inside,” Superintendent-Principal, Corey Kidwell of Loma Prieta Joint Union School District said.
For now, it’s neighbor helping neighbor and making new friends.
“It’s great to see the smiles on the kid’s faces,” 8th grader Alex Nickel said.
“I think that it’s very good that they’re trying to help us recover after the fire,” third grader, Chayce Milheim of Loma Prieta Elementary School said.
After students got to check out the donated iPads, Ms. Drazen reminder her class,
“What do you say to them? Thank you!”The music department also got a donation from The Mockingbird Foundation, a non-profit founded by fans of the rock band PHISH.
They donated $1,000 to highlight the importance of music education in school.