Rhinelander, WI school projsct

By Heather Schaefer - Daily News Staff
From the Rhinelander, WI Daily News
The third grade class at Nativity of Our Lord School in Rhinelander wants to adopt its own Wilbur the Pig, while other Nativity students are interested in purchasing a water buffalo or perhaps a llama.As part of a special Lenten service project, students at Nativity of Our Lord are “adopting” livestock which they will donate to needy families across the globe through Heifer International's animal adoption program.According to its Web site, Heifer International works to “end hunger and poverty, and care for the earth by providing appropriate livestock, training and related services to small-scale farmers and communities worldwide.”Each family that receives an animal gives the animal's offspring to another family in need so that the cycle of giving never ends, the organization's Web site states.“This concepts helps build community and enhances dignity and participation in each project. The families continually give to others ensuring self-sufficiency, one family at a time,” the web site states.Principal Shirley Heise said each of the school's classes has chosen an animal to adopt and is working feverishly to raise enough money to purchase the particular animal (each animal has a different price, for example one pig costs $120) before Easter, when the project is scheduled to come to an end.Heise said the project started on Ash Wednesday (February 21) when the classes started researching what kind of animal they want to sponsor.“The students are learning how their animals are used, which ones produce milk and which ones can carry a burden,” Heise said, “We're trying to find animals that are long-lasting so the people who get them can get the most out of them.”Besides history, geography, economics, and a bit of animal husbandry, the project will also teach the students to think on a global scale even though they may live in a small town.“It teaches us to live as Jesus did,” Heise said. “God put us here to serve others. We are given so much and we take so much for granted. Our students are learning about the struggles of other children just to get an education.”Heise said the students have embraced the project with considerable enthusiasm.The third grade class is tying the project to their reading of the classic children's book ‘Charlotte's Web' (thus the plan to adopt a pig) and will also perform the play “Charlotte's Web” on March 29.Students are even giving up allowance money to the cause.“Some of the kids chose to give up candy for Lent and they are putting the money towards purchasing an animal,” Heise said. “We also had some students who baby-sat over the weekend and donated their wages,” she added.A recent soup night fundraiser also raised $452, Heise said.Heise said the students have turned the project into a friendly competition between grade levels and the experiment will end with a school-wide celebration near Easter.“I will probably have to do something crazy (as a reward to the students for their hard work) but I'm okay with that,” she said.