NEW PARIS — Second graders in Sara Hallstein’s class at National Trail Elementary collected cereal boxes for two weeks to complete what her student teacher Aubrey Stevenson called a “domino fall” on Wednesday, March 24.
Nearly 250 cereal boxes decorated the gymnasium floor, modeled after an activity seen accomplished by another school in a YouTube video, according to Stevenson, who said this activity was selected because the students really enjoy playing with dominoes.
“I showed the students the video and they really showed the interest to initiate this,” Stevenson said. “We had to get approval from all the teachers in the elementary beforehand and they’ve all been super supportive.”
All the cereal collected is being donated to the Monroe Township Food Pantry, St. Paul United Methodist Church Food Pantry, and the Common Good in Eaton, all of which serve National Trail Local School District families, according to Stevenson.
“So, the goal is for it all to come back to the community,” she added.
All the boxes used and ready to be donated are full, unopened boxes of cereal.
“We did have a few that came in with some handfuls that were eaten on the bus,” Stevenson laughed.
The cereal collection was part of a larger food drive, according to Stevenson. “We noticed they were getting a lot of cereal,” she said.
All classes at National Trail Elementary donated to the drive, but Stevenson’s students ran the drive, counted the boxes, and kept a chart of how many were collected.
“Our goal was 250,” she said. “Even though we failed by one, I think it’s awesome we were able to collect 249.”
The activity helped get students and staff excited, and gave students something to look forward to, she added.
