Monday, June 4, 2012

The Prairie at the Academy



Our JH prairie is becoming a beautiful place that has various colors and is just a great addition to our classroom. Unlike many schools, we have many indigenous plants that are very well equipped to the unique climate of Indiana. The use of these native plants helps us learn about our natural surroundings as well as habitat restoration. This helps create a self-sustaining and low maintenance place that is good for our environment. Our prairie was established by the 2004 class and now, many flowers are blooming. One of the most recognizable blossoms are the Blue Indigo which have been used by native Americans.

Submitted by: The Junior High Class at The Montessori Academy at Edison Lakes

Interview at the South Bend Center for the Homeless



            Tom has been living at the South Bend Center for the Homeless for 22 months and just moved  into the men’s house. He said that the move went well, and he also said that he has accumulated a lot of things in the short two years he spent there. All of the support that the Center provided really helped him out. I could sense almost a kind of pride that was emanating from him as he spoke about the different programs that he took. Such programs include the Sosh and Star programs. The Sosh program is a program that teaches people about themselves and about how to fix what they got into. The Star program is more about getting jobs and keeping jobs. Another program helps residents get there GED.

             Tom began his life in a pretty poor situation. His Dad, who was an alcoholic, abused his mother very much and he witnessed it. His dad, when he wasn’t drunk, was a pretty good guy who loved his children. He worked at Studebaker while his mother was a cook. When Tom was a teenager life got a lot better, he and his family went to a cottage that his family owned and really enjoyed the summers spent there. For 35 years Tom worked for ESP which was a plastic factory that was based in Elkhart.

            Things began to go downhill when he became increasingly more depressed. He became divorced from his wife and started on the road to homelessness. When he was kicked out, he took shelter at the Center for the Homeless. Again, he has had much support from the staff and his coach. Coaches are people who volunteer to help the guests on the road to turning their lives around. They inspire the guests and check up on them so that they are not slacking off.

            The center also has a plethora of personalities. That can sometimes be a good thing. The guests interact with each other and begin to build long lasting friendships. People can clash and become bitter towards each other. The staff is kind of like the mediator of all of these personalities. They are nice, but can also be tough. They need to be so the guests don’t become accustomed to it. A word of advice that Tom offered me is to stay in school and never think you’re above any job. I will keep that in mind for the rest of my life. Altogether, I believe that the Center for the Homeless helps people, in more ways than one, more than any other regular old shelter could. 

Submitted by: James- A junior high student at The Montessori Academy at Edison Lakes