Bains Lower Elementary students are learning leadership and life skills thanks to the lessons learned through the Leader in Me Program.
The school was named a Lighthouse School for achieving outstanding results in school and student outcomes by successfully implementing The Leader in Me Program, which teaches leadership and life skills that inspire young students to be 21st-century leaders, a news release said.
About three years ago, Elizabeth Bristow became assistant principal at the school and she set out to make students aware of the needs of others in and around the community and how they can help. This allows the students to put the principles they've learned into action.
At Christmas, pre-K students, paraprofessionals and teachers wrapped over 200 presents to give to the Natchez Children’s Home, The Guardian Shelter (Women and Children in Crisis), the West Feliciana Sheriff’s Christmas Party and residents of St. Francisville Country Manor.
The gifts were donated by Bains Lower’s PTC.
Other projects include first-grade students visiting the residents at St. Francisville Country Manor each month, a project that started in 2017. At these visits, the students would share the seven habits, sing, recite poems and do various activities with the residents.
“The children are just fabulous with the residents and give them a little love as well as a drawing or something tangible to hang in their rooms,” Bristow said.
In the spring 2018, kindergarten students began visiting the Jackson War Veterans Home. They have painted pictures for the veterans, sang and recited poems in honor of the duty that the veterans have done for our country.