September 21, 2006 Issue                                       

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©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Back to school with green thumb and community spirit
by Debbie Lerman

Students and parents at the Project Learn School carry bags of mulch for the school garden – nourishing the plants, and the neighborhood. Students from left to right: Alex Goodman, Gabe Buchanan, Matti Beresin, Christin Adams. Parent: Mark Goodman. (Photo by Lucy Miller)

When students at the Project Learn School in Mt. Airy returned to classes after Labor Day, they greeted not just friends and teachers, new and old, but also the larger community around the school. Students in the junior high worked with parents and teachers to rejuvenate the school’s front garden, facing Germantown Avenue, to create a welcoming atmosphere and contribute to the neighborhood’s spruced up appearance.

This was only one of the many activities the Project Learn students, parents, and teachers plan to engage in this year to share their creativity and enthusiasm with their neighbors. Beginning in October, as they have for the past nine years, Project Learn’s art teachers will offer First Saturday Art classes on the first Saturday of every month for families from the school and from the surrounding area. On the second Saturday of the month, school and neighborhood families will be invited for Second Saturday Cooking.

“We’re working on putting together programs for the third and forth Saturdays of the month as well,” said Fran Fox, a retired teacher and one of the founders of the Project Learn School. “It’s a wonderful way for us to get to know our neighbors and for them to get to know us,” she added.

All of the Saturday programs are free of charge and funded through grants and donations. For more information, contact the Project Learn School at 215-438-3623.