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Soldier thanks Harding students
The fourth-graders learned the significance of touching the lives of others.
If the kids in Carol Rappach’s fourth-grade class at Harding Elementary School in Youngstown have any say, March will become camel spider month.
Camel spiders piqued the students’ interest after a visit from Pvt. Adam Brooks of McDonald, who recently returned from six months in Iraq.
November was gratitude month for the class — and it was those lessons that brought Brooks to the classroom this week.
The curious students fired questions at Brooks, who is on leave for two weeks, about his time abroad and being in the army. Brooks will return to Fort Hood, Texas, after his stay at home.
A question that came up more than once: “What kind of animals are over there?”
“Camel spiders. These spiders get this big,” said Brooks, making his hands form the size of a dinner plate to show the size.
“Whoa,” was the response from the students.
“They’ll take down a camel, and they are bigger than your foot,” Brooks said.
“That’s something we’ll have to research,” Rappach said.
That would be fine with 10-year-old James Zimbardi, who said learning “about the big spiders” was his favorite part of Brooks’ visit.
Although the animal discussion seemed to be the hot topic, Brooks made the trip to Harding to thank Rappach and her students for sending him mail while serving overseas.
During gratitude month, the kids sent booklets to numerous troops called “Giving You a Hand,” Rappach said.
Each page had a student’s traced hand filled in with red, white and blue. Some had messages written on the fingers and palms reading, “I hope that you make it home,” and “Thanks for keeping us safe.”
Brooks “was the first serviceman that replied,” Rappach said.
“It meant a lot to [the class] to know they touched someone’s life,” she said. Making an impact in the lives of others was the lesson Rappach wanted her students to learn.
Dalysha Oliver, 9, liked making the booklet because she was able to “send it to someone who is fighting for our country,” she said.
“To get a response and touch someone’s heart,” was the reason 10-year-old Jazzmine Mont said she liked creating the booklet.
Even if troops didn’t respond to the students regarding the booklets, Brooks assured the kids that servicemen and women are always glad to receive mail from home.
“I want to thank each and everyone of you, it meant a lot to me while I was over there,” Brooks said.
“I would put my hands on your hands and read each individual note,” he said.
kseminara@vindy.com