This holiday season, the students and faculty at the Sugar Pond Campus have really gotten into the spirit of giving.  Two drives took place before students left for Thanksgiving break: a canned goods drive organized by Student Activities and a coat drive sponsored by the BETA club.

Originally, Student Activities had set a goal of raising enough canned goods to feed 15 families through a program at St. Anne’s Church here in Youngsville.  Prefects and teachers worked very hard to promote awareness about this drive and encourage their peers to participate.  Several seniors went after school with Mrs. Arabie to deliver the food to St. Anne’s.  They said it was a very rewarding experience, and it made them very glad they had participated.  Overall, students and faculty from the Sugar Mill Pond Campus were able to raise enough canned goods to feed 47 seven families.

Beta Club also sponsored a coat drive the week before Thanksgiving break.  Houses competed against each other to see who could bring the most coats.  In the end, 81 coats were donated, with Veracem bringing the most coats at 45.  Students in the Veracem House received a free dress day for this effort.

With Christmas fast approaching, there are two more drives taking place.  Student Activities is sponsoring another drive for St. Anne’s families.  Some of the same families that the school fed at Thanksgiving will be receiving Christmas gifts for their children.

The second drive going on at AES before Christmas break is Toys for Tots, and it is being organized by Coach Johnson who is a former marine.  We have 180 students on this campus, so Coach Johnson set a goal to have at 180 toys to donate.

In the spirit of generosity, several teachers, including Mrs. Lobello, Madame Quinn, and Ms. Fournet are offering bonus points to students who bring gifts for our toy drive.