Fifth-graders show they have heart

On a holiday when people wonder what they will be getting, Tammy Delbridge wanted her fifth-graders to focus on what they are giving.

So, as she’s done the past five years, she invited seniors to celebrate Valentine’s Day at the school with games of bingo and frosted, sugared, red-adorned treats. Large signs welcoming them and wishing them a Happy V-Day decorated the cafeteria walls.

This year, though, snow got in the way of those plans. The seniors weren’t able to make it, so the fifth-graders spent the morning with fellow students from the life skills – or special education – class.

Delbridge hoped her students would still learn the same lesson: compassion.

“They start looking outward instead of inward,” Delbridge said.

Her students might see the special-ed kids in the hall and wave, Delbridge added, but the relationship deepens with interaction.

Taylor Ewing was a perfect example.

The 10-year-old sat next to A.J. Marin-Montoya, a life skills first-grader, on a long cafeteria table covered with pink paper.

After each bingo number was called, she would lean over to A.J.’s board and see if he could move one of the nearby beans onto a square.

G-55.

“No, you don’t have it,” Taylor said apologetically.

Later, she cheered him on when he had only two squares left before he could call out “Bingo!”

Though A.J. didn’t win any of the prizes – potted plants, decks of cards, body lotion – he nodded when asked if he had a fun time.

When the party was wrapping up, A.J. turned to Taylor and others seated nearby and waved: “Thank you. Bye.”

Taylor said afterward that she made a point of sitting next to someone from the special ed class.

“I’ve seen people be kind of rude to them lately, so I thought it might be nice if I could help,” Taylor said. “I think they’re mean to them because they’re different. But they’re like us.”