A Recap of our First Work Day!!

Beads- The beads were a job when we helped sort beads that had been donated after Mardi Gras so they did not end up being all over the place. It was very interesting because we had never seen so may beads before, there were over 150 thousand pounds of beads! We sorted the beads into 5 different categories: Long, Short, Pearlized, kid beads, and special beads for specific groups of people called Krewes, with their customized beads for their floats. The adults working there were special needs, and it was very fun talking to them and they were very cute. It was a really good experience and we would do it again some other time. 

House- The house was hit with the hurricane badly. We did sheet rocking all over the master bedroom. Half of the kids had to place mud all over the house in the cracks where the walls and the ceiling meet. Us freshmen were in charge of sheet rocking using power tools. The power tools were our favorite parts and we learned home renovating skills.

School - At the beginning of the day we didn’t think we were going to have a chance to interact with the children. We started the day off by sharpening test pencils and helping out in the library. After lunch, we decorated two bulletin boards in the hallway. They each had a theme that went along with the month. At the end of the day, a teacher stopped us in the hallway and asked us if we wanted to play outside with the kids. It was a first grade class and they were adorable. All the kids adored having us there, as we adored them. Interacting with the kids was the highlight of the day and seeing the smiles on their faces made it an amazing experience.

Audubon - At the New Orleans Audubon we were informed about the various wildlife there, as well as the amount of damage brought by Hurricane Katrina. A lot of the forest had been almost permanently damaged from the hurricane. We started out by removing an invasive species that had been damaging the forest for years. We would chop down any trees and plants affected by it, and then we planted trees in their places. It was fun to work with everyone and it was a good start to the trip.

So far on this trip we are all having a very fun time working, playing and especially getting to know one another. I hope this week continues to be as fun as the first few days has been!!

Today’s blog brought to you by the freshman class:

Jillian Nicole Charlie Hadley Maggie Ellie Ian Grace Meaghan Allie Graham