Friday, February 12, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A5
Valentine’s Day: Pacifi c Ridge students ‘share the love’
IF YOU GO
What: Share the Love drive-by Valentine’s distribution
When: 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Pacifi c Ridge Elementary School, 2000 Spruce Dr.
Seaside High School (new location), 2600 Spruce Dr.
old Seaside High School parking lot, U.S. Hwy 101
old Broadway Middle School parking lot, U.S. Hwy 101
Cartwright Park, 1942 S. Franklin St.
School staff will be at the locations ready to wave to
students, pass out treats and share some love. Families of
Pacifi c Ridge Elementary School students are invited to
drive-by each location and receive a treat at each stop. All
participants are asked to wear masks and stay inside the car.
Staff will deliver the treats.
Continued from Page A1
“There’s just so much rich-
ness there.”
For the past few weeks,
seniors at Avamere have put
together Valentine’s cards
with goodies, which the
teachers plan to distribute
to students during the Share
the Love event on Saturday.
At the same time, some
elementary school teach-
ers have been working with
their kids to create fun Val-
entine’s decorations for the
retirement home that will
be hung up in public areas
so everybody on campus
can enjoy them for a couple
months.
Erica Acton, a fi fth-grade
teacher at Pacifi c Ridge,
said it’s been enlighten-
ing to see how the students
have connected to the proj-
ect. Because of the COVID-
19 pandemic, young peo-
ple have experienced a taste
of what it’s like to be iso-
lated, even housebound,
or not have as much social
interaction.
“There is a connection
that maybe there wouldn’t
have been,” Acton said.
“My class was more under-
standing and compassionate
about why you would want
something on the walls to
cheer you up. … They’re
feeling similar to the way
the residents do.”
Zellmer echoed that sen-
timent, saying the residents
also “feel separated from
the community, so this is
really important right now.”
Fifth-graders share Valentine’s Day wishes
The nature of their
involvement can vary. Zell-
mer spoke of one woman
who “is gung-ho about read-
ing on Monday morning,”
but as she struggles with
dementia, “she reminds me
to remind her.” Another
resident attended a recent
story time, excited to see
the children, but he wasn’t
quite comfortable doing the
actual reading.
“He wanted to sit behind
me and hear the song,”
Zellmer said. “It was very
fun for me to be witness.
I think next week, he’ll be
more comfortable to do the
reading.”
Zellmer, a former ele-
mentary school teacher, is
a big proponent of fostering
intergenerational relation-
ships, particularly between
youth and older adults.
“It’s a very unique rela-
tionship, especially in this
day and age when a lot of
people don’t know many
elders,” she said. “The
elders have so much to
offer, and the children bring
such a smile to their hearts.”
Looking ahead
Although the partnership
is limited to virtual inter-
actions because of the pan-
demic, Zellmer has a broad
vision for how it could
evolve in the future. She’d
like to see the senior liv-
ing community host pic-
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Jo Anne, a resident of Avamere at Seaside, creates a Valentine’s
Day card for a Seaside student to receive during the Share the
Love event that teachers and administrators are organizing
for Saturday.
‘THE ELDERS HAVE SO MUCH TO
OFFER, AND THE CHILDREN BRING
SUCH A SMILE TO THEIR HEARTS.’
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Erin Zellmer
Avamere life enrichment director
nics, beach outings and fi eld
trips, or have the children
come spend the day put-
ting together a play with the
residents.
“It gives the children a
chance to see the elders in
a different light,” Zellmer
said, adding the intergener-
ational element “gives them
an insight into the history
of that person’s life, which
is very different from their
own.”
In the meantime, she and
the teachers will continue
exploring virtual activi-
ties to foster the connec-
tion. From asking the young
people to lead virtual work-
shops on how to use various
technologies to encouraging
the residents to share their
histories with the kids, they
see plenty of potential.
“We’re in the brain-
storming part,’” Acton said,
adding the students know so
much that they don’t nec-
essarily consider a distinct
skill, although it would be
useful for others. “Right
now, it’s super import-
ant just to feel connected
to the community because
we don’t go places or see
as many different types of
people.”
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Connecting seniors and
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The Valentine’s Day
exchange is the latest step
in a developing collabora-
tion between students and
the life enrichment program
at Avamere at Seaside that
Zellmer initiated several
weeks ago.
“It fi ts really, really well
with our strategic plan,”
instructional coach Cate
Blakesley said, adding the
district’s mission, vision
and goals all refer to com-
munity outreach and part-
nerships as part of a well-
rounded and engaging
education for young people.
The fi rst step was start-
ing a virtual story time for
three kindergarten classes at
Pacifi c Ridge. The sessions,
which take place Monday
and Tuesday mornings via
Zoom, typically lasts about
15 minutes and involve one
of the older adults reading a
preselected book to the stu-
dents. Zellmer invites any-
one at Avamere to have a
turn if they want.
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Valentine’s Day cards made
by Pacifi c Ridge Elementary
School students decorate
the common areas at
Avamere at Seaside.
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