Posted at: 11/06/2009 7:21 PM
By: Sarah Swistak

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Elementary Makes Sandwiches to Help

(ABC 6 NEWS) -- The students from Montessori at Franklin Elementary School are used to buddying up with students from different grades.
    
They work on all sorts of projects together in a mentorship role, from reading stories to one another to painting, but today's project was about giving back to the community.
 
"First, grab two pieces of bread, two pieces of cheese and two pieces of turkey or ham," said Kindergartener Ethan Kronebusch.
 
If you need any advice on how to make a sandwich, just ask Ethan.
 
"Step 2. Put the two pieces of cheese on the bread,” he said.
 
Ethan's kindergarten class and about 30 4th and 5th graders from Montessori at Franklin Elementary School in Rochester added a service project to their schedule today.
 
"We were just kind of talking about things that we could do in the classroom. More than just donating money or toys or things and ways that we could actually do something with our time, and they kind of came up with this idea of - maybe we should make sandwiches," said teacher Kristin Mallory.
 
"For the Dorothy Day House," said student Olyvia Mason.
 
"Because we were helping homeless people," said student Mahmoud Said.
 
"Because they have very little to eat," said Ethan.
 
Which meant Ethan got to put his sandwich making skills to the test.
 
"Step three.  Put the turkey or ham on the cheese," he said.
 
"They're really great. They've done a great job and I think they really feel the benefit of what they've done,” said Mallory.
 
And what they managed to do in 15 minutes is pretty impressive.
 
"We made 75 sandwiches. That's huge,” said Mallory.
 
"Sometimes you just got to think of other people than yourself because you're important to the world and so are other people, so you want to make everybody just as important as you are,” said Mason.
 
And if you need any help with those sandwiches just ask Ethan.
 
"And step 4. The last step.  Put the two pieces of the sandwich together,” said Ethan.
 
The teachers from each class dropped off the 75 sandwiches during their lunch break this afternoon.
    
They said this project also helps their students understand the importance of service, and helping those in need.