SERVICE LEARNING Service to the community at large is an essential part of the school philosophy. It is embedded in the Elementary School program and is referred to as service learning rather than community service. Service learning is considered an exciting opportunity to learn important skills in addition to taking community action in a positive way. Each classroom has a curriculum component that embodies service. For example, FIRST GRADE CHILDREN collect and weigh all the recycled paper in the school. Writing skills are developed as children make recycling signs for bins and posters for walls. Graphing and tallying skills are developed as they chart the school's paper use during the year. SECOND GRADE STUDENTS study famous Americans and community leaders in Santa Monica. During the year, they make frequent visits to a senior citizens home nearby where they come to know their active senior friends well. Near the end of the year, children write and illustrate biographies of these special older members of the Santa Monica community. These biographies then become part of the collection of the Santa Monica Public Library. FIFTH GRADE CHILDREN work with Spanish speaking first grade students at a nearby public school. While fifth graders help their first grade buddies develop written literacy skills, they also develop greater knowledge of Spanish vocabulary through writing alphabet books in Spanish and performing plays in Spanish. There are school-wide service projects that involve all children who choose to participate. Each Monday, several service parents take students to Children Helping Poor and Homeless People (CHPHP) where they package lunches and travel to Venice Beach to distribute these lunches to homeless people. Various collections that benefit different social service agencies such as One Voice, CHPHP, or neighboring schools are planned throughout the year.