ospice of El Paso states that 85% of residents in senior nursing homes are not visited and have little or no contact with the outside world. This generation of students has less interaction with community elders than previous generations; this gap is leading to a breakdown in understanding and a loss of oral culture. 

AMS Library Club members are participating in project Generation Celebration.  The students plan and take part in activities with the White Acres Retirement Village that improve the quality of life of residents as well as the lives of the students.

During December members of the Library Club enlisted the Alderete Middle School choir to join them on a field trip to sing Christmas carols at White Acres.  The members have also generated greeting cards, written personal letters, donated gifts for distribution at holiday parties, and completed a variety of crafts. 

The students will soon begin working on story time performances that they will share with the White Acres residents to honor the seniors and emphasize the importance of preserving our past through social interaction with elders.  Later the group will visit and perform at elementary schools in the district to emphasize the importance and the joy that can be had through reading.

All students have benefited from the project because they have become aware of the difference they can make in others’ lives and they have gained a sense of citizenship in their community.

ommunity service starts at school for Alderete Middle School students, teachers, and staff, as members of AMS student organizations including the Ambassadors, Mother-Daughter, Father-Son, Student Council, and some parents, teachers, and staff personnel came together on a recent Saturday morning to help spruce up the playground area and decorate bulletin boards.

“We wanted to give our students an opportunity to give back to their school as a lesson on community service and, at the same time, clean up our playground area because right now it is limited to one part of our campus due to the construction that is in progress,” said Connie Parker, AMS assistant principal.

One group of volunteers raked, swept, shoveled, and picked up rocks in the playground, while another group designed and decorated bulletin boards in the main entrance hallway with holiday themes.

A cookout was provided for all participants after the four hour clean up project. The cookout was made possible
through the donations of several local businesses including Upper Valley Press, Rio Grande Supermarket,
Speedy’s Restaurant, Little Diner, Sonic, Photo-Pros, C&J Printing, and the First Baptist Church.

Coordinating the clean up effort were Jaime Mercado, AMS Counselor; Laura Lopez, AMS office manager; and
Jorge Valenzuela, Bilingual Office aide.

Alderete Middle School Student Health Fair Shines With Team Work

lderete Middle School’s (AMS) first annual children’s health fair was a big success thanks to the efforts of faculty, staff, and students. About 20 presenters were on-hand to provide information, free screenings, and exhibits regarding social and medical services available to them and their families.

“This fair was made possible because of the teamwork among school personnel including custodians, food service workers, office staff, counselors, and parent liaison Estella Rodriguez, who was instrumental in securing the various presenters,” said Rosa Salgado, AMS Skills For Living teacher. Among the presenters were El Paso Community College students in the Dental, Medical Lab, Physical and Occupational Therapy programs. EPCC students provided demonstrations and free screenings to more than 600 AMS students.

Also participating were agencies including Operation West Valley Clinic, No Gang, La Fe Clinic, West Valley Fire Department, El Paso County Sheriff Amber Alert, YMCA, Texas 211, El Paso First, City of El Paso, Sleep Center, Family Service Center, Adel, and Vector Control.

The Paso Del Norte Health Foundation funded the health fair through a health literacy grant. The grant was awarded to AMS Health Literacy Committee in collaboration with El Paso Community College.