SeDoMoCha lends a hand for ‘Socktober’

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Students throughout the SeDoMoCha School recently observed Bullying Prevention Week from Oct. 24-30 by tying in the theme of “Lend a Hand, Take a Stand” with Socktober, a national movement to provide socks to the homeless.

“What we are doing is we collected socks for something called Socktober,” SeDoMoCha Elementary Day Treatment teacher Andrea Philbrick-Cooper said, as students in pre-kindergarten through grade 8 filled a pair of trash bags with socks of all sizes. “Our goal was 500 and we collected 741 pairs.”

“We did a sock thermometer in the hallway to show what we did each day,” grade 5 social studies teacher Danielle Conway said. She explained about 100 pairs of socks were collected each day and soon the top of the sock thermometer and the 500-pair goal was reached and surpassed.

The students had fun watching the daily progress being made but the Socktober drive also taught them about helping others, Conway said. “They were really excited, they took to collecting and helping the school reach a goal,” she said.

Conway said by learning how to “Lend a Hand, Take a Stand,” we were getting them proactive about the idea of helping people and building them up.” She said the socks will be given to the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter.

“The class on each side that brought in the most gets to have a sock and slipper party,” Philbrick-Cooper said, as the top elementary and middle school homerooms will be able to wear these items on their feet for a day to celebrate their accomplishments.

Philbrick-Cooper said students wore blue for Bullying Prevention Week, with pupils encouraged to wear a specific article of clothing each day.