An 8-year-old’s leukemia diagnosis spurred acts of kindness for other children undergoing cancer treatments.
This Orange County Register article described how Oak Grove Elementary School second-grader Bodhi Boul is in full remission after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in October. During her treatment, her classmates stepped up to the plate to help Bodhi and other kids in the same situation.
Bodhi’s teacher Leanne Higgins and mom Emily Boul came up with an idea to put together toys, hats, and other items for the other kids visiting the clinic where she’d received treatment, according to the Register.
As a result of their efforts, the class collected enough to fill 17 boxes with various items that Bodhi and her mom delivered to the clinic at Kaiser Permanente’s Anaheim Medical Center earlier this month.
“Mom and Bodhi agreed that we could donate items to brighten the days of kids who spend sometimes full days receiving their treatments at Kaiser in Anaheim,” Higgins told the Register. “Over the next couple of months, we watched a Reading Rainbow episode of the book, ‘Boxes for Katje,’ by Candace Fleming – a story about an American girl sending much-needed supplies during difficult times to families in Europe.”
Higgins then spoke to her class about how they could make a difference. They decided to donate Bodhi Boxes. Bodhi let them know what things the children might enjoy, and the class began to donate.
“In no time at all, we had filled 17 joyful boxes full of beanies, slime, Legos, toy cars, stuffed animals and more to send to the treatment clinic with Bodhi. What an amazing feeling,” Higgins told the Register.
Here are some other education-related news articles from throughout the region for the week ending Feb. 28.
California State Parks has awarded a $1.29 million grant to the City of Westminster to construct a park and memorial honoring Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez, plaintiffs in the historic Mendez v. Westminster civil rights case.
- Did you know the Orange County Department of Education can help you pay for child care? OCDE’s Family Support Services subsidizes child care costs for eligible families using funds allocated through the state’s Alternative Payment Program.
- The Irvine Public Schools Foundation has awarded eight “mega grants” of up to $20,000 each to help local teachers enhance learning with innovation labs, esports technology, 3D printers, musical instruments, robotics and flexible furniture.
- State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond recently announced that three schools in Orange County are being recognized as Model Continuation High Schools for 2020.
- About 500 apprentice mechanics recently rotated through seven-minute lessons in jump-starting dead batteries and checking oil levels. Mazda, Toyota, Hyundai and Jeep dealerships from Tustin Auto Center supplied cars and service staff. The Beckman High students were part of a career training program.
- Huntington Beach High School recently hosted a cultural exchange with surfers from France. Local students thought there would be many differences between them and their host students, but the opposite was true.
- A pair of hotly debated new California laws limiting which schoolchildren can skip vaccines appears stuck in bureaucratic limbo, the result of uncertainty over how to interpret last-minute changes made before the legislation was signed last year by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
- A standoff with the Santa Ana school district could bring down the curtain on one of Southern California’s most popular — yet highly controversial — charter schools.
- Students and teachers in Orange Unified School District’s four high schools should move into their new science buildings during the next school year – district officials say the construction projects remain on time and on budget.
- The California lottery skimped on giving $36 million in revenue to fund public education and spent $720,000 on food and travel expenses without considering cheaper options, the state auditor said in a report made public this week.
This is the part where we encourage you to keep up with local education news stories by bookmarking the OCDE Newsroom, subscribing for emailed updates and following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.