Coronado Students Build Canstruction Tower

Coronado Elementary School's fourth and fifth-grade students recently came together for a project that not only benefited their community but also won a prize.

The project, called Canstruction, had students bring in non-perishable food items for an entire month and then use the collected items to build something. The theme for this year's project was "Spirit of Kansas," and students in the winning group voted to build the Kansas City Chiefs logo.

The project was organized by the Cubs in Action (CIA) members, a group of fourth and fifth-grade representative students who stand out as leaders in their school. They put forward various ideas, and the Chiefs logo won. Parents of the children were supportive and helped them bring in food and raise funds. The project had two objectives, one was to collect food for the food bank, and the other was to encourage teamwork and leadership skills among students.

Nicholas Pahls, a math coach at Coronado School, emphasized the need for such projects in the school. The Canstruction project allowed the students to make a difference by benefiting others in their community.

The project not only helped families in need within the city of Salina, but also taught students the value of teamwork, problem-solving, and leadership. Sarah Krous, a fifth-grader, said, "We have a constant need in our community to feed people." Noah Weber, a fourth-grader, added, "It's good for a school to do this because there are more people to help."

The effort put in by the students paid off as they won the Spirit of Kansas Award. Such projects encourage students to be leaders and help their community with skills they can carry with them throughout their lives. On being a leader, Noah said, "It means helping people so that they know what to do." Sarah added, "To me, being a leader means helping people if they need help. It comes with higher responsibilities, and I try to be kind to everyone I see in my class and help them if they have questions."