Courtesy Photo

For the eighth year in a row, Montessori students at Manaugh Elementary School participated in a special project to benefit Hospice of Montezuma. This year, first- through third-grade Montessori students in Laurie Austin's class participated with the fourth and fifth grade students in Caitlin Munroe's class to create handmade greeting cards for Hospice patients. In addition to the cards, Munroe's students created holiday designs on muslin that were sewn by Georgenna Rennick and Sue Belden into pillows that the students stuffed. Austin's students created holiday designs in a "stained-glass fashion" on clear plastic to attach to windows. The fourth and fifth grade students also hand painted glass ornaments with beautiful designs of the season. All these gifts were placed in hand-decorated gift bags, along with nuts, fruit, candy canes and chocolates, to be given to patients currently being served by Hospice of Montezuma. The highlight of this special project is when the students and parents travel to patients' homes and local nursing homes to sing carols to the Hospice patients.