Geneva middle school students finish ‘Happy Holiday’ project

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Shelby Bowman, 13, from Spanish teacher Carey Sloan's class at Geneva Middle School North fills a paper shoe she colored and wrote a message on for a community service project sending "Happy Holidays" notes and care packages to military men and women stationed overseas.   Laura Stoecker | Staff Photographer

After coloring and writing a message in Spanish to a soldier, Geneva Middle School North student Travis French, 13, cuts tabs that will help mold a paper shoe to hold goodies shipped to soldiers overseas. Students from Geneva Middle School North and South Spanish classes made the care packages for the program, which is in its third year. Fox Valley Troop Support, Inc. will ship the gifts all over the world to soldiers from all branches of the military.   Laura Stoecker | Staff Photographer

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Students at Geneva Middle Schools North and South completed a community service project Thursday that included sending "Happy Holidays" notes and care packages to military men and women stationed overseas.

Students are studying about Three Kings Day, a Latin American and Spanish holiday during which children leave their shoes out on the eve of Jan. 5 in hopes that the Reyes Magos (Three Kings) will leave them gifts in their shoes while they sleep.

The students filled cutout paper "shoes" with items they have donated — such as toiletries, snacks, playing cards, and batteries — along with notes written in English and Spanish thanking the military personnel for their service and wishing them "Happy Holidays" and a safe return home.

The assembled the shoes were bagged, boxed and picked up by Fox Valley Troop Support Inc., a local organization that will package these donations and messages from the students and send them to the men and women.

The project was under the direction of Spanish instructors Carey Sloan at North and Christina Lindahl at South.