Team Andy At Evans Elementary School

Sherpas, yaks, and glaciers, OH MY! Third graders at Evans Elementary have been learning all about these topics as well as Mount Everest.  It is all part of a partnership with a local mountaineer named Andy Land.  Andy is the Director of Hospice and Palliative Care Services at Agnesian HealthCare. He will be climbing Mount Everest in the coming months for the Climbing for Hospice campaign. Students have become an important part of Team Andy throughout the school year.

Earlier in the year, third grade teachers Mrs. LaBorde, Ms. Nehls, and Ms. Costello invited Andy Land into their classrooms for a visit. Then they began to weave lessons about Mount Everest and perseverance throughout the curriculum.  Andy’s upcoming expedition to Mount Everest inspired students to create haiku poetry.  Mrs. Cowles, Evans’ art teacher, helped students turn these haikus into peace flags. These special creations were then displayed at the local Riverwalk Art Center.

“Bon Voyage to Andy Land” was the theme of a weekly Monday Morning Meeting on March 16 at Evans Elementary. Andy visited one last time before the start of his Mount Everest expedition. Students presented him with a special peace flag that he will take to the summit.  The celebration ended with a musical surprise–music teacher Mrs. Koffarnus and the third graders had composed music to accompany the haikus that students had written. 

Team Andy at Evans Elementary School sends wishes for warmth, perseverance, and safety to Andy Land as he embarks on this two-month endeavor. For more information on Andy’s climb visit climbingforhospice.org or call Hope of Wisconsin.

This is the flag that third graders created with the Evans’ Art Teacher. Andy will be taking this to the summit of Mount Everest. Each child’s thumbprint is a part of the dove’s wings.