Email: "Westfield Students Learn Valuable Life Skills"
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WESTFIELD – While the students in Doug Hillerby’s classroom at Westfield Academy and Central School celebrated Thanksgiving on Monday, it was a long time coming.


Since the end of September, the students have been taking part in an annual project aimed at introducing valuable life skills and preparing the students for the future, including looking at supermarket fliers, shopping for needed items and preparing food.


“We start looking at the fliers at the end of September,” Hillerby said. “We’re trying to teach them how to do comparison shopping. I want them to be able to get the most for their money.”


On Monday, nearly two months worth of hard work paid off as the students, teachers, staff, school administrators and other guests were invited to a Thanksgiving feast in Hillerby’s room. The meal included turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.


The students with the assistance of Hillerby and other teachers, worked to create the meal by measuring ingredients and reading instructions. On the interactive SMARTboard in the classroom was a list of “to do” items, including preparing items and cleaning the fish tank, which the students crossed off when they completed each task.


“It’s an intensive unit,” Hillerby said.


Hillerby said the unit helped to teach the students important and needed skills, such as organization, time management, cleaning, reading instructions and proper etiquette.


“It’s a ton of information that’s all designed for life-skills,” Hillerby said.


The project, Hillerby noted, also helped to allow the students to open up and build friendships throughout the community.


In the end, Hillerby said he hopes the students realize they can be independent and lead a fulfilling life.


“That’s what we’re looking for with these guys,” Hillerby said, “to help prepare them to live the best life they can.”

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