Thank you for featuring the wonderful article on October 6, 2010 about the Troy City Foundation Grants.

We agree that the benefits the students of the Troy City School system receive as a result of these generous grants make our students and our schools stand out far above the rest! Our class has been the beneficiary of continued success through our Community Integration program which is funded entirely through a TCF grant. On a recent Community Integration outing, our class learned fire prevention and safety tips from the firefighters at Station No. 2. Lieutenant Mike Rhodes taught us about the importance of smoke alarms. He taught us to change the batteries on our smoke alarms every time we change our clocks. We will be changing the batteries on our smoke alarms on November 7. We would like to remind everyone in Troy to do the same!

The firefighters also gave each of us a sticker to put in our bedroom window to notify firefighters (in the event of a fire) to make sure that our rooms are cleared first.

Did you know that Troy’s fire stations have these stickers available for anyone in need of special assistance during times of crisis? We learned valuable tips on how to use a fire extinguisher.

We also learned how to prevent and treat minor burns. Troy’s firefighters are very helpful and available to assist anyone in need.

As a result of the Community Integration Grant, we are able to visit many local agencies and businesses that will be available to serve our class in various ways both while we are at Charles Henderson High, and, once we have completed high school. We have visited two local restaurants. First we had a wonderful meal at The Pines in downtown Troy. After we left fire station #2, we visited Santa Fe Restaurant. We have been practicing our manners and how to order, tip, and pay for our meals.

Before we get to the restaurant, our teacher reminds us of our budget and we go over which manners we will use in the restaurant. We remembered to use most of our manners at Santa Fe but there you can throw peanut hulls on the floor! Our waitress, Daisy, says that it is part of the fun of eating at Santa Fe.

We did have a great time and the food was delicious! We asked Mrs. Renfroe if we could eat at Santa Fe again next week.

She says, “We have lots more to learn!” So, this week we are learning to shop for groceries and to use a budget at Southern Family Markets.

We would like to thank all of the wonderful businesses and individuals who have supported us throughout this learning experience. We are so thankful to Troy City Schools Foundation Board for funding this opportunity for us.

And, we are proud to be students at Charles Henderson High School, which has afforded us the opportunity to participate in the only Community Integration Project in Pike County. We have had a great time and will continue to try hard and learn a lot throughout this program.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Renfroe’s Class