Having a herd of 5 and 6-year-olds wandering around a supermarket without grizzling about the lack of lollies in the trolley is rare.
The reason there were no tantrums from the Silverstream School year 1 and 2 pupils during their visit to a Mosgiel store yesterday is because they were on a mission to buy non-perishable groceries for the families of fellow pupils at the earthquake-stricken Kaikoura Primary School.
Parent helper Amber Paterson said the class came up with the idea after learning Kaikoura Primary School principal and former Dunedin teacher Nigel Easson was good friends with many of the staff at Silverstream School.
The pupils also learned about how pupils and their families at the school were affected by the quakes, and how they needed food, water and toiletries to be sent to them.
So the pupils spent much of yesterday grocery shopping and filling boxes with things like canned food, pasta, bottled water, toiletries, toilet paper, soap, washing powder, baby powder, baby wipes, nappies and batteries.
Mrs Paterson said the "care packages" were being significantly boosted by donations from members of the Mosgiel community.
It was hoped by the time they sent the packages to Kaikoura next Wednesday, there would be up to $5000 worth of groceries to send.
Mrs Paterson said the initiative had been an excellent learning experience for the class.
"It’s been incredible. The kids have been talking about caring for people and the earthquakes.
"But also, taking them to the supermarket, we told them we were on a budget and we needed five packs of toilet paper — let’s look at the cheapest option.
"We did the same with rice. There was a 500g bag of rice and a 1kg bag of rice, and we used a lot of maths to work out which options were the best."
She said the experience had also given the pupils the realisation of how lucky they were.
"The kids are so pleased that they can be helping and they’re really excited about the fact they’re helping kids of a similar age to them."
The school will continue to collect items over the coming weeks, and Mrs Paterson said the community could drop goods off at the school office.
She said there had been many calls from Kaikoura residents for baby items such as wipes, nappies and formula, and batteries.
"Any stuff like that would be really good.’’Mr Easson was delighted with the support from Silverstream School.
"It’s been amazing what’s been going on in the way of schools getting behind us. You don’t expect it.
"I’ve been overwhelmed by the generosity, to be honest. Being so far away from Kaikoura, and jumping on board so quickly, it’s just amazing.
"It just goes to show how tight the education community can be."
He said the school was structurally sound but had no water or sewerage, and it was unknown how long it would be before it could be reopened.
