Students at the John W. Decas Elementary school were given the chance Wednesday to show off their skills at the school’s first Student Learning Expedition.

The event, which will happen again in January and May of 2016, is an opportunity for students to show off academic or creative skills to a volunteer from the community or the high school. Principal Donna Noonan said a little over 300 kids participated, a little under half the school’s student body. She said the students shared all sorts of skills and interests with the volunteers.

“We had readings of ‘Green Eggs and Ham,’ we had hula-hooping, we had all kinds of things,” Noonan said. “Dioramas made just for that project – [one] was a shoebox of a shark, and the marine environment the shark lives in.”

The kids didn’t just share with the volunteers, though.

“At times, there would be a [volunteer] sitting and talking with one child, while one child waited, so they had the opportunity to hear another child present, as well,” Noonan said. “They definitely were interested.”

Noonan said she felt the event boosted the children’s confidence, and that the postcards the volunteers filled out to send home to the students will help them become even more so. The cards praised the students for everything from their knowledge of various animals – “your knowledge of sharks is amazing, at such a young age,” read one – to the ability to tie one’s own shoelaces – “Being able to tie your shoes is something that can be difficult. Your sneakers are cute!”, read another.

The next Student Learning Expedition will be Jan. 27, 2016, followed by another in the Spring, on May 6. Any interested volunteers may contact Donna Noonan at 508-291-3530, or email her at dnoonan@wareham.k12.ma.us. They may also send a note to the school office with their availability and contact information.