Wareham Middle School students are seeing stars.

Woodshop students in the after-school CARE (Community, Academic, Recreation and Enrichment) program have been hard at work on a community service project for residents of Agawam Village, an affordable housing complex for seniors and handicapped individuals located off of Sandwich Road in Wareham.

The students are creating colorful, hand-painted stars with house numbers to replace the older, difficult to read numbers on residents' homes.

Paraprofessional Pat Fernandes, who instructs woodshop with teacher Toni Thatcher, lives in one of the homes, and knows the new numbers are needed.

"The numbers in the front are white, and they're small," she said.

Noting that many of the residents are elderly, Thatcher said: "The last thing you want is someone you don't know coming to the door."

The students have been involved with the entire process -- shaping the stars using power tools, sanding, painting, and hanging the finished ones on the homes.

"I'm proud of my kids," said Fernandes. "They work hard."

Students were sanding a few of the stars on Tuesday.

"It's hard sometimes," noted 7th-grader Leah Higgins.

But, 6th-grader Lilli Stahmer noted: "They're easy to paint!"

Ryan Mendes, an 8th-grade student, said simply: "It keeps me occupied."

Agawam Village residents are appreciative of the effort, Thatcher said.

"We had one woman, she was so excited, she wanted to pay the children!" Thatcher recalled with a smile.