8th grade class moved by Soldier's Story to do something

Students surrender sweets for soldiers
Book set during Civil War spurs students to donate part of Halloween spoils

By LEIGH HORNBECK, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Friday, November 30, 2007

SCHUYLERVILLE -- Somewhere in Iraq or Afghanistan, a soldier is snacking on Crystal Briere's Halloween candy.

Briere, 13, an eighth-grader at Schuylerville Central School, dressed up as a Gothic sorceress and went trick-or-treating this year, but she didn't keep all the candy. Briere's classmates donated a portion of their goodies and sent them to the Middle East as part of "Trick or Treat for Our Troops."

The initiative took shape after students read "Soldier's Heart" by Gary Paulsen. The book chronicles the experiences of a 15-year-old boy after he enlists in the First Minnesota Volunteers during the Civil War. He leaves the service at age 19, suffering from "soldier's heart," a term used in the book to describe what would now be called post-traumatic stress disorder.

"Our eighth-graders were so moved by this book and the information on post-traumatic stress disorder that they wanted to do something to help today's soldiers," said Mary Lou Liptak-Masten, a remedial reading teacher who oversaw Trick or Treat for Our Troops.
click post title for the rest

Imagine that! A Civil War story so moving it caused this 8th grade class to think of the soldiers serving today. Now this is history come to life!