By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

The Alabaster Board of Education added a new section to its agenda during a Jan. 14 meeting, and will use it each month to highlight positive happenings at the city’s schools.

The school board kicked off the new addition to its agenda by recognizing groups from Thompson Intermediate and Thompson Sixth Grade Center after students at the schools worked to help people in their city and across the country.

During the meeting, a group of students at TIS explained how they worked with their classmates before the Christmas break to raise about $375 to donate to the American Red Cross to help with Hurricane Sandy relief in the northeastern United States.

The students decided to organize the fundraiser after reading the book “Wonder,” their teachers, Shay Traywick and Amber Willis, said during the Alabaster BOE meeting. After reading the book, the students approached TIS Principal Dr. Ke Jones to share their fundraising idea.

“I asked them to put together a proposal, outline what they wanted the school to do and how they planned to go about it,” Jones said.

Because the northeastern United States was still reeling from Hurricane Sandy’s impact, TIS student Nick Lowery said he and his classmates decided to hold a change drive for the storm victims.

“We decided to get the school together. We said what we were going to do on the school’s morning news,” Lowery said.

After publicizing the fundraiser, the students collected money and were able to present a check to the American Red Cross.

Also recognized at the Alabaster BOE meeting were members of the Thompson Sixth Grade Center’s student council. Before the Christmas break, the TSGC students worked to raise about $130 to purchase items such as blankets and goodie bags to donate to residents at the Shelby Ridge nursing home.

As an incentive for the fundraiser, the student council promised to allow its top fundraiser to be pied in the face by a teacher during a schoolwide assembly. When the school held the assembly, all of the student council members decided to let themselves be pied in front of their peers.

“They organized it and orchestrated it themselves,” said TSGC Principal Dr. Wesley Hester. “They even delivered the items to Shelby Ridge on a day they had a school dance. They made that choice, and that took leadership.”