By Sallie Bachar

Catholic Herald correspondent

Students work on a unique pro-life project

MERRILL -- Under the direction of Patricia Novy, middle school teacher at St. Francis Xavier School in Merrill, 36 sixth, seventh, and eighth graders participated in a unique pro-life project. Each student was asked to research a topic relative to the growth and development of a child from the moment of conception or find out specific facts about babies.

The students took off with the idea. "I left it up to them," said Novy. "They could go with whatever interested them." Novy was impressed with their enthusiasm and the information they found.

Some researched how much money it takes to raise a child. Others discovered how many babies are born in the United States each year, while still others found the numbers of babies aborted every year.

"I wanted to make this broader than just abortion and to include anything about babies and situations that parents may run into," Novy said. The project was also special to her personally because she lost a child to SIDS.

Claire Zimmerman, a seventh grader, discovered that babies first smile at eleven weeks. "It was not the easiest to find," she said, "but I wanted a fun thing to look up." Kristen Stiver, sixth grade, surfed the Web to find out that one baby uses approximately 3,500 diapers every year. Eighth grader Erica Copas chose a more serious subject and researched the effects of smoking on the infant in the womb. Michael Ball, however, took a different twist. "I couldn't find what I really wanted -- how many kids are made to fight for their country," he said. So instead, he chose a Bible verse, "Let the children come to me É" Luke 18:16.

Each pupil then typed up his or her particular fact or subject on a piece of paper and pinned it to a baby sleeper. "The softer side of the students came out," said Novy, "as they carefully chose their sleepers, smoothed them out, and pinned the information on them." The sleepers hung on clotheslines in the school hallway for several days and then were strung across the church entrance on Right to Life Sunday.

Novy has been teaching for over 20 years with the last five being at St. Francis. Her intent was to illustrate to the students how important every child's life is and to help them understand that so much happens in the womb that goes unnoticed. It was an eye-opener for most of the students, and the project fit in well with both the religion and science classes that she teaches.

The sleepers were donated by Baby Shower for Life, a committee from St. Francis. They will be returned to the committee and become part of layettes which Baby Shower for Life gives out to needy families of newborns in the Merrill area.

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© Superior Catholic Herald, 2006