Featured image: (From left) Ocean City Primary School students Adriana Vogt (fourth grade), Tessa Lento (fourth grade), Henry Wheeldon (fifth grade), Justin Chen (fourth grade) and teacher Sharon Naplacic sell produce they harvested from Mrs. H’s Helping Hands Garden at the school.
Summer program continues community connections inspired by beloved teacher and coach Mikenzie Helphenstine
Ocean City, N.J. – Ocean City Primary School students are spending time in the garden this summer, growing a lifelong love of learning and legacy.
As part of the school’s summer program, the students work in Mrs. H’s Helping Hands Garden, tending to 28 garden beds and two worm-composting boxes. The school garden is dedicated in memory of OCPS third-grade teacher and coach Mikenzie Helphenstine, who lost her battle with cancer in May 2022.
Helphenstine saw great opportunity in the garden and encouraged fellow teachers to help revive it from COVID-era neglect. She believed the garden would provide valuable lessons for students and nurture community connections, said her friend Sharon Naplacic, a third-grade OCPS teacher who runs the garden program.
Students continue to bring Helphenstine’s vision to life while developing an interest in science and nature. The garden imparts valuable lessons about pollination, composting, photosynthesis, the parts of a plant and plant identification. The students also gain an understanding of how one person can make a lasting, positive impact on the world.
“The legacy of my friend and colleague, Mikenzie Helphenstine, quite simply lives on in each child’s curiosity and joy,” said Naplacic. “Mikenzie’s nieces and nephew are involved with the garden, and I like to think she looks down upon us with pride.”
Together, the students harvested strawberries, sweet peas, string beans, radishes, beets, zucchini, eggplant, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and carrots. They also have grown an assortment of herbs and flowers.
Charlie Zimmerman, the Education Program Development Specialist for Cape May County at the NJ Department of Education, buys produce from students participating in a summer program at Ocean City Primary School. The students harvested the produce from a garden dedicated to the memory of third-grade teacher Mikenzie Helphenstine. Also participating in the day (from left): teacher Abby Maurer (black dress), third-graders Eloise Lento and Olivia Vogt and teacher Megan Gereaghty
The garden continues to function as a living classroom in the fall, when sweet potatoes and pumpkins will be harvested.
Each week, the students take their bounty to the kitchen to create delicious dishes such as zucchini chocolate chip muffins and zucchini pizza. Their harvest was large enough to recently hold OCPS’ second annual produce sale, sharing their crops with the community.
“The Helping Hands Garden provides hands-on learning and real-life experiences,” said Naplacic. “The children have a vested interest in the success of the garden and have a strong sense of ownership.”
Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian, Ocean City Primary School Principal Dr. Cathleen Smith and OCPS students Diamonique Baldwin (first grade) and Isaac Martinez (third grade) are all smiles as they welcome community members to the school’s second annual produce sale.
Helping Hands Garden by Stacy McCarron