Special to the Chronicle

The newest member of the Chapin Eagle family is a calf named Moon Pie.

Chapin Middle School's Lori Powers discovered the opportunity on Facebook.

“I thought it would be a really fun activity for us,” Powers said.

“This year because of the pandemic, we are not able to do many of the social activities that we normally do. We have students who are virtual and others who are in-person so I thought that we could use Moon Pie to bring us together.”

The Adopt a Cow program is run through Discover Dairy,.

The Pennsylvania agricultural initiative provides interactive lessons for kindergarten to 8th grade.

All lessons follow common core standards in math, reading and science.

Students learn the value of dairy farming.

“We may not follow Discover Dairy’s curriculum to the letter but we will use some ideas in our classrooms,” Powers said.

“For instance, we have a brand-new financial literacy class that will be able to use a lesson on how dairy farmers impact our economy.

"It will be great to see them incorporate Moon Pie in their daily instruction.”

Powers said Discover Dairy provides electronic games and puzzles.

They also plan to use Moon Pie in a “Find the Cow” event in March.

Images of Moon Pie will be hidden throughout the school and in social media posts.

Chapin Middle School was assigned to Nance Farms, a family farm in McConnells, SC.

That's where Moon Pie was born Sept. 19, 2020.

“By adopting this calf, we get to watch her grow up over the school year,” Powers said.

“The farm will send us updates and we plan to share information with our school and the entire community on a website that will be managed by student leaders.”

Chapin Middle School Principal Anna Miller said, “We are over the moon excited to have the opportunity to adopt Moon Pie into our Chapin Middle School family.

"We can't wait to watch her grow, provide this unique learning opportunity for our students, and unite our school community through our common love for her.

"It's something fun and positive for everyone in the midst of a really different year in school."