Reading and math were replaced with compassion and community spirit Thursday.

Students from Kalamalka and Vernon secondary schools converged on Kalamalka Road in Coldstream to fill and stack sandbags for residents coping with rising water levels.

鈥淚t鈥檚 great to be helping out,鈥� said Levi Knopf, who is in Grade 9 at VSS.

Knopf was kayaking on the weekend and experienced first-hand the damage caused by flooding.

鈥淚t looks stressful and I felt bad for everyone impacted,鈥� she said.

The students were just the latest round of volunteers to assist.

鈥淧eople are just stopping and setting up bags. It鈥檚 fantastic,鈥� said Norm Hladan, who is trying to keep the Kalavista lagoon from engulfing his property. Much of the water is coming from the adjacent park owned by the District of Coldstream.

鈥淎 good neighbour would bag (their property),鈥� he said.

Elsewhere in the North Okanagan, other communities continue to cope with flooding. A specific concern in Vernon, is Okanagan Lake.

鈥淲e鈥檙e encouraging residents to sandbag because the water is rising,鈥� said Tanya Laing Gahr, Vernon鈥檚 communications officer.

Residents along Vernon Creek should be also taking precautions to protect their property.

Okanagan Lake was at the 342.98-metre mark Thursday, up three cms from Wednesday - and just two cms below the 343-metre projection.