Service Learning Projects
Character Counts Play - A play done jointly with two area schools focusing on the origin of Character Counts. The play will be rather unique because it will be done with puppets with all the props, scenery and puppets made by the students in their art classes. The origin of character Counts was the Circle of Courage from the Native Americans. So the students will also study about our Native American’s and their importance in history.
Pen Pals with Refugees- from Somalia and Burundi. Students in their English or Social Studies classes will write to these refugees, who are going to school at Jordan School in Chicago. Studying the differences between refugees, displaced people, immigrants and undocumented workers will be studied and discussed. Already some of our schools have donated quilts to them for the winter. This spring they brought them to their apartments near the school.
Black History month Presentation-will again be a joint one with our schools and Herzl Elementary in Chicago. We will develop some presentations in our schools and go to their school in February for this great event. Usually around 250 students are able to participate but hopefully in the future even more students will be able to attend this presentation.
Field Days-in May with our partner school, Herzl, will be organized by many schools this year. We hope more schools can get involved with this wonderful cultural interaction of Highland Park and the African-American population.
Service Learning Conference-in March will be a good experience for some designated students from our schools. The conference has a teacher and student section so that students also will become well versed in service learning in their education in school.
Cesar Chavez Service Learning Month-in March will be a highlight for our Latino population. This was requested by many schools so that students will better appreciate the great contributions of their revered leader the likes of Gandhi and Martin Luther King. Students will do projects about him and then have some performances in each school.
Appalachia Partner School-in Chauncey, Ohio was a big success. A group of students collected donations and drove them to Chauncey and distributed them to the students of this small Appalachian town.
Food Drives-will continue for our 225 families in Highland Park through Moraine Township. The discussion about poverty in the U.S. and abroad will be important.
Nursing Home Visits-will occur usually during the Holiday time and Valentine’s Day. Students will understand the importance these senior citizens had in our society.
Adopt-A-Highway In the fall and spring students clean-up their strip of highway near their school. We talk about recycling and the environment before their clean-up.
Habitat for Humanity Students participate in building homes for low income housing families. We have taken entire classes to do different jobs which sometimes help them in their vocational choices. They seem to really enjoy themselves learning new jobs and knowing that they are helping the less fortunate. They had learned about the people who are receiving these houses and the mission of Habitat.
Reading for Elementary Students Students goes to a first grade class to read to them in English and Spanish. They realize how difficult it is to be a teacher with 20 students in their class.
Soup Kitchen-Students go to a soup kitchen in Evanston, IL to help with the serving of the lunch. Our students really start to understand people in poverty by interacting with them. Before their service learning project, they research about the people that they may encounter at the soup kitchen.