Service Projects
School DrivesThe school provides a wide
range of community service projects from which to choose, because it recognizes
that the experience is greatly enhanced when a student has the opportunity
to participate in something that peaks his interests. Great thought is
given to the community service program, because community service matters
at Town School. The school takes seriously its obligation to educate not
just the mind of a child, but to develop his heart as well. And what better
way to accomplish this lofty goal than to provide opportunities for the
students to think beyond themselves and to reach out and lend a helping
hand.
The fall of 2008 Thanksgiving Drive,
under the leadership of parents Anne Dale and Jennifer Kelly, as
well as the seventh grade boys, was very successful. The boys coordinated and
were responsible for running the drive; they did everything from designing
and handing out flyers to emptying the bins, and sorting and delivering
the food. Over 80 boxes of food were taken to the Cobb School for
distribution for Thanksgiving. Cal Mart partnered with us again this year
and donated 50 rolls of toilet paper, 50 rolls of paper towels, and 50
bottles of dishwashing soap. The Cobb School was very appreciative. A
large thank you goes to all the families who helped.
A Thank You from the
Cobb School to Town School’s 7A. 2007
Good
evening,
Stephanie, thank you so much for the photos. You and the rest of the
Parents have a fabulous group of young gentlemen. (boys are boys they are
great. the world would be very boring if they weren't the spirited
characters we know they can be :)The families have started taking items and
they are really appreciative and happy.
Maybe we can coordinate a spring community event? I'll talk to Ms. Forte
about it.
In
the meantime, take care,
Lissa
Collier
During the spring of 2008,
the entire school community did a fantastic job collecting over 400 books
which went to the San Francisco Kindergarten through fifth grade public
school, Hillcrest Elementary School on Silver Avenue. This was done
through through the Edgewood Center for Families in San Francisco. Our
seventh grade boys created and handed out flyers for the drive, made
announcements in both the Lower and Upper School assemblies, emptied the
collection bins, sorted the books, and helped deliver them. This was a
wonderful exercise in organizing and a lovely example for how we can all
help to make books and reading accessible to all children in San Francisco.
I think a large thanks needs to go to the seventh grade and to Debra Pinto , assisted by
Stephanie Donick, for organizing this
drive. We also thank all of the families who helped us make this
such a successful drive.
CLASS PROJECTS
On November 4, 2008, the Fourth Grade held a
bake sale. Fourth graders spent the afternoon baking all the goods
that were sold. The purpose of the sale was to raise money for the
Holy Family Day Home. This is a school located in the Mission district
for students who are mostly from single parent families living in low income
housing as well as some students from homeless families. The School
was first established in 1906 as a place for families who had lost their
homes during the Earthquake and Fire. Over the years, Holy Family Day
Home has survived because of generous donations from the community. The Holy
Family Day Home Project was created with the intention of giving the boys an
opportunity to help make a positive impact in the community.
The
project had three main elements: bake sale, board game/story book, and a
visit to Holy Family Day Home. It was important that each element of the
project created accountability for the boys, where they had an
objective, worked towards accomplishing their goal, and then saw
tangible results for their efforts.
The boys did a
tremendous job on the bake sale. We made over 1000 items in under two
hours, and raised $500 to buy books for the students at Holy Family Day
Home. Next, the boys spent several hours designing and creating their
own board games or stories for our field trip to Holy Family Day home.
The boys were encouraged to do their best work, not for themselves or
their teachers, but for the students at Holy Family Day Home. The
boys in 4th grade went above and beyond expectations and created some
spectacular games/stories.
On November
11th, the 4th grade had the opportunity to share their wonderful
projects with five classrooms at the Holy Family Day Home. It was
amazing to see how much pride each boy displayed while reading their
stories or playing their board game with all of the HFDH students. Just
as impressive, was the generosity and selflessness it took from each boy
to leave their projects behind so that other could enjoy even though
they had spent hours making them. The students, faculty, and
administration of HFDH had many wonderful things to say about the
boys and have already invited us back in the spring. Ultimately, we hope
the boys understand that it takes a hero to go out of their way to make
someone else's life better, but they don't have to wait for a crisis or
an emergency because people in our community need our help everyday.
VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATIONS
ONEBRICK
One Brick is a San Francisco-based
nonprofit organization run by volunteers whose purpose is to provide
support to local non-profit and community organizations. One Brick
offers a way for people to make an impact and help others without the
requirements of individual long-term commitments. Local parents are invited to sign up
and spend a fun afternoon with the family sorting, inspecting, and
repackaging thousands of pounds of food donated for the hungry in San
Francisco. By clicking on the above Link, you can register your
family to help with this worthy endeavor. |
