Service Learning Day: Living Our Core Values

For the second year, our Wyverns fanned out into the community for Service Learning Day. Form 4 went to LEVO Int’l in Hartford, and Form 6 went to Journey Home, Community  Renewal Team, My Sister’s Place, and Traprock Conservancy, while Form 5 engaged in leadership training challenges. At the time, Form 3 was bonding for their kick-off class trip to Camp Merriwood in New Hampshire. Planning for Service Learning Day is no easy task, and Upper School Service Learning Coordinator Kathleen McLean was instrumental in coordinating the day and developing these partnerships

Journey Home: Journey Home coordinates the Capital Region’s system for ending homelessness. It guides the efforts between service providers, government agencies, businesses, and local communities to achieve enduring, systemic change. Journey Home’s work is guided by the belief that everyone deserves to feel the comfort and safety of home.

Each KO van of students and one chaperone followed the Journey Home delivery truck from the warehouse or other locations to pick up furniture to homes where (formerly homeless) clients are moving in to drop off furniture.

CRT: As the designated community action agency for Hartford and Middlesex Counties, the Community Renewal Team (CRT) helps people take steps toward healthy and economically stable futures. Since 1963, CRT has partnered with local elected officials, providers, funders, businesses, and the community to address challenges like hunger, homelessness, unemployment, and poverty. Together, they increase access to education, affordable housing, mental health services, and more for thousands of people in Central Connecticut each year. CRT’s Elderly Nutrition Kitchen serves elderly clients combating hunger, malnutrition, and isolation. Students worked in the CRT kitchen.

My Sister’s Place/St. Elizabeth House: Mercy Housing and Shelter Corporation provides housing assistance and supportive services to persons who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Their mission is to empower each person they serve to achieve independence, dignity, and stability. St. Elizabeth House provides transitional housing, meals, and support services to homeless adults. It also houses the Friendship Center, a day shelter offering meals, showers, a food pantry, and resources to those experiencing homelessness. The facility includes residential rooms, a computer lab for job searching, and programs for women in recovery and community respite for mental health crises. The students sorted through recently received donations, folded and shelved clothing, linens, and bedding, and Restock Friendship Center inventory.

Traprock Ride Land Conservancy: TRLC’s mission is to protect open space and promote public appreciation of the natural environment across the region. Students traveled to Hawk Hill Farm in Bloomfield, where they learned to identify invasive plant species along the tree trail and understand why these species harm native habitats.   They will also learned which plant species are native and how they help create diverse habitats for native wildlife.  The students removed a field of Japanese knotweed.

Foodshare: Their mission is to deliver an informed and equitable response to hunger by mobilizing community partners, volunteers, and supporters. Connecticut Foodshare supports individuals and families – from one end of the state to the other – by addressing root causes, creating long-term solutions, and distributing nutritious food through local partner programs in an effort to alleviate hunger. Students inspected and sorted food items for donation in the Foodshare Warehouse in Wallingford.

Levo, International: Levo International is working on not just growing food that can be sold in the city, but also providing a critical access point to healthy and affordable food. Students worked in their hydroponic garden, raked mulch, and painted wood for the garden beds.

While Forms 4 and 6 worked off campus, Form 5 rolled up their sleeves to develop leadership skills. The goals and guidelines for the day: include: Get to know your form and yourself, consider and develop leadership and team-building skills, Learn about service programs in our community, and consider how you might get involved in the next two years. Part of the day involved a series of challenges to develop teamwork. One was a game of Newcomb (imagine volleyball, but you get to catch and throw the ball). Another challenge was the Tower Challenge, where students were given 60 balloons, tape, and sticks to build the tallest possible free-standing balloon tower from the provided materials within a time limit. This activity is designed to encourage creative problem-solving and develop collaboration skills.

The goal of the last challenge, Magic Carpet, is for the team to work together to flip the tarp over without any participant stepping off.

For all their hard work, a Kona ice truck delivered sweet treats upon their return to campus. After enjoying their brief respite, the students gathered to reflect on their experiences.: What surprised you today? What was the most meaningful interaction you had? What did you learn about the community you served? What did you learn about teamwork or yourself? If you had to describe today in one image or moment, what would it be? How does what we did today connect back to our school’s core values?