January 2018 Newsletter
Program Highlights
Second Sessions of KAT, RAW, and SLI
To kick off the New Year, participants of the Service-Learning Institute, Race Against Waste, and the Kids Action Team Program finished up their second professional learning sessions. During these sessions, participants used their foundational knowledge from session one to put their own spin on service-learning. The Service in Schools (SIS) team is excited to see how the participants’ students decide to serve their communities!

These second sessions offered a more in-depth look at the process of scaffolding a service-learning experience. During session two of Race Against Waste, participants met with representatives from partner organizations to discuss specific issues surrounding waste in New York City and began forging their Green Teams’ paths. In the Service-Learning Institute, participants shared their successes and areas for growth and collaborated as a cohort and in small groups on plans for upcoming units with service-learning integration. Kids Action Team facilitators engaged in activities to guide elementary school students in developing an action to meet a community need. Each session featured engaging and illuminating conversation, and set the stage for what will surely be impactful service-learning experiences.

The SIS team would like to thank the Paley Center for Media, the Red Cross of Greater New York, and Project Farmhouse for hosting the second sessions of these programs. The team also extends thanks to Cathryn Berger Kaye for her engaging facilitation of the Service-Learning Institute and to the representatives from non-profit organizations and city agencies who shared their knowledge and resources on waste reduction in New York City with Race Against Waste participants ( Bronx River Alliance , Cafeteria Culture , Gowanus Canal Conservancy , Materials for the Arts , NYC Department of Environmental Protection , Sims Municipal Recycling , and GrowNYC Recycling Champions Program ). Finally, the SIS team appreciates all of the participants who shared their knowledge and welcomed the team into their classrooms.
SIS Leadership Institute Application Now Open Deadline: February 15
Students in grades 10-12 are invited to apply to the SIS Leadership Institute, a five-day series for motivated high schools students who want to develop leadership skills, engage in service-learning, and pay it forward in their communities. The Institute will take place during spring break, from Monday, April 2 through Friday, April 6, 2018, 9:00am-3:00pm each day. Participants will facilitate the Youth Service Summit, a day of service for elementary students, on Friday, May 25, 2018. Applications are due by 5:00pm on Thursday, February 15. Click here to apply today!
School Spotlight
10X246 Poe Center
Project Summary: Third graders in Ms. Samantha Camejo’s class have decided to advocate against smoking, crime, and litter in a park near their school. Rather than creating a traditional PSA campaign, they are devising some very creative ways to get their messages across! 

Investigation: The students began by interviewing each other about their interests, skills, and talents, exploring videos on issues they found to be important, and poring over inspirational quotes. After deciding to focus on smoking, litter, and crime, they conducted action research using the MISO (Media Interview Survey Observation) Method.
Planning: After digging deeper, each group decided to provide the community with information and assistance through their projects. Once this was determined, the students looked at successful community action campaigns and analyzed them to determine their target audience and to find persuasive techniques.  

Action: Currently, these students are developing the content for their informational campaigns. They are going to start with crime and spread their message by flying kites with relevant information in a local park known for crime and drug activity. Next, they plan on creating bags with information for smokers and filling these bags with gum and other aides useful for people trying to quit smoking.  

Reflection: Students have learned about the reasons why these issues exist in their community. They are now well versed in these topics and empowered to spread information to the larger community about the root causes of these issues, possible solutions, and resources for those in need.
Current and Upcoming Opportunities
Bike New York 
Ongoing Opportunity for Students Ages 16 and Up
Bike New York offers free bike education classes to teach adults and children how to ride for the first time, advanced bike mechanics, and everything in between. The organization’s Learn to Ride and Bicycling Basics classes are offered in all five boroughs, and they are all taught with help from volunteers. To help out with one of these classes, new volunteers are asked to attend a one-hour training session to learn about Bike New York and its method of teaching. Trainings begin in March and last through the fall. Volunteers must be 16 or older on the day of the class, and high school students are asked to volunteer at children’s classes. Bike New York is also looking for volunteers for its rides and events. Click here to make a volunteer profile and sign up for a Volunteer Training. Click here to learn about all of their volunteer opportunities.
Rescuing Leftover Cuisine
Ongoing Opportunity for All Ages
About one in seven Americans don’t know where they’ll get their next meal, yet 40% of food in America ends up in the trash. Rescuing Leftover Cuisine is closing this gap by collaborating with restaurants to save leftover food from landfills and deliver it to those who need it most. They depend on volunteers to bring rescued food from donors to recipient organizations, who then distribute the food to people struggling with food insecurity. Volunteers under 14 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, and volunteers between the ages of 14 and 18 require a parental permission slip. Volunteers can choose how often they participate, and the location of the pick-up is within a 4 mile radius of their home address. To learn more, click here , and to sign up, click here .
IndyKids
Spring Workshops: March 3, March 10, and March 24
IndyKids is a newspaper written by and for kids. Available in print and online, IndyKids engages youth in current events and social justice issues. As part of the IndyKids Kid Reporter Program, writers ages 9-14 work one-on-one with media professionals to pitch, research, write, edit, and submit news and feature articles, book or movie reviews, and more. The newspaper is then distributed and read in classrooms and libraries nationwide. Each issue is paired with a free Teacher’s Guide full of lessons and activities specific to the articles in that issue. Spring workshops for the May 2018 issue take place on March 3, 10, and 24. Click here or email Angel Rodriguez for more information on workshops. Click here to subscribe, and email workshops@indykids.org to register. 
Resource Highlights
Getting Smart- 10 Simple Lesson Plans for Scaffolding Student-Led Projects
Getting Smart is a community for news, stories, and leadership on innovations in learning and teaching. This website features a blog written by and for education professionals and has a goldmine of information on youth empowerment and engaging teaching. One of our favorite articles on the site is “10 Simple Lesson Plans for Scaffolding Student-Led Projects” by Bonnie Lathram. This article offers ten ideas for lessons that get students thinking about which issues they care about most and what they plan to do about them. To check it out, clic k here .  
YSA Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation Grants
Deadline February 12, Grants Awarded on Global Youth Service Day, April 20-22
Youth Service America and Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation have teamed up to fight childhood hunger, and they need the help of youth across the country to do it. On Global Youth Service Day, YSA and Sodexo will award 125 grants to fund youth-led service projects designed to address childhood hunger in the long-term. Individuals can apply for grants up to $400, and schools and other youth organizations can apply for up to $1,000. Some grant winners will be awarded up to an additional $400 to keep their project going after Global Youth Service Day. For more information and to apply for a grant, click here
Contact the Service in Schools Team
Invite the Service in Schools team to visit your service project. We want to see your students and school community in action. Email the Service in Schools team at ServiceinSchools@schools.nyc.gov with two weeks’ notice, and we’ll schedule a visit to your school to learn about your project and see the impact you’re making on the community. 
Follow @ServicenSchools to receive program updates, upcoming service opportunities, resources, and more. We encourage students who use Twitter and are interested in service opportunities to follow us.
Mission: Service in Schools strives to expand the number of NYC students engaged in transformative community service and service-learning experiences that enable them to use their voice, skills, and critical thinking to strengthen communities.