September 2017 Newsletter

Program Highlights

Attend the Service in Schools Partner Fair

Tuesday, October 10, 2017 3:00-6:00pm Kick off the new school year with resources and partnerships to support your students in serving their community. Service in Schools invites all educators to attend the 5th annual Service in Schools Partner Fair on Tuesday, October 10. This event provides educators with the opportunity to meet and network with community-based and non-profit organizations that can support them in building a culture of service and service-learning in their school community. Free resources will be available and light refreshments will be served. The Service in Schools Partner Fair will take place on Tuesday, October 10 at the American Airlines Theater at 227 W 42 St, New York, NY 10036 from 3:00-6:00pm. Click here for more information and click here to register.

What's New with Service in Schools?

During the 2017-18 school year, Service in Schools (SIS) will offer two new programs to advance service-learning initiatives in NYC: the Kids Action Team and Race Against Waste programs. In both of these programs, student groups will plan, carry out, and document a service-learning project that helps to meet a community need and facilitates academic growth. Save the dates for the application launches and follow Service in Schools on Twitter @servicenschools for the most up-to-date information on these programs and more. Service in Schools Kids Action Team Application Opens: Monday, October 16 Application Deadline: Monday, November 6 For elementary school teachers (grades K-5) who want to launch an after-school service-learning Team. Participants can look forward to: Two days of professional development on Tuesday, December 5 and Wednesday, January 24. $500 to supplement Teacher Regular Grades per Session work related to planning and facilitating Team activities. Leading students through a service-learning project, which they will present at the Celebration of Service on May 31. Race Against Waste - A collaboration between Service in Schools and the Office of Sustainability Application Opens: Tuesday, October 10 Application Deadline: Wednesday, November 1 For teams of two middle or high school teachers who want to launch or expand the efforts of a student Green Team to address zero waste initiatives in their community. Participants can look forward to: Three days of professional development on December 6, January 10, and April 25. Learning about waste reduction initiatives in NYC from local non-profit organizations. Leading students through a service-learning project, which they will present at the Sustainability Showcase in May 2018.

School Spotlight

07X223 M.S. 223 The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology Project summary : During the 2016-17 school year, students in Ms. Nadler’s 10th grade class at The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology in the Bronx worked with Ms. Summer’s 7 th grade class to write a book in an effort to raise awareness about drug issues in their community.  Investigation : Students mined their own experiences witnessing drug and alcohol abuse at home and within their community in the South Bronx, compared their experiences to media sources on the topic, and researched drug addiction and its effects on teenagers.  Planning : 10 th grade students coordinated with a 7 th grade class and planned a writing workshop.  Action : An intrepid 10 th grade student led the writing workshop for 7 th graders and compiled all students’ contributions into Over It , an anthology that centers on young peoples’ perspectives on drug abuse. Currently, the book is available to purchase on Amazon.com, and all proceeds go to a Bronx rehabilitation facility. Demonstration : The students held a book launch party to celebrate their work and reflect on their accomplishments.   Reflection : Through the process of compiling the book, students were empowered to act as change agents through creative writing. By writing about their own experiences, students created a book that will not only impact those who read it, but also directly benefit people struggling with addiction.

Current and Upcoming Opportunities

March of Dimes WonderWalk Deadline: Schools Confirm Participation by October 10, 2017 For the past 75 years, March of Dimes has worked toward the goal of ensuring that all babies are born healthy. The WonderWalk program provides elementary school students the chance to help March of Dimes give all babies a healthy start. A mini-walk on school grounds, WonderWalk is a fun, safe, and rewarding way for students to make a difference in their community. They raise money by asking friends and family to make donations to support them in reaching their goals. March of Dimes is looking for schools to participate to help fund research, education, programs, and advocacy that save babies’ lives. Click here for more information about the 2017 WonderWalk campaign. Contact Gregory Fabiano by email or at 212-500-1808 with questions.

Volunteer with Food Bank For New York City Ongoing opportunity for students 14 and up Food Bank For New York City is the city’s leading hunger relief organization and has been working to end hunger throughout the five boroughs for more than 30 years through meal distribution, financial empowerment, and nutrition education. Volunteers are needed daily to support meal service, restocking the community pantry, sorting and repacking product, and assisting seniors. Most projects happen Monday through Friday, with some weekend opportunities. Each project has an age minimum displayed on the project description. Youth ages 14 and up are welcome at the Shop & Stock program and youth ages 16 and up can volunteer at the warehouse in the Bronx. Youth under the age of 18 are required to be accompanied by an adult. For groups, Food Bank requires one adult for every five children. Click here for more information on ongoing volunteer opportunities.

Start a Glamour Gals Chapter Ongoing opportunity for high school students   GlamourGals Foundation inspires and organizes teen volunteers to provide ongoing companionship and complimentary beauty makeovers to women living in senior homes. These compassionate teen leaders establish connections across generations and work to end elder isolation. GlamourGals supports its teen volunteers with skill-building experiences and promotes their development as leaders in their communities. GlamourGals invites high school students and teachers to establish school-based chapters of its program. Starting a GlamourGals chapter provides teens the opportunity to do community service while developing leadership and communication skills, making friends of all ages, and fighting elder loneliness. Click here or email Contact@GlamourGals.org to learn more.

Service-Learning with We Schools Ongoing opportunity for all grade levels  WE Schools is a free service-learning program that nurtures compassion in young people and gives them the tools to create transformative social change. WE Schools challenges students to identify local and global issues that spark passion and empowers them with the tools to take action. They provide educators and students with curricular resources, hands-on training, motivational speakers, and ideas to improve their community and the world. The WE Schools Kit is a free guide for both students and educators that contains lesson plans, videos, and activity ideas for service-learning projects, and their curricular library offers resources and lesson plans on relevant social issues. Click here to access the kit and click here to access the resource library. To receive even more free resources and be connected to a Program Manager who can help plan and implement service-learning initiatives, click here to sign up for the free WE Schools program or email Chris Parrucci to learn more.

Resource Highlights

Cafeteria Culture SORT2SAVE Kit Cafeteria Culture is a non-profit environmental education organization that creatively works with student leaders of all ages to achieve zero waste schools and plastic-free waters through citizen science, arts, and civic action. Cafeteria Culture’s SORT2SAVE Kit - Cafeteria Ranger Program gives students the opportunity to take the lead on recycling and composting and transform their school cafeteria into a zero waste zone. The SORT2SAVE Kit is a free online resource with short videos co-created with student partners and an eight step guide to setting up a zero waste school cafeteria. It also includes downloadable signs, badges, letter templates, scheduling templates, and job descriptions. Click here to access the Sort2Save Kit.

Learning to Give Lesson Plans By and For Teachers With Learning to Give , K-12 students learn that everyone has something to give to make the world a better place. Through Learning to Give’s website, educators can access free lesson plans related to local and global water solutions, poverty and human rights, disaster response strategies, and much more. These lesson plans are searchable by social action issue, grade level, and subject area, and are written by teacher volunteers. All lessons are infused with concepts of philanthropy and align with Common Core State Standards. In addition to an extensive database of lessons, teaching resources, and training materials, Learning to Give offers TeachOne lesson plans that include a free one-session lesson plan, links to articles and videos, a supporting PowerPoint, and a service-learning project suggestion. Click here to access TeachOne lessons and click here to search their other philanthropy-focused lesson plans.

Contact the Service in Schools Team

Does your school have a great service project to share? If so, the Service in Schools team wants to know!

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.

Visit our website

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.