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Volume 15, Issue 7 www.facebook.com/sagehillschool
Kellen Ochi
Eye of the Tiger. Sophomore Sahale Greenwood paints a student’s face to look like a tiger. This was just one of the many activities going on during Service Learning night, which culminated the year’s success.
Combining Service with Learning By Catherine Malzahn and Lauren Fishman staff writers
Service Learning Night was a huge success this year. Students and families from El Sol Academy, Edward B. Cole Academy and Quest Academy were welcomed by Sage Hill on April 15. The Peter V. Ueberroth Gymnasium filled quickly with a multitude of friends and family excited to enjoy the evening. The night began with a speech by Patricia Merz, head of school. John Paulsen, Service Learning coordinator and English teacher also addressed the audience, explaining his how his hopes for the year were not only reached, but surpassed. “Our students [learned] that there are ways that they can make a positive impact in their community and hopefully [...] team up with established organizations [...] to address a need,” Paulsen said. All students in attendance enjoyed the night. It was one last chance to bond with the younger students they
had worked with all year. Sophomore Tiffany Chen hoped she helped the younger students create a solid foundation for the rest of their lives. “I hope I’ve inspired them to want to learn new things and work hard to achieve whatever they hope to accomplish in the future,” Chen said. Additionally, sophomore Charlotte Lynskey found the experience to be very rewarding as well as important in the long run. “[I hope I] helped them improve their writing skills [. . .] I also want them to view me not only as a mentor but also as a friend, someone they can trust or come to at any time with problems,” Lynskey explained. “Even though we don’t have any more visits with them, I hope they look back on the process and see me as a person who really cares not just because I’m being told to but because I genuinely do.” This year has allowed both Sage students and their younger partners to grow together. They connected really well and formed great relationships.
“I really hope they understand that I do care for them as human beings not just as students, because I Kellen Ochi
Magic Man. Senior Michael Fenner wows the audience at service learning night.
feel like there was mutual respect and a strong connection between all of us,” Lynskey said. “They’re really great kids.” In addition to sophomores, freshmen enjoyed a year of kite-making with their third grade partners. While tenth graders went off campus for service learning, the freshmen took advantage of the newly-built science center to collaborate on their work throughout the year. But, regardless of the individual activities the ninth and tenth graders completed with their elementary school partners, Paulsen explained that the overall goal of the Service Learning program was to teach valuable life lessons to all students. He especially wants the younger children to use their experiences working with Sage students to become better people, in hopes that they too can give back to their school and neighborhood. “I hope that being a part of our program will teach them that there are ways that they too can contribute to bettering their own communities,” Paulsen said.