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Service learning at Trinity is about connections By Marsha Harris, Director of Curriculum
On a typical day, during a typical year, the hallways of Trinity School are lined with boxes of warm mittens, cozy pajamas, non-perishable food items, shoes, books, stuffed animals, and cardboard arcade games. You see posters in the hallways designed by students that promote their causes. Even in a pandemic, and now more than ever, students and teachers at Trinity remain dedicated to serving our community while ensuring a deep connection to student learning. There is a difference between community service and service learning. Community service is vitally important for organizations to sustain their impact and goals. They rally their community and supporters to volunteer time, efforts, and financial resources in order to meet the needs of their mission. Service learning promotes all of the same goals with similar needs and includes a student-centered approach that is grounded in clearly defined goals that support curriculum and student experiences. Service learning at Trinity connects the intellectual and the emotional, abstract concepts with a concrete need. Trinity’s dedication to serving others has been evident since its inception at Trinity Presbyterian Church in 1951. Our community is full of servant leaders: students, teachers, staff, and parents. We know that meaningful service for children must come from adults who are passionate and able to teach about a specific issue. Even during a pandemic, we have reimagined how we continue to serve and learn in our community. We believe that serving others begins with our youngest students and evolves as our students grow and mature. In order for community service projects to be meaningful for our students while also making an impact, Trinity’s service learning program is designed to include gradelevel specific activities that are developmentally appropriate and have purposeful connections to each grade’s curriculum. Parents, administrators, teachers, and student leadership work collaboratively in the design and implementation of community service at Trinity School. “We provide themes around the service that our students participate in, and we work really hard to intentionally connect what our students are learning in the classroom with the age-appropriate service they provide the community,” says Early Elementary Division Head Rhonda Mitchell. “This begins with our Early Learners, who are at the beginning stages of literacy development. They have an understanding of what it means to have a bond with their caregivers and the ritual of bedtime reading. The Early Learners’ Warmth Project, which includes donating pajamas and books to children in need, connects to this as students can understand warmth and safety and love from caregivers and that these circumstances are not always available to everyone. These intentional connections happen across the board in the Early Elementary Division. Early Learners and Pre-K focus on warmth and literacy. Kindergarten and First Grade focus on health and nutrition and providing food to local people.”
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