Site Visits and Race Against Waste Session 2
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The past month has been very eventful for SIS! The SIS team held the second professional learning session of the Race Against Waste program and visited elementary, middle, and high school classrooms and after-school clubs across the five boroughs.
During the second session of Race Against Waste, educators met with representatives from
Bronx River Alliance
,
Cafeteria Culture
,
Gowanus Canal Conservancy
,
FABSCRAP
,
Materials for the Arts
,
NYC Department of Environmental Protection
,
NYC DOE Office of Sustainability
,
Rescuing Leftover Cuisine
,
Sims Municipal Recycling
, and
GrowNYC’s Recycling Champions Program
to learn more about activities they could do with their Green Teams, and how to reduce and reuse waste in NYC. Service in Schools and the Office of Sustainability would like to thank these organizations,
Project Farmhouse
for hosting, and participants for a wonderful session.
On school visits, the SIS team saw students dive into service-learning and contemplate how to solve problems in their school communities. This included high school Green Team members developing a campaign to reduce food waste in their school and elementary school Kids Action Team members identifying the root causes of animal homelessness so they can decide how to help their furry friends. Across the city, students are identifying needs in their community and working together to address them!
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SIS Leadership Institute Application Now Open!
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Application Deadline:
Monday, March 4, 2019
Institute Dates:
Monday, April 22-Friday, April 26 2019 from 9:00am-3:00pm and an afternoon work session on Thursday, May 16 from 4:00-7:00pm. The Youth Service Summit, which SIS Leaders will facilitate, is on Friday, May 24 from 8:00am-3:00pm.
Eligibility Requirements:
Students in grades 10-12 from
NYC public high school will be considered.
Participants can look forward to:
Participants in the SIS Leadership Institute will build their leadership skills over the course of a five-day institute that culminates in the planning and implementation of a day-long Youth Service Summit for elementary school students. Encourage your students to
apply today
!
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Project Overview:
Upon learning about the experiences of refugees adjusting to life in America, the fifth graders at P.S. 58 set out to support a local organization and restaurant,
Emma’s Torch
, which provides job and language training to refugees and survivors of human trafficking in the school’s Carroll Gardens neighborhood.
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Investigation:
First, fifth grade students learned about some of the challenges that refugees face, such as loneliness, culture shock, language barriers, and difficulty finding employment by reading the book
Home of the Brave
by Katherine Applegate and watching the documentary
God Grew Tired of Us
. After noticing how passionately the students felt about these issues, one of the fifth grade teachers connected with Emma’s Torch and asked how the students could help support their important mission.
Edric, a program director from Emma’s Torch, presented to the fifth grade classes, describing their training program, which includes language classes, interview support, and training in the culinary arts for refugees. The students learned that financial support and the purchase of supplies are the ways they could most help.
Preparation:
The students made bracelets and keychains to sell to raise funds for Emma’s Torch. Their families also donated requested supplies. A parent who works as a creative director taught them how to design an enamel pin that symbolizes the powerful work that Emma’s Torch does for its students and the community. The pins were printed and became another item for the fundraiser.
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Action and demonstration:
The students delivered supplies to Emma’s Torch as a first round of action. Next, students set up a table during dismissal to sell their goods. The school community’s response was enthusiastic, raising $616! Plans for a second after-school sale are in the works.
Reflection:
After the initial fundraising efforts, the class wrote reflections. They expressed their enthusiasm and pride in the success of their sales and shared their learning throughout the process. Many students found it eye-opening to learn about the experiences people go through fleeing their homeland and the continued challenges of adjusting to a new place. They were left with a feeling of empowerment to help others in their community. Students are eager to sell more of their creations to raise more money for the important work of helping refugees feel welcome and have their needs met.
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Current and Upcoming Opportunities
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DOROT Summer Internship
Rolling applications through May 10, 2019
DOROT
invites high school students to apply for the Summer Teen Internship program. Interns will volunteer with a diverse group of socially conscious teens to connect with older adults, provide assistance, and learn new skills together. Rising sophomores through rising seniors are welcome to apply. Interns can choose from sessions in Manhattan or Riverdale. Session dates in Manhattan are June 24-July 18 and July 22-August 15. Session dates in Riverdale are July 22-August 15. Sessions are Mondays through Thursdays in both locations. Stipends are available toward travel costs. DOROT is currently interviewing applicants for this program, but applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until May 10, 2019.
Learn more and apply here
.
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Reading Partners
Ongoing opportunity for students ages 14 and up
Reading Partners
is an organization dedicated to unlocking the skills of students who struggle with reading. It provides one-on-one reading instruction to elementary school students reading below grade level to help them succeed in school and in life. Reading Partners believes that given the right support and resources, all children can learn to read. The organization is looking for volunteer tutors ages 14 and up who will receive research-based, structured lesson plans designed to focus on the individual needs of the students. Tutors are required to commit to at least one hour per week. Review
the volunteer registration
for more information on volunteering.
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Animal Care Centers of NYC
Ongoing opportunities for all ages
Love animals? Want to help end animal homelessness in NYC?
Animal Care Centers of NYC
(ACC) invites compassionate New Yorkers of all ages to get involved. ACC offers group tours of care centers as well as visits to classrooms and welcomes student projects that support animals in need. Volunteers who work hands-on with dogs, cats, and rabbits have to be at least 18, but there are lots of ways kids and teens can make a difference for animals at ACC and in the larger community. Visit the
ACC Community Kids
page to find ways to help, such as making toys and beds for shelter animals. To arrange a class visit to an ACC location or have an ACC representative speak at your school or organization,
fill out this form
.
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Giraffe Heroes Project
Resource for all ages
The
Giraffe Heroes Project
moves people to stick their necks out for the common good and gives them tools to succeed. The Giraffe Heroes Project uses traditional and social media to tell the stories of brave women, men, and children from all backgrounds and places acting with courage and compassion to solve significant public problems; others see and hear these stories and are inspired to take action too.
Find out more about Giraffe Heroes educational programs
,
follow them on Facebook
, or
contact
the Giraffe Heroes Project at
[email protected]
.
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Contact the Service in Schools Team
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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
[email protected]
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.
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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.
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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.
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