O n Wednesday, January 15, the second session of the Race Against Waste professional learning series took place at Project Farmhouse. 40 middle and high school educators learned about resources from Bronx River Alliance ,   Cafeteria Culture ,   Gowanus Canal Conservancy , FABSCRAP , Materials for the Arts ,   NYC Department of Environmental Protection ,   Rethink Food , Wearable Collections , Sims Municipal Recycling , and   GrowNYC’s Recycling Champions Program . Teachers learned about the innovative ways that these organizations reduce and repurpose waste in New York City and engaged in activities to guide their Green Teams in exploring the causes and impacts of waste.

Earlier in the month, Service in Schools (SIS) held the third session of the 2019-20 Service-Learning Institute, bringing together 45 educators from across the city for a day of professional learning focused on developing service-learning curriculum for their classrooms. Teachers collaborated to plan for units that use literature, media, and expert interviews to spark students’ interest and build their knowledge on topics such as hunger and pollution that they will take action on in their communities.

Project Summary: Students are creating postcards featuring their original poetry that they will take to a local food pantry and add to the bags of donated food to share inspiration and cheer with the recipients.

 

Investigation: Students in Veronica Singh’s fourth grade ELA class read articles on community needs to begin to understand service-learning. One of the articles was about a five-year-old who wanted to prevent hunger in his community. Students used the MISO (media, interview, survey, and observation) method to learn more and became motivated to help. After brainstorming different ways to help their community, such as supporting the homeless, caring for elders in need, and recycling, students voted to address hunger.

Preparation: Students watched a PSA on hunger in America, which clarified many common misconceptions about the topic. They worked collaboratively in small groups to dissect myths and realities of hunger in America. Each group presented what they learned to the class. Through this, students realized that, in addition to food and financial support, people who depend on food pantries need to know that their community cares about them. They realized that poetry they had written for a previous ELA unit could add inspiration and cheer to a bag of donated food.   

Students are currently working with their arts teacher to transform their poems into postcards to be included with the bags of food they will package upon visiting the food pantry.

Action: The class will visit a local food pantry and engage in hands-on service by bagging food for donation and adding the poetry to the donations to bring cheer to those who receive the food.

Demonstration: Veronica has shared her students’ preparation for service with colleagues in the Service-Learning Institute to inspire them to draw upon students’ creativity and interests when taking action in their community.



Reflection: Following their visit to the food pantry, P.S. 63 Author’s Academy students will complete a personal reflection piece to capture their feelings and learning.

Green Team Mini-Grants

Deadline: Friday, February 14, 2020 at 5:00pm

The New York City Department of Sanitation and Citizens Committee for New York City are awarding up to $1,000 to school green teams!   Grants   must be used for green team expenses such as recycling and garden projects, t-shirts/uniforms, school sustainability events, and eco-friendly giveaways. NYC K-12 public schools are invited to apply. Schools that won in Fall 2019 are not eligible for Spring 2020 grant. Spring 2020 recycling projects will receive material support. All other projects will receive cash grants. Email   schools@dsny.nyc.gov   for your DSNY School security code and with any questions. Download the new Zero Waste Schools App on Google Play or the App Store.

Project Cicero

Volunteer opportunity for grades 6 and up

Project Cicero provides free books to teachers working at under-resourced New York City public schools through its annual March book distribution. Qualified teachers must register online beginning March 3 to attend the distribution. Students in grade 6 and above are encouraged to volunteer at the distribution site at Hotel Pennsylvania on March 6-8 and can sign up to volunteer now. Visit Project Cicero’s website for more information and to access both teacher and volunteer registration.

DOROT Summer Teen Internship Program

Rolling application deadline through May 10, 2020

DOROT (Hebrew for “Generations”) invites high school students to apply for the Summer Teen Internship Program, an extraordinary four-week intergenerational service-learning opportunity. Interns volunteer with a diverse cohort of 20 socially conscious teens to connect with older adults, provide assistance, and gain leadership skills together. Rising sophomores through rising seniors are welcome to apply. Participation is free of charge. Programs are offered in three NYC locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. Find more information and apply now. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until May 10, 2020 and the process includes an in-person group interview. Space is limited in each program, so applying early is recommended. For more information, contact teens@dorotusa.org or call 212-769-2850.

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 Project finds brave women, men, and children from all backgrounds and places who act with courage and compassion to solve significant public problems, and then gets the stories of these heroes told. Others see and hear these stories and are inspired to take action too. A Giraffe K-12 service learning and civic engagement program   helps children build lives as courageous and compassionate citizens. Giraffe Heroes International   takes Giraffe know-how and inspiration all over the planet. Contact t he Giraffe Heroes Project at  office@giraffe.org  and follow Giraffe Heroes on  Facebook.

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. 

Follow @ServicenSchools on Twitter and @ServiceinSchools on Instagram to receive program updates, upcoming service opportunities, resources, and more. We encourage students who use social media 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.