Community Service/Middle School
The academic program of the Sussex Academy is centered on an Instructional model that shows empathy, compassion, and respect. One key element of this model is service. For this reason, each Sussex Academy student is required to participate in ten hours of community service each year. This is an independent assignment. Students can choose the activity that they would like to do, but need to perform service hours on a voluntary basis for individuals and/or groups beyond the immediate family.
Each student must complete at least ten hours of community service by the end of spring break each year. A log of the community service activities that each student performs during the school year must be maintained and submitted on the day after spring break. In addition, some form of evidence must accompany the log. Acceptable forms of evidence include photographs, journal entries and/or verification letters. All service activities must be pre-approved by parents/guardians and should have adult supervision.
Students of the Sussex Academy complete a reflection about and share their community service experiences with the other Sussex Academy students during the weeks after spring break. Students earn grades for several academic subjects for the various parts and objectives of this assignment.
Service is an important and integral part of every expedition. So, in addition to the independent community service project requirement, the students of the Sussex Academy also participate in group projects during their team-wide interdisciplinary units. For example, one team recently made bluebird houses to donate to a local wildlife refuge and another team of students collected over 560 nonperishable food items for a local food bank.
Community Service Project Ideas:
- Babysitting
- Stream or neighborhood clean up
- Picking up and recycling cans, bottles, newspapers, etc…
- House or yard work for an elderly neighbor or grandparent