The Healdsburg School’s upper classman in grades six through eight are getting ready to present their individual community service projects showcasing the skills that they learned during group projects in the lower grades.
As the school year comes to a close, all students at The Healdsburg School (THS) are wrapping up their annual community service projects and getting ready to present their good doings to the student body. For grades kindergarten through fifth, this means collaborating as a class to give back locally, nationally and globally. But for the older students, each individual conceptualizes and executes their own project using skills such as research, coordination and evaluation learned in the lower grades.
“In our lower school grades we need to work with our students and give them the experience of how a project starts from A to Z and once they grow into the upper school, they have the skill set now so they can take that upon themselves to pick their organization and the project is theirs from A to Z,” said THS Director of Development Dennis Agnos.
Allowing the sixth through eighth grade students to chose their individual projects aligns with the school’s philosophy to support the students education but allowing them to think for themselves and to take what they have learned and build on it, Agnos explained.
For students in the seventh grade, this meant taking their experience working with Habitat for Humanity in their fourth grade class at THS to create individual projects this year in and around the community in order to see the changes that they could make.
“I just learned from the time in fourth grade that it felt good to help people and see what an impact that we can make so for mine I wanted to do something that provides a service to the community here,” said seventh grader Dylan Kattengelo, who went through the training to become an umpire and is donating his services at Mark West Little League.
While the students were in fourth grade, Habitat for Humanity was building two new houses in Healdsburg and as a service project their class took on helping the foundation. Although students were not able to work on the building crew, they provided sandwiches for workers and worked on side projects including raising money for materials.
“It taught us how to organize and how the process of organizing a project works, and I just think that it showed us how much of an impact we can make,” said Brittany McCutchan.
“And it is really satisfying to drive by the house and be like, ‘wow, I helped build that,’” added Sami Meyer.
Individual projects this year include volunteering with children at the Healdsburg Public Library, working at Forget Me Not Farms, a place for abused children to work with animals; and Equie-ed, a therapeutic equestrian program for individuals with disabilities.
“We now have an idea of what helping a community is like, but doing our own projects gives us a chance to rely on ourselves to make the difference,” said Meyer.
Not only is The Healdsburg School wrapping up the year with their service projects but parents and staff are also organizing their annual school fundraiser, Bravissimo! The dinner, dance and auction will be held on May 18 featuring special guest, Chef Emeril Lagasse.
“He has been instrumental in helping us making the event successful, our ticket sales are at capacity and we want to be able to thank him in a way that is meaningful and generous but hopefully impact him in a way,” Agnos said.
As a thank you, The Healdsburg School’s fifth grade class will be adopting the Edible Schoolyard New Orleans as their service project next year, an organization dear to Lagasse and one that his foundation supports.
For Healdsburg community members interested in supporting The Healdsburg School but are unable to attend the event on May 18 can sign up to participate in ‘Sip and Shop Healdsburg’ on May 17 at 1 p.m. Stark Reality Restaurants will host the event at their new Bravas Bar de Tapas for $75 a person including shopping discounts in and around the plaza at participating retailers and tasting rooms.
For tickets visit, www.thsbravissimo.com or call THS at 433-4847.
